Last Updated on October 17, 2022
With every new expansion pack also comes a new way to farm XP (experience points) in Destiny 2. The ways to gain XP come in all shapes and forms, but let’s discuss each of them as well as how efficient and effective a method is.
If you didn’t know by now, XP farming in Destiny 2 used to be repetitive, boring, and stale. But upon hearing the complaints of players and cries of the community (looking at you, bounties), Destiny 2 devas Bungie finally listened and introduced Seasonal challenges which will be one of the methods of XP farming that we’ll get to later.
Seasonal challenges aren’t anything new though. With the introduction of The Witch Queen expansion pack, there are also numerous new missions and challenges that you can partake in to get that sweet XP.
With that being said, let’s start by discussing first why XP is such an important resource to farm and grind in Destiny 2, shall we?
Why you need to farm XP in Destiny 2
The need for XP or experience points in Destiny 2 is primarily for two important things:
- To make your guardian stronger by upgrading your Seasonal Artifacts for Mods and Power Levels
- And for unlocking rewards from the Season Pass
Although XP in Destiny 2 doesn’t have a direct effect on your guardian from the get-go, you’ll need them for the reasons listed above. These rewards and artifacts are what will make your guardian stronger with new items, gear, and more.
But what’s a season pass and a seasonal artifact, you ask? Let me explain that as well.
Season Pass Rewards
The Season Pass in Destiny 2 functions in the same way as it does in any other online shooter. Think of the Season Pass as a “battle pass” equivalent of other games and shooters.
Destiny 2’s season pass includes two tracks: a free track and a track exclusive to Season Pass holders, each with hundreds of levels to unlock. Although the premium track has more rewards, it’s crucial to note that the best rewards are found on the free track. The new Exotic weapon, Legendary weapons, Exotic cipher, and more are all included in the free track which is surprising for a free-to-play game like Destiny 2.
Speaking of levels, the target level you’d want to aim for when leveling the free track season pass is level 125. With a level 125 season pass, you’ll gain access to Grandmaster Nightfall difficulty in the seasonal challenges. We’ll get into this in the Seasonal Challenges section of the article.
Even if you don’t buy the Season Pass for the premium rewards, you’ll still want to grind XP and earn all of the goodies available on the free track. Who would want to pass on free legendries and exotics anyway?
Season Artifact and Mods
In Destiny 2, the seasonal Artifact plays a crucial role in making you stronger. It not only gives you more Power Levels but it also comes with many Seasonal Mods that enhance your already powerful gear.
Speaking of Power Level, they truly shine in endgame content and will aid you in your quest to reach Max Power Level. Seasonal Modifications, on the other hand, are a requirement to clear most of the game without any hiccups. On top of highly powerful mods, these contain the Anti-barrier, Overload, and Unstoppable mods required to deal with Champions.
In a nutshell, XP is crucial in preparing you for the game’s most tough endgame content such as solo Master Lost Sectors and more. Furthermore, exotics, legendary weapons, and bonus power levels are always a pleasure to see especially for F2P players. XP may not contribute directly to your guardian’s strengths and improvement, but the rewards that come with it surely do.
How XP Farm in Destiny 2
Now that we’ve run through the vital reasons why you would want to XP farm in Destiny 2, let’s actually talk about some methods and ways you can grind for it.
In Destiny 2, you used to grind XP on all three guardians to farm XP as fast as possible. As if it wasn’t obvious enough, this was very tedious and difficult. As of today, this is still partly true, however with the addition of Seasonal Challenges, players who only have one guardian can now earn XP much more quickly than before. No more hopping between your alts and guardians just to grind XP for one.
Also a quick disclaimer: we will be focusing on how to farm for XP without having to resort to Lost Sectors but to also earn Powerful or Pinnacle gear and Bright dust while doing so.
With that being said, here’s a neat table to help you out on your XP grind. These are categorized accordingly with their source/mission, base XP reward, planet/location, frequency, glimmer cost, and the expansion pack required to access the mission (if there’s any). It’s also arranged according to the most base XP you can gain to help you get started in a bang.
Destiny 2 Farming Sources and Methods:
| Source/Mission | Base XP Reward | Planet/Location | Frequency | Glimmer Cost | Exp. Pack Required |
| 8X Seasonal Challenges (Grants x8 XP) | 200,000 | Director | Seasonal | 0 | None (F2P) |
| 4X Seasonal Challenges (Grants x4 XP) | 100,000 | Director | Seasonal | 0 | None (F2P) |
| 2X Seasonal Challenges (Grants x2 XP) | 50,000 | Director | Seasonal | 0 | None (F2P) |
| Seasonal Challenges | 25,000 | Director | Seasonal | 0 | None (F2P) |
| Shaw Han Weekly (x2) | 12,000 | Cosmodrome | Weekly | 1000 | None (F2P) |
| Starhorse Weekly (x3) | 12,000 | Europa | Weekly | 14 Strange Coins | Beyond Light |
| Varyks Weekly | 12,000 | Europa | Weekly | 1000 | Beyond Light |
| Eris Morn Weekly (x2) | 12,000 | Moon | Weekly | 1000 | None (F2P) |
| Lectern of Enchantment Weekly (x2) | 12,000 | Moon | Weekly | 5 Fragments | None (F2P) |
| Iron Banner (x4) | 12,000 | Tower | Montly | 1000 | None (F2P) |
| Trials Weekly (x2) | 12,000 | Tower | Weekly | 1000 | None (F2P) |
| Seasonal Event (x2) | 12,000 | Tower | Weekly | 1000 | None (F2P) |
| Gunsmith Weekly challenge Complete 8 Gunsmith bounties | 12,000 | Tower | Weekly | 0 | None (F2P) |
| Vanguard Weekly challenge Complete 8 Gunsmith bounties | 12,000 | Tower | Weekly | 0 | None (F2P) |
| Crucible Weekly challenge Complete 8 Gunsmith bounties | 12,000 | Tower | Weekly | 0 | None (F2P) |
| Gambit Weekly challenge Complete 8 Gunsmith bounties | 12,000 | Tower | Weekly | 0 | None (F2P) |
| Clan Weekly challenge Complete 8 Gunsmith bounties | 12,000 | Tower | Weekly | 0 | None (F2P) |
| Shaw Han Daily (x4) | 6,000 | Cosmodrome | Daily | 250 | None (F2P) |
| EDZ and Nessus Daily (x3) | 6,000 | Destinations | Daily | 250 | None (F2P) |
| Petra Venj Ascendant Challenge | 6,000 | Dreaming City | Weekly | 500 | None (F2P) |
| Petra Venj Weekly | 6,000 | Dreaming City | Weekly | 500 | None (F2P) |
| Xûr Daily (x4) | 6,000 | Eternity | Daily | 250 | None (F2P) |
| Starhorse Daily (x3) | 6,000 | Eternity | Daily | 3 Strange Coins | None (F2P) |
| Varyks Daily (x3) | 6,000 | Europa | Daily | 250 | Beyond Light |
| War Table Daily (x4) | 6,000 | H.E.L.M | Daily | 250 | The Witch Queen |
| Eris Morn Daily (x4) | 6,000 | Moon | Daily | 250 | Shadowkeep |
| Lectern of Enchantment Daily (x4) | 6,000 | Moon | Daily | 250 | None (F2P) |
| Fynch Daily (x4) | 6,000 | Throne World | Daily | 250 | The Witch Queen |
| Gunsmith Daily (x4) | 6,000 | Tower | Daily | 250 | None (F2P) |
| Vanguard Daily | 6,000 | Tower | Daily | 250 | None (F2P) |
| Crucible Daily | 6,000 | Tower | Daily | 250 | None (F2P) |
| Gambit Daily (x4) | 6,000 | Tower | Daily | 250 | None (F2P) |
| Trials Daily (x4) | 6,000 | Tower | Daily | 250 | None (F2P) |
| Seasonal Event (x4) | 6,000 | Tower | Daily | 250 | None (F2P) |
| Shaw Han Repeatable | 4,000 | Cosmodrome | Repeatable | 3000 | None (F2P) |
| Xûr Repeatable | 4,000 | Eternity | Repeatable | 3000 | None (F2P) |
| Varyks Repeatable | 4,000 | Europa | Repeatable | 3000 | Beyond Light |
| War Table Repeatable | 4,000 | H.E.L.M | Repeatable | 3000 | The Witch Queen |
| Eris Morn Repeatable | 4,000 | Moon | Repeatable | 3000 | Shadowkeep |
| Lectern of Enchantment | 4,000 | Moon | Repeatable | 3000 | None (F2P) |
| Fynch Repeatable | 4,000 | Throne World | Repeatable | 3000 | The Witch Queen |
| Gunsmith Repeatable | 4,000 | Tower | Repeatable | 3000 | None (F2P) |
| Vanguard Repeatable | 4,000 | Tower | Repeatable | 3000 | None (F2P) |
| Crucible Repeatable | 4,000 | Tower | Repeatable | 3000 | None (F2P) |
| Gambit Repeatable | 4,000 | Tower | Repeatable | 3000 | None (F2P) |
| Trials Repeatable | 4,000 | Tower | Repeatable | 3000 | None (F2P) |
| Seasonal Event | 4,000 | Tower | Repeatable | 3000 | None (F2P) |
| Petra Venj Daily (x5) | 1,000 | Destinations | Daily | 250 | None (F2P) |
Seasonal Challenges
As you can see, source/missions that give out the most XP are the recently added seasonal challenges. Despite its name, seasonal challenges are actually available year-round, meaning no matter which dates you play, there will always be an active season with its own sets of challenges for you to grind XP with.
As of writing and the release of The Witch Queen expansion pack, we are currently at Week 1 of Season 16 – Season Of The Risen. This means that there are more challenges to come (up to week 10) and more XP farming for you to do!
And don’t be intimidated by the XP that seasonal challenges give. Even though they’re a lot, they’re also not difficult missions to do. They’re fairly straightforward and easy as long as you have the right mods and gears or of course, have a fireteam with you who’s also down to XP farm. Some mission types you can expect from these seasonal challenges are Override missions, Expunge missions, Gambit matches, and more.
As mentioned earlier, you also gain access to Grandmaster Nightfall challenges with a level 125 season pass. These GM Nightfall challenges release 6-8 weeks into the season.
For your knowledge, it’s also important to know that there are a total of 66 challenges for you to get XP from this season throughout the 10 weeks. That’s a LOT of XP farming sources.
Repeatable, dailies, and weeklies
Aside from seasonal challenges, there are also the repeatable and daily quests (AKA dailies) that give a respectable amount of XP. For example, Shaw Han’s daily bounties give out 6,000 XP per day which equates to 42,000 XP per week. Not bad for a daily! Not to mention that he also offers weekly bounties AND that you can do these in conjunction with other dailies, repeatable, and weeklies in the game.
Tips and tricks for maximizing XP while farming
Now that you know which challenges, missions, and bounties give the most XP, it’s time we discuss the best practices and tips you should observe while farming for XP.
- Don’t invest too much time with repeating quests in one location
Repeatable bounties and quests are definitely straightforward methods for XP farming, but they’re often pricey and can take longer than the usual daily bounty to complete. The best technique is to do your dailies first, then do your repeatable while switching locations and planets every time you’re done with the other one.
An example would be after completing all of Cosmodrome’s bounties, head over to the Moon instead of repeating Cosmodrome’s bounties. Not only will this give you variety in the tasks you do in-game, but also give you varying amounts of XP that differ in costs.
- Don’t forget to equip your Ghost with Blinding Light Mod
You can now choose your own mods and prioritize your Ghost’s perks based on your activities thanks to the new Ghost 2.0 system introduced in the Beyond Light expansion pack. Without getting into too much detail, all you need to know is that you want the largest possible Blinding Light Mod. With this, you can get a +12% bonus XP for only 6 energy cost.
This may sound like a small number for you, but 12% definitely adds up with every quest turn in and completion.
- Try to complete and turn in your bounties only when in a Fireteam
When you’re a member of a Fireteam (squad), the Premium Season Pass gives you an additional XP called Shared Wisdom. As a result, you should always be in a Fireteam when turning bounties in.
These XP bonuses accumulate as you level up your Premium Season Pass, and can be up to +8% XP every bounty turn in. Couple this with the aforementioned 12% bonus from the Blinding Light Mod, that’s already a +20% XP boost from the get-go. However, it’s important to note that this bonus is only available to Premium Season Pass holders.
Another tip that I strongly advise you to do is to have your inventory full of completed bounties to turn in when you’re in a fireteam so that you wouldn’t need to hunt for a group of players willing to take you for each bounty turn in. As a solo player myself, this has saved me a ton of time and has also helped with efficiency in XP farming.
- Download the official Destiny 2 Companion app
The Destiny 2 iOS and Android companion app has always been excellent. It isn’t just an app to chat with your friends on Destiny 2 or to look at your inventory while you’re away from your device, rather it’s a full-fledged app that has a group finder, inventory manager, and all other features that make your Destiny 2 experience even better.
However, just recently, Bungie introduced a significant upgrade in terms of the apps’ quality of life: the ability to pick up bounties in the app rather than having to visit every vendor in the game one by one! Whether you’re a beginner or a veteran, you’ll surely appreciate Destiny 2’s mobile app being a useful tool for the game itself and not just for socializing with other players.
Needless to say that this app is a must-have if you’re serious about grinding bounties (and XP for this matter).
- Break your F2P vow and purchase the Premium Season Pass
If you really want to maximize your XP gains in Destiny 2, then it’s time for you to look at paid options to help you out in that department. Of course, I’m talking about the premium season pass.
This is because the premium track of the Season Pass gives your guardian a substantial 20% XP boost right from the start. Below is a table showing the XP boost you get for each Season Pass level.
| Premium Season Pass LVL | Bonus XP Boost |
| LVL 1 | 20% |
| LVL 7 | 2% |
| LVL 16 | 2% |
| LVL 36 | 2% |
| LVL 46 | 2% |
| LVL 66 | 2% |
| LVL 76 | 2% |
| Total | 32% |
Yup, that’s right. A total of +32% XP gains once you reach Season Pass LVL 76. That’s an insane number that can definitely give you the push for that sweet, sweet XP. And yes, all of these bonuses stack with the other bonuses I mentioned earlier.
Although I do not know the exact system and math of Destiny 2’s XP stacking, other sources and players have speculated that it’s a mix of additive and multiplicative system of stacking. With all the bonuses we’ve run through equipped and activated, you should expect a 40% up to 50% XP boost with your turn-ins.
Conclusion
That wraps up our guide on how to XP farm in Destiny 2! As you may have noticed by now, Destiny 2 is definitely a F2P friendly game when it comes to XP grinding and bonuses. You definitely don’t need to pay a single cent to grind and farm XP efficiently as there are tons of repeatable, dailies, and challenges you can do in order to form for XP.
However, if you’re really serious with the XP grind and with the game at this point, then investing in a premium Season Pass shouldn’t be a bad option either. On top of the XP boost you gain, you also get rare items that you usually wouldn’t get as a F2P player.
Did we miss any tips, methods, or general knowledge about how to XP farm in Destiny 2? Let us know in the comments down below!
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