With Destiny 2's Shadowkeep expansion, Bungie raised the soft and hard power level caps so players could chase new powerful rewards in the expansion. All players were boosted to 750 power, meaning everyone was on an even playing field on day one. However, Bungie has just released a new paid item that will allow players to skip the grind and boost their characters up to the soft cap, and it costs $20. While these types of boosts are nothing new, this latest one is particularly shocking since getting to the soft cap has never been easier.

Destiny 2 featured a similar mechanic to this boost when Forsaken launched, as it allowed players to create a new character and immediately get them on-level for Forsaken's content. This boost instead gives players the equipment necessary to jump into the more challenging content that Destiny 2: Shadowkeep has to offer. Perhaps the most perplexing part of the boost is that it can only be used once at least one character on the account is at least 900 power.

RELATED: How to Complete Destiny 2's Season 8 Iron Banner Quest

What makes it so surprising is that if players have a character that is 900 power or higher, there is an incredibly easy way to boost alternate characters using the collections system and existing gear. Players can transfer over their Destiny 2 pinnacle power rewards to their alternate accounts, specifically weapons, and use collections to pull blue rarity armor out of the collection repeatedly to rapidly jump in power. In a matter of minutes, a 750 power character can be 900 if the weapons were high enough power level. Players can also redeem the season pass legendary armor pieces for an additional increase when the blue armor boost begins to dwindle.

Destiny is all about chasing powerful rewards and skipping the grind to 900 defeats the purpose of being 750 to begin with. Players are supposed to enjoy other activities like strikes, crucible, gambit, and other things to get to 900, which only takes an hour or two. Granted, it seems this microtransaction is meant to be a time-saver more than anything, as getting to 900 this way gives players no major bonus compared to players who earned up to 900 the regular way. This is simply meant to let players start chasing Tier 1 and Tier 2 powerful rewards on their alternate characters quicker.

destiny 2 shadowkeep 900 power level boost microtransaction

The wording on the power surge item seems to hint that this will be a recurring feature in coming seasons, assuming Bungie keeps boosting the power cap with every subsequent season. While the tiered power grind is one of the many things Destiny 2 got right in Shadowkeep, some players are viewing this as a disservice to the game and the power grind. Only time will tell if this power surge mechanic will stay in place, or if Bungie will do away with it and give boosts to players every season like they did with Shadowkeep.

Destiny 2 is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One:

MORE: The Best Garden of Salvation Weapon Rolls in Destiny 2