This week, Bungie gave Destiny 2 players their first look at Season of Dawn, the next chapter of the ongoing saga for Year 3. Specifically, the studio focused on the new Sundial activity, which will see players battling through time to face a variety of enemies.
However, a lot of the conversation around the Season of Dawn reveal stream focused on what wasn’t said. And one of the biggest questions that players had after the stream was whether or not Destiny 2 Season 9 would raise the power level cap in the game.
It took some time for Bungie to respond but the studio did confirm that the power level cap will increase with the release of Season of Dawn. How much it may increase is left to speculation, though, and will likely be addressed in tomorrow’s Bungie update blog post.
For the Season of Dawn stream, the Guardians on display were all at power level 960, which is the current Pinnacle Power Level cap. Players can increase their power level beyond this threshold, but only by leveling up their Artifact and that increase only lasts for the given season. So, while many Destiny 2 players may be upwards of 980 power level right now – one player is over power level 999 – they will drop down to their base power level at the start of Season of Dawn.
This leaves Destiny 2 players to ponder two questions in the meantime: how much will the power level increase and will there be a pinnacle increase as well? In the past, Bungie has increased the power level for mid-year seasons by 50 and it seems likely that would be the pattern again. Season of the Dawn could raise the power level to 1,000 and those who hit 960 would have a head start.
For Pinnacle power, it stands to reason that the power level drops will cap out at 1,010 if 1,000 is the base cap. It’s unclear what type of pinnacle activities Bungie will add with Season of Dawn, but the developers did say that the hard mode for the Sundial activity will require a pre-made fireteam.
Depending on the challenge, it’s very possible that this activity will reward pinnacle power level gear. There are also the existing pinnacle power level sources like the Garden of Salvation raid and Master Nightmare Hunts.
At the very least, Destiny 2 players can rest easy knowing that they will have a higher power level to chase when Season of Dawn starts. How long that investment will take this time around compared to Shadowkeep and Season of Undying is unclear, but Bungie will have more to say tomorrow.
Destiny 2: Season of Dawn starts on December 10, 2019 for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.