OP I tell you this again: I AM 385 now Tips for the Solo Player 1) Do patrols on different planets and explore how big each location is- find dead ghosts, read the lore. If you have a creative mind, patrols and exploration go a long way with the grimoire in mind. 2) Do quests given to you by NPCs. Look for quest that grant vanguard reputation. 3) Do Challenge of the Elders or Prison of Elders to stock up on strange coins and motes of light. These will help you when Xur comes. Xur sells heavy ammo synths for 1 strange coin. I usually stock up on 300 coins and buy the (3 pack) of heavy ammo synths. (You can level your faction 2-3 times like that) -Thus- gaining higher level gear. Sadly you will have to inch up every time, but when you hit your goal it's much more gratifying. *Side note- Blue engrams can also provide motes of light and strange coins. Crucible matches also provide them as well as strikes. 4) Read the Grimoire you unlock or look it up, and go do the daily heroic story. Gain legendary marks that way. It's pretty fun collecting faction gear with the marks. Having "Sets of armor" and all. Note, that the weekly playlist is important. 5) Run strikes daily with a rep booster and farm 3oC. You MUST charge your 3oC for about 10 mins minimum for it to have a higher chance of a drop. I don't recommend popping them every strike as that will only spam it in a bad way. Pop it every other strike- 80% of the grind group who does this method gets 3/8 Exotic drops. (Exotics always decrypt above your light level) 6) Run crucible solo if you must to rank up your crucible rep. If you see you're bedding a Fireteam of six, please back out to avoid crucible rage -Or- if you're like me, test your skills and learn from them. Message them GG and move on. Now you know what to work on. Make sure to always have a rep booster. Also- same method for 3oC farming. EVERY OTHER GAME POP EM- my RNG for this though is significantly lower- thus moving me more towards PvE rather than PvP. It could be the same across the board, but who knows. Side note- in private matches- explore the maps and get the dead ghosts- read the lore- you'll appreciate the maps more and the stories behind it. My favourite ATM is Last Exit and the story behind it. Every time I play there now, I always think of the dark force that overtook the land and I feel even more chivalrous being a warrior there. 7) Make all 3 classes if you haven't done so already. I find this is the most important step. You unlock more lore, you learn each CLASSES strengths and weaknesses, and you'll appreciate the game way more. Run the story, there's a lot in it- stop skipping cut scenes. Light level isn't a race. Also,, you have the potential to get better gear on one class vs the other and can switch stuff around to boost light levels. 8) Honestly, get a damn mic, learn to say Hi- and go to LFG and go filter it to "Newbies welcome" I myself hate LFG without that filter even though I'm not a noob. I was literally kicked from 10 groups a day ago for "Not doing the raid, and not having Outbreak Prime," I found a ton of sherpas in LFG newbies welcome, added them, and they help me even more. Luckily, I'll be able to experience the raid next week when I get my mic back. 9) Trials of Osiris is for the sweaty players who have talent (or a lag switch). I highly recommend doing 3v3 modes outside of trials before you do this. To me, trials just had better [b][u]LOOKING[/u][/b] gear rather than [b][u]STRONGER[/u][/b] gear. It's something they deserve for being the cream of the crop. So if you feel the need for this, I wouldn't even complain about a grind. [u][b]I cannot stress this enough though, trials is worth it if you deem yourself decent for it. Complete all the bounties and work to get 5-7 wins in a row- with the boons- you'll get good gear. [/b][/u] 10) ENJOY THE GAME. It's literally an MMO-FPS! It's amazing! There IS a lot to explore and do- complete your Rise of Iron mission book for example, (moments of triumph). It's not COD where the rewards are instant. If you don't like a game with a grind like this and you think it's a joke, you spent money on the wrong game. Bungie has its flaws, but this game requires a lot of talent to develop. I'd like to see you make a game from the ground up like this- the 1st of its kind. The grind is tedious, but not boring. I'm primarily a solo player who took my own advice and started to break out of my reclusive shell. IT IS HEALTHY FOR YOU. [spoiler]I am now 385 light without doing the raid and running trials once. [/spoiler]

People like you are trying to kill the game.

You are playing a social first person shooter, based on interacting with other players to achieve goals. Are you seriously complaining about endgame not being for single players? Instead of jumping on the forums and complaining, make a new post in recruitment forum. I'll help you out. "Title - Single Guardian looking for an endgame companion" "Body - My interests include complaining about a game that has established mechanics that have not change for over two years" Then whatever else you like and then boom friends will fall from the sky's because destiny is full of complaining fools.

you can match-make in the archon forge (sort of). Go through the arena down into the warrens (the big cave with a couple of fallen in it). Wait there for around a minute or so and walk back up into the forge. I would say 90+% of the time when you come back up there will be people in there playing. If not - just go back down again. Doing this puts you on a different server or something. All I know is that it works almost every time for me....

I'm stuck in the 350s and honestly have lost all desire to play the game. There just isn't any reason to log in and grind for a couple hours a night to get a package with a 354 item that is one light higher than the other. There is really nothing rewarding about playing the game anymore, not that there ever was with the horrendous RNG that is in Destiny, but ROI has pretty much killed any desire I had to keep playing. This is further compounded by this "social" game having a complete lack of social tools. Some of us don't want to waste time wading through the LFG cesspool seeing all the "must have this, must be this, must do this, etc." elitist nonsense. They should hand this game over to Blizzard so we could get some in game matchmaking/group finding tools.

So you want to be the highest light level, but don't want to do any of the activities that actually NEED a high light level. Sounds about right.

If you don't want to raid or play trials you don't need over 365

I'd go with what AllSeeingRoque said, I was nothing but a solo player till HoW( I did VoG and CE with randos though ) . I was already way into the lore, there's a lot and it's very interesting to me. I guess I was lucky enough to get invited while in the tower, lfg has been kind to me mostly( that's probably because I'm a flexible person and I pick up things fairly fast ). Shortly after going with randos and lfg I found clan through my brother, haven't had a problem since. You just need to find one that'll work with you or make one. I know thats easier said then done but those are your options. The grind gets slightly easier when your with a group you have fun with. Even if you're not getting everything you want, like my little -blam!-ing brother is getting everything I want. I still love to play with him and my clan, while also delving deep into the lore.

I've always been of the mindset that the only thing the Raid and things like Trials should offer is access to different/cooler stuff, not a mandatory way of light leveling. As a mostly solo player, I am now struggling to get my light level up past 368. I realize this is part of the grind they wanted for players, but of the people I know raiding, they aren't having this problem and are all running around in the high 370's and low 380's. This is especially troubling because of how much light level impacts PvP activities like Iron Banner. I have no problem with raiders running around with things like the new exotic pulse rifle (that is decimating in PvP mind you). But this 20 light levels above everyone else thing is some real ball suckage.

1) Do patrols on different planets and explore how big each location is- find dead ghosts, read the lore. If you have a creative mind, patrols and exploration go a long way with the grimoire in mind. 2) Do quests given to you by NPCs. Look for quest that grant vanguard reputation. 3) Do Challenge of the Elders or Prison of Elders to stock up on strange coins and motes of light. These will help you when Xur comes. Xur sells heavy ammo synths for 1 strange coin. I usually stock up on 300 coins and buy the (3 pack) of heavy ammo synths. (You can level your faction 2-3 times like that) -Thus- gaining higher level gear. Sadly you will have to inch up every time, but when you hit your goal it's much more gratifying. *Side note- Blue engrams can also provide motes of light and strange coins. Crucible matches also provide them as well as strikes. 4) Read the Grimoire you unlock or look it up, and go do the daily heroic story. Gain legendary marks that way. It's pretty fun collecting faction gear with the marks. Having "Sets of armor" and all. Note, that the weekly playlist is important. 5) Run strikes daily with a rep booster and farm 3oC. You MUST charge your 3oC for about 10 mins minimum for it to have a higher chance of a drop. I don't recommend popping them every strike as that will only spam it in a bad way. Pop it every other strike- 80% of the grind group who does this method gets 3/8 Exotic drops. (Exotics always decrypt above your light level) 6) Run crucible solo if you must to rank up your crucible rep. If you see you're bedding a Fireteam of six, please back out to avoid crucible rage -Or- if you're like me, test your skills and learn from them. Message them GG and move on. Now you know what to work on. Make sure to always have a rep booster. Also- same method for 3oC farming. EVERY OTHER GAME POP EM- my RNG for this though is significantly lower- thus moving me more towards PvE rather than PvP. It could be the same across the board, but who knows. Side note- in private matches- explore the maps and get the dead ghosts- read the lore- you'll appreciate the maps more and the stories behind it. My favourite ATM is Last Exit and the story behind it. Every time I play there now, I always think of the dark force that overtook the land and I feel even more chivalrous being a warrior there. 7) Make all 3 classes if you haven't done so already. I find this is the most important step. You unlock more lore, you learn each CLASSES strengths and weaknesses, and you'll appreciate the game way more. Run the story, there's a lot in it- stop skipping cut scenes. Light level isn't a race. Also,, you have the potential to get better gear on one class vs the other and can switch stuff around to boost light levels. 8) Honestly, get a damn mic, learn to say Hi- and go to LFG and go filter it to "Newbies welcome" I myself hate LFG without that filter even though I'm not a noob. I was literally kicked from 10 groups a day ago for "Not doing the raid, and not having Outbreak Prime," I found a ton of sherpas in LFG newbies welcome, added them, and they help me even more. Luckily, I'll be able to experience the raid next week when I get my mic back. 9) Trials of Osiris is for the sweaty players who have talent (or a lag switch). I highly recommend doing 3v3 modes outside of trials before you do this. To me, trials just had better [b][u]LOOKING[/u][/b] gear rather than [b][u]STRONGER[/u][/b] gear. It's something they deserve for being the cream of the crop. So if you feel the need for this, I wouldn't even complain about a grind. 10) ENJOY THE GAME. It's literally an MMO-FPS! It's amazing! There IS a lot to explore and do- complete your Rise of Iron mission book for example, (moments of triumph). It's not COD where the rewards are instant. If you don't like a game with a grind like this and you think it's a joke, you spent money on the wrong game. Bungie has its flaws, but this game requires a lot of talent to develop. I'd like to see you make a game from the ground up like this- the 1st of its kind. The grind is tedious, but not boring. I'm primarily a solo player who took my own advice and started to break out of my reclusive shell. IT IS HEALTHY FOR YOU. Edit 1: I've gotten majorly high light gear from playing trials of Osiris. If you think you're decent at crucible, it's not hard to get the bounties and wins done. Eventually flawless will happen. It was my first time today, and I enjoyed trials.

AGAIN!!!!!! Remember forever 29? Some things never change

You made the mistake of buying ROI in the first place. What did you expect from this game especially early on? It's just a piss poor add on that should have been free but you and hundreds of thousands of others fell for it and bought this pos expansion. You are the problem. You have no right to bitch and complain. Bungie has given up on destiny, they don't give a shit about their players any more. They are just focusing on destiny 2 right now. They took took all your money just like hello games did and are spending it on whores, drugs and fancy vacations.

MAKE RAIDS MATCHMAKING. PROVIDING MIKE IS DETECTED.

Skeleton keys should drop more often that's for sure

honestly, this has been a problem since the start of Destiny and it surprises that it's still an issue. being locked out of part of the game due to preferring to play a certain way is just wrong and there are many things they could do so everyone could enjoy their content. unfortunetly i still see the same people that don't want these things put in because then they lose their ability to lord over certain gear because others can't get it at all. heck the argument of "RAIDS require precision teamwork and communications" doesn't even hold any water because there have been people who have SOLO'd raids. yet for all this i see continuous posts trying to exclude people from doing raids... we need to be helping eachother not blocking.