Destiny: The Taken King's Leveling Overhauled, Light System Abandoned

Destiny players know well the current system of leveling in Bungie's shooter. You gain experience until level 20, and then you play to find good armor that increases your "Light level." Better armor has more Light, and, currently, if you have fully maxed-out armor, you'll be level 34. But Bungie is abandoning that system in the upcoming expansion, The Taken King.

According to Game Informer, Players will simply have to kill enemies and complete bounties instead of trying to gain more Light. This applies to the entirety of the leveling progression: the XP you earn will go toward your level until you max out at the new level cap, 40.

Of course, armor won't be useless. Better gear will still count toward your overall power and defense, so it'll still be important to go search for the best legendaries and exotics. However, that won't be necessary to rank up. Creative director Luke Smith stated that the Light level requirement resulted in forcing players to focus only on the acquisition of gear. "The conflation of gear and character level led to this place where your identity was determined by things outside of your control,” he explained. “We don't want to do that."

In addition, loot drops will be more closely tied to your character level. Bungie is changing the game so that you are even more likely to receive high-level drops the closer you are to level 40. You'll also get drops you already own much less in the new expansion.

Destiny: The Taken King launches on September 15. Bungie recently stated that The Taken King will not let you upgrade your currently owned legendary gear. Additionally, your Ghost companion will no longer be voiced by Peter Dinklage. Nolan North is redoing the entirety of the Ghost's lines in the game.