Destiny 2 is filled with all manner of mechanics that can make players feel more powerful such as increasing the level to match the power cap which can take time. Others methods, like collecting Orbs of Power, give players an instant boost of power, allowing them to unleash their Super abilities far more often, laying waste to groups of enemies or doing vast amounts of damage in a boss battle.
Updated on March 5, 2022, by Anastasia Maillot: The Season of the Risen has completely changed the way Orbs of Power work in Destiny 2. This has impacted a number of builds across the board, with Charged of Light builds becoming less important in PVE, and Elemental Wells taking over instead. As such, players are likely to see Orbs of Power have a less prominent role in the PVE meta in particular, though some bounties and activities will still require players to create Orbs of Power. So, how does one create Orbs of Power in Destiny 2, following the changes introduced in season 16 and The Witch Queen expansion?
How To Create Orbs Of Power
Following the changes introduced by Bungie with weapon crafting, weapons that have been Masterworked will no longer automatically drop Orbs of Power. Now, Masterworking weapons only moderately increases the perk for which the Masterwork is available.
The main reason for this change is the introduction of the Enclave. Now, players have the power to craft their weapons from scratch and decide the type of perks they have. In return, Bungie has made a decision to stray from the traditional Masterworking path, which now will save players resources as well, as it has become almost useless in most cases.
In order to make Orbs of Power in Season 16 and forward, players will have to equip mods to do so:
- Harmonic Siphon (Helmet mod): Rapid weapon final blows that match the player's subclass will create Orbs of Power. The mod costs 1 energy to slot in.
- Kinetic Siphon (Helmet mod): Rapid Kinetic weapon final blows create Orbs of Power. The mod costs 3 energy to slot in. Kinetic weapons are all weapons found in the primary slot.
- Void Siphon (Helmet mod): Rapid Void weapon final blows create Orbs of Power. The mod costs 3 energy to slot in.
All these mods can be applied multiple times to enhance their effects, but they are only found in the Helmet armor slot. The Harmonic Siphon is the best option due to its low cost but will force players to craft a build around one subclass, which can feel restricting at times. Overall, the cost of being able to create Orbs of Power has gone up, due to how expensive Kinetic Siphon and Void Siphon are as Helmet mods.
On top of this, the traditional way of creating Orbs of Power by casting one's Super still works. Players can't pick up Orbs of Power generated by their own Super, but they should look for other guardians casting their Supers to gather them and help charge their own Super in turn.
How To Use Orbs Of Power
To pick up Orbs of Power players need only walk over them, gaining a small amount of energy for their Super ability. If the Super is already fully charged, Orbs of Power cannot be collected and will remain on the ground.
Certain mods like Become Charged With Light allow players to pick up Orbs of Power even if their Super is fully charged to build up a stack. While Charged With Light, depending on other mods the player might have equipped, the Charge will provide various benefits. Protective Light and High-Energy Fire are two of the best Destiny 2 PvE Charged With Light mods, which goes to show how important Orbs of Power have become in the game.
As of the newest update, Protective Light's damage resistance has been nerfed to 10%, which has made it less than ideal for players looking for mods that increase their sustain in PVE. A better option is the Well of Tenacity Elemental Well mod, which is considered by some the new Protective Light mod equivalent for this season.
- Protective Light: While Charged With Light, players receive a buff to damage resistance when shields are destroyed, which consumes one stack of Charged With Light. More stacks allow the damage resistance to last for longer.
- High-Energy Fire: While Charged With Light, players gain a damage boost while using weapons. One kill consumes one stack of Charged With Light.
There are also mods that benefit from simply picking up Orbs, without Charged With Light. Absolution, Better Already, and Recuperation are some examples of great mods that any PvE player should collect. Though Elemental Well mods are taking over by a storm, a Charged With Light build is technically possible so long as players are ready to invest in Orb creating mods.
- Absolution: Picking up an Orb of Power reduces the cooldown of all abilities.
- Recuperation: Picking up an Orb of Power returns a bit of health to the player.
- Better Already: Picking up an Orb Power begins health regeneration immediately.
- Innervation: Picking up an Orb of Power reduces the cooldown of the player's grenade ability.
Best Activities For Orbs Of Power
Some challenges and quests in Destiny 2 may require players to generate or get a specific number of Orbs of Power. This is an important distinction, as to progress a quest that needs players to generate Orbs of Power, they must create the Orbs themselves. For a quest that requires players to get Orbs of Power, they can pick up Orbs from any source. There are certain activities that players can take part in to finish these tasks quickly.
The best place to generate tons of Orbs of Power is undoubtedly on the Moon, at Sorrow's Harbor where the Altars of Sorrow activity loops endlessly. There are tons of enemies and usually multiple other players around, making the quest easier. New activities like Wellspring on the Throne World for those who have The Witch Queen expansion are also great for loads of Orbs of Power. The seasonal Psi-Ops battleground activity has a final stand where players will also farm their Supers quickly and create tons of Orbs of Power.
The Blind Well at the Dreaming City is also an excellent activity for both generating and getting Orbs of Power. This wave-based activity gives players an easy way to make their own Orbs of Power, and collect Orbs of Power generated by other players. With a full group, it is possible to keep an endless wave of Supers going, as players can collect all the Orbs generated by their fellow Guardians.
Thanks to the 30th-anniversary update, Dares of Eternity is another great place to farm one's Super over and over again, and players won't even need to run a Siphon mod for this. The sheer abundance of enemies and other players alone will help them cast their Super continuously, therefore generating more Orbs of Power.
Destiny 2 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.