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.
Similarly 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 easy, 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 higher-tier gear in Destiny 2
Getting higher-tier gear in Destiny 2 is tied directly to the Power grind. The higher your Power level, the better the loot. Tier 4 and Tier 5 drops appear closer to 400 Power, which is a substantial grind you won’t be able to achieve overnight.
It seems that the consistent source of Tier 5 gear will be the Ultimate difficulty in the Portal at 500 Power. Ultimate difficulty, alongside the Power cap increase, comes out with the Ash & Iron update on Sept. 9. There are a few things you can do to get additional higher-tier drops in the game, though, including Tier 5.
Play activities in the Portal
As you increase your Power, the reward packages in the Portal will get better. Simply 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 feel free to play whatever you like.
Throughout the activities, you may also occasionally get Prime engrams. Those are rare drops of a higher tier and Power than your usual loot.
Increase your Guardian Rank
In The Edge of Fate, Guardian Ranks received a rework and now define the quality of random drops in Portal activities. While we don’t know for sure what the Guardian Rank thresholds are for better loot, Bungie confirmed that mid-activity rewards are based on the Guardian Rank and seasonal Power.
Guardian Rank objectives have also been revamped. You no longer need to solo dungeons or do Master difficulty raids to reach the highest rank. Instead, it’s all about increasing Power, completing activities in the Portal with specific modifiers, and progressing through the season.
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 six Conquests across three difficulties (Expert, Master, and Grandmaster) as of the expansion’s launch, and you can find them in the Seasonal Hub.
Depending on the difficulty, you can get Tier 3, Tier 4, and Tier 5 rewards 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.
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.
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 legs for your new build.
Purchase upgrades on Kepler
At the Altar of Relativity, you can purchase 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, allowing you to get higher-tier loot from Kepler activities, including weekly missions and The Sieve.
