Iron Banner was probably the easiest way to increase light back when it was available. When I first stepped into it, I was a mere 366, just barely qualified to join one of the more "lenient" groups trying to take down Aksis. When I came out, I was 383. This event allowed me to more or less skyrocket through the ranks, and I didn't even realise it had happened until I'd hit rank 5, all of my bounties were finished, and I'd run out of 3oC to farm. Point is, I got to 385 the easy way. I mean, props to those who were smart enough to stockpile engrams before the expansion dropped, or those who simply grinded the everliving sh*t out of strikes the instant they were available, but not everybody has tons of free time each day to do things like this. [b]Outside of Iron Banner, it takes way longer than it should to increase light:[/b] [b]1)[/b] Skeleton keys have a ridiculously low drop rate (even after Bungie supposedly increased them), and will simply refuse to drop for some people, even after grinding heroic strikes for upwards of about 3 hours. As a matter of fact, I've heard that you're actually more likely to receive them from doing the strikes at 320 light than the heroic ones. Crazy, right? [b]2)[/b] Archon's Forge is alright, but until that "guaranteed offering drop on quarantine bounty completion" thing came into play, it was nowhere near a reliable loot source. Even now, the fact we can't carry more than one at a time is still causing many players grief, and on top of that the rewards are incredibly inconsistent (you put in a perfected, it gets completed, the guy who was AFK for almost the entire encounter gets a class item, and you get some blue engrams. Someone else puts in a green, you get a helmet, they get nothing.) [b]3)[/b] Regular PVP is "meh" at best in terms of the light level of its loot. [b]4)[/b] Faction packages can be obtained relatively quickly, provided you're completing bounties at the same time as doing other activities. Focusing purely on factions will get you literally nowhere. In addition, the items you get from these packages aren't always what you ask for (ask for weapons, get a ship and a ghost shell that's weaker than your current one). [b]5)[/b] Raid is a good source, but it's a strictly once a week thing, so once you've done it, it's back to doing the other 4 over and over again. My point to all this is...grinding light level in Destiny is a huge pain in the ass and is highly dependent on RNG. When Iron Banner came out, I saw the chance and seized it, I am now a high enough light to be prepared for Hard Mode tomorrow. At least for a while, I no longer have to deal with this bullsh*t. However, not everyone was able to take advantage of it while it lasted. Maybe they had to work for long hours, maybe they had to look after the kids, maybe they had coursework to do, or maybe they just hated supremacy. Whatever the reason, plenty of players are still stuck at sub-normal mode values. With the Hard Mode dropping in under 24 hours, this is incredibly unfortunate. Hopefully, the increased light from most loot sources also coming tomorrow will be helpful to those who got left in the dust. I am busy with coursework at the moment (me and a group of classmates have to design a 2D-platformer for some imaginary McD's knockoff to advertise their new menu), but when the first wave has passed and I have some room to breathe, I'll see if I can help some people catch up.