Light Level 34
After reaching level 20, ranking up no longer requires XP, switching instead to Light. Light is something that you can see from your character screen, in the top right hand corner next to where all of your armor is listed. Each piece of armor that you wear (Helmet, Gauntlets, Chest, Leg) can be leveled up to its maximum Light. Different armor has different maximums, so making sure that you’re wearing the right stuff is key to hitting level 34 Light. That’s easier said than done.
In order to hit the maximum Light level, you need to know what it is. Currently (with House of Wolves), players can have a maximum of 168 pieces of Light spread across each of their four pieces of armor. That means that if you’re wearing the right armor, each piece can hold 42 Light. By upgrading all of that gear, you can hit the maximum Light level of 34.
Finding Gear
The gear that you’re looking for should be either Exotic, or it should be Legendary with a II in the corner. This means that it’s part of the House of Wolves DLC, and all of that gear is easily upgraded to 42 Light per piece, if it’s not already there (more on that when we talk about Armor Cores).
The best place to find this gear is by competing in the Prison of Elders, Weekly Nightfall Strike, Vanguard Dragon Strike playlist, or by purchasing it from Variks at the Reef and your Vanguard representative at the Tower. If you’re looking for an Exotic piece of gear, this is most easily obtained by earning Strange Coins and buying it from Xur each weekend. What he’s selling should be upgradable to Light 42 (per piece) with very little fuss.
Etheric Light
The gear that you buy from your Vanguard representative at the Tower (with Vanguard Marks) will start off at Light 36 per piece, but can be upgraded to 42. In order to do this you need a material called Etheric Light. You can obtain Etheric Light from Iron Banner events, Trials of Osiris, or much faster if you jump into the Level 34 or 35 Prison of Elders. You can also get it from the Weekly Nightfall, but this is by chance and doesn’t seem to happen very often.
Once you have a piece of Etheric Light, head to your character screen and find a piece of Legendary armor that is currently stuck at 36 Light. You can see this by scrolling over it and choosing the upgrade option. From that screen you should see the materials required to level the gear up. If Etheric Light is one of the pieces that you’re missing, applying it should take that bit of gear to 42. Once all four pieces of your armor are at 42 Light, you’ll be a level 34 Guardian.
Armor Cores
There is an even easier (although slower) way to reach Light level 34. This is done by completing the Level 32 (or 35) Prison of Elders and earning yourself an Armor Core. You don’t even need a Treasure Key to get it. Once you have the Armor Core, take that to Variks at the Reef. He will be selling a piece of Legendary armor that is fully maxed out with 42 Light. One week you will buy the Gauntlets, and the next the Helmet, continuing until you have four pieces of 42 Light gear and are completely maxed out. If you manage to get some Strange Coins and buy an Exotic from Xur, you can do this even faster. The catch is that Variks sells what he wants, so if you need Leg Armor, you have to wait until he decides to stock it.
Now that you’re well on your way to leveling up, it’s time to get rolling. Visit our Destiny: House of Wolves Walkthrough and Guide to let us help you along the way.
