Destiny 2: Shadowkeep guide - How to beat the Pit of Heresy dungeon

Destiny 2: Shadowkeep's new dungeon, the Pit of Heresy, can be quite a doozy. Filled with numerous traps and several encounters, it's sure to excite many fans. This mini-guide will help you finish off Zulmak and all the other encounters. Hopefully, you'll also be able to obtain the Xenophage exotic machine gun while you're at it. Note: Destiny 2: Shadowkeep's Pit of Heresy dungeon requires a short attunement quest to become accessible. Progress is tracked account-wide. If you've already completed this on your main character, then the dungeon will be available for your alts. Also, if you're trying to obtain the Xenophage exotic machine gun, then make sure that you've done the prior quest steps for that. Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - The Pit of Heresy Dungeon We've divided the Pit of Heresy dungeon guide into four separate sections, each one corresponds to a particular encounter in the activity. The parts with the first and second encounters will have tidbits that are related to the Xenophage exotic quest. Encounter 1: The Necropolis Encounter 2: The Ogres Encounter 3: The Chamber of Suffering Encounter 4: Zulmak, Instrument of Torment Encounter 1: The Necropolis Once you start the Pit of Heresy activity, interact with the crystal and drop down the chasm. This will take you to the underbelly of the Scarlet Keep. A vast expanse stretches before you and you'll also notice several large Hive rune symbols that are glowing. The first encounter here is all about breaking the various locks so you can head to the next area. Take a look at the symbols that are on the locks and find a larger rune that's similar to it. There will be a chamber here. Be sure to clear out the mobs first while you're at it. Now, each of these chambers will have a Hive miniboss: a knight, a wizard, and a shrieker. The only way to damage these enemies is by using the Hive sword dropped by a knight. These knights spawn on the bridges connecting the chambers. Once you have the sword, make your way to the chambers of the corresponding Hive runes. Oh, and these minibosses that you'll fight? Well, they can only take damage from a specific type of attack: The knight only takes damage from light attacks with the sword. The wizard only takes damage from heavy attacks (projectiles) with the sword. Lastly, the shrieker can only be damaged if you hold the melee button to block and reflect its projectiles. Each miniboss that dies, provided that you killed the correct ones, will break parts of the lock. Once you're done with all three, head to the fourth chamber. You'll know it's the correct one because a beam of eerie green light will emanate from it. Clear all the mobs, get the chest, and you're done with the Necropolis encounter. The Doors - The Xenophage Fragment I wouldn't even call this an actual "transition area" or even a jumping puzzle. That's because the way forward can be found if you just look down and slightly to your right. However, if you're going for the Xenophage exotic quest, you can find the fragment inside one of the rooms at the upper left-hand corner. You can see this in the image above from Redditor AlexTheHuntsman. Anyway, just drop down to the pathway off to the right and break on through to the other side. (Sorry, I couldn't resist. That's a lot of doors.) Next up, you'll have an encounter against some really mean ogres. Head over here. Encounter 2: The Ogres The Pit of Heresy's second encounter is one of the silliest that you'll experience in Destiny 2: Shadowkeep. This large, cavernous room will have several gigantic "pariah" ogres that'll spawn. You can't damage them at all and they will melt you within a split-second. You'll also see a path to the next area but you can't go through just yet due to a forcefield blocking your way. There's also a receptacle off to the side of the forcefield. So, how do you make your way around the caverns without getting melted by the ogres? It's fairly simple. If you look at the lower part of the walls, you'll notice tattered rags and Hive gunk that can be destroyed. These will reveal small openings that you can crawl or slide through. Inside these smaller rooms are lots of Hive enemies such as thralls and acolytes. There are also unique heretical knights that you can take out. Killing these heretical knights will have them drop an orb which you can dunk inside the receptacles. There are four of these small chambers, four heretical knights, and four orbs to collect and dunk. Once you've dunked all four orbs, the forcefield will dissipate and the ogres will also despawn. You can now make your way to the next encounter, the Chamber of Suffering. Note: If you've got an orb, ask one of your teammates to shoot and distract the ogres so you can make your way to the barrier/forcefield without getting nuked to oblivion. If you do find yourself lost in this area of the Pit of Heresy dungeon, you can refer to this map made by Twitter user @Dumbledreg: https://twitter.com/Dumbledreg/status/1189651334875828224 Secret chest There's a secret chest just after the ogres encounter. Before proceeding to the next area, you'll have to find a small opening that'll lead you to a winding cavern. This'll take you to a room with the secret chest. So far, it seems that the chest only contains Nightmare Essence quests or fragments. Check out this video from YouTuber 2tilmidnite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?vJHuSA61_Tlg The Pariahs and Altars - The Xenophage Fragment If you're trying to obtain the Xenophage, this part of the exotic quest will task you with finding a path through the pariah ogres. It's imperative that you do not open the doorway using the orbs from the heretical knights, otherwise, you'll proceed to the next encounter and you won't be able to redo this part. Anyway, once you arrive at the caverns, look to your left and you should see a narrow cliffside pathway. Look for the Hive plate with runes and interact with it. It should spawn three platforms with a flame at the end. Pick up this flame and make your way around the cavern, making sure to light up the altars next to a doorway. Note: If you're able to do this, you'll complete this Xenophage quest step. All you need to do is fight a special wizard boss named Volmar the Tempted. Head over to our complete guide for the Xenophage exotic if you need help with this part. Otherwise, continue onwards to the Chamber of Suffering so you can finish the Pit of Heresy dungeon. Encounter 3: The Chamber of Suffering The Chamber of Suffering encounter in Destiny 2: Shadowkeep's Pit of Heresy dungeon is a quick one. At the start, you'll notice several acolytes praying at the totem in the middle. Shoot one of them to start the fight. Much like the totems encounter in King's Fall (a raid in Destiny 1), you'll need to have someone standing within the totem's area of coverage. This will prevent the team from wiping due to a hidden timer that starts counting down when there's no one on it. As long as the encounter's active, players will suffer a "curse" debuff that slowly stacks up to 10 (which will lead to a wipe). Ideally, you'll want a Titan with bubble or a Warlock with well of radiance to defend this middle/totem area. The player can also dip in and out of the middle area, just be sure that there's usually someone there to step in to prevent a wipe if the totem glows red. That's not all you need to contend with. While you're defending the central totem, mobs will start flocking in from all sides (left, middle, and right). These hordes include thralls, cursed thralls, and acolytes. There will also be heretical knights -- and these are the same ones that drop orbs. Kill these heretical knights, pick up their orbs, and dunk them in the receptacle next to the totem. There's one knight per side and they can be easily taken out with an Izanagi's Burden shot. The goal is to dunk six orbs in total to complete the encounter. Dunking an orb in the receptacle will also clear the curse debuff. Of course, it'll start stacking again so your team needs to move quickly. Again, just make sure that someone's defending the middle and people are grabbing orbs to dunk. You should be done in no time. Secret Chest Once you're done with the Chamber of Suffering encounter, you'll need to drop down while avoiding getting killed by the "meat grinder." Once you reach the next area, you'll also be able to grab a secret chest. Head out into the open and you'll spot some hanging platforms. Jump gingerly across these and you'll spot the chest nearby. Like the previous secret chest, this one will usually have a Nightmare Essence quest. The Harrows In any case, you'll find yourself in the Harrows which is a transition zone. This can be downright frustrating if you're clumsy, so try to play it safe. The reason why you want to be very careful in the Harrows is because of all the traps. You've got pendulum morning stars, rolling spiked logs, a deadly fall, and several mobs along the way. The objective here is to eliminate the mobs -- especially the wizards -- guarding the various pathways with a corresponding runic symbol. Killing all of them will let you proceed to the final area. Head over here so you can get ready for the Pit of Heresy's boss, Zulmak the Instrument of Torment. Pit of Heresy Boss Fight: Zulmak, the Instrument of Torment Zulmak is the final boss in the Pit of Heresy dungeon. He's also no pushover because you'll need to rely on every mechanic you've learned throughout your progress. He remains immune once the fight starts and the only way to remove his immunity is by dunking orbs inside the three receptacles around him and the large crystal in the center of the room. In order to do that, well, let's get more detailed. Step 1: Kill the sword knights so you can pick up their relics. Step 2: There are three rooms off to the side. Each one will have a corresponding miniboss. Remember the Pit of Heresy's first encounter? The knight can only be damaged by light attacks. The wizard can only be damaged by heavy attacks/sword projectiles. Lastly, the shrieker takes damage if you block and reflect its shots. Step 3: Each miniboss that dies will drop an orb. Dunk these orbs in the receptacles surrounding the middle area where Zulmak is. Once you've dunked all three orbs, the DPS phase begins. Note: If in case you run out of sword ammo, there are still additional Hive knights that'll spawn so you can pick up their relics again. Zulmak - The DPS phase Zulmak's DPS phase is fairly manageable, but there are loads of mobs that'll start spawning. What you need to do is stand in the middle area (near the crystal) to gain a buff. This will allow you to damage the boss. If you're not in the middle area and you don't have the buff, the boss will be immune to your shots. Keep wailing away at him with all you got. You have around 30 seconds to continuously do damage. Be sure to take out the cursed thrall that'll make a dash for you. Izanagi's Burden is your best bet along with grenade launchers like Love and Death, Wendigo, or Swarm of the Raven. Titans should run melting point with Peregrine Greaves or bubble with Helm of Saint-14. Warlocks should go with a well of radiance and Lunafaction Boots. Lastly, Hunters can go with tether plus Orpheus Rig or golden gun with Celestial Nighthawk. Eventually, you'll be notified that dark energy is surrounding the crystal. Zulmak also starts kneeling down. Don't think that it's time to rush up to him. Instead, run away from the middle area immediately. A massive explosion will occur in the middle area and, if you're caught, you'd end up dead. Once the DPS phase is done, simply redo the same steps as before until Zulmak is dead. The Zulmak boss fight is the only encounter in the Pit of Heresy that awards pinnacle gear. That can be quite disappointing, but there's a silver lining. There's a good chance you'll get fully masterworked drops. The drops can also have extremely high stats. There you have it. That's our Pit of Heresy dungeon guide for Destiny 2: Shadowkeep. We hope this helps you out in your progress. For more information about Destiny 2: Shadowkeep, check out our guides and features hub. If you want to try the game, you can find it via its Steam store page.

Destiny 2: Shadowkeep guide – How to beat the Pit of Heresy dungeon

Destiny 2: Shadowkeep – The Pit of Heresy Dungeon

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