Now that Destiny 2: Beyond Light is out, there are a few things you’ll want to know before you hop in and start playing. Most of them are related to the above-average challenge that the new content poses.
Level Up Before You Play Beyond Light’s Campaign
The story campaign in Beyond Light is somewhat tougher than those in the most recent expansions. After the first mission which the game dumps returning players into, you will want to grab some better gear. To avoid frustration, you will want to hit a power level of at least 1100 before trying to tackle the story missions. Those looking for a relaxing casual game of Destiny will want to keep leveling until they hit this season’s soft cap of 1200.
Everyone Can Play the New Player Experience
One way to get a few pieces of higher-level gear is to play through the new player experience, called The New Light, that was added for Beyond Light. While some of the tutorials in The New Light will be old news to a lot of returning players, the experience is a fairly quick and is a fun way to re-experience the Cosmodrome zone from the first Destiny. Most can expect to come out of The New Light around 1100 power level too, which makes it an ideal lead into the rest of the new content in Beyond Light.
There are New Kiosks in the Tower
First-time players of Destiny 2 will be automatically funneled into The New Light experience but returning players need to turn it on. This can be accomplished at the Quest Archive, one of the two new kiosks added to the Tower social space in Beyond Light. The Quest Archive is located next to the Postmaster kiosk in the tower and is the place to go for reclaiming any older, abandoned quests you might have. The Monument to Lost Lights Exotic Archive is the other new kiosk in the Tower. It is located amongst the player vaults and contains a selection of no longer available gear from past Destiny 2 content.
Vendors Now Drop Low-Level Gear
In past Destiny 2 expansions, you could get a jump on leveling their characters by cashing in a bunch of currency with various vendors in exchange for loot. In Beyond Light, vendors now drop gear at 1050 power level or 20 minus the player’s current maximum level, whichever is higher. Given that most of the vendor gear in Destiny 2 tends to drop with not very good stats or perks. the only real reason to buy from vendors now is for the fashion.
New Exotics Need to Be Unlocked in Beyond Light
Any players that have been closely following the announcements about the new Exotic gear being added in Beyond Light will want to hold off on decrypting their gold engrams. In some past Destiny 2 expansions, the new exotic gear went directly into the random pool for open-world drops. In Beyond Light though, they need to be unlocked. To unlock the gear, you will need to complete a special instance of a Lost Sector with a recommended 1280 power level. Overcoming this challenge will reward you with one of the new Exotic items and make it available from random drops.
Overall, Beyond Light is one of the more challenging expansions to Destiny 2 but it also happens to be one of the more rewarding expansions too. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you if you jump right into that campaign.
