If there's one thing that is true about Destiny 2 players, it is that they will find a way to level up as quickly as possible and with as little work as possible. Fortunately for them, the new Season of Arrivals has provided just that. A new bug allowing players to level all the way up to the Power cap combined with a tried-and-true AFK farming method has allowed players to cap out their level just days into the new season.
The new level cap for Destiny 2 in Season of Arrivals has shifted to a 1000 soft cap allowing players to level using just Blues or Rare gear, a 1050 Power level cap that players need Powerful Rewards to progress to, and finally a 1060 hard cap that can only be reached with Pinnacle sources.
This new bug/farming method combo has allowed players to jump quickly to the 1050 Power level cap, leaving only Pinnacle rewards for the rest of the climb this season; although, one of those Pinnacle reward sources, Trials of Osiris, has been disabled this weekend due to a major bug that is not allowing Flawless teams access to the Lighthouse to collect their loot.
But as for the method players are using to boost to 1050, it really is nothing new to Destiny 2. The AFK Forge farming method, as it is called, is once again viable in Season of Arrivals. Players are able to drop their level, stay AFK in Forges, and run them indefinitely while filling up on Umbral Engrams and the Altered Element needed to focus them into Armor-Focused Umbral Engrams and take advantage of the bug that frequently drops armor four levels above players' current max.
Bungie has yet to comment on this leveling farm, and it is unknown if and when Bungie may patch the exploit out of the game. However, based on the past, Bungie has not touched Forges in any way to disallow material farming using this method. There may be more going on behind the scenes where cutting off this method could somehow negatively affect the game in a much more serious way.
This exploit in Season of Arrivals feels a little more serious than normal, however, because it is allowing players to boost their Power level, not just farm a seasonal or special event currency. But, considering the fact that this is a known exploit that has gone unpatched for months, it is possible that Bungie could head off the problem with the Umbral Engram bug and leave the Forge farming alone.
Destiny 2 is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.