Destiny's Next Update Increases Max Light Level, Hands Out More Ghosts

The Heroic Mode version of Destiny: Rise of Iron's Wrath of the Machine raid unlocks next week. Coinciding with that, the maximum Light level is increasing, and with it, so are the Light levels of potential rewards for many of the game's activities.

Bungie detailed the changes in a post on its website today. Update 2.4.1 bumps the Light cap up to 400, which is also now the potential Light level of decrypted Exotics and rewards from the Nightfall and other activities. The recommended Light levels for activities are not changing, with the exception of the Nightfall, which Bungie now suggests you be 380 to attempt.

Here's how the new max Light levels break down:

Up to 400 Light:
Exotic Engrams
Nightfall
Strike Hoards
Crucible
Iron Banner
Trials of Osiris
Up to 385 Light:
Legendary Engrams
Archon's Forge
Heroic SIVA Strike playlist
Up to 365 Light:
Rare Engrams
SIVA Strike playlist
"For players forging their path through Wrath of the Machine, Trials of Osiris, and Iron Banner, these activities will now attempt to reward higher Light on average, compared to your current Light," added senior designer Victoria Dollbaum.

Patch 2.4.1 also deals with a problem Bungie had previously acknowledged: Ghosts and Artifacts weren't dropping as often as they should, creating a frustrating bottleneck. With the new update, they can drop from Faction Packages more often, and Artifacts will drop from Eris Morn's Faction Packages more frequently.

Bungie teased that 2.4.1 also introduces other changes, but it sounds as if we'll need to wait until its release to find out more. It's set to launch at 10 AM PT on October 18, with Wrath of the Machine's Heroic Mode unlocking at 2 PM PT.