How to break through the Destiny soft level cap

With just over a month to wait until the full official version of Destiny is released to awaiting fans everywhere, we reveal the game’s soft level cap and how to get over it! In the alpha and beta Destiny games players were only able to work their way up to a mere level 8, resulting in many of the weapons and armour on show being obtainable but unusable. The frustration felt by players ranged from Titans to Warlocks and Exo to Awoken, but none could overcome the level 8 boundary. However the same does not have to occur once Destiny lands in September. Firstly, the level cap is higher than a poor level 8. Secondly, there are more ways to develop your Guardian than just focusing on their core level. But that doesn’t mean to say that Destiny Guardians will be able to conquer the universe just yet.

 Bungie and Activision have planned for Destiny players to be capped at level 20 in the game’s official release, which has caused some controversy. Considering the expansive nature of the game, both revealed in the beta trial and through the news and announcements made to the gaming community, capping players’ growth at level 20 seems to be terribly weak. There is said to be so much for players to do and experience in the Destiny universe, it begs the question of whether Guardians will really be up to the challenge if they can only reach level 20. Having already heard of level 25 raids, the apparent block at level 20 is suspected to restrict players and give them an unfair disadvantage against the game itself. Not only that, but if players can only aspire to level 20 the Destiny universe provides far too many potential opportunities for development and will leave Destiny fans frustrated that they can’t reap the rewards for their efforts. 20 levels simply are not enough for avid gamers looking forward to the Destiny launch.

Nevertheless, Bungie have created a compromise to meet the criticism received about restricting players to such a low level. Once you reach level 20 with your Destiny Guardian, by the traditional means of collecting experience points, the points will convert to Motes of Light instead of conventional xp. Although the Motes of Light cannot boost your core stats, they can be used to boost your gear instead. By visiting the Speaker character in The Tower on Destiny’s planet earth, you will be able to use the Motes of Light to create armour. What previously felt barricaded can now be accessed by crafting and improving your armour. Your Guardian’s menu will still display level 20, but the enhanced armour will boost the Guardian’s stats for your benefit. Thus far, we have only known the best special armour to be level 29, but there is definitely potential for it to be higher.

The weapons enhanced by Motes of Light will also bare a light statistic, but in true Bungie style not everything has been revealed at this stage. The relevance of light statistics is something that Destiny fans will have to guess at until the official Destiny release date next month. What Bungie have commented on however is the fact that upon reaching level 20 Destiny players will be able to attempt any activity they stumble across in the Destiny universe. At such a stage you should have access to a wide range of high level weapons, abilities and gear that enable you to power through the most treacherous of missions, providing you know how to use it all. This reassurance must come as a relief to Destiny fans worried about the expansive universe being too much; no one wants to buy a game they can only half complete. However some content is indeed reserved for Guardians of higher levels, such as raids, which leads to some disjointed expectations for Destiny fans. Just how will the soft level cap and breaking through it affect Destiny gameplay? There seems to be only one way to know for sure…

Destiny lands on PlayStation and Xbox consoles on release date September 9th.

What do you think of the level 20 soft cap in Destiny? Will it be enough? Let us know in the comments below!

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