The new Lightfall expansion raid The Root of Nightmares launched on March 10. This time, Bungie gave 48 hours for the most courageous players to try their hand and get an achievement for Day One. No doubt, this has attracted many of those who previously did not dare to try their luck, and, we now, as always, tell you in detail how to complete the raid, what are the mechanics, and power requirements, where to find the secret chests and more without having to break your head over the puzzles.
Since our teams went on the Root of Nightmares raid on the day of release, we got the Contest Mod, as it happens every time when raids are released, so it was a little harder than it will be after 48 hours after the launch of the raid. Those who completed the Root of Nightmares in the first 48 hours received a Triumph and an emblem, and those who go before March 21 will have the opportunity to purchase special themed merchandise from the official website.
How to prepare for Root of Nightmares
Due to the change in weapon meta in the Lightfall expansion, it’s hard to say definitively which weapons are best to use. Therefore, we will tell you about the best weapons for this season in general, and for The Root of Nightmares raid in particular, in an article about weapons, which will soon be released on our website.
However, at this point, we are sure that you will definitely need these exotic weapons:
- Divinity
- Gjallarhorn
- Outbreak Perfected
- Arbalest
- Izanagi’s Burden
In general, knowing the mechanics of the game and what enemies you will face, consider bringing in Grenade Launchers with Disorienting Grenades to blind enemies, Submachine Guns for clearing, and something to deal with long-range enemies like a Pulse Rifle or Scout Rifle.
With the builds, it’s not quite clear either, many abilities, as well as weapons, have undergone significant changes, but we can definitely say that the Starfire Protocol has proven to be very great for this raid. If you want to know more about the changes in subclasses, read the article “Destiny 2: The Lightfall release, additions and changes.”
How to start Root of Nightmares raid
In the Root of Nightmares, there is no opening encounter as such, unlike in the Vow of the Disciple. There’s a small cutscene, a few platforms, and Shadow Legion enemies, get through them, and you’ll approach the beginning of the first encounter. To start the encounter, the Guardians will need to shoot a small glowing orb directly in front of them and be sure to remember its location – it’s important! There will be Barrier Champions in the first encounter, so be prepared to deal with them.
Sweeping Terror debuff
The mechanics of the first encounter is that all players get a 30-second Sweeping Terror debuff; when it expires, they will wipe if they don’t manage to kill the Tormentors, who only spawn after killing both Psions in bubbles. It’s worth selecting a part of the team to control this mechanic and kill the Tormentors in time. There will be no other bosses besides Barrier Champions and Tormentors in this encounter.
Root of Nightmares First Encounter The Cataclysm
Now it’s important to understand the other part of the mechanics, which will be in other encounters as well, so it’s a good chance to practice and strategize team allocation. While part of the team kills Tormentors and Champions, the other part should turn their attention to the large white circles scattered around the arena, with a spinning helix in the center. These are the nodes the Guardians will use to advance through the encounter, starting with the node shot at the beginning of the encounter.
When the first node is shot, a beam of light will point in the direction of the next. Whoever is in the aura around the node when it is shot receives a 20-second Field of Light buff. After passing through the beam of light, the person with the buff must shoot at the dark figure in the center of the spiral. The dark figure will then turn into a glowing white orb that points the way to the next node.
Remember that when the node is activated, the buff will expire, and you have to return to the initial node and shoot again into the orb to get the Field of Light buff. Before activating the next orb, you have to kill the Tormentor. Remember the location of the last activated node, return to the initial orb, kill Tormentor, and repeat the action until you see the message: “His Hatred Halts…”. After that Sweeping Terror will disappear, and you will have time to clear the location and collect ammo.
Sweeping Terror will be repeated a total of three times, and each time the initial orb will be in a different location. The task of the team is to find it quickly and start activating the nodes. At the end of the encounter, a chest will appear, and by crossing the bridge, your team can go to the second encounter in the Root of Nightmares.
Root of Nightmares Second Encounter The Scission
Having practiced the mechanics in the first, in fact, tutorial encounter, players must demonstrate a confident understanding of the mechanics of knots and buffs in the second. This time it will be more difficult because we have two different types of nodes in the Scission encounter.
As in the first encounter of the Guardians, you need to activate the nodes using the buff received from the initial node, but this time we have two kinds of nodes and two kinds of buffs – Light and Dark. For the Light nodes, is the Field of Light buff, and for the Dark nodes is the Flux of Darkness buff.
The encounter arena is divided into two sides by a giant hole in between, so the team must split into two as well. Each team will have one Guardian in charge of picking up the buff and activating the nodes and the other two in charge of clearing the area. Be prepared to fight the Barrier Champions. Before they begin, players in charge of nodes and buffs must decide whether they will focus on one type of node or rotate both.
Once the encounter starts, all players get a debuff for 2 minutes, and to avoid a wipe when it expires, you must activate all nodes on both sides of the arena.
Light and Dark nodes are located on both sides of the arena, and the Guardians will have to cross the giant hole in the center, using jumping platforms. You can’t cross the chasm using normal jumps without them. You will have to try to accurately calculate the moment of jumping so as not to fall or fly into the wall. To succeed, stand directly in front of the jumping platform, find the floating object in the chasm, shoot it, and the platform will send you to the other side.
Players doing the clearing should join the players activating the nodes while they get the buff; it will come in handy for the clearers to kill shielded enemies. You can only kill shielded enemies if you are getting one of the buffs.
The debuff will stop as soon as all nodes are activated. After that, two mini-bosses will appear; you can kill them only if you have the buff.
After killing the two mini-bosses, the team will be able to move up to the next floor and do the same thing again. There are a total of three floors in this encounter, after which it will be possible to go to the next The Root of Nightmares raid encounter.
Root of Nightmares Third Encounter The Macrocosm
The third meeting is, in my opinion, the most beautiful. The task is to place the odd planets on the other side of the room, which means that the left side should become completely Light, and the right side should become completely Dark. Then the three planets in the center with their glow (dark or white) will indicate which planets outside should be aligned in the center. To deal damage to the boss, you must stand on the plate that corresponds to the color of his shield; the plate in turn corresponds to the position of the middle planets.
This time the team has to be divided into three parts, with two players in each. Two of them clear enemies, two swap planets on the near side of the arena, and two on the far side.
To figure out which planet is odd, you must defeat Colossus, go below that planet and interact with it, and then move to another part of the room. Tell your partner which position was on your side of the room and switch places. You can talk over or look at your partner, but either way, nothing will work without clear communication.
When both pairs of Guardians have interacted with the four planets, the planets will switch positions, and the message “Planets Indexed” will appear. Next, there will be a clearing stage until a new Colossus pair will spawn.
Defeating them will reveal three planets in the middle, such as two white and one dark. The Guardians must collect the planets and take them to the corresponding plate. For example, if the right planet is dark, collect it and take it to the right side and then interact with the right plate. Once all three are done, clear the enemies and prepare for the damage phase.
To deal damage to the boss, Zo’Aurc, Explicator of Planets, you must keep an eye on the color of his shield and stand on the appropriate plate. Once you are sure that you have dealt enough damage and reached the mark on his health scale and the boss is immune, change your position to the right plate according to the color of the boss’s shield.
Once all three plates are used, the progress will reset, and you must do it all over again. If you do not achieve to hit the notch in the boss’ health bar, you will not be able to fully use a damage plate.
After defeating Zo’Aurc, your team can go to the final encounter and the final boss of the raid.
Root of Nightmares Final Encounter Nezarec Final God of Pain
The goal of the encounter with Nezarec, Final God of Pain, is to create two node connections, one full connection on the left and one on the right. These nodes are called Field of Light and Flux of Darkness, just like the buffs in the previous encounters.
First, select one player to create the Field of Light connections on the left and one player to create the Flux of Darkness connections on the right. Two players will be traditionally responsible for clearing enemies on the left and right. The last two players will shoot at Nezarec’s weak points, shooting at his chest and clearing all enemies around him. Once both nodes are created, the damage phase will begin.
While the connections are being created, Nezarec will stand on his platform and then move around the battlefield. He should be stunned by shooting him in the chest. If you fail to stun him, Nezarec will wipe out the entire team. This wipe can only be survived by being in a Darkness’s Refuge or Light’s Refuge, which can be created with Field of Light to a dark node or a Flux of Darkness to a light node.
When both connections are completed, group up on one of the platforms on the left or right of your choice and shoot at Nezarec’s chest. Once Nezarec’s chest is stunned, he will be hit by a beam of light, and the damage phase will begin. Once Nezarec is immune, change position and repeat the process.
In subsequent rounds, the time between activation and closing the chest shortens, so you’ll have to crack Nezarec’s chest even faster. To avoid a wipe at this point, you should create a Refuge.
To create a Refuge, you must pay attention to the color of Nezarec’s shoulder when it breaks. Once it breaks, it will glow either white or dark. This indicates what kind of protection you need.
- If its shoulder is dark, you need Darkness’s Refuge: take a Field of Light buff to a Flux of Darkness node.
- If his shoulder is Light, you need Light’s Refuge: take a Flux of Darkness buff to a Field of the Light node.
By doing so, you will create a safe zone similar to the one you used to pass the jump puzzle right before the fight. Standing in this aura will give players a 15-second buff. This buff will protect you from Nezarec’s wipe, but not from his attacks or those of other enemies. When you use this buff, Nezarec will jump back onto his platform, and you will have to crack his weak points again.
Be careful, and don’t get excited about winning early, because Nezarec also has a final stand. Try to save some heavy ammo for this or even for the super hit; otherwise, you won’t have enough damage to reduce his health, and he’ll wipe you out.
Root of Nightmares Loot Table
Passing The Root of Nightmares raid will give you a pinnacle experience reward, as well as other awesome loot. We’re not sure yet what’s really worth hunting for in this raid, but we’ll be sure to add to this article or tell you in the next ones.
The Root of Nightmares raid allows you to get new armor sets (Agony armor set for Titans, Trepidation armor set for Hunter, and Detestation armor set for Warlocks), six Legendary weapons, and the new Exotic Shotgun – Conditional Finality, as well as some cosmetics. Below is the loot table, kindly provided to the Destiny 2 community on Reddit by Hex_Cody.
Root of Nightmares Weapons
Conditional Finality Shotgun
The Conditional Finality is a Stasis Exotic Shotgun that features the following Exotic perks:
- Paracausal Pellets: Landing nearly all Stasis pellets will freeze targets; landing nearly all Solar pellets will ignite targets.
- Split Decision: Dual Barrels split into Stasis and Solar damage.
As you can see, it’s notable and fascinating because when dealing Solar damage, its shot is split into a solar circle, and in Stasis, it’s split into a triangle, repeating the image of the subclasses.
Koraxis’s Distress Grenade Launcher
The Koraxis’s Distress is a Rapid-fire Frame Strand Grenade Launcher that can roll with the following perks:
- Perk 1: Impulse Amplifier, Field Prep, Danger Zone, Envious Assassin, Reconstruction, Demolitionist, Chain Reaction
- Perk 2: Surrounded, Frenzy, Harmony, Wellspring, Full Court, Paracausal Affinity, Hatchling
Nessa’s Oblation Shotgun
The Nessa’s Oblation is a Pinpoint Slug frame Void Shotgun that can roll with the following perks:
- Perk 1: Compulsive Reloader, Envious Assassin, Dragonfly, Repulsor Brace, Reconstruction, Demolitionist, Fourth Time’s the Charm
- Perk 2: Frenzy, Harmony, Opening Shot, Paracausal Affinity, Hatchling, Destabilizing Rounds, Vorpal Weapon, Focused Fury
Mykel’s Reverence Sidearm
The Mykel’s Reverence is a Rapid-Fire frame Strand Sidearm that can roll with the following perks:
- Perk 1: Elemental Capacitor, Unrelenting, Perfect Float, Tresh, Rewind Rounds, Pugilist, Perpetual Motion
- Perk 2: Offhand Strike, Frenzy, Harmony, Tap the Trigger, Swashbuckler, Paracausal Affinity, Hatchling
Briar’s Contempt Linear Fusion Rifle
The Briar’s Contempt is an Aggressive frame Solar Linear Fusion Rifle that can roll with the following perks:
- Perk 1: Keep Away, Envious Assassin, Slideshot, Incandescent, Rewind Rounds, Demolionist, Reconstruction
- Perk 2: Surrounded, Frenzy, Harmony, Adagio, High-Impact Reserves, Paracausal Affinity, Focused Fury
Rufus’s Fury Assault Rifle
The Rufus’s Fury is a Rapid-Fire Frame Strand Assault Rifle that can roll with the following perks:
- Perk 1: Tresh, Perpetual Motion, Reconstruction, Moving Target, Rewind Round, Pugilist, Demolitionist
- Perk 2: Harmony, Target Lock, Adrenaline Junkie, Frenzy, Tap the Trigger, Paracausal Affinity, Hatchling
Acasia’s Rejection Trace Rifle
The Acasia’s Rejection is an Adaptive frame Solar Trace Rifle that can roll with the following perks:
- Perk 1: Field Prep, Hip-fire Grip, Keep Away, Reconstruction, Envious Assassin, Rewind Rounds, Perpetual Motion
- Perk 2: High-Impact Reserves, Frenzy, Harmony, Target Lock, Incandescent, Paracausal Affinity, Vorpal Weapon
We’ll tell you more about the six Legendary weapons and their godrolls and armor in the next article, which will be coming soon.
Hopefully, this raid won’t cause you any problems now, and Overgear will keep you company as always! Please, don’t forget to rate this article if this information was helpful to you.
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