Destiny 2’s first Raid has been live on consoles for some time, and it’s finally out on PC. Titled Leviathan, this debut Raid for Destiny 2 is comprised of puzzles, challenging encounters, and boss fights. Navigating it all without any assistance can be seriously difficult, so we’ve rounded up tips and a walkthrough for the entire Raid, as well as details on how to access it. Take note that each weekly reset shuffles the order of three major encounters in the Raid, so the exact order in which you encounter the Royal Pools, Pleasure Gardens, and Gauntlet will vary from week to week..
For more guides for the game, including breakdowns of the three classes, along with our skill and ability galleries for the various subclasses, be sure to visit our Destiny 2 guides and walkthroughs roundup for more information on what’s happening in the online world of the Guardians. Looking ahead, Destiny 2’s first DLC expansion, Curse of Osiris, will introduce new „Raid content,“ but it’s unclear at the time of this writing what that will consist of.
How to Access the Raid
In order to access the Raid, simply select the Leviathan icon in the top right corner of the Director, which you can see in the image below. You’ll also want to initiate a questline called On the Comms, which is unlocked at random after time killing Cabal. Once you complete its major steps, you unlock a new step called Destroyer of Worlds that requires you to complete the Leviathan Raid. Doing so will net you a sweet prize after completing the Raid (and free up a slot in your inventory that the quest occupies).
Major Raid Prerequisites
Aside from completing the On the Comms questline, make sure your Power Level is at least 270 before taking on the Leviathan Raid. Going in with anything lower is manageable, but be aware that entering the Raid with a lower Power Level could make you a detriment to your Fireteam. It’s also recommended to enter the Raid with a full fireteam of six players.
Suggested Gear
There’s a wide variety of gear that will work, but one weapon you’ll want to consider is the Exotic scout rifle Skyburner’s Oath. It fires solar slugs that do extra damage to Cabal and penetrates Phalanx shields. This is a handy weapon to use that’ll assist your efforts to take down the loads of Cabal you’ll encounter in the Leviathan Raid. Other weapons of note include Merciless (a fusion rifle that can be fired rapidly), a rocket launcher that drops cluster bombs (such as Curtain Call or Cup-Bearer), and Coldheart (the pre-order bonus trace rifle, which is useful for the final boss fight).
Leviathan Raid Guide
Part 1: Embankment
After starting the Raid, proceed forward until you’ll encounter enemies. These foes won’t harm you unless you shoot them. Avoid attacking them, run past, and proceed up the slope and through the door.
Part 2: Leviathan Castellum (Part 1)
Upon reaching the Castellum, you’ll begin a trial that has you claiming and defending three Standards. To accomplish this, your group should separate into two teams: one to defend the a central point where the Standard are to be taken, and another to retrieve them from their respective bearers. Keep in mind that if the Cabal Legionaries manage to get too close to the central point, the Standards you’ve retrieved can be taken.
Once all three Standards have been returned, a door will open up the path ahead where you’ll find the first of the Leviathan Raid loot chests, containing a Powerful Legendary engram, the Calus‘ Selected shader, and Emperor Calus Tokens. Remember that, as noted above, the order of the ensuing encounter varies from week to week–you’ll either head to the Royal Pools, Pleasure Gardens, or Gauntlet next.
Part 3: Royal Pools
Here, you’ll encounter four pressure plates, with a fifth located at the center. Each of these plates has an orb on it that imbues you with a limited-time buff that protects you from environmental damage (which you suffer while standing in the water in this area). Make sure you and your teammates activate this buff before starting the trial, as standing in the water in this area without it will quickly drain your health. Once you’re ready, have four of your teammates each stand on a different pressure plate.
The premise of the trial is as follows: four people must maintain position on their respective pressure plates to slowly raise a weight up a chain. But as you’d expect, powerful enemies spawn, making the process significantly more difficult. As the assault wages on, make sure you and your teammates keep re-activating the buff. You’ll essentially have two groups of three players for each side; one player will grab the buff and take up a teammate’s position on a plate; that player then gets the buff and rotates into the other player’s position, and so on.
Once the chains in all four areas are sufficiently raised, you’ll hear a musical cue, at which point everyone must immediately move into the middle (where the buff is located). Five players should focus on destroying the hanging lanterns in this area while one takes out any nearby enemies. Your buff will run out at some point, at which time you should leave the water to avoid dying. A Psion enemy will spawn here eventually and must be killed with a melee attack (and there may also be one you have to shoot). At this point, return to your plates and repeat the entire process. Once all the lanterns are destroyed, the trial will end and a loot chest will spawn containing an Emperor Calus Token and potentially some gear drops.
Part 4: Leviathan Castellum (Part 2)
The next section has you once again defending and retrieving three Standards. However, this time around the central point you must defend has switched places with one of the points in the surrounding area. Regardless, utilize the same two-team strategy to complete the trial. Also take note of special Psion enemies called Councillors who must be killed with a melee attack; you’ll want to take them out quickly, as they will buff enemy units. After you’ve succeeded, a loot chest will spawn containing glimmer.
Part 5: Pleasure Gardens
First, eliminate the enemies you see before heading towards the massive golden statue. Have two of your teammates pick up the crystal orbs and charge them at the light scattered around the area. An opening should appear beneath the statue; remaining members should then grab the pollen inside. The members up top must then guide pollen holders to special flowers scattered around the area. You have a limited time to get the pollen holders to a flower before a Warhound’s Psionic Howl resets your progress. Regardless, once pollen holders reach a flower, those up top must fire their orbs at the flower to imbue their teammates with a strength buff. Do this two to three times to build up enough power.
Once powered up, the pollen holders should then attack the Warhounds. But if a Warhound sees your teammates, they have one minute to damage them and retreat to the safe room below the golden statue. Rinse and repeat this process until the Warhounds are dead. Keep in mind that you only have four chances to defeat all six Warhounds, as the safe room will lock up after the third attempt. You’ll then get a key, and a loot chest will appear on top of the safe room containing random loot and an Emperor Calus Token.
Part 6: Leviathan Castellum (Part 3)
Once again the same principle applies here. Simply utilize the same two-team strategy to obtain the Standards and complete the trial. Again, keep an eye out for Councillors, who are taken out with a melee attack. A loot chest will spawn containing more glimmer.
Part 7: The Gauntlet
To start the trial, jump onto the round platforms to summon enemies. Steadily kill them to fill up the meter under each pillar in the room. Two orbs will eventually spawn; have two of your teammates pick them up. This transports them into tunnels in the surrounding area.
Those in the tunnel need to run through gates with rows of circles on them. Energy barriers close off these uniquely designed gates, so tunnel runners need to quickly call out which gate’s row of circles has a red one. Teammates outside then have a limited time to simultaneously shoot at the rows of glowing triangles on the corresponding gate that doesn’t contain a red circle. Successfully doing this will open up the gate, clearing the path for the tunnel runners. The two tunnel runners converge and throw their orbs into an energy fountain.
Once you have completed this three games, your entire team goes to the middle and grabs an orb; everyone then runs through the tunnels, with players alternating who goes through the openings with charges in them. Three players have to successfully make it through and slam their orbs into the energy fountain, bringing the trial to an end.
Part 8: Emperor Calus
After clearing the third Castellum challenge, you’ll be led to Emperor Calus’s throne room. To initiate the battle, shoot the cup from his hand, and he’ll start spawning enemies into the room for you to fight. Eventually, Calus will teleport everyone; three players will go to a purple dimension to do battle with a giant projection of his head, while the other three will be send back to defend themselves in the throne room. Four Psions then spawn in the throne room, each with a symbol floating above them–make sure your teammates don’t kill them.
Those transported inside the purple dimension will each notice a different symbol on the Calus projection’s forehead. Each player needs to shout out the symbol they see to their teammates in the throne room. The players back in the real world must then kill the Psion aligned with the symbol that wasn’t called out. This lowers the barrier surrounding the Calus projection’s head.
After several rounds of doing the call-outs, the Calus projection will then begin to spew skull projectiles. While people inside kill them–and you’ll want to kill a lot, as they provide a buff that increases damage against Calus–those on the outside have to stagger Calus, who is channeling an attack. The players inside will also have to shoot three Psions that appear and kill two projections, all while avoiding holes or being popped up by ramps that appear. Once the shield under Calus’s name is removed, three orbs will appear and the players in the purple dimension can return.
At this point, everyone needs to figure out assignments for stepping on pressure plates, which you’ll use one at a time. Once everyone is on, deal as much damage to Calus as possible. Eventually, he raises his arm and you’ll want to leave the plate and move on to the next one (later, he’ll aim a weapon rather than raise his arm). Continue this process, moving from one plate to the next. After he’s taken enough damage, he’ll change forms and gain a spot on his chest that you can hit for criticals. Once his health hits zero, Calus has one final phase where you have to continue dealing damage. Remove his shield, and you’ll finally slay Calus.
Website: LINK
