How do you complete the Destiny 2 Root of Nightmares raid? The Destiny 2 Root of Nightmares raid, introduced as part of the Destiny 2 Lightfall expansion, is exciting showdown of skill, wits, and bravery as players take on a powerful enemy from an ancient time.
Bungie’s newest Destiny 2 raid, now available with Destiny 2 season 20 content in the FPS game, is a showdown against Nezarec, a Disciple of the Witness.
Destiny 2 Root of Nightmares raid release time
The Destiny 2 Root of Nightmares raid launched in Contest Mode upon its launch on March 7 at 9am PST / noon EST / 5pm GMT. Contest Mode, a special mode that caps player Power levels at 20 below the enemies and disables the use of specific high-DPS weapons, will last for 48 hours.
Ayone who completed the raid before March 21 will have the chance to order a special exclusive Root of Nightmares raid jacket.
Destiny 2 Root of Nightmares raid encounters
Bungie gave little information about the raid before its launch, but initially shared the following description.
“Ferried from an unknown time and place, a haunting presence has been detected. We must now confront the ancient threat growing at our doorstep,” the description says.
The raid breaks down into and introduction, and then four major encounters.
- Cataclysm
- Sission
- Macrocosm
- Nezarec
Destiny 2 Root of Nightmares encounter breakdown
Though team Hard in the Paint completed the raid in under 2 and a half hours as part of Bungie’s World’s First raid race, that doesn’t mean it’s easy as the members of that team are some of the highest-caliber players in the Destiny 2 ecosytem. Most normal players will struggle with the raid, especially if they plan to complete it while it’s in Contest Mode.
Here’s a breakdown of how to complete the various steps.
Introduction
This stage is the raid opening. You’ll begin by traversing the entrance area, walking forward until you can go no further and then following the path to the left around the exterior of the ship. As you continue to round the curve, you’ll fight enemies, and in the distance, you’ll see a large statue. Use this to guide you forward. Once you pass this, follow the corridors to the right and then follow the curving pathway into the first encounter.
Cataclysm
Once you reach this point, you’ll be instructed to “Survive the Onslaught.”
This stage’s mechanic requires that two people shoot at an orb that looks like The Traveler at the same time, granting a buff called Field of Light. The goal is to transfer the orb to the other side of the arena by passing it through nodes, which look like spirals.
Starting this encounter will trigger a timer for a Sweeping Terror debuff that will wipe the team if the next steps aren’t completed in time. At this point, players who are not responsible for shooting the orbs will need to melee kill two psions, which will then spawn a Tormeter. They must kill the Tormeter quickly, which will add precious time before the impacts of the Sweeping Terror debuff wipe the team. This will also spawn the next node. Keep in mind that these will alternate spawn sides.
From here, the set of two players who shot the initial orb must work as a team to chain together the orb buffs as their teammates clear adds throughout the encounter. One Guardian will shoot the orb while the other goes to the node, which, if the Guardian has the Field of Light buff, will have an orb that will be consumed. A ray of light from the Traveler orb indicates the direction of the next. Once that Guardian gets to that orb and shoots it, a Traveler ball at the spawn plate will let the team know where they need to head next. Another Tormenter will spawn, and then the players need to once again clear it to spawn the node. They should continue to alternate like this until they clear the arena. Each time, players can expect to connect 4 or 5 nodes and will clear about four Tormenters to finish the encounter.
Once your team completes this, you’ll then need to again make your way through the corridor, following the pathway around and, once you see a platform with a black object in front of it, shoot it and it will propel you across a large opening.
Follow the enemies and then again make your way across the winding pathways. You’ll then come to another area where you’ll need to fight an Aspirant of Nezarec, along with numerous adds. Once you get past this part, follow the tree limbs and platforms higher and higher, then follow the pathways and winding roots again. You’ll then need to clear more adds, after which you’ll head to platform where you’ll use the same platform mechanic to shoot a diamond and launch yourself across the way. At the end of this traversal, you’ll come across another Aspirant of Nezarec, which you must defeat.
Then again, continue making your way higher, which will lead you into another corridor, at which point you’re instructed to “Enter the Root.”
Sission
Note that timing is crucial for this encounter because of the limited timeframe in which players can complete the activities. It also involves launching off the platform to cross the chasm to continue the ascent.
Start by dividing into two teams of three. Two players on each team should stay on their side, while the third on each team , dubbed the runner, will go back and forth across the chasm. The two players who stay behind should be tasked with clearing adds. Note that at certain points, you’ll need to fight more difficult enemies such as a Barrier Colossus. Further, some enemies will be shielded and can only be damaged by players that have the Field of Light buff.
Shoot the orb to earn the Field of Light buff, which will go to any Guardians within its aura when shot. Like the previous encounter, these will point to nodes that you must shoot to progress the activity. However, only players who have the Field of Light buff can activate these nodes. This is generally similar to the first encounter, but there will now also be a dark side and a light side.
The runners will have to shoot a black object to trigger a launcher. However, they must be positioned correctly against the launcher to make it across each time without dying.
One way to tackle this, via the Destiny 2 Raid Secrets subreddit, is the following:
- Each side’s single runner follows the orb indicators and shoots the orbs.
- This player then returns to the spawn point for the Field of Light buff.
- One of the add duty players on either side should also return to the spawn point, where shooting the orb will refresh their buff. The other continues to clear adds.
- With the buff refreshed, the runner will then continue. When they return again to refresh their buff, the other add killer will join them at the spawn point while their teammate, still buffed, continues to kill adds. This way, the players can continue to alternate which of the two players on each side will have their buff refreshed alongside the runner.
If you time this right and swap consistently, then you should be able to make it to the point where you can continue to asecend up the root.
You’ll then come to a portal that requires players to find and shoot several different spirals, which will open the portal. Shoot them in the order indicated by following the beams. Note that all members of the fireteam must be near the portal in order for it to open.
Upon completing this, you’ll once again return to Cataclysm.
Macrocosm
Stay tuned as we update this with more insights into how to complete Macrocosm and its boss.
Nezarec
Stay tuned for more insights into how to defeat Nezarec.
Root of Nightmares raid exotic shotgun
The newest exotic in the Destiny 2 Lightfall exotic list is the Conditional Finality, a dual-barrel shotgun that splits damage between Stasis and Solar. Landing most Stasis pellets will freeze targets, and all Solar pellets will ignite pellets. When compared with specific Aspects and Fragments, this weapon stand to make some powerful builds even more powerful.
That’s everything to know about the Destiny 2 Root of Nightmares raid and the multiplayer game‘s specific encounters. You’ll also want to check out our guides to earning the Destiny 2 Final Warning exotic Strand sidearm, the Destiny 2 Deterministic Chaos exotic Void machine gun, and the Destiny 2 Winterbite exotic Stasis glaive, too.
