So the Leviathan Raid for Destiny 2 has been out for awhile. By now, I've personally completed the Raid 26x* on PS4 Normal, 5x on PC Normal, all 4 Challenge Modes many times, and only 1 real Prestige Raid (that I was only unable to complete the Calus portion of due to leaving for a Wedding) attempt on PS4 due to the Low Incentive. From that experience, here is my guide for how to complete the Leviathan Raid and some best practices. Now that all of the Challenge Modes and Prestige is out, I consider this guide complete. (*Updated after Warmind due to some changes, note the *'s)
Recommended Power Levels: Normal 270; Prestige 300.
Power Level Note: Keep in mind, like all other Destiny 2 content, the Normal Leviathan has a 25* Power Advantage Cap, so being at 295* Caps your damage resist to +12%*. So after Power Level 295*, the Normal Leviathan Raid will never change in difficulty. However, Bungie decided to put a Hard Cap on the Prestige Leviathan at 300, so no bounus are gained after 300. This information has not been announced/talked about by Bungie, but rather been discovered through extensive testing by Reddit users.
Res Tokens: During each encounter other than Castelium, players will only receive 1 Res Token. Once a Res Token is used, that player can no longer Revive another Player. Upon each death a timer is initiated, if a Res isn't performed by the end of said timer, the encounter will wipe. On the Prestige Raid, if a player dies, their Res Token is also removed, meaning you now have less than 6 Revives like you had in the Normal version (possibly only 3, if each death was by a player who still had a Res Token), and deaths are much more punishing, even though they aren't as much so as Destiny 1's Permadeath.
Rewards: Rewards up to 385* (will always drop containing a Legendary Mod) can be obtained throughout Leviathan on both Normal and Prestige once per Class* (Bungie made a change where you can only gain rewards once per Class per week, so if you run multiple Characters, run 1 of each Class) per week from each encounter (Royal Pools, Pleasure Gardens, The Gauntlet, and Calus). Your first completion of the Castelium Entrance (no matter when you do it during the Raid) will drop an up to 380* Power Legendary Engram, Shaders, and Tokens. All other chests guarantee* you Tokens and an up to 380* Power drop. Each of the 3 leadup Encounters, Royal Pools, Pleasure Gardens, and The Gauntlet also drop a random Key that goes to one of the Treasure Chests located in the Underbelly. These Chests have a high chance to drop Exotic Engrams at up to 380* Power. You can either visit the Underbelly during the Raid (if you know the secret tunnels well) or visit them after the Raid is finished. If you return to the Tower, you can go under Hawthorne and find sweeper bot Benedict 99-40, he will give you Raid Legendary items for 20 Tokens (he will only sell them if you completed the corresponding Raid that week*), but they will be at your Rare Power Level Softcap, whatever that Power Level is. *He now also sells specific items you may be missing at 340 Power for Tokens for each Raid/Raid Lair per week, but keep in mind only Raids you have completed are in the Loot Pool. He is also who you seek to update your Raid Quest and continue on it throughout.
Challenge Rewards: We have now seen all 4 Challenge Modes launched for Leviathan. For each encounter completion of Challenge Mode you get an extra Rewards Chest, this time with more Tokens (11 I think), an Emblem, 7k Glimmer, and an up to 380* Power Legendary drop. Royal Pools Emblem is called Splish Splash. The Gauntlet Emblem is called Two Enter, One Leaves. The Pleasure Gardens Emblem is called Good Dog. The Emperor Calus Emblem is called Take the Throne.
Castelium (The Entrance)
As you enter the Raid for the first time you will run up a winding staircase and find a double man cannon. Use this to skip to the Entrance of The Castelium. After winding through the hallways you will preceed out into the actual Castelium. This is a place that without using the Underbelley (a place I will describe later) you will have to return to after the completion of each encounter. The Castelium has 4 major doors, these are the doorways into the 4 major encounters locations: Royal Pools, Pleasure Gardens, The Gauntlet, and Throne. Each doorway is represented by a symbol. The Royal Pools are represented by a a large Sun symbol, and is located right as you walk in the room. The Pleasure Gardens are represented by a Beast (henceforth known as Dog), this area is located in the center of the room on the left. The Gauntlet is represented by two Axes intertwined, it is just in front of Pleasure Gardens down a flight of stairs on each side or off the ledge overlooking it. And lastly the Throne is represented by a Chalice (henceforth known as Cup, only because it's easier to quickly say), it is located on a balcony just to the left from Royal Pools and between it and Pleasure Gardens. Knowing these locations will become extremely important. Eash week the Raid will rotate which of these Encounters start the Raid, so while in Week 1, it was Royal Pools, Pleasure Gardens, and Gauntlet, it has been a different order each week. Throne will always be last. So, for this first encounter, find the Entrance that has both enemies and a Glowing symbol. This indicates it is the encounter you need to do. You will need to split into two groups, ideally 2 (Strike) and 4 (Defend).
- Defend Team - These players will stay near the door you are trying to open. Their job is simply to kill any and all ads that spawn in the area. During this fight be mindful of an enemy known as a Standard Liberator. If this enemy is allowed close enough to your Standards (the Flags with your corresponding Symbols on it), he will steal all of the Standards you have obtained so far. Be mindful as well of a prompt that appears and says a Councillor (henceforth known as Old Men, thanks GB Crew) has appeared. 1 player will need to quickly kill this Old Man (just run up and melee), because while he is alive, the Standard Liberator's will be impossible to kill with a Shield around them. After a Standard is planted, near the plate a buff will be granted called Force of Will that will grant players bonus damage. Leaving the small location will remove the buff, it isn't very important though.
- Strike Team - Figure out which Battle Standard needs to be obtained and then go to that location. In a Triangle around the plate of the door you are trying to open, there should be a spot for 3 symbols, one of which is showing, go to that location. Once there, clear all of the ads, if there are no ads, you are at the wrong location. Once most of the ads are cleared, a Standard Bearer will appear. He is tough to kill but two Guadians should make quick work of him with Power Weapons and Supers. Once he is killed, that plate should spawn the corresponding Standard which can be picked up and ran back to your entrance. Once there just slam the Standard into place by holding down your Action button (reload button). Then repeat this process until all 3 Standards are in place. This should open the entrance to the encounter you are about to face...
Suggested Loadouts
Roaming Supers are preferred. Warlocks struggling to survive may try a Devour build. This is an easy portion of the Raid though, so really anything goes. You likely want harder hitting Power Weapons like Shotguns, Fusion Rifles, and Cluster Bomb Rockets. Auto Rifles and Scouts are preferred for Primaries.
This image is pretty good at displaying where each of these doors are, they even included their Guide to the encounter on it.
Royal Pools
The Royal Pools, also known as Baths is a pretty straight forward encounter. Again there are 4 Plates, each in the 4 corners of this Arena. This encounter also has the Bath House in the center of the room. You will notice an Orb hovering over each of the 4 plates, and 1 over a plate in the center of the Bathhouse. These Orbs grant a buff called Psionic Protection. This stacks starting at 50, and for every second you stand in the purple Psionic Pools, it will count down by 1. To start the encounter you will need to divide into 2 teams, Right and Left. On each side a player will go to a Plate on either the Upper or Lower Plate. The two remaining players on both Right and Left will start in the Bathhouse. To keep from dying before jumping on the symbols, each player will stand just off of the symbols in safe spots like on the Vents next to the Plates. One of the two players in the middle will walk over and grab an Orb before the encounter starts and quickly move to the Concrete path just on the outside of the Bathhouse. The other player will signal all players to step on their plates and each player will do so until the Bathing Ritual begins.
Bathing Ritual (Phase 1)
Players in the middle will then proceed to the Upper Plates on their respective sides. Those sides will spawn a large, rather naked Cabal called a Bather. He will be tough to kill, so use Power Ammo and Grenades liberally here (especially if you have Pulse Grenades). Once the player from the middle is at the Upper plate, the player from that Plate will proceed towards the Bathhouse and obtain an Orb for a new stack of Psionic Protection. Once that is obtained he proceeds to the Lower Plate to relieve that player, then that player goes to the Bathhouse to grab a Psionic Protection Orb and relieve the Upper Plate player. This Triangle continues until all of the Chains directly in front of each Plate is all the way down. Keep in mind Bathers will continue to spawn at each Chain, and they are very dangerous. If a player dies, have the person in the middle quickly res and relieve that player, even if they just left that side, and continue the rotation. Once all Chains have gone all the way down (there is a White Tire looking thing that connects each chain, it needs to go all the way down) a horn will sound. This signals Phase 2. All players need to proceed directly to the center of the Bathhouse.
Phase 2
Once all players are in the Bathhouse, you will notice a few things here. The Center Plate will now give a buff called Force of Will. This signals that the Bells (Canisters with Purple Liquid) are damageable. There are 3 on the Upper Left, 3 on the Upper Right, and 3 on the Back. Utilize Power Ammo and Auto Rifle to destroy these Bells. Keep a mindful eye on your Psionic Protection, as when it runs out, you will all start to slowly die to the Pools again. To slow this down Warlocks should put up Healing Rifts in the Center of the Bathhouse on that Plate towards the end of the cycle, this should give players a few extra seconds. If you have multiple Warlocks, have another Warlock or two pop their Rifts as Empowering earlier in the Phase to more easily take out Bells.. While all of this is going on, Bathers will also be spawning inside the Bathhouse. Have 1 player at a time leave the Plate to use a Roaming Super against these Ads. Make sure to call out who is Supering, so that no more than 1 player is at any given time. When done return to shoot Bells and tell another player to Super. If at any time your Psionic Protection runs out, quickly leave the center area to the safe sidewalk area and kill Ads. If you do not kill all of the Bells, then at the end of this phase an Old Man will Spawn on the Plate, Melee him. Then another smaller Psion will spawn up in the air that can be shot. Go back to positions and restart Phase 1. Repeat until all Bells are destroyed and the encounter is complete.
Suggested Loadouts
Hunters should be running Arc Strider. Arc Staff is very good here and I recommend either Raiden Flux or Lucky Raspberry. If you have the Orpheus Rig Boots, running Nightstalker can also be very valuable to generate Orbs when a lot of Ads are around. Titans, get use to me saying this, Striker Earthshaker with Pulse Grenades. Atium War Rig and Alpha Lupi are both good. You need to be using this build the entire Raid. Warlocks, same thing, get comfortable as a Stormcaller on the Elements build. Arc Souls are extremely good for teams inside Rifts. Here, be using a Healing Rift though (if you have 2, have the first Warlock use an Empowering Rift to take down the Bells faster). Crown of Tempest is probably your best Exotic here, but Eye of Another World is also fine and so are the Lunafaction Boots. For weapons I would bring 450 RPM Auto Rifles (Uriels Gift, Origin Story, or Prosecutor) and the Merciless Fusion Rifle if you have it. A normal Fusion mixed with either Sweet Business or Coldheart is also good. I also personally like to run a Nameless Midnight Scout for the Explosive Rounds, but both Better Devils and True Prophecy HC's are good here as well.
Here is the link to that other Guide's Image I've been posting, though it doesn't show the Symbol locations, which are extremely important for Prestige.
Prestige Mode Changes and Strategies
Changes - Bathers were renamed to Oiled Ceremonial Bathers. Their only change appears to be that they now drop oil on death, that removes 5 Psionic Protection per second instead of 1, so don't stand in it if possible. Also, more Bathers spawn during Phase 2. If you fail to destroy all of the Bells in Phase 1, 4 players will see a Symbol on the Center Plate (Keep in mind that Sun is the Middle Plate in the Bathhouse, and the bottom Right is 2 Spear Dudebros, which honestly makes Axes diagonally a bit confusing but whatever, I will also refer to that symbol as Dudebros in my own Raids). Players must go to that Symbol in order to start the next round, so all players need to know where each Symbol is at beforehand. A Burden of Worthiness Debuff is given to all players until the next phase is started. You seem to have about 10-15s to start the next phase correctly or it will wipe the entire team.
Strategy Changes - Try to 1 Phase the Bells if possible, as the random Symbols on after a failed Phase 2 is confusing. If you don't make sure every player knows where each Symbol is and gets to their's quickly. Clearing Ads as quickly as possible is even more crucial here, as more Ads spawn in Prestige compared to Normal.
Challenge Mode
Challenge - At least 1 player must stay in the Bathhouse Pool at all times, or the Challenge Fails.
Strategy - In practice, my original strategy just took too much precision. So since the Right side players have less of an angle to view Ads, continue the rotation per normal on Right. The Mid player that normally rotates will just stand in the pool and clear Ads from the Bathhouse. Have you strongest two players on Top Left and Bottom Left. These players have the hardest job. They need to start the encounter per normal, and keep a keen eye on their Psionic Protection, once they kill 2 Bathers, or notice only 10 Psionic protection and have recently killed a Bather they need to bail and run towards the Bathhouse. They need to quickly grab a Psionic Protection Orb and get back onto their plates. Don't worry if you are this player and have to waste your Super to wipe Ads upon returning if they are overwhelming, go ahead and do so. It is possible you may return to a waiting Bather.
Note: The biggest key here is right side NOT picking up the Psionic Protection buff if either left side player comes to grab it, they are the priority, and taking it from them causes Chains to roll back too far and often causes a team wipe. It is also required to 1 phase kill all of the Bells. If you don't it is unlikely any player will have enough Psionic Protection left to stay in the pools long enough for it to return to attempt a 2nd phase. If you are having trouble 1 Phasing the bells due to DPS, try leaving 1 player, ideally the original middle player out of middle while everyone else is in middle to clear Ads, then jumping in at the last 10 seconds and standing towards the front of the room where the two bells are so that he isn't knocked off by the spawning Old Man. He will then need a re-up ASAP.
Pleasure Gardens
This is the encounter that seems to have given the most players the most trouble. So I will try my best to explain how it is done. The first thing you will do when you enter the room is clear all of the Ads. There will be dogs and Beast Handlers. Beast Handlers will frequently drop Power Ammo, so keep that in mind. Once all of the Ads are cleared you will notice several things in the room. On the opposite side of the room from which you entered is a Dome, this Dome is known as the Safe Room. The Safe Room has two doors on the bottom floor that will currently be shut, two stand on each side overlooking the room which now have Prisms sitting on them, a Giant Manhole that is covered, and 3 red dots above said Manhole. Those 3 dots indicate how many opportunities your team will have to enter the safe room. It also keeps track of those opportunities if one is used. Around the room, you will also notice 8 Stands, each with a small pink flower or two coming out of them. These are extremely important (see the image below for their locations), as they are the Spores we will discuss later. Note their locations. One is in the Tree's, Rocks, and 3 others on both the left and the right. On the image below, take note of Near Left, as I will be referencing that as L1, Mid Left as L2, and Far Left as L3. The same goes for R1, R2, and R3. There are also 6 locations where beams of Light are hitting the rocks up in the air. Before starting the encounter, realize that once the encounter starts 6 Beasts will also spawn and start roaming this room. Their patrol routes are denoted in the image below. Notice also on the image that 6/8 Spores are circled. This is to denote that once a damage phase is initiated, Beasts will return to these locations. Assign 1 player to each of these 6 locations for DPS of that Beast. Note they are L1, Trees, L3, R1, R2, and R3. To start the encounter divide into 2 groups. Prism Team (the guides) and Ground Team. Have Ground Team stand on the Manhole or near it. Then Prism Team will proceed to pick up each Prism, one on the Left, one on the Right.
Prism Team
Be very careful when the encounter starts, as Beasts will be leaving underneath the Saferoom. If you jump to a Prism Location (Beams of Light) too early, a Beast will detect you. Your goal is to, as quickly as possible identify the Spores that are active, and get into position near them. You will need to be the guide for the Ground Team to navigate around any Beasts to the Spores. Let the Ground Team know if any Beasts are pathing towards them and give them the go ahead to run to a Spore when it is safe to do so. Shoot said Spore with your Prism when all of the Ground Team is next to the Spore, and then look for a Beast Handler on the ledge on your side. One will spawn each time on each side, every time a Spore is detonated. If two Spores have been destroyed, two new Spores will appear, so after your Beast Handler is killed, quickly locate the new Spore on your side. Each time 4 Players are near a Spore when it is detonated, you will receive a buff of 12 called Empowering Spores. You will receive stacks smaller than 12 if less than the 4 players are present, so ideally, don't shoot the Spores until all 4 of the Ground Team players are present. Beasts are very hard to damage at under 36 stacks, and thereby are extremely easy to damage if you obtain the max of 60 Empowering Spores. If a stack of 60 Empowering Spores is obtained go immediately to Damage Phase.
Ground Team
When the encounter starts you will either fall down or should jump down into the lower level of the Safe Room. On the back wall you will see 4 Pollen. Each of the 4 players will need to grab a Pollen. While holding a Pollen, players will not be able to double jump, but you can Sprint. As a group, get together and listen for your Prism Team to call out which Spores are active. Head to the nearest Spore called out, or the easiest for the team to obtain (you will learn which ones are easy and which ones are hard, Note: L3 and R2 are the hardest). Proceed as a group, listening to the callouts of that sides Prism holder. Stay as close together as possible. Ideally, if one player knows where each Spore is located best, follow said player. Stay away from Beasts, as being seen by them will trigger the Damage Phase early. When told by the Prism holder, run to your Spore and wait for him to shoot it. You should see Empowering Spores x12 if you did it correctly. These stack up to 60. If you obtain 60, go directly to Damage Phase.
Damage Phase
For Damage Phase, each player will go to their own Beast that was assigned earlier. It is ideal for Prism Team to go for their sides furthest Spore's Beast, or L3 and R3 Beasts. Do as much damage as possible to your Beast. Use Grenades and Power Weapons, and Supers if you have to. You will have a pretty short period of time to damage your Beast, roughly 30 seconds. But if you are outside when that time runs out, it will kill you. To negate this, after about 15 seconds of DPS, run back towards the Safe Room and jump down the Manhole. If anyone dies outside the Safe Room, DO NOT res them until after the Safe Room reopens (they will be rekilled instantly and a res wasted). DO NOT kill your Beast until all 6 of the Beasts can be killed at once. For each Beast killed, the time to hunt is decreased. Continue to restart this process until all Beasts are able to be killed in the same Damage Phase. When this is possible, if your Beast dies, ask who needs help and then proceed to that location. If you need help, tell others your Spore location, not who you are.
Suggested Loadouts
So, since Datto just went over Weapons for you guys, I'll quickly touch on those as well for those that didn't watch. For reference, Beasts have about 460k health.
- Power Weapons: The hardest hitters here are you Cluster Rocket Launchers, both Sins of the Past and Curtain Call (219k damage per rocket, 2 of which can be fired in just 4s), but beware that Rocket Launchers are easily the most dangerous weapon to use due to self murder habits of being too close to enemies, or enemies walking up from behind. Hawthorn's Shotgun is my personal favorite of the bunch (196-215k damage in just 2.3s, the only problem is the near 6.5s reload time). Another great DPS option is Merciless Fusion Rifle (roughly 302k Damage at 60 stacks in 1 Mag in 6.5s). The It Stared Back Sword is also an ok choice (36k Damager per Swing at 1.3s per swing at 60 stacks, or 216k damage in 6.5s).
- Class Abilities: Pulse Grenades... Just throw Pulse Grenades. On Warlock, be a Stormcaller with, you guessed it, Pulse Grenades. An Empowering Rift on Elements with Arc Souls is also pretty good help for DPS. You can also Trance to help someone else's Beast if that is needed, so make sure you Landfall that Beast. Strikers... I mean Titans, or whatever, I already told you your on Striker this entire Raid right. Earthshaker is again your Double Pulse friend, and Smash ain't too bad either. Note: Be aware of Datto's advice about Rally Barricade removing your Stacks (I've never seen it, but if it happens to you call it out so your team doesn't wipe their Beasts, or they can help you). Same goes for Hunters Evade. Hunters, this is the Nightstalkers time to shine. Pull out those Voidwall Grenades and Smokes and hit your Beast with a Tether and both of those. It will put a real hurt on him.
Here is the link to that other Guide's Image I've been posting, though it isn't very correct as far as how the room is laid out so that is why I didn't post it.
Prestige Mode Changes and Strategies
Changes - There are now 8 Dogs. What this means is there are actually 2 Dogs now Patrolling the main street in front of the safe room and up and down the middle patch between Right/Left, so you need to use the Saferoom to move between sides now. See image below for new Patrol routes. This also means that there is now an extra Dog at L2 and Caves.
Strategy Changes - If you can get enough stacks to kill in 1 phase, players should be assigned to each of the Left or Right Dogs (R1-3, L1-3). Once your Dog is killed, all players should crash as quickly as possible to both Trees and Rocks Dogs, depending on which side they are on (Left Side goes to Trees, Right goes to Rocks). If you need more than 1 rotation, get your dog low, and once he is easy to kill go help with your side's extra Dog. Note: The team I was on thought it was easier to Crash on R2 rather than Caves, and had a dedicated Caves player rather than R2. You may think the same.
Challenge Mode
Challenge - No Prism Holder can shoot more than 1 Spore per Round.
Strategy - There are a couple of valid strategies here.
- If you have good DPS, you can just have each Prism Holder get 1 Spore for a 24x stack, and then kill all Dogs.
- If you want, you can do multiple phases with the same Prism Holders at 24x stacks.
- Lastly, you can shoot a Spore, kill your Beast Handler and then have 1 player meet you at the saferoom and swap that Prism and Pollen. New Prism Holder gets into position safely while the new Pollen holder rushes to meet up with the Ground Team (or consequently do both Right and Left side, and swap both Prisms at the same time from the Saferoom). Then attempt to get as many stacks as possible at a max of 60x. Note: This also works if you do both Spores on each side and then do a double swap in Mid, and might even be faster. This is how Datto did it and they were able to hit 60x.
My team will probably use Strategy 2, if not now, in the future. I'm not sure we have the DPS for a 24x stack kill but we are going to try it. I know we can at 36x. As a side note, I also want us to do the swapping and attempt a 60x just for the giggles. Good luck to everyone attempting this.
The Gauntlet
Gauntlet is probably the most mechanics heavy encounter of the Raid. There are actually very few enemies here, other than yourself and your teammates. When you get to the top of the elevator you will look out on what looks to be a Japanese Game Show set (which could also kind of describe the entire Leviathan Raid honestly). Notice 4 Platforms in the air, in all 4 corners of the room. Each one has one of our symbols (Dog, Sun, Cup, Axes) on it, and directly in front of it, 3 Arrows with the same symbol above it. Notice also that both Dog and Cup have what looks like a Teleporter (because hint, that's exactly what it is) underneath their arrows. On the other side of the wall where your Arrows are, there also appears to be an American Gladiators style running track with 9 large tubes at each symbol. Notice also that each set of Tubes has that Symbol above it as well. Now that you've seen everything in the room we are ready to start The Gauntlet. To do so, have 4 players stand on each of the 4 Platforms (ideally these will be your 4 Platform Holders I will explain in a sec).
Ad Clearing (Phase 1, 2, and 3)
Split up into two teams, Runners and Platform Holdrs. Each Platform Holder will be assigned a specific Symbol (Dog, Sun, Cup, or Axes). They will be guarding those spots from Ads. Runners will be positions at one of two places, either Dog or Cup. The Runner/Platform Holder at both Dog and Cup need to work together to clear the Ads as quickly as possible on their respective sides. The easiest way to do this is to run next to the teleporter and each watch a side for Ads as they spawn from the doorways on both the right and left of the Symbols near the Guantlet track. Once Ads are cleared there turn your focus to the symbols nearest you (if you were right side of Dog look towards Sun and help clear those Ads, if left help clear Axes, etc). Platform Holder at Sun and Axes need to stay back and clear as many Ads as possible while staying safe, help will arrive shortly (or if you are a bada**, you just handle your business, ie put your strongest players at these positions). After a short period of time (plenty of time to wipe most if not all of the Ads) a Gong will sound. This is to let you know that an Imperial Centurian is inbound to each of the 4 Platform locations. He will spawn out of either of the doors on the right or left that the other Ads spawned from. Use either a Super (if it's cooled down) or Power Ammo to quickly dispatch him. If one of the solo Platform Holders is struggling players should quickly crash on that Centurian to kill him as quickly as possible. Shortly after the Centurian spawns, an Orb will spawn at both Dog and Cup. Runners designated for those positions should call out that they are picking up the Orb, and do so at the same time. While this is happening, each of the Platform Holder should jump on top of their now in air Platforms. When both Runners are teleported, this starts The Gauntlet Phase.
The Gauntlet (Phase 1, 2, and 3)
- Runners - Runners will spawn into The Gauntlet. As soon as your Plateholders as standing on their Platforms (only the one you are looking at matters, so Dog/Cup to start), you will see 1 of the 9 Circles is lit up in Red. If you noticed earlier there are only 3 Arrows on the outside, so for this instance, they only need to know which Row and what Symbol you are at. So a callout here would be Dog-Bottom (see what I did there) and Cup-Top if the bottom and top rows are what both those players see (Note: Runners also need to clarify which of them will be calling first, so that they aren't talking over each other). Once a callout is made and your Plateholders do their job, your entire grid should go Green and reveal another Orb where that Red Circle was. To further clarify, your original Orb is basically a Bomb, so collecting these new Orbs, will reset it's charge. If the players on the outside Do Not do their job correctly, or you callout incorrectly, the grid will go red, and no Orb will be present. Don't worry, you can miss one Orb, just don't miss another, or you will die a pretty explody death. Ideally, this won't happen and you will preceed on to the next symbol. Callout again the Symbol-Row. You will do this 4x on each Gauntlet run. After your 4th Grid, you will run towards a Fireworks display with an Orb. Run through said Orb and it will transport you back outside into the original room. Run back to the Elevator and hold the Action button (reload button) on top of the Elevator and the Bedpost looking Golden prongs. One will fill for each Orb delivered. The team will need to deliver 9 Orbs to finish The Gauntlet. After this is completed, you will start the next Ad Clearing Phase. After the 3rd Gauntlet Phase you will go to the Final Gauntlet. Each subsequent Gauntlet Phase will become increasingly harder due to less and less flooring to maneuver on, so keep that in mind.
- Plateform Holder - After jumping on your Plate, keep in mind what Symbol you represent. Runners will start to call out your Symbol or the one directly to your right, so keep both of these in mind (Dog has Dog/Sun, Sun has Sun/Cup, Cup has Cup/Axes, and Axes has Axes/Dog). Platform Holders will be further divided into two teams, Uppers and Lowers. Dog/Cup are your Uppers. Sun/Axes are your Lowers. Whatever the Runner calls, you will be shooting the opposite of that. So what this means is that when your Runner calls Dog-Bottom (hehe) Dog will shoot Top Arrow and Axes will shoot Middle Arrow (if say it's Dog-Top, Dog shoots Middle and Axes shoots Bottom). When a Runner passes through your Symbols Grid, an Old Man will spawn right in front of your Platform. Just simply jump off as quickly as possible, punch the Old Man, and then quickly get back to your Platform and in position on top of your Platform (Note: If you cannot make it back to your Platform do not worry, just shoot the next symbol to your right from where you are, and then quickly jump back on your Platform). If a wrong callout is made or a bad shot made, the Grid will turn red instead of Green, and a random Psion will spawn that needs to be shot at times. So look for him. If a Runner dies, another Centurian will spawn randomely at one of the 4 Symbols as well, otherwise, there should be no Ads other than the Old Men that need punching. Runners will each do 4 Rotations, which means everyone should shoot 4 Arrows. Once both runners are out of the Gauntlet, jump off of your Plate and return to positions for Ad Clearing Phase. There will be 3 Gauntlet Phases, on Phase 3 you will notice your Platform moving up and down as you stand on it. This is to try and throw off your shots, but it shouldn't, it's rather easy to shoot through, just be cautious. Once the 3rd Gauntlet Run has been completed run to the Elevator and prepare for the Final Gauntlet.
The Final Gauntlet
At the Elevator 6 Orbs will Spawn, each player will now need to grab 1. Players should divide into 2 teams, Dog and Cup. Dog Team consists of the Dog Runner, Dog Plate, and Sun Plate. Cup Team consists of the Cup Runner, Cup Plate, and Axes Plate. Once Orbs are grabbed by players, they will be teleported into the Gauntlet. Dog Team should move to the Left side of the Gauntlet, while Cup Team should move towards the Right. 4 Orbs will spawn on each Grid. This means that only 4/6 players can grab an Orb each time (keep in mind, these are Bombs and you need to reset the charges), so we need to rotate who grabs an Orb. To do this, you need to predesignate who will be skipping each time. My preferred method is to have Runners skip Orb 1, Uppers skip Orb 2, and Lowers skip Orb 3. Then on the final Orb, the fastest 4 players grab the last Orbs (Note: Another strategy is to again have Runners skip 4). As soon as Orbs are seen, players not skipping should callout which Orb they are grabbing, so other players know not to grab that Orb. Dog Team should show preference to Left sided Orbs, while Cup Team should show preference to Right sided orbs. Orbs in the Middle are first called first dibs (which is how all should work as well). Players who are skipping should announce so after Orbs are obtained, so right after picking up Orb 1, Dog Plate and Cup Plate should say "Skipping" (and so on). Once players grab or run past all 4 orbs you will again see a small fireworks Finish Line. Make sure you run through this Finish Line and pick up another Orb of the 4. If no Runners died during Phase 1-3, only 3 Players need to make it to the Elevator and Slam their Orbs. If a Runner died, all 4 players must make it to the Elevator. If more than 2 Runners died, The Gauntlet is impossible to finish, so just wipe and start over. Again, 9 Orbs must be Slammed into the Elevator to finish The Gauntlet. Once this is done, you are finished.
Note: If a player has died during the Final Gauntlet, Res that player before Slamming your Orb if you are the first player out of the Gauntlet, this will allow your team to finish if the appropriate number of players survive with an Orb.
Suggested Loadouts
For Running Warlocks I suggest the Transversive Steps. You are already the slowest Class because your movement speed is very slow which is bad for Gauntlet. These should help some. I would also suggest the Stomp EE5's for Hunters for similar reason's, though they and the Dunemarchers for Titans are far less necessary. For weapons I highly suggest a Scout Rifle, and in particular either the Nameless Midnight or the Mannannan SR4 if you are a Platform Holder (a Coldheart works as well). Any burst damage Power Weapon is good for everyone here, though I personally dig both Merciless (my preference) and Hawthrons. Literally any Super works, but Pulse Grenades make quick work of Ads at the doorways, and roaming Supers cook the Centurians. But again, there are very few Ads here, so do whatever you want.
This image is pretty good at displaying where each of these Platforms are and general room layout, they even included their Guide to the encounter on it.
Prestige Mode Changes and Strategies
Changes - Three notable changes were made. No player can Run more than once. Psionic Projections now spawn seemingly randomly throughout the room during Gauntlet Phase. And during the Final Gauntlet there are now only 3 Charges, rather than 4.
Strategy Changes - No player running twice makes the Gauntlet phase rather complicated. The easiest solution I can come up with is to have your best 2 players be Runner 1 & 2. Their jobs are going to be extremely complicated (otherwise everyone's job gets complicated). For phase 1, proceed per normal, with the only change being that if you aren't punching an Old Man from a Platform, you need to be vigilant about watching your area's (your Platform and the one to your right) Psionic Projections. For Phase 2, the first Runners will swap with the Uppers and now be the Upper Shooters on Dog/Cup Platforms. Dog/Cup Platformers will be the new Runners. For Phase 3, the original Runners will then swap with the Lowers on Axes/Sun and be the new Lower Shooters on Axes/Sun. Axes/Sun Platformers will be the new Runners. Final Phase is actually easier to understand. You once again break up into Team Sun and Team Dog. This time however, since there are only 3 Orbs, one Team at a time will grab the Orbs. Start with Team Dog grabbing Orb 1, then Cup on Orb 2, then Dog again on Orb 3, and Cup on Orb 4, and Dog again on the Final Orbs. Everyone should try to make it to the end if possible. As always, Res players who have died before Slamming if time is a concern.
Challenge Mode
Challenge - No player can stand on the same Platform Twice after the fight starts.
Strategy - This change completely changes the normal strategy for Gauntlet, but brings it more in line with how Prestige Gauntlet already works since no Runner can run twice there. To complete this, there are two easy strategies.
Strategy 1
Using our normal strategy, you can have 3 players on each side, Cup/Dog. Players 1 starts as the runner, Players 2 starts as the Dog/Cup Upper shooter, and Players 3 starts as the Axes/Sun Lower shooter. Run the Gauntlet per usual. On Gauntlet run 2, all players must rotate to a new role. Players 3 are the new Runners, Players 1 are the new Dog/Cup Uppers, and Players 2 are the new Axes/Sun Lowers. For Gauntlet run 3, all players must rotate to the last role. Players 2 are the Runners, Players 3 are the new Dog/Cup Uppers, and Players 1 are the new Axes/Sun Lowers.
Strategy 2 (The Datto Way) - This is now my preferred way of doing the encounter, it's much easier to teach players how to do it.
Since launch of Leviathan, Datto has done Gauntlet a bit differently than the rest of the community, and it might be paying off. His way of normally doing Gauntlet seems to be much easier for Challenge Mode specifically. What Datto does is have a Dog and a Cup team. Each team has a Runner, Platformer, and Psion Killer. Similar to our approach, the Platform Holder shoots Upper while the Psion killer always shoots Lower. When a Runner picks up the Orb, the Platform holder for Dog/Cup will stand on that Platform, they shoot the designated arrow per usual for Upper and then quickly proceed to the next Platform, and follow the Runner around the Gauntlet. The Psion killer shoots Lower, and then waits for the Old Man to spawn, killing him as quickly as possible, and then following the Runner as best he can. Doing it this way for Challenge Mode, you will need to rotate these 3 positions each time. Gauntlet 1, Player 1 will be Runner, Player 2 Platformer, Player 3 Psion Killer. For Gauntlet 2, Player 1 will be Platformer, Player 2 will be Psion Killer, and Player 3 will be the Runner. For Gauntlet 3, Player 1 will be Psion Killer, Player 2 will be Runner, and Player 3 will be the Platformer.
For both strategies, do Ads Phase and run The Final Gauntlet per usual.
Throne (Emperor Calus)
So you've murdered some Naked Cabal just trying to take a Bath, Bested the Beasts and their Handlers, and beat a Japanese Gameshow like the real MXC Champ you are. Now you are ready to face Emperor Calus, just please do not Punch his Old Men, he doesn't like it when you Punch his Old Men (you'll get this in a minute). Before starting the fight look around the room. This is the Throne Room. You will notice Emperor Calus is just hanging out drinking from his Goblet, he just wants to be friends. Screw all of that, shoot the Goblet out of his hands. He isn't going to be very happy. This starts the Emperor Calus fight...
Throne Room Ad Clearing
Ads will start to spawn, some Psions, some Phalanxes, some dogs, some Legionaries, and most importantly Centurians called Incenerators. These are extremely heavy hitting Majors. Divide up into two teams again, 3-3. The first team Throne Team will need to conserve their Supers for reasons explained later. The other team, Face Team, will need to burn their Supers to clear Ads. Roaming Supers are preferred for all players throughout this fight (Strikers/Arcstriders/Stormcallers). Clear the entire room of Ads, leaving none behind. Soon thereafter, 4 Old Men will Spawn, one on each of the Symbols Platforms. DO NOT PUNCH THEM. If you do, when Throne Team returns to the room, it will start with 4 Incenerator Centurians and 4 Psions. They are very hard to kill, and it makes this section of the Raid 4x harder on the Throne Team. Just don't do it, no matter what. Keep in mind Emperor Calus has an Eyebeam attack that will quickly destroy your health if you stay out in the open too long. Emperor Calus will then Clap his hands (prompting videos like this gem). This will teleport all Players into the Shadow Realm.
Shadow Realm and Skulls
- Throne Team - After being teleported, quickly run forward and jump over the short barrier and grab 1 of the 3 Orbs. This will teleport you back into the Throne Room. Coordinate beforehand which of the 3 Orbs you are going to grab so that no 2 players try and grab the same 1 (a good rule of thumb is to grab the Orb of the side you will be on in the Throne Room, explained here in a sec). Once back in the Throne Room, split into 3 positions. One on Right, one of Left, and one to float between the two. Again be mindful of Emporer Calus' Eyebeam attack at all times. Ads will start to spawn from Middle, Front Right and Front Left. Shoot them when you can if you are on Right/Left, and always if you are the floater. Keeping Ads off your Right/Left teamates is your job as the Floater. Face Team will quickly start calling out Symbols (Dog/Sun/Cup/Axes). They will only callout 3 Symbols, so you need to determine which Symbol wasn't called out. Dog/Sun are on the right, Axes/Cup are on the left. If your Symbol wasn't called the player on Right or Left must run to that Symbol's Old Man and Punch him as quickly as possible. This will happen 4 times. After each Old Man is killed, Emperor Calus will send out an Explosive Attack towards 1 of the 3 players. This is easily avoidable but you need to pay attention to it, as getting hit by it will severely damage or kill you. After the 4 Old Men are punched chain your Supers to Clear the Ads remaining in the room. Once cleared, get to cover to prevent any teammates from taking Eyebeam damage. Some teams prefer to drop a Healing Rift here in a second, but I don't, I think it's a waste of a Rift, but if a player is low on health, it can prevent a needless death. But if you wipe Ads correctly and stay to cover, it is unnecessary. Either way Calus will start to Clap his hands and the Ground will turn to Lava and slowly start burning away at your health. Calus will be given an Overshield, so your job is to take it down. While this is happening, Face Team is obtaining a Force of Will buff, you should start seeing it rise in the corner of your screen. Leave Calus's shield at low until you hit about 10-20% of your health and have at least 60 Force of Will buff (we usually try to push 80 though). Then finish taking down Calus's Overshield. This will allow Face Team to teleport back into the Throne Room for Calus DPS Phase.
- Face Team - After being teleported, wait back for just a second for your Throne Team to jump over the barrier to their Orbs. After this is done quickly get into position. Players should be in 3 positions, Left/Middle/Right. Pretty quickly after you get into position look towards the Calus Shadow Face and you should notice one of our 4 Symbols on his Forehead (Cup/Axes/Dog/Sun). From Left to Right each player must callout which of the 4 Symbols they see. The Symbol you do not callout will indicate to your Throne Team which Old Man to Punch. If done correctly a new barrier will appear. Immediately after noticing which Symbol is yours look forward for in air Councilors who can be shot. Players should shoot these diagonally (Right shoots Left, Left shoots Right). As soon as the 2nd Symbols appear 3 ground Psions also appear. These are the priority, because while not killing the Councilors will result in a wipe (definitely make sure to kill them), these ground Psions are very dangerous because of their Psionic Wave attack which will launch you into the air and kill you. Quickly dispatch both versions of Psions while remembering to call your correct Symbol on time. There will be 4 Symbol callouts on each rotation, and on the 5th Pull you will only need to kill the Psions. After this 5th Pull get ready for Skulls Phase. When Calus’s Face starts spitting out Skulls, if possible have a Titan lay down a Rally Barricade (if he is wearing Alpha Lupi the health regen is a nice bonus) and a Stormcaller lay down an Empowering Rift with Arc Souls. Both of these will combine to give you a much higher stack on Skull kills as this is the determining factor in how much damage you will do to Calus in the next phase. Kill as many Skulls as possible (use Auto Rifles preferably like Sweet Business or Coldheart, or any other Auto, and use the Barricade to reload between Mags, a Pulse Grenade if extra is useful just in front of your feet as well). Once your stacks are high enough or you run out of time, Throne Team will end the phase. When this happens Orbs should appear that will teleport you back into the Throne Room.
Note: Reddit has found out that Force of Will stacks beyond 100 DO NOT add a higher damage % to Calus, as this is the upper limit. So if you hit 100, just bring your team back, there is no need to push beyond this amount of FoW stacks.
Calus DPS Phase
As the Face Team is being teleported back into the Throne Room, Throne Team should be getting into position near the Sun Platform while killing as many Dogs that have spawned as possible. Once all players have gotten into position by the Sun Platform jump onto it in unison (you will be moving Clockwise, so Sun/Dog/Axes/Cup). A Titan should use a Rally Barricade at the front of the Platform and a Stormcaller should use an Empowering Rift with Arc Souls as well (ideally players from Throne Team). All players should then use their Power Weapons to do as much DPS to Calus as possible, utilizing the Rally Barricade for ammo reload. Also make sure to throw any Grenades available as often as possible (especially Pulse Grenades). Whenever Calus raises his arm, all players should jump off of the Platform and proceed to the next Platform. On the next Platform, if there is an available Barrier and Rift, another player/players should use those here as well. Again unload any Power Ammo if you still have some and then move on to your secondary DPS weapon (like Coldheart, Sweet Business, or another Auto Rifle). Do this until all 4 Platform have been used. If Calus is death, congrats you finished the Leviathan Raid, if not, then proceed back into Ad Clearing Phase and repeat until he is dead.
Note: If and when Calus goes below 2/3’s health and goes into his Robot Phase, DO NOT move onto the next platform until he finishes because he will immediately shoot said Platform no matter how long you have been on it. Even if you are getting an Immune, stay on that Platform until he aims to shoot at it and then proceed to the next Platform.
Sugested Loadouts
Throne Team(A lot of this will look similar, but there are a few key differences, look for the *)
- Hunters: *Hunters aren't the most useful here in the Throne Room, but if you've found yourself in that position, strap on your Arc Strider, because your going to need it. In the Throne Room, Ad control is the most important skill. I highly recommend a Combat Flow build from the Warrior tree. The Dodge/Melee/Health Regen between pillars is extremely useful here. Bait Psions and smaller Ads into a Melee and Shadestep into cover. When all of the "Old Men" have been killed it's time for that old Arc Staff to shine. The two best Exotics here are either Raiden Flux or Lucky Raspberry.*
- Titans: The Striker Earthshaker tree is going to be your best friend per usual. Double Pulse grenades in near broken right now, they do far more DPS than really anything. They are as much damage as a full blast from a Sins of the Past rocket with all of it's Cluster Bombs hitting. I guess Fist of Havok isn't terrible either. *Use it after the "Old Men" have been killed to clear Ads.* Note: When using an Auto Rifle, Actium War Rig is very good. Otherwise Crest of Alpha Lupi can be pretty useful. *Use the first Rally Barricade during Calus DPS.*
- Warlocks: Stormcaller is probably the most important Class in the Calus fight. Arc Souls and Pulse Grenades. Your Stormcaller should just be on Elements all the time. Both Empowering and Healing Rift have uses throughout the Raid, but at Calus, Empowering is your friend as it will both boost your entire team's DPS by 15% plus the damage of each players Arc Soul. If you have 2 Warlocks and you are 1st Rift on DPS phase, use Eye of Another World (may also want to spec your Mods to Arc), this will allow you to get another Rift by the time you hit Pillar 4 or 2 Rifts per DPS phase allowing your team 3 Rifts with just 2 Warlocks. Same goes if you are the only Warlock. If you are Rift 2, you can use either Crown of Tempests or Lunafaction Boots. Oh, and you also have Stormtrance, one of the best Ad controlling Supers, so there is that too. *Use this after "Old Men" have died to clear Ads.* *Some players also prefer to use a Healing Rift in the Throne Room during Calus' the Ground is Lava Phase, though I don't think it is necessary.*
Face Team(A lot of this will look similar, but there are a few key differences, look for the *)
- Hunters: A hunter in the Face room has several Options. He can run Golden Gun with Nighthawk, Arcstrider for Orb Creation during the opening phase and after DPS phase, or my favorite Nightstalker for Orb creation during the opening sequence and if using Orpheus Rig (Note: Tether only adds to Calus DPS from Kinetic and Elemental Weapons, not Power Weapons, we do not know if this is a bug or not, but it is how Tether works on Calus, so I don't really recommend it, and if you do use it, wait until later in the phase when players are using their non Power Ammo to do damage). *You can also use Vortex grenades at your feet for the skulls.*
- Titans: The Striker Earthshaker tree is going to be your best friend per usual. Double Pulse grenades in near broken right now, they do far more DPS than really anything. They are as much damage as a full blast from a Sins of the Past rocket with all of it's Cluster Bombs hitting. I guess Fist of Havok isn't terrible either. *Use it during Ad Phase to create Orbs.* *Make sure to use a Rally Barricade for Skulls and any Platform at Calus DPS that doesn't already have one up. Also throw your extra Pulse just in front of you late into Skulls, as it will kill the approaching Skulls players missed.* Note: When using an Auto Rifle, Actium War Rig is very good. Otherwise Crest of Alpha Lupi can be pretty useful.
- Warlocks: Stormcaller is probably the most important Class in the Calus fight. Arc Souls and Pulse Grenades. Your Stormcaller should just be on Elements all the time. Both Empowering and Healing Rift have uses throughout the Raid, but at Calus, Empowering is your friend as it will both boost your entire team's DPS by 15% plus the damage of each players Arc Soul. *If you are on Face Team, you likely have 2 Stormcallers and are Rift 2 on Calus DPS, you can use either Crown of Tempests or Lunafaction Boots. Make sure you use a Rift at Skulls* Oh, and you also have Stormtrance, one of the best Ad controlling Supers, so there is that too. *Use this during Ad Phase to create as many Orbs as possible.*
Weapons (All of Datto's Numbers were taken at 70 stacks, but reflect what I've seen in game as well at higher stacks)
- Sniper Rifles seem to come out consistently on top of DPS charts, but they are pretty high on the difficult to use scale. Their DPS ranges from up to 373k but are generally around 298-323k due to missed Crits. I recommend the guns Show of Force and Borealis.
- Linear Fusion Rifles come in just behind Sniper Rifles and are much more friendly to use due to their lack of a Scope. Their DPS ranges from 306-340k. I recommend the Tarantula, but Man O'War is fine.
- As long as you are using Rally Barricade, Cluster Rocket Launchers are also very good, but it has a wide variance due to the way Cluster Bombs work. Your DPS range here is between 250-330k damage with an average around 275k. Make sure to aim for his dangly bits, as those tend to have a higher chance of larger damage numbers. These Rocket Launchers also have a weird upside/downside to them. On one hand, it is very easy to accidently kill yourself with them, and on the other hand, especially if you are on Throne Team, you may have a lot of Power Ammo just sitting on Platforms from Old Men kills, which translates into extra Rockets and DPS (it is frequent when using a Sins that I actually get off 12 or so Rockets per DPS Phase on Throne Team). Sins of the Past and Curtain Call are the Rocket Launchers we are talking about. No other Rocket Launchers are worth using.
- The last most frequently used Power Weapon is the Merciless Fusion Rifle. Only hitting body shots things look pretty dire for it at only 210-225k damage in 14 shots. But, as Datto found out, you can actually hit Calus for Crit Damage with Merciless and at 50% Crits you land at 315-337k damage, which is highly competitive to the other weapons on this list. So aim for his head if you plan to use Merciless.
- For secondary DPS (keep in mind all of these were with a Rally Barricade, reloads will drastically reduce this Damage, more so for guns needing to reload more often, ie typical Auto Rifles), Sweet Business takes the crown at between 500-617k damage over 3 Platforms. Keep in mind this may run you dry of ammo. Coldheart is a very close 2nd at 480-550k damage over 3 Platforms. But hold on, a typical 450 RPM Auto can actually also somewhere between 500-575k damage (increase that to up to 600k for The Number due to it's Glass Half Full type perk) on 3 Platforms. In closing, Auto Rifles are very good for your secondary DPS option at Calus.
- Combos: Sweet Business/Mannanan/Show of Force, Nameless Midnight/Coldheart/Tarantula, Origin Story/Uriel's Gift/Sins of the Past, or Ghost Primus/The Number/Merciless (and any combination of any of these weapons that makes sense and doesn't include 2 Exotics obviously).
Alternate Strategy to Calus
My personal Raid Team uses an alternate strategy for the Calus fight. Instead of 3-3, we actually run 4-2 (the 4 on Face Team). We've found that the extra person in Throne Room is rather unnecessary, and that 2 skilled players can handle Throne alone. What this does is puts a player on Right and Left in Throne Room, and creates a duplicate symbol for players in the Face Room to callout. Make sure you still callout the duplicated Symbol so the player next to you knows when it's their turn to call. After the first Symbol call each time players visit the Face Room, the Duplicate player can say he is the Dup and then be skipped, as he will always be a Duplicate. This allows players on Face Team less likelihood of being bopped off the map due to Psions, and a cushion if that does happen to a player. If a player does get bopped and only 2 Symbols are called, make sure to kill both remaining Old Men per usual. It will correct on the next Symbol set. Use a Res and you will again be 3v3. What this also allows is much higher Skull stacks (we routinely hit above 100 Skulls, and as high as 120). This is how my group has been able to 1 Phase Calus. Note: If you cannot 1 Phase Calus still, do not bring him below 1/3 health. He has a new mechanic in the Throne Room where he spawns a large Lava pool that is very hard to avoid. Just back off damage at around 35% health if you cannot kill him in that 1st phase.
We really enjoy killing Calus in 1 Phase. So try this if you are bold enough. (Note: This doesn't work on Prestige)
This image gives you a good idea of what the Throne room looks like and a couple images of the Face Room below. The Orb'd Psions in Image 2 are "Old Men". This also has their Guide... they even mispelled Calus for you, ha.
Prestige Mode Changes and Strategies
Changes - When players are teleported into the Shadow Realm there is no longer a static Face/Throne Team. The player that punches the Old Man will be suddenly teleported from Throne Team into the Shadow Realm to join Face Team, and at this same time another random player will be teleported back into Throne Room from Face Team.
Strategy Changes - Since players will suddenly be teleporting back and forth, this pretty much forces a 3-3 strategy, and 4-2 is out the window. Start Shadow Realm per usual. Now, have 1 dedicated player on the original Throne Team set as the first Symbol Puncher, kill ads if possible but just stay alive to watch for symbols. Have the number 2 puncher use their Roaming Super now. Make sure you use it early enough for it to be gone by the time the 2nd set of Symbols are called. Thone #3 needs to focus on clearing Ads as fast as possible. This player now needs to stay alive and listen for Symbols, as he is now the Puncher, as the first Puncher has joined the Face Team (look for your Symbol as soon as you teleport while also looking at your footing avoiding ramps, you also now call out Symbol last and head to middle if possible), and a new Throne Team member has joined at random. When a Face Team member is teleported, if you are still on Face Team, look at which player you are, if you are the leftmost player, move Left, same with Right. Still have the Left player call first, and the Right player call 2nd. Still shoot diagonally, and clear Psions as quick as possible, there is likely only two of you to kill Ads as the new Face Team member can only shoot as he is avoiding ramps, which is very little. Now, back out in Throne room, for Symbol 2, Puncher 2 should be ready and safe (inside an Old Man bubble if need be), and Puncher 3 should be using their Roaming Super. This process should keep going on each Symbol. The first teleported player back to Throne Room will be Puncher 4, and the last two teleported players should use their Supers (if available) to clear Ads in the Throne Room during Symbols 3 & 4. Because of the decrease in possible player count to 3, and the sporadic nature of who may or may not be on Face Team at Skulls, I would only count on getting between 70-85 Skulls and doing a 2 Phase of Calus. For this reason, if you do have enough DPS to hit more than 67% of his health in 1 Phase, just leave him at just above 1/3 health anyways and count on a 2 Phase Kill. A 1 Phase for Prestige is very difficult, and I only recommend it's attempt by the best of teams.
Note: These changes have made Calus significantly harder. So don't be discouraged. Some of the best Destiny players in the world are struggling with it, even knowing how the mechanics work.
Challenge Mode
Challenge - During Calus DPS, all 4 Plates have to be activated simultaneously. This means only 1 Plate DPS, rather than 4.
Strategy - To increase DPS, which is drastically needed, it is advised to go 4-2 to increase your Skull stacks in Face. Hopefully you can get to the cap of 100 (it doesn't stop there, but damage no longer goes up past 100, so just stop there). Have 1 player stand on each Platform and the two remaining players stand with the on Sun with the original player. If you only have 1 Warlock, make sure that player is in the group of 3 on Sun, and using an Empowering Rift (as all Warlocks here should be using). If other Warlocks are used, have them solo a Platform (ideally with Lunafaction Boots, dipping in and out of their Rift). All other Solo Platformers should be Titans with Rally Barricade if possible. Try to also have 1 Titan on Sun for the Rally Barricade. If you have Hunters, hopefully they have Celestial Nighthawk, and send them to Sun with the Empowering Rift. Your goal here is to drop as much DPS in as short of a time as possible, so drop all of your AoE nades as soon as the DPS cycle starts, you will only have about 10 seconds. Killing Calus will likely take you anywhere from 2-3 Cycles. If it is taking you more than 3 Cycles, your DPS is too low, and you will likely not finish the Challenge. You need to increase DPS, either by stacks in Face, or weapon usage on DPS. I highly recommend either Sins of the Past or Curtain Call for your Power Ammo slot for this Challenge Mode (Advanced users will also know how to manipulate Wardcliff to gain more Rocket Ammo if you have time).
Bonus: The Underbelly
This is a somewhat secret location to the Leviathan Raid. It houses both shortcuts to each encounter, secret chest locations and small encounters to unlock, and a secret code to be unlocked. That sequence is 1-5-3-2-4-6. Here is a couple quick video guides on the Underbelly Checkpoints and Key locations, and how to find the Lever Puzzle.
This image is also a great resource to understand how the Underbelly works and looks in 3D.
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