Your overall Light number - calculated by adding the Light rating of those four armour pieces together - determines the overall level of your character. Helmets, Gauntlets, Chest and Leg Armour can all have Light ratings and in most cases it can be upgraded as you level up the equipment, which you do by wearing it while doing things that normally accumulate XP (such as completing missions, cashing in bounties or simply killing enemies) and then using materials (such as Glimmer, Spinmetal and Ascendant Materials) to activate the extra potential of the equipment. Once you hit level 20, you start unlocking armour pieces that have this new Light stat associated with them.
Compare the number to our chart to see how you're getting on in detail. You can review your Light level progress on the character screen. In Destiny's case, levels 20 through 30 are all about the 'Light' level associated with your armour. This means you reach level 20 simply by earning XP through missions, bounties and other activities, after which you need to focus on other things. At launch, Destiny has a soft level cap of 20 and a hard level cap of 30.
Our primary goal is still to level up our character, so let's start by looking at the big picture of how that happens. Watch on YouTube Levelling guide - how to reach level 30 quickly
