Gypsy gave me the suggestion to create this thread so here it is.
In this thread I will be explaining:
What is light and how does it help you level up?
How does one get light?
How to get legendary or exotic items.
What is intellect, strength, and discipline.
How do gain rep and marks?
What are factions and what do they offer?
What are required for upgrades?
Light
Light is a player attribute that boosts the player's level past 20, increasing the damage done by subclass abilities against higher-level enemies. A player's Light can be increased by equipping armor that boosts it. Because rare armor only gives a maximum of +15 Light per piece, the highest level attainable without Legendary or Exotic armor is 24. Legendary Armor sold through the Vanguard, Crucible, or any of the factions gives a maximum of 27 light. Therefore the highest attainable level without finding gear is 28.
Level Required amount of Light to reach
Level 21 20 Light
Level 22 32 Light
Level 23 43 Light
Level 24 54 Light
Level 25 65 Light
Level 26 76 Light
Level 27 87 Light
Level 28 98 Light
Level 29 109 Light
Level 30 120 Light
How to get light:
There are several ways to gain armor that has light.
Rewards from crucible and vanguard strike missions. ( random each game, not everyone gets a reward )
Decoded engrams, When you decode an engram you are given an item from the class most of the time. You may also be given an item better or worse then what you already have. Third you maybe given upgrade materials. Finally you may buy a legendary or exotic items that have light. ( see below )
Buy legendary or exotic items.
You can buy legendary items from the vanguard and crucible quartermasters. You have to be a certain rank to do so. You could also buy items from faction reps. ( i will be going into detail about this later )
Xur the agent of the nine sells exotic items. He is only in the tower Friday and Saturday. He always has a piece of exotic armor for what class you chose. ( titan, warlock, hunter ) An armor piece costs 13 strange coins. A weapon is 23 strange coins and an engram is 23 motes of light.
You can also gain legendary or exotic items as rewards from the crucible or strike missions.
What is intellect?
Intellect is a player attribute that reduces the cooldown time of the player's Super Ability, allowing it to be used more often.
What is strength?
Strength is a player attribute that reduces the cooldown time of a player's Melee Ability, allowing it to be used more often.
What is discipline?
Discipline is a player attribute that decreases the player's grenade cooldown time, allowing them to be used more often.
Each piece or armor has a certain amount of each of these stats. Be aware some armor might not have all 3. Certain armor might only have 1-2 of these attributes. So when you pick a faction or buy legendary armor check the attributes so you can make the best choice for your play style.
What is reputation?
Vanguard Reputation: You can earn Vanguard reputation by completing bounties, patrol missions, and strike missions. When you reach level 2 with the vanguard you are able to purchase armor and at rank 3 you can buy weapons if you have the marks. ( i will be discussing that in the next section )
Crucible Reputation: You can earn Crucible Reputation by completing crucible bounties, and by playing the crucible. When you reach rank 2 you can purchase armor and at rank 3 weapons only if you have the marks. ( I will be discussing that in the next section.
Vanguard Marks: You can earn vanguard marks by completing strike missions, and daily events.Each strike mission gives a different amount of marks depending on its difficulty. 2 marks for viper 3 marks for eagle and 6 marks for tiger If you have 50 of one material you can also trade those in for marks but I highly advise against it as you need those materials for upgrading later on.
Crucible Marks: You can earn Crucible marks by playing in the crucible. You get 2 marks if you lose and 3 for winning
Factions.
There are 3 factions within the tower all offering weapons and armor. Each armor set has 2 attributes so pick the faction that fits your play style.
Dead Orbit: Discipline and Strength
Future War Cult ( FWC ): Intellect and Discipline
New Monarchy: Intellect and Strength
Just like the Vanguard and Crucible armor and weapons you need to be rank 2 and 3 to purchase them. Gaining the reputation for these factions are very much like gaining vanguard and crucible rep, but there is a twist To gain rep you need to by a class item from the faction of your choice for 2500 glimmer. While worn any rep you gain vanguard or crucible it is put towards the faction.
Upgrade Materials:
Ascendant Shards and energy.
Rewards from completing daily events, strike missions, and crucible games.
Also you may get these from decoding engrams
Spinmetal: Found on earth
Relic Iron: Found on mars
Helium Filaments: Found on earths moon
Spirit Bloom: found on Venus.