Understanding Portal’s Difficulty Modifiers in Destiny 2: Completing Solving Challenges

In the latest expansion of Destiny 2, titled The Edge of Fate, almost all PvE content has undergone significant changes. A revamped Portal menu has transformed the way activities are accessed and initiated within the game. Additionally, a new gear tier system has introduced long-term loot goals for nearly all new items, encompassing both weapons and armor.

So, what influences the gear tiers you receive? The answer lies in difficulty modifiers, a new feature that lets you customize your experience in all PvE activities. By selecting modifiers that match your playstyle and increasing the difficulty, you can enhance your Power level while also acquiring better gear across the board.

What Are Difficulty Modifiers?

Most activities you can access via the Portal come equipped with difficulty modifiers. Before starting an activity, you can click the “Customize” button to tweak the mission settings. In older expansions, difficulties were fixed with set modifiers. Now, you have the freedom to choose all modifiers yourself.

Every modifier you add will adjust your activity score. This score determines the quality of the rewards you receive at the end of the activity. Increasing the Power requirement and applying optional modifiers boosts the gear tier for all items that drop, including the number of drops.

How to Add Activity Modifiers

Once you’ve picked your activity, use the “Customize” button to open the modifier page. Here, you’ll find a variety of options to explore.

• Difficulty: This represents the base Power of the activity and forms the foundation for all rewards.
• Rule Modifiers: These are game-imposed adjustments that cannot be altered.
• Challenge Modifiers: Optional changes that increase the game’s difficulty, making enemies tougher or diminishing player capabilities.
• Player Stakes: Extra rules affecting rewards, such as time limits, which are also unchangeable.
• Boons and Events: Helpful modifiers that make gameplay easier if you plan your strategy around them.

Base Difficulty

Before applying any modifiers, you must first choose the activity’s base difficulty, which sets the initial Power levels and health scaling of enemies. Higher difficulties result in tougher opponents and significant health increases.

Choosing a harder difficulty comes with advantages, particularly regarding rewards. The tougher the base difficulty, the better your score can become. Reaching a high score at Grandmaster level may grant you T5 weapons and armor, the best available in the game.

Challenge Modifiers

After selecting a base difficulty, you can introduce modifiers. Challenge modifiers let you alter enemy characteristics and introduce new gameplay challenges that penalize certain strategies. Aim for modifiers that don’t negatively impact your build to enhance your score.

Banes are specific modifiers that give enemies new abilities, such as summoning mini enemies when damaged continuously. You can select two banes at advanced difficulty levels, with more available at higher tiers.

Challenge Modifiers introduce additional mechanics, such as enemies applying slow effects on melee hits. Some can be advantageous, depending on your playstyle. For instance, the Oscillation Trade-Off modifier alternates weapon damage, which could be beneficial if you frequently switch weapons.

Boons and Events

This category focuses on bonuses that enhance your build, allowing you to choose up to three boons, each offering distinct advantages. One popular choice is the Grappler modifier, which replaces your grenade with three charges that recharge instantly upon contact with a surface. While you can’t use Grapple for melee attacks, it greatly enhances mobility, making speedrunning easier.

Activity Score and Rewards

Every modifier you activate will influence your mission’s activity score. Similar to how Nightfalls operated in the past, a higher activity score opens the door to better rewards and increased Power boosts. A baseline score is set at B, which can rise to A, but exceeding A or dropping below B doesn’t have any effect. Your objective is to add enough modifiers to achieve an A rank.

The chosen base difficulty dictates the reward rank, ranging from Copper to Platinum. Picking a greater difficulty level will raise this ranking, impacting the Power level and gear tier of all items earned from rewards.

To secure top-tier gear in this expansion, aim for an A rank in Grandmaster content. This requires reaching a Power level of at least 350, paired with a solid build. While boons can help, they won’t trivialize the challenge. Completing this high-level difficulty rewards you with T5 gear and significant Power boosts for your character.