Clearing the Backlog - Destiny 2

[crouchingotter]

So...

 

I've not played Destiny 2 since I walked away from it in October 2017. Today though, I'm in backlog clearning mode and D2 is on my list.

The most difficult obstacle in my way appears to be the Prestige trophy for doing a Grandmaster Nightfall.

 

As a level 1350 light Titan who's not done anything since Curse of Osiris (sorry for bringing that up), what mountain awaits me in terms of XP grinding etc?

Please be aware, I will not be spending any money on the game. I'm not in this for the story or the experience anymore. I'm here to grit my teeth, live with the pain needed to get that trophy for £0.00

 

If I've managed to not completely alienate any genuine Destiny fans, can you give me any advise other than "don't bother", please?

 

 

Edited March 1, 2022 by crouchingotter

[Mako]

the best advice here really is don't bother or wait til later this year when witch queen is added to the collection DLC on sale and get that for access to most things.
You're at a decent disadvantage due to a good amount of powerful and pinnacle drops being tied to the latest expansion and season, you won't be able to attempt any expansion nightfalls.

You will want to get to 1500 by getting random drops, then 1550 through powerful drops and 1560 through pinnacle drops, preferably powerful first and then pinnacles when you're out of powerful or all your gear is nearly the same level. this video goes into a more detail about light leveling https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIRyVrFl01A
if you don't have 3 characters, you will want to make them and make them as separate classes because you cannot get drops for the same class on different characters

 

I believe Vault of Glass is currently giving powerful and pinnacle rewards but possibly won't once the new expansion's raid is out.

 

There's artifact levels that will boost your total power level, which you will gain by just playing, doing bounties and seasonal challenges.

The total power level you need to have is i believe 1545, so you can have 1530 gear and 15 artifact levels at a minimum though I'm not certain on that.

You'll have to look around and see what all you can build in the current season, and what people are using for GMs when they open on April 4th? (i think) and hope bungie doesn't nerf it in that time I think the strikes you can do this season are Fallen SABER and The Arms Dealer

The vendors Banshee (gunsmith) and Ada (person farthest left on the tower map) sell weapon and armor mods, you'll want to buy all of these that you can as they're a daily rotation and could be the reason you can or cannot make some builds
 

You have 3 months from the beginning of each season to do the leveling, before power cap raises and you will need to level again.

[go123ty]

The GM power level this season is 1600, and you need to be at least 25 power below in order to do them, so you actually will need to grind out to 1575. 

 

The power levels this season are soft cap at 1500, hard cap at 1550, and pinnacle cap at 1560. So either you'll have to reach pinnacle cap with a +15 artifact bonus, or lower power level with higher bonus. 

 

Doing the power leveling method each week will get you ready for GMs this season no doubt. It's also really your only guaranteed method since you'll have significantly less sources for powerful and pinnacle gear, and xp, without buying any of the three newest pieces of DLC (30th Anniversary, Witch Queen Expansion, Season of the Risen season pass). 

 

Worst case scenario, each season the power cap only goes up by 10. So if you don't feel like committing to all of it within this season, just get to the pinnacle cap or as close as possible this season, and go for GM next season, since you'll have a smaller grind with a lot more time to get it done. 

[crouchingotter]

Thanks both. Sounds like it's going to be quite the effort then but probably best done sooner than later in order to not have the light level get any futher away from where I am at the moment.

 

 

[Pottercito_]

I have one similar question, my time is limited fue to work, university, trainings and home stuff. Is it worth it this season? What if I end up in May with no reaching the cap lrvel, all the work done will be lost for next season? Thanks in advance

[RangyRV]

33 minutes ago, Pottercito_ said:

I have one similar question, my time is limited fue to work, university, trainings and home stuff. Is it worth it this season? What if I end up in May with no reaching the cap lrvel, all the work done will be lost for next season? Thanks in advance

If you re talking about the level required for GM, then yes, you must reach it within one season. When the next season starts the artefact level is reseted.

[Pottercito_]

43 minutes ago, RangyRV said:

If you re talking about the level required for GM, then yes, you must reach it within one season. When the next season starts the artefact level is reseted.

All time and progress to level up will be lost? Or just one portion?

[ph0nix123]

19 minutes ago, Pottercito_ said:

All time and progress to level up will be lost? Or just one portion?

 

You will keep any level associated with your gear, but the power bonus provided from the artifact will be reset. For instance I am currently at 1550 power score plus bonus 11 from the season artifact. The GM requirement this season is 1600 power, usually you must be within 25 power to even enter the GM nightfall. So I would need to be minimum 1575 power to do the nightfall.

 

The maximum gear score is 1560 this season so the rest must be made up from the power bonus. At the start of next season I would lose any power bonus and my power level would just be 1550 from my gear.

 

Additionally next season the maximum gear power score will increase and so will the power level to do the GM nightfall.

[wackt1]

Oh boy, you're going to be at a decent disadvantage if you don't buy the expansion. I do enjoy the game quite a lot and don't mind paying for it. It do be quite an expensive game. Getting to the light level for grandmasters nightfall will be quite difficult due to being restricted with the activities, I think the ones you can do with the FTP version are; Vault of glass, PVP stuff, strikes playlist/vanguard playlist, Gambit, and certain bounties. it's going to be difficult to say the least

[Pottercito_]

On 8/3/2022 at 8:04 PM, wackt1 said:

Oh boy, you're going to be at a decent disadvantage if you don't buy the expansion. I do enjoy the game quite a lot and don't mind paying for it. It do be quite an expensive game. Getting to the light level for grandmasters nightfall will be quite difficult due to being restricted with the activities, I think the ones you can do with the FTP version are; Vault of glass, PVP stuff, strikes playlist/vanguard playlist, Gambit, and certain bounties. it's going to be difficult to say the least

Difficult or mostly time consuming?

[go123ty]

Just time consuming. Even more time consuming for those without either of current expansion stuff because your sources for guaranteed better level gear are slashed by a good amount (you'll have only 3 sources for pinnacle gear a week, as opposed to at least 8, I don't remember all the pinnacle activities off the top of my head). 

 

So with your 3 guaranteed pinnacle items (per character) a week, you need to hope they drop on items that will bring your gear score up. Because of this I'd highly suggest starting the grind now, so that if it takes you till next season, it's an insanely smaller grind. 

 

There's also seasonal challenges that drop every week through the season that give a lot of xp but I'm not sure if you need the season pass to do them. If not, you're limited to which ones you can do, and you're also slightly limited without buying the main expansion (example, this week one of the challenges is to do the new raid, which you can only do if you have the Witch Queen). 

 

 

[MrFudge]

By my reckoning it’s not nearly as bad as most seem to think, provided you know what you’re doing. It’s a grind for sure, but 3 months is easily more than enough time. 
 

Getting to 1500 is easy and quick. 1500-1550 will require some effort. Your ability to go from 1550-1560 will be limited as a F2P player but it doesn’t actually matter that much. 
 

I believe the weekly F2P Pinnacle sources currently include:

1. Vanguard Ops Playlist

2. Nightfall 100k score 

3. Gambit matches

4. Crucible matches

5. Dares of Eternity 250k score 

6. Clan engram (just join a massive one) 

 

7. Iron Banner (arrives every 3-4 weeks and offers 4 Pinnacle rewards per character each time) 

 

If you make sure to complete these activities on 3 characters each week you’ll still be able to rack up a fair few levels. 
 

If you can reach 1555 - which is certainly achievable - you’ll need 20 more levels to hit the 1575 necessary to enter GMs.
 

At this point - disregarding Pinnacles - farming XP for the Artifact Power Bonus is all you need to do. There are 2 main sources of XP:

 

1. Seasonal Challenges. You should be able to complete at least half of these as a F2P player. 

2. Farming bounties. Weekly and Daily bounties from vendors will provide the most XP, and can be obtained on each of your three characters. You then have an endless supply of Additional Bounties from your preferred vendor. 
 

For maximum efficiency, this guy posts “Optimized Bounties” almost every single day: https://www.reddit.com/r/DestinyTheGame/comments/takckt/optimized_bounties_for_202239/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf 
 

If you wish to continue with Additional Bounties, the Cosmodrome was the most efficient location the last time I checked. 

 

This grind can be done even quicker if you find a partner who has purchased the Season Pass. This is done by completing a bunch of bounties but not claiming them, then joining the fireteam of said person and travelling to a destination together. At this point the Shared Wisdom XP boost should be active, providing you with more XP if you now claim all of your bounties. 
 

Be sure to equip your Ghost with the Blinding Light mod for 12% more XP and check out a video or two to better understand levelling if necessary. 
 

Downloading the D2 app will greatly help with checking/acquiring bounties, and https://destinyoptimizer.com/ might be of some use to you. 
 

In the event you fail to reach 1575 before the end of the season, you can still hoard tens of bounties on each of your characters, ready to cash them in as soon as the next season starts and thus gaining a large boost to XP instantly. 

 

Edited March 14, 2022 by MrFudge
Removed Trials of Osiris as a F2P Pinnacle source

[wackt1]

On 3/9/2022 at 9:11 PM, Pottercito_ said:

Difficult or mostly time consuming?

time consuming

[Shmeefly]

On 08/03/2022 at 11:05 PM, Pottercito_ said:

I have one similar question, my time is limited fue to work, university, trainings and home stuff. Is it worth it this season? What if I end up in May with no reaching the cap lrvel, all the work done will be lost for next season? Thanks in advance

This season is a good chance to get GM ready, you can play the campaign on legend, completing it will drop 1520 gear, then at 1550 you’ll have to do all pinnacle rewards, the new raid drops a possible of 5 or 6 pinnacles a week I think, if you get the hidden chest and shoot the 3 hidden conflux’s throughout the run, Rhulk wil give double drops, you’ve got time but If your not up to 1520 yet I’d start to get a move on for sure, getting gm ready, completing a collection badge and finishing a triumph seal are all you need to worry about really, though I’ve heard reports that since void 3.0 dropped, people are not able to pop the subclass trophy, don’t know the full details there but if you don’t have the subclass trophies yet I’d investigate before starting 

[Pottercito_]

15 hours ago, Shmeefly said:

This season is a good chance to get GM ready, you can play the campaign on legend, completing it will drop 1520 gear, then at 1550 you’ll have to do all pinnacle rewards, the new raid drops a possible of 5 or 6 pinnacles a week I think, if you get the hidden chest and shoot the 3 hidden conflux’s throughout the run, Rhulk wil give double drops, you’ve got time but If your not up to 1520 yet I’d start to get a move on for sure, getting gm ready, completing a collection badge and finishing a triumph seal are all you need to worry about really, though I’ve heard reports that since void 3.0 dropped, people are not able to pop the subclass trophy, don’t know the full details there but if you don’t have the subclass trophies yet I’d investigate before starting 

I am currently at level 1533 gear + 11 bonus = 1544. However, I do not own the DLC but I am completing all weelly challenges. Any possibility? Maybe I can get my artefact at +20 ***at most, in the best scenario***

[Shmeefly]

3 hours ago, Pottercito_ said:

I am currently at level 1533 gear + 11 bonus = 1544. However, I do not own the DLC but I am completing all weelly challenges. Any possibility? Maybe I can get my artefact at +20 ***at most, in the best scenario***

It’s definitely doable sure, your just going to have to start grinding it hard, by the time you reach a gear score of 1550, only pinnacles will level you, and the time it takes to get those last 10 levels if you don’t have Witch Queen is going to seem like an age, but it’s going to be just as crazy a grind going for a +25 artifact, you’d better start bounty farming like  a mofo, wait until your on with clan members to hand them all in for max xp rewards.

 

Getting gm ready is no joke, it’s an online mmo and the gm is end game content, you will have to work for it sure, but for every dlc you don’t own it’s slowing you down, locking you out of pinnacles each week, and essentially the new raid offering the best loot, up to 5-6 pinnacles your missing out big time, good luck tho, hope your pinnacle drops are kind to you each week, but regardless your going to want to start playing a lot 

Edited April 12, 2022 by Shmeefly

[Pottercito_]

4 hours ago, Shmeefly said:

It’s definitely doable sure, your just going to have to start grinding it hard, by the time you reach a gear score of 1550, only pinnacles will level you, and the time it takes to get those last 10 levels if you don’t have Witch Queen is going to seem like an age, but it’s going to be just as crazy a grind going for a +25 artifact, you’d better start bounty farming like  a mofo, wait until your on with clan members to hand them all in for max xp rewards.

 

Getting gm ready is no joke, it’s an online mmo and the gm is end game content, you will have to work for it sure, but for every dlc you don’t own it’s slowing you down, locking you out of pinnacles each week, and essentially the new raid offering the best loot, up to 5-6 pinnacles your missing out big time, good luck tho, hope your pinnacle drops are kind to you each week, but regardless your going to want to start playing a lot 

I am doing bounties for each vendor almost all the days, but I can not afford all the days, my time is very limited, thats why I have no DLC, lets see if I can. I hope the level cao next season remains prerry close,maybe 1590 so I can do it next season

[shawn-norris]

Even if the power level remains close, the issue is the artifact levels reset after every season.  If you don't make it to 1575, your gear levels I believe will stay the same, but the power caps of everything will be increased, and you'll have to grind out your artifact again to make up for the extra levels needed after the hard cap.

[Shmeefly]

@Pottercito_ just checked your trophies and if your planning on 100%, I’d just like to add, you should prioritise 3 things while your playing, alongside levelling for the gm, you should get the destiny app, you can find fireteams on there for raids etc, your going to need to do a collection badge, and most are unobtainable now, the best one to go for is the last wish raid collection, and you should visit xur every week to purchase all exotics you need, and do his Xenology quest for cyphers to buy the 3 exotic vault weapons in the Osiris and Warmind collection badge, if you don’t have any luck with 1k voices by the time you get those Osiris, it’s a good one to go for on the side, as for the triumph seal, go for dredgen it’s the easiest, you may find gambit boring by the time you’ve done that tho lol

The rest will come naturally going for those 3 trophies so good luck, I got my 1k last night and did the gm this morning, I can happily wash my hands of this now lol

[Pottercito_]

9 hours ago, Shmeefly said:

@Pottercito_ just checked your trophies and if your planning on 100%, I’d just like to add, you should prioritise 3 things while your playing, alongside levelling for the gm, you should get the destiny app, you can find fireteams on there for raids etc, your going to need to do a collection badge, and most are unobtainable now, the best one to go for is the last wish raid collection, and you should visit xur every week to purchase all exotics you need, and do his Xenology quest for cyphers to buy the 3 exotic vault weapons in the Osiris and Warmind collection badge, if you don’t have any luck with 1k voices by the time you get those Osiris, it’s a good one to go for on the side, as for the triumph seal, go for dredgen it’s the easiest, you may find gambit boring by the time you’ve done that tho lol

The rest will come naturally going for those 3 trophies so good luck, I got my 1k last night and did the gm this morning, I can happily wash my hands of this now lol

What about the collection of Red War? I am thinking in doing it since I have 10/29 unlocked in my Titan

Or is it unobtainable?

[DawningWolf55]

1 hour ago, Pottercito_ said:

What about the collection of Red War? I am thinking in doing it since I have 10/29 unlocked in my Titan

Or is it unobtainable?

Pretty much majority of Red War stuff is unobtainable unless you find it as a random drop or Xur is selling it as his weekly armor. Planets and other things have been removed from the game so if you didn't get them, then it may have been too late.

[Shmeefly]

@Pottercito_ if that’s the one with the 4 armour sets then you’ll have to go to that guy in the church on the edz, and failsafe on nessus, if both of those npcs are selling 2 of the sets then it’s still obtainable, you’ll have to reach lv11 with each if I remember to buy them, xur sells the other 2 sets, I was only missing the Gensym Knight set myself, but that’s why I recommend the last wish raid one, because everything else is basically only doable waiting on xur, and with the raid, you only have to get 1 exotic 

[JohzyDeMartin]

Just to add a bit more info to this topic, I'm a F2P Guardian and have now completed the GM NF and my Plat this season. In all, it took me 6 weeks and change to reach 1557 with +18 bonus to hit the 1575 requirement to enter a GM. 

Also so that new guardians are aware even tho it says "recommended level 1600", all GM NF are capped at 1575 so that's the highest level you need to reach.

 

A few comments up @MrFudge gave in great detail a roadmap to maximize your Pinnacle level grind as a F2P Guardian. To his points, I'll add that at the beginning of every week you get an XP buff called "Well Rested", you can view it by your weapons on the load-out screen. This buff gives double XP for the next 5 seasonal levels for the week. Redeeming a few seasonal challenges will give you a major XP bump with this buff.

Next, Season Pass Guardians get XP buffs as they move up through season levels, F2P Guardians can take somewhat take advantage of this perk by joining a said Season Pass Guardian and redeeming your bounties once in the fireteam. The buff you are looking for is called "Shared Wisdom" and it tops out at a +10%XP, you must be inside an activity or world to see it and kick on. Above that, you get a +2%XP bonus for redeeming your bounties while in any fireteam.

 

If at this point you are shying away from this possible grind since you play solo then stick around bc all you have to do is download the official Destiny 2 App and there is a place to look for games (LFG). Doing Dares of Eternity Legend or the first 3 chests in Vault of Glass takes no coordination/ no mic needed and you profit 2 Powerful and 1 Pinnacle item per character weekly. Plus most of the Guardians you will pair with for these 2 activities will give you the "Shared Wisdom" buff so you can easily redeem all your weekly bounties then!

 

It might be a lot to keep track of and do but as you do it weekly you will get into a flow and rhythm and be more effective at it. I know there are D2 apps and websites that keep track of your weekly activities but personally, since being a F2P Guardian, I just made my own google sheet of the stuff I could do for the week. I'll link it below, feel free to download it/add it to your own drive if you feel it can help you on your grind for the Plat!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1g6CiHgMhDtvG88jnym97NMPnJnEMCciaW61abV2WNLs/edit?usp=sharing