Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate made some big changes to how the game's difficulty is selected — while Light level in Destiny 2 is still the main determining factor on how hard things are, players now have a choice on how punishing they want everything to be. There's a lot to unpack about how difficulty works after the expansion went live, and if you want to get the best loot in the game, you need to know how this new system works.
This guide covers how Destiny 2's selective difficulty and World Tiers work, as well as the rewards you can expect from braving tougher challenges across the solar system.
Destiny 2: Light Level and Difficulty
If you're a new player, it's important to know that your Light level (also referred to as your Power level, as seen in the character screen) decides how strong you are relative to your enemies in a mission — this is calculated based on the average level of every piece of gear you have equipped.
The wider the gap between your and your enemies' Light level, the more damage you will take, and the less damage you will deal. Playing any activity in the game should reward you with higher-leveled gear, so make sure to either equip those better items or use them to upgrade your existing ones.
Destiny 2: All Difficulty Levels
There are five different difficulty options in Destiny 2:
- Normal
- Advanced
- Expert
- Master
- Grandmaster
Fireteam Ops missions also have a Training difficulty that's meant for exploration and testing.
The higher the difficulty, the higher the Light level requirement, and the more difficulty modifiers become available. Things will generally hit harder, and special enemies like Champions and units with Banes become more common. Also, the max Light level of players decreases as the difficulty climbs.
Modifiers are the true source of Destiny 2's difficulty. They make the game either easier or harder for you, depending on what they are. Some modifiers that increase difficulty include:
- Multiplicity: Enemies become stronger the more players there are in a team.
- Mythic: Enemies are heavily shielded and very aggressive.
- Galvanized: Enemies have more health and are harder to stun.
The caveat here is that not all game modes have these difficulty options available to them. The ones listed above are for Fireteam Ops/Strikes. Content like raids and dungeons in Destiny 2 only have two difficulty options: Standard and Master.
Players can customize the modifiers available in Portal activities. Using more difficulty modifiers will increase the final rating you can potentially get on your missions. The better your performance, the better the rewards you get.
World Tiers
Players can now adjust the World Tier of specific destinations (mainly Kepler), and doing so will increase the Light level of enemies there, making them harder to beat. If you attempt to fight enemies in a World Tier that's far beyond your means, you will deal absolutely no damage to anything (enemies will be immune to your hits).
There are four World Tiers:
- Brave: Default difficulty.
- Legendary: Doubled rewards, but combatants are tougher and more aggressive. Player Light level is capped at -20 below enemies..
- Fabled: Tripled rewards, but enemies are much harder than before. Player Light level is capped at -30 below enemies.
- Mythic: Enemies are extremely aggressive and significantly harder to beat, but rewards are maxed. Light level is capped at -50 below enemies.
The harder the World Tier, the more rewards you get from completing activities.
Gear Tiers, Explained
Weapons and Armor from The Edge of Fate now fall under a tiering system. High-difficulty activities will reward higher-tier gear that have better base stats, enhanced perks, and access to enhanced mods. As of writing, only weapons and armor with the "New Gear" tag are affected by this tier system.
You can increase the gear tier of Kepler weapons and armor by unlocking the Kepler Gear Tier Upgrades at the Altar of Relativity. To unlock them, you need to reach 350 Light for the first upgrade and 450 Light for the second one.
Destiny 2
- Released
- August 28, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For TEEN for Blood, Language, and Violence
- Developer(s)
- Bungie
- Publisher(s)
- Bungie
- Engine
- Tiger Engine
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S
- Cross Save
- yes
- Expansions
- Destiny 2: Forsaken, Destiny 2: Shadowkeep, Destiny 2: Beyond Light, Destiny 2: The Witch Queen, Destiny 2: Lightfall
- Franchise
- Destiny
- Number of Players
- 1-6 (Co-Op)
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- no
- Genre(s)
- FPS
- Platform(s)
- PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC, Stadia
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- How Long To Beat
- 100+
- X|S Optimized
- YES
- PS Plus Availability
- Essential, Extra, & Premium (The Witch Queen)
