Although it will likely be a few days before the majority of players are ready for the Destiny 2 endgame, some players have already neared that threshold. Once the endgame is in sight it’s usually time for Nightfall Strikes, which are some of the game's most challenging content.

Nightfall Time Limit

For those curious about how Destiny 2 Nightfall Strikes work, there are two key pieces of information to know. One is that the Nightfall Strike is timed – fireteams have 11 minutes to complete the entire strike, or else they are kicked to orbit and forced to start again.

The caveat to the Nightfall Strike limit is that players can add time by killing enemies within the strike. Basic enemies will reward 2 seconds back onto the clock, while more challenging foes are worth more time.

As a result, the days of flying through a Nightfall Strike and avoiding the “adds” are gone. The fireteam will need to focus on taking out each and every enemy in the Nightfall Strike or they will no doubt run out of time.

The second key point of knowledge for the Nightfall Strike is its two iterations. Like many pieces of Destiny content, the Nightfall Strike is available in two difficulties: normal and prestige. The normal Nightfall Strike carries a recommended power level of 240, which should be relatively easy for players to hit. But the prestige version is likely much more difficult, and has a recommended power level of 300.

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While the recommended power level for the Destiny 2 Nightfall Strike is 240, we highly recommend players get as leveled up as they can before attempting the experience. The stronger a player is the more damage they are going to do to enemies, and the faster they will be able to add more time to the ticking clock. Conversely, higher power level players can sustain more damage than lower power level players, which means they can survive longer during the challenging battles.

The other reason we recommend waiting as long as possible to attempt the Nightfall Strike is because the rewards are one of the key ways to reach the Destiny 2 power level cap. All other sources of rewards have various caps on what power level they can offer – faction engrams, for example, cap out at power level 265 – but the Nightfall Strike rewards and the Luminous Vanguard Engrams that come from completing the activity every week can go as high as the Destiny 2 level cap.

So if you want to reach as close to the Destiny 2 power level cap and be ready for the launch of the first raid next Wednesday, we would highly recommend holding off on the strike for as long as possible. And most importantly, once you do take the plunge into the Nightfall Strike, make sure to keep an eye on the clock.

Destiny 2 is available now for PS4 and Xbox One, and releases October 24 for PC.