[mrkajz44]

So I ended up trying both as the IB grind was much longer than I expected (but did get to level 5 for the first time).

When I was on level 34, I found I came out of a few fire fights with very little health, but health none-the-less. If the level had been different, I probably would have died instead. However, I found myself dying often because I set up a play to throw a grenade and didn't have one ready (and didn't realize it wasn't ready).

On level 33, I felt like I had a few more moments of "how did they not die there", but they seemed few and far between. I had grenades about twice as often and definitely used them much more effectively, and rarely tried to throw one and it not being ready.

I'd say level 33 was better than 34, just because of the grenades and how much I use them in crucible. In the end it didn't matter because I was able to level up once I got my first etheric light.