One of the biggest changes made to Destiny 2 in The Edge of Fate expansion is the introduction of loot tiers. Weapons and armor come in five tiers, with higher tiers providing better stats, and Tier 5 even having unique cosmetic treatment.
Similar to Adept weapons and Artifice armor prior to the expansion, Tier 5 is the ultimate goal in this grind. However, while getting Adepts and Artifice gear was fairly straightforward, getting Tier 5 gear is an extremely long-term commitment.
Here’s everything you need to know about how to get higher-tier gear in Destiny 2.
How to get Tier 5 weapons and armor in Destiny 2
Getting higher-tier gear in Destiny 2 is tied directly to the Power grind, except for the Desert Perpetual raid. The higher your Power level, the better the loot. Tier 5 drops appear closer to 400 Power, which is a substantial grind you won’t be able to achieve overnight.
To get Tier 5 drops consistently, you need to be closer to 500 Power, but there are a few things you can do to get additional higher-tier drops throughout leveling.
Play activities in the Portal
As you increase your Power, the reward packages in the Portal will get better. Play activities with enough modifiers to get you to the A rank reward package, and eventually, you’ll start getting higher-tier gear. Some of the fastest activities to grind are Caldera and K1 Logistics Solo Ops, but you can also target activities with Bonus Drops.
You may also get occasional Prime drops as a completion reward. Those are rare drops of a higher tier and Power than your usual loot. Tier 5 gear will first appear in the Portal at 400+ Power as Prime drops. As you climb higher, you’ll be able to get Tier 5 drops from your main Reward Package.
Complete Conquests
Conquests replaced Grandmaster Nightfalls in The Edge of Fate. You can still play on Grandmaster difficulty in the Portal, but the Conqueror title can now only be progressed via Conquests. There are 12 Conquests across three difficulties (Expert, Master, Grandmaster, and Ultimate), and you can find them in the Seasonal Hub.
Depending on the difficulty, you can get Tier 3, Tier 4, and Tier 5 rewards with a significant Power boost by completing the respective Conquest. The main downside is that Conquests are a one-time activity. Unlike Grandmaster Nightfalls, you can only complete each Conquest once per season.
All Conquests have the Avant-Garde modifier, which means you must use new or featured gear (gear with a teal icon) in your loadout.
Complete weekly campaign missions
Every week, you can complete two The Edge of Fate campaign missions on either Fabled or Mythic difficulty for bonus loot. The first weekly completion of each mission awards a Tier 3 drop on Fabled difficulty and a Tier 4 drop on Mythic, which you can increase by purchasing upgrades.
To get Tier 5 drops from these missions, reach 350 Power and get the Kepler Tier Upgrade: +1 from Altar of Relativity. With the upgrade, completing a weekly mission for the first time each week on Mythic difficulty guarantees a Tier 5 drop.
Before heading into the weekly mission, attune to the gear piece you want at the Altar of Relativity on Kepler. The last thing you need is a machine gun when you’re missing a better pair of leg armor for your new build.
Purchase upgrades on Kepler
At the Altar of Relativity, you can purchase the aforementioned upgrades that improve destination loot. Reaching 350 Power unlocks the Kepler Tier Upgrade: +1, and then reaching 450 Power unlocks the Kepler Tier Upgrade: +2. These upgrades increase the Tier of all Kepler rewards, including world drops, weekly mission rewards, and The Sieve activity rewards.
Play Desert Perpetual raid with Feats
The Desert Perpetual raid is the only exception when it comes to grinding Power for Tier 5 gear. There’s a chance to get a Tier 5 drop for completing a raid encounter, but to increase it, you need to add Feats (raid-specific modifiers) when starting your run, with five Feats guaranteeing Tier 5 loot. There are also two weekly challenges that guarantee a Tier 5 drop when completing them with three or more Feats.
Tier 5 gear benefits in Destiny 2
Higher Tier gear comes with slightly improved stats and, in the case of Tier 5 weapons, also with a unique cosmetic treatment. While Tier 5 gear is better stat-wise, don’t be pressured into farming it, as the difference isn’t nearly as decisive as you might think.
Weapons
Here are the Tier benefits for weapons (higher Tiers include all the previous benefits):
- Tier 1: Base weapon.
- Tier 2: Enhanced perks in the third and fourth columns.
- Tier 3: Two perks in the third and fourth columns.
- Tier 4: Enhanced mods, magazine, and barrel.
- Tier 5: Three perks in the third and fourth columns. A unique ornament and kill effect.
Regardless of the tier, the most important aspect of any weapon is its perks. A Tier 3 god roll is always better than a Tier 5 with mediocre perks, especially since you will be able to upgrade the weapon tiers in Renegades.
Armor
Here are the tier benefits for armor:
- Tier 1: 52-57 stat points.
- Tier 2: 58-63 stat points.
- Tier 3: 64-69 stat points.
- Tier 4: 70-75 stat points, 11 Energy.
- Tier 5: 75 stat points, stat tuning.
On the other hand, having Tier 5 armor allows you to maximize stats on any given build. Apart from guaranteeing maximum stat points, a Tier 5 armor piece also comes with a tuning socket. Tuning allows you to increase a pre-determined stat by five points at the cost of another stat of your choice.
Generally, aim to get high stat Tier 4 pieces (73+), as those come with 11 Energy rather than 10, allowing you to squeeze more mods. The stats for tuning sockets on Tier 5 pieces are random, and while you can farm for them to maximize loadouts, it’s a whole new time commitment that’s not really worth it.
