‘Destiny’ Oryx Challenge Guide For Normal And Hard Mode

The Destiny King’s Fall Raid challenge mode finally reached the Oryx stage Tuesday, and PlayStation and Xbox players are dealing with a new way to kill the Taken King that’s quite different from normally accepted strategies in both Normal and Hard mode. This guide was put together to help explain the steps that can give the best chance of success.

So, why accept the Oryx challenge mode to begin with? The rewards for completing the challenge on Normal mode include a guaranteed 310 Primary Weapon or Helmet, 310 Artifact, and the 50th Calcified Fragment. Hard mode loot adds a 320 Primary Weapon or Helmet, 320 Artifact, Emblem, plus a new ship. Additionally, a visit to Eris Morne in the Tower for Destiny players that collected all 50 Calcified Fragments will reward a hefty amount of reputation and the cool looking Beltane Shader.

The Oryx Challenge Conditions

The condition that must be met to win the final King’s Fall Challenge mode is surprisingly simple. Destiny players simply need to explode at least 16 Blight bombs at the same time to bring Oryx’s health down to one percent. Easy, right?

Fortunately, there are no other conditions present, such as requiring multiple Relic Runners. Fireteam members can even die, and the challenge will still be accomplished as long as 16 Blight bombs are detonated.

Normal Mode Strategy

The strategy for detonating 16 Blight bombs is not too far off from the normal strategy of defeating Oryx in the Destiny Raid. The primary difference is not rushing out to trigger the Blights after staggering Oryx.

Fireteam Setup

It’s recommended to have at least one Defender Titan, with the Weapons of Light perk selected for the Ward of Dawn. Two will guarantee a Ward of Dawn for each damage phase.

At least one Nightstalker Hunter is also recommended to help generate orbs. The rest of the fireteam setup depends on what Destiny players have and are comfortable with.

The fireteam should assign one player to be the dedicated Relic Runner, three players to jump on the plates, and one or two Titans to be the floaters. The plate holders will want to number themselves 1, 2, and 3 as normal.

Execution

The execution of the Oryx challenge begins as usual. The Relic Runner and first plate holder will jump on the plate the boss slams with his fist first. While the Relic Runner begins his jump from ledge to ledge, the other two plate holders will jump on their plates in counterclockwise order.

The Titan floater should drop his Ward of Dawn in the middle of the arena in between the two Daughter platforms as soon as Oryx slams the first plate. Ogre Lighteaters will spawn in the order the plates are stepped on, and the plate holders plus the floaters should kill them immediately.

Killing the Ogre Lighteaters as soon as they spawn is important, because they drop the Blight bombs. Since there are four rounds that have to be done, your fireteam wants the bombs to ideally sit in the same spot where each Ogre spawns, and not be spread across the map.

As soon as the Relic Runner retrieves the Relic, he should drop down and take the Aura of Invincibility from the Major Knight that spawns out of the Hive Tombship. The other fireteam members should have dropped down to the middle of the arena, as well, and help take out the Major Knight.

Once the Knight is down, the entire fireteam should focus on shooting Oryx in the chest to stagger him. Once staggered, players should focus on clearing minions out of the arena and absolutely not detonate any of the Blight bombs. Thrall will spawn in the corners of the arena, so they are easy to track down and kill.

Oryx will recover and return to the center of the map, where he will summon his dimensional bubble and begin teleporting players in one by one. Players on the outside should kill minions, while those inside the bubble should kill the Shade of Oryx. Killing the Shade will return everyone to the arena and set the stage for another Relic Runner phase.

The above steps should be performed on Rounds 1, 2, and 3. Do not detonate any of the Blight bombs during these phases. Start the fourth round as normal. However, players should run out and detonate the Blight bombs and return to the Aura of Invincibility after Oryx is staggered.

Following the detonation of all 16 Blight bombs, Oryx will return to the front of arena with only a sliver of health left. Shoot his chest when it opens to finish him off and then collect your loot from the two chest that spawn in the middle of the arena.

Hard Mode Strategy

The Hard mode strategy for defeating the Oryx challenge is exactly the same, with one twist. Lighteater Knights will spawn diagonally from each Lighteater Ogre on the same side of the arena. These cannot be allowed to reach the Blight bombs.

Each of the three plate holders should kill the Lighteater Knights as soon as they spawn with one or two quick Sniper shots. The fourth Knight will be the most difficult to get, and will require assigning one or possibly both floaters to run and get after they take down the fourth Ogre.

The rest of the encounter runs exactly the same as Normal mode.

Have any tips or tricks you’d like to share for the King’s Fall Oryx challenge? Share them with other Destiny players in the comments below.

[Image via Bungie]

[H/T: Destiny Reddit Community]