Copied from Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/DestinyTheGame/comments/2gf0gs/psa_stat_budgets_capping_and_you/ From my limited testing, I've found that there is a set linear boost to the cooldown effects for any given stat (Intelligence, Discipline, Strength). At level 20, and any light level beyond, this bonus is approximately .36%. In other words, if you have 100 of a stat, your bonus bar for that stat will read 36%. The ramifications of this are pretty important: You never want to increase a stat past 272, because any point beyond will be [b]wasted[/b]. You will gain no additional effect. On a cursory glance of the legendaries available in the Tower, a full set will grant you roughly 425 points to play with, before upgrades. With upgrades, it's roughly 465. You can balance this in any way you like. This includes mixing in exotics, which from what I can tell, tend to focus on a particular stat rather than splitting. This means that all together, you have roughly 150% +/- 10% of total bonus percentage to spread around between your stuff. Without an exotic, which tends to have pure stats, it's impossible to cap a stat from Tower gear. The best you'll do is roughly 210-215 points (it varies a bit). If you include an exotic with a pure stat though, you can hit the cap and even surpass it after upgrades. Which explains the "one exotic armor piece at a time" rule. If anyone has any corrections or additions to this please post them so I can make amendments!