Every new season comes with a new XP grind, be it to earn your Season Pass rewards or unlock your seasonal Artifact and Mods.
For the longest time, XP farming in Destiny 2 was too reliant on grinding bounties. But after months of complaining (everybody hates bounties), Bungie relented and replaced some Bounties with Seasonal challenges.
This guide covers how XP works and why it matters, lists every XP source in the game, including bounties and challenges, and comes up with the most efficient XP farming methods.
Last Updated: May 3, 2021
Things change fast in Destiny 2, especially when a new Season or Expansion launches. For that reason, this post will be updated at least once per season. Last season, in particular, Bungie made a significant change to XP grinding with the introduction of Seasonal Challenges.
Major changes introduced today:
With the release of Season of the Splicer (Season 14), the following sources were added:
- New Seasonal Challenges
- Splicer Servitor bounties
- Weekly Challenges (Vanguard, Crucible, Gambit, Gunsmith, and Clan)
The following sources were removed:
- Season 12 (Season of the Hunt) bounties
- Season 13 (Season of the Chosen) bounties at the H.E.L.M.
- Playlist (Vanguard, Crucible, Gambit) weekly bounties
Why XP is important in Destiny 2
In Destiny 2, XP is needed for only 2 things:
- Unlock your Season Pass rewards
- Upgrade your Seasonal Artifact to unlock Mods and bonus Power Levels
This part is simple. Getting the XP is another story, though.
Season Pass Rewards
Destiny 2’s Season Pass works in the same way as in any other online shooter. The pass has 2 different tracks, a free track and a track reserved for Season Pass owners only, and each track has 100 levels to unlock:
The premium track obviously offers more rewards but it’s important to know this: the best rewards are part of the Free track. This includes one of the new Exotic weapons, the new Legendary weapons, the Exotic cipher, and more.
Even if you don’t purchase the Season Pass, you still want to grind XP and get all the rewards the Free track has to offer. They are well worth it.
Seasonal Artifact and Mods
The seasonal Artifact plays an important role in Destiny 2. Not only does it grant extra Power Levels, but it also includes several Seasonal Mods.
The extra Power Levels are useful for high-end content and will help you along with your Max Power Level grind. The Seasonal Mods, on the other hand, are mandatory. These include the Anti-barrier, Overload, and Unstoppable mods needed to deal with Champions, on top of extremely powerful mods.
Needless to say, XP plays an essential part in preparing you for the most difficult end-game content in the game, including solo Master Lost Sectors. Plus, the exotics and legendary weapons are always good to have.
Best XP Farm in Destiny 2: Bounties & Challenges
If you’re looking to efficiently earn XP, you don’t really have a choice but to grab the best bounties, combine them with the new Seasonal Challenges and work on them simultaneously:
| Source | Location | Frequency | Base XP | Cost (glimmer) | Requires | Requirements? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonal Challenges | Director | Seasonal | 50,000 | 0 |  | Free-to-Play |
| Medium Seasonal Challenges (Grants x2 XP) | Director | Seasonal | 100,000 | 0 | | Free-to-Play |
| Big Seasonal Challenges (Grants x4 XP) | Director | Seasonal | 200,000 | 0 | | Free-to-Play |
| Splicer Repeatable | H.E.L.M | Repeatable | 4,000 | 3000 |  | Season 14 |
| Splicer Daily (x4) | H.E.L.M | Daily | 6,000 | 250 | | Season 14 |
| Varyks Repeatable | Europa | Repeatable | 4,000 | 3000 |  | Beyond Light |
| Varyks Daily (x3) | Europa | Daily | 6,000 | 250 | | Beyond Light |
| Varyks Weekly | Europa | Weekly | 12,000 | 1000 | | Beyond Light |
| Shaw Han Repeatable | Cosmodrome | Repeatable | 4,000 | 3000 | | Free-to-Play |
| Shaw Han Daily (x4) | Cosmodrome | Daily | 6,000 | 250 | | Free-to-Play |
| Shaw Han Weekly (x2) | Cosmodrome | Weekly | 12,000 | 1000 | | Free-to-Play |
| Eris Morn Repeatable | Moon | Repeatable | 4,000 | 3000 | | Free-to-Play |
| Eris Morn Daily (x4) | Moon | Daily | 6,000 | 250 | | Free-to-Play |
| Eris Morn Weekly (x2) | Moon | Weekly | 12,000 | 1000 | | Free-to-Play |
| Gunsmith | Tower | Repeatable | 4,000 | 3000 | | Free-to-Play |
| Gunsmith Daily (x4) | Tower | Daily | 6,000 | 250 | | Free-to-Play |
| Strikes | Tower | Repeatable | 4,000 | 3000 | | Free-to-Play |
| Strikes Daily | Tower | Daily | 6,000 | 250 | | Free-to-Play |
| Crucible | Tower | Repeatable | 4,000 | 3000 | | Free-to-Play |
| Crucible Daily | Tower | Daily | 6,000 | 250 | | Free-to-Play |
| Iron Banner (x4) | Tower | Montly | 12,000 | 1000 | | Free-to-Play |
| Gambit | Tower | Repeatable | 4,000 | 3000 | | Free-to-Play |
| Gambit Daily (x4) | Tower | Daily | 6,000 | 250 | | Free-to-Play |
| Trials Repeatable | Tower | Repeatable | 4,000 | 3000 | | Free-to-Play |
| Trials Daily (x4) | Tower | Daily | 6,000 | 250 | | Free-to-Play |
| Trials Weekly (x2) | Tower | Weekly | 12,000 | 1000 | | Free-to-Play |
| Seasonal Event | Tower | Repeatable | 4,000 | 3000 | | Free-to-Play |
| Seasonal Event (x4) | Tower | Daily | 6,000 | 250 | | Free-to-Play |
| Seasonal Event (x2) | Tower | Weekly | 12,000 | 1000 | | Free-to-Play |
| Lectern of Enchantment | Moon | Repeatable | 4,000 | 3000 | | Free-to-Play |
| Lectern of Enchantment Daily (x4) | Moon | Daily | 6,000 | 250 | | Free-to-Play |
| Lectern of Enchantment Weekly (x2) | Moon | Weekly | 12,000 | 5 Fragments | | Free-to-Play |
| EDZ and Nessus Daily (x3) | Destinations | Daily | 6,000 | 250 | | Free-to-Play |
| Spider and Petra Daily | Destinations | Daily | 1,000 | 250 | | Free-to-Play |
| Petra's Challenges Daily (x4) | Dreaming City | Daily | 1,000 | 500 | | Free-to-Play |
| Petra's Dungeon Daily | Dreaming City | Daily | 2,000 | 1000 | | Free-to-Play |
| Petra Ascending Challenge | Dreaming City | Weekly | 3,000 | 1500 | | Free-to-Play |
| Petra Gateway Challenge | Dreaming City | Weekly | 3,000 | Fragments | | Free-to-Play |
| Petra War for the DC | Dreaming City | Weekly | 1,000 | 1000 | | Free-to-Play |
| Spider Wanted (x13) | Tangled Shore | Weekly | 3,000 | Fragments | | Free-to-Play |
| Spider Daily (x4) | Tangled Shore | Daily | 1,000 | 250 | | Free-to-Play |
| Gunsmith Weekly challenge Complete 8 Gunsmith bounties | Tower | Weekly | 12,000 | 0 | | Free-to-Play |
| Vanguard Weekly challenge Complete 8 Gunsmith bounties | Tower | Weekly | 12,000 | 0 | | Free-to-Play |
| Crucible Weekly challenge Complete 8 Gunsmith bounties | Tower | Weekly | 12,000 | 0 | | Free-to-Play |
| Gambit Weekly challenge Complete 8 Gunsmith bounties | Tower | Weekly | 12,000 | 0 | | Free-to-Play |
| Clan Weekly challenge Complete 8 Gunsmith bounties | Tower | Weekly | 12,000 | 0 | | Free-to-Play |
How to farm XP in Destiny 2
Farming XP as fast as possible used to require you to grind XP on all three characters! This is still somewhat true, but with the introduction of Seasonal Challenges, players with only one character can earn XP much faster than before.
Now that we have a good understanding of what bounties give the more XP, it’s time to combine them with the Seasonal Challenges and get them done as quickly as possible.
First, a disclaimer:
This guide will focus on how to maximize XP farming without having to mindlessly run Lost Sectors but also earn Powerful/Pinnacle gear and Bright Dust in the process!
My XP farming method
This is the XP farming method I recommend to have good results while having fun:
- Grab all the Gunsmith bounties (dailies, etc)
- Grab all the Seasonal bounties
- Grab all of Varisk’s bounties on Europa (weeklies, dailies, etc)
- Play the campaign or work towards new Aspects (switch weapons to work on your bounties)
- If you’re done with all the main Europa quests, head to the Moon
- Grab all the bounties from Eris
- Go to Altars of Sorrow to get them done
- Moon bounties could be replaced with the Cosmodrome’s
‼️ Don’t turn your bounties until you are in a Fireteam and have a Ghost shell with an XP boost! More on that below…
At this point, most of your “general” bounties should be done. Instead of grinding repeatable bounties over and over again, I recommend you start tackling the core activities. Example:
- Grab all the Strikes bounties
- Run Strikes until they are done (including any other general bounty still left)
- When all Strikes bounties are completed, you can tackle Gambit, then Crucible, etc.
This will allow you to get your Weekly bounties done (and earn a lot of XP and some Bright Dust!) and work towards your Pinnacle gear challenges. At this point, if you still have the time and energy, you can start all over on a different character.
If you prefer a video version of how to optimize XP grinding in Destiny 2, you can check this great video from Jarv.
Best Practices
These are the best practices and principles you should always follow to maximize XP:
Always have a Ghost with a Blinding Light Mod
With the new Ghost 2.0 system in Beyond Light, you can now choose your own mods and prioritize your Ghost’s bonuses based on your activities. Without going too much into the details, all you need to know is that you want the biggest Blinding Light Mod possible. With the Blinding Light mod that costs 6 Energy, you can get a +12% bonus XP!
Trust me, that bonus will count in the long run…
Turn in your bounties only when in a Fireteam
The Season Pass grants bonus XP called Shared Wisdom when you’re part of a Fireteam. Therefore, you ideally want to always be in a Fireteam when turning in bounties.
| Season Pass level | XP Fireteam Boost |
| Level 5 | 2% |
| Level 26 | 2% |
| Level 56 | 2% |
| Level 86 | 2% |
| Total | 8% |
These bonuses are part of the Premium track of the Season Pass.
If you’re a solo player, you can do what I often do:
- Go to Europa or the Cosmodrome and find an active Public event with other guardians
- Join a random guardian’s Fireteam (open your Director, head over to Roster and join someone with an open Fireteam)
- Tell them you’re there to help with the event
- Turn all your bounties
- Help with the event
- Leave the Fireteam
This is somewhat tedious so I only do it at the end of a very long session when my inventory is full of completed bounties to turn it.
Use the official Destiny 2 Companion app
The Destiny 2 companion app on iOS and Android has always been good. It features an Inventory manager, group finder, and more. But it recently received a huge quality of live improvement: the ability to pick up bounties from the app instead of having to visit every vendor in the game one by one!
If you’re serious about grinding bounties, this app is a must-have.
Purchase the Season Pass
The Season Pass grants a +20% XP bonus at Rank 1 (i.e. immediately at the start of the Season). This percentage steadily increases as you earn more Seasonal Ranks, making it a huge XP bonus.
| Season Pass level | XP Boost |
| Level 1 | 20% |
| Level 7 | 2% |
| Level 16 | 2% |
| Level 36 | 2% |
| Level 46 | 2% |
| Level 66 | 2% |
| Level 76 | 2% |
| Total | 32% |
These bonuses are part of the Premium track of the Season Pass.
Use Ghost Overlay on PC
Ghost Overlay is a new app from Josh Hunt that displays your current bounties on a side of your screen. This immensely helps keep track of what weapons to use next.
Stay away from repeatable bounties
Repeatable bounties can help speed the process but they are very expensive and sometimes longer to complete than the average daily bounty. But I prefer to switch activities once all the dailies are done.
For example, after completing all of Europa’s bounties, I head over to the Cosmodrome, then the Moon, then focus on Crucible bounties, etc.
Your Turn
Now you know everything there is to know about maximizing your XP farming in Destiny 2.
Did I miss any other important tips? Come over to our Discord server and let me know!
