The Next Wave of Sunsetting

Within the Destiny Community, the topic of Sunsetting Weapons and Armor has been highly debated (or criticized). Bungie, the Developer of Destiny, does not want players using the same Weapons and Armor pieces for years. Especially since new Weapons and Armor are introduced to the game each Season, it is ideal to keep your attachment to your Gear at a minimum.

However, this is typically not how players in the Destiny Community approach the game. We hold on to stuff like Collectors. We apply our favorite Shaders and Ornaments to Weapons and Armor simply because we want to look good while kicking bad guy butt. Plus, our favorite Weapons and Armor pieces become our favorites because they proved themselves valuable during hours of gameplay. Hence, we hold on to them as if our gaming lives depend on it.

Quite frankly, it does. As challenges in the game become more difficult, players rely go their go-to Gear pieces to efficiently overcome these challenges. Yet, the dreaded day arrives: Your Weapon or favorite Armor piece is Sunset.

Sunset?

Yes. For new players reading, each Weapon and Armor piece comes with a Power Level Number. Simply put, the higher the number on the piece, the better. However, the Power Level Number can only go so high in a Season. For example...

The Noble Constant Type 2 is a Titan Helmet introduced during the original launch of Destiny 2 in September 2017. (It's back in the game after being Sunset). Within the Sub-menu are three numbers: Current Power, Power Limit, and Seasonal Power Cap.

Current Power: the Power Level of the Gear piece or Weapon; the number is in White.

Power Limit: the highest Power Level the Gear piece or Weapon can reach with Infusion; this Number is in Gold

Seasonal Power Cap: the highest Power Level the Gear piece or Weapon can reach within the current Season

This particular Noble Constant Type 2 has a Current Power of 1100; the Power Limit is 1610; the Seasonal Power Cap is 1310. Although the Helmet can reach 1610, Gear in this Season will only drop up to 1310. (We do have to the Artifact item that adds an addition overall Power Level Bonus, but this Bonus is not Active in all Activities).

The Power Limit determines when a Gear piece or Weapon is Sunset. Sunset occurs when the Power Limit is below the Seasonal Power Cap. Perfect example...

Perfect Paradox is the best Kinetic Shotgun in the game. However, it has now been Sunset because the Power Limit (1260) is lower than the Seasonal Power Cap (1310). Bungie also added a "Legacy Item" Title in the Sub-menu to help players understand that a certain Weapon or Armor piece cannot be infused to the Seasonal Power Cap.

Infused? What is Infusion?

Let's say you want to increase the Current Power of this Weapon. When you originally got it, the Power Level was 1100. However, you now have a slew of Weapons much higher in Power Level. Well, all you need is one to Infuse into Perfect Paradox. In this case, I have a Trax Lysis II at 1252 that I'm not using. For the cost of an Upgrade Module, you can Dismantle for Infusion ..and there you have it. Perfect Paradox jumps from 1100 to 1252, which means the Shotgun does a lot more Damage to enemies in comparison.

Yes, you have to buy Upgrade Modules with in-game material, which can be costly if you don't have a lot of material and a lot of Gear to Infuse. ..but that's a different subject. Where does all of this lead?

The Seasonal Power Cap is currently 1310. If you want your Guardian to be as powerful as possible, your mission is to equip yourself with Weapons and Armor with the highest Power Level you can earn. It will be pretty straight forward to get to 1300. However, the final 10 points can realistically be gained only in the higher tier activities like the Raid and Grandmaster Nightfalls. The current Recommended Power Level for Grandmaster NFs is 1350. Good luck.

How do I get to Power Level 1300, exactly?

This is based on the literal Average of your three Weapons and five Armor pieces equipped. In total, eight Power Level numbers are added together and the Average is your official Power Level number.

This is why Sunsetting is highly debated. If seven of your Weapon/Armor pieces are around 1300, but your Sunset piece is Limited to 1260, your Average number will drop substantially. You cannot reach a base Power Level of 1300 with a 1260 equipped anywhere.

Again, the Artifact does grant us Bonus Points as we gain XP throughout a Season. Yet, that's a lot of XP to earn in order to make up the difference.

You will definitely feel the lack of Power during gameplay, which forces players to leave their Sunset favorites behind in order to gain a higher Power Level. Certain Activities recommend (or require) Guardians to be at a higher Power Level because below that threshold, you won't survive for long.

Of course, players complain because although they can switch to new Weapons with the higher Power Level, the new Weapons don't always perform as well as the Sunset Weapons.

As for Sunset Armor, the Stats on our Gear is random. It takes weeks, sometimes months, to have the Armor pieces drop with the Stats you want on them. Furthermore, it's costly to Masterwork a piece of Armor. The material is rare if you don't play top tier activities in the game. Not for the casual player. Especially when a Masterworked Armor piece gets Sunset, it can feel pretty devastating because of how much was invested into it.

As for Armor Stats, I focus on high Recovery followed by Resilience and Discipline. Again, Armor Stats are random. Finding an Armor Piece with high Recovery, Resilience, and decent Discipline is a roll of the dice. The odds are more in your favor towards the end of the Season when Armor with higher Stats drop more frequently. Still, it's like pulling a lever on a slot machine.

In the image above, my Masterworked Heiro Camo has a Power Limit of 1260. I found an Armor piece near the end of last Season that is close to the Stats I have with Heiro Camo, but it's not better even if I Masterwork the new Armor piece.

I play all three of my Characters: Warlock, Titan, and Hunter. Yet, my Main is Warlock. I use Warlock the majority of the Season and switch to Titan and Hunter during the last month of the Season to make sure they don't fall behind in overall Power Level. Each Character runs into a Sunset piece of Armor here or there that I have to replace, but Warlock has the most Masterworked pieces of Gear. It's more difficult to replace Sunset Armor pieces for him.

Now that the Introductory explanation about Sunsetting is out of the way, this article was really intended to simply give (new) players an idea of what will be Sunset at the end of Season 13. This Season ends on the morning of Tuesday, May 11, 2021.

When the Power Limit matches the Seasonal Power Cap, that piece of Armor/Weapon is on the clock. In other words, it will be Sunset at the end of the Season.

Everything introduced in Season 10 will be Sunset at the beginning of Season 14. On May 11, 2021, you'll be able to Infuse Weapons like Seventh Seraph SAW to 1310, since many of us will barely get to 1305 base Power Level during this Season. However, I suspect the new Seasonal Power Cap in Season 14 will be around 1370. If your favorite Weapon/Armor piece is Limited to 1310, you'll let go of it eventually.

Yes, Sunset Weapons and Armor can be used in the Crucible where Power Level does not matter, but I rarely play PvP. And by all accounts, I hear the Crucible and Trials of Osiris are not doing very well these days with the introduction of Stasis into the Arenas.

I love the Style of Seventh Seraph Hood. Each Season comes with Weapons and Armor designed around a certain theme/Style usually connected to the Storyline of that Season. It makes the Gear unique and more difficult to let go of if you like that particular Style.

I do prefer the way Factions were run in Destiny 1. They were Active all of the time and I did get my favorite Scout Rifle, Hung Jury SR4, from Dead Orbit.

The Gear Sets for all three Factions for all three Characters have a Power Limit of 1310. This includes all of the Faction Weapons. The Factions are Dead Orbit, New Monarchy, and Future War Cult. These items are still dropping as Rewards in the game at a pretty good rate. I use them as Infusion Material or a nice way to replenish Legendary Shards by Dismantling them. These Gear Sets may return to the game in a few Seasons as other items have; we'll see.

I hope you found this article helpful. Feel free to ask questions; visit my Feed on Twitter and watch my gameplay on YouTube.

-ecj

Friday, February 12, 2021 - LiveStream (5 hours, 13 minutes)