For those of you who may be in a situation like me - I'm XboxLIVE Silver, meaning; I can only play standard, In-game things. These include: Story Missions, Bounties (No Crucible or Strike ones), Patrols, and Patrol missions. So, as you can see, that list does *Not* include the following: Strikes, Crucible, Raids. What did I do? How did I get to 21 in about as many hours? These secrets can be yours! First off, (If you have the ability), you should be playing on "Hard" from the very first mission you get to pick it. It nets you the most XP, and makes things tougher, giving you more loot. Second, as soon as you can get bounties - or do Patrols -- Do them. Sometimes you'll reach a point where doing the Hard mode of a mission will be 2-3 levels ahead of you (These are still possible, but the difficulty spike can be unmanageable at times). And particularly, you should do Patrols and take bounties that can/will be completed when you do Patrols. Don't be afraid to take as many of the little side-missions as possible, these will be helpful for raising your reputation with the Vanguard. Look for Chests sparingly - usually in your immediate vicinity, they contain crafting materials and loot from that planet (Which you can turn in for Vanguard Marks/Rep). And Don't be stingy with your bullets, Kill enemies often - and with extreme prejudice. Don't be afraid of dying in those No Respawn areas - trust me, it will happen. It's best not to get too wound up about it; I remember being *soooo* angry with one of the first missions on Venus, because I attempted it on Hard, 2 levels lower than it. And was constantly given the boot by the monster. This leads me to my next point - Carry multiple weapons. Sometimes your Hand Cannon or Shotgun, or your Scout Rifle or Sniper rifle, won't cut it. Keeping a versatile kit will allow you to adjust on the fly. (Assuming you find the alone-time to swap it). And (What I would argue) most importantly, utilize your surroundings. Most areas have a special zone or spot that you can find - If you're vigilant enough. The first mission you fight the Vex in the Library? There's a 3rd balcony you can reach with skillful jumping, that has no stairs leading to it. Meaning, enemies can't walk up to you, and as far as I could tell, they couldn't teleport up to it either. (Also, there was a Dead Ghost there as well). This allowed me to rain lead upon my enemies' heads, with my true, dangerous foes being Hobgoblins and their Sniping. And Minotaurs with their cannons. I've found similar areas when fighting the Cabal - and the Fallen; these allow you to strategically control the battlefield if you're playing solo. Some neat pointers are also: Check in with your Vanguard, the Weapon's Master, and the Cryptarch from time to time. I got a rare handcannon off of the Weapon's Master (Banshee-44) at lvl 13, that instantly became my weapon of choice (Better accuracy than most guns, while still packing a powerful punch), and even on Hard - I was killing normal enemies in 1-2 shots, and taking out Majors/Ultras in a clip. And I kept up-to-date on my armor using Cryptarch (After I ranked up with him), and using my Vanguard. I typically also geared out favoring my Grenade chooldowns, as I didn't have a Melee effect that was all-that-beneficial till I got "Life steal" for my Energy Drain. And never be afraid to backtrack/run away - I've observed my sibling play, and more often than not, they wind up being killed by trying to get over-zealous when things are going their way. (Or they got caught Meleeing). Hopefully, someone - somewhere, will find this helpful in any way, shape or form. Or if you're someone else who might have a tip, go ahead and leave it in the comments. I like that stuff.