Into the Light, Destiny 2’s latest mid-season update, has brought a ton of stuff to the game to tide us over until The Final Shape. From the reintroduction of a bunch of infamous weapons from Destiny’s past to the long-awaited return of Superblack, Into the Light is a very meaty update that all players can farm happily for at least a while. The biggest and most substantial addition is a new PvE game mode, Onslaught, the horde mode Guardians have been asking for since back in the days of vanilla Destiny. Onslaught is not only a very fun activity with a lot of loot to earn, but it can also be relatively challenging with the addition of the Legend difficulty mode.
There are a lot of different moving pieces in Onslaught which you need to consider if you want to truly master it and get through its 50 waves efficiently. Between knowing which waves to save your Heavy Ammo for to figuring out which of your defences are actually worth using your Scrap on, there’s a ton of stuff all Guardians need to know about Onslaught.
Here are 6 essential tips that you need to know for conquering the new Onslaught activity in Destiny 2’s Into the Light update.
If you want more Destiny 2 content and articles, including other Into the Light guides, then you can find more here on KeenGamer:
- Destiny 2 Into the Light: How it Works
- The Best Thing You Missed from the Destiny 2: The Final Shape Preview
- Everything You Need to Know About Destiny 2 Into the Light
- Destiny 2 Warlord’s Ruin Dungeon Guide | All Encounters Explained
- Destiny 2 | All Warlord’s Ruin Secret Bonus Chest Locations
The Final Bastion for Humanity
Best Defences to Purchase and Upgrade
First things first, let’s go over the best defences to use your Scrap on in Onslaught. There are a total of three main defences, Tripwires, Turrets, and Decoys, and, while they each have their own strengths and weaknesses, there’s definitely a hierarchy when it comes to which defence reigns king. In general, the order of priority goes Decoys > Turrets > Tripwires.
At the top of the priority chart are the Decoys. While they don’t deal a ton of damage like the other two defences, the amount of attention they draw is invaluable, especially on Legend. Additionally, they are relatively cost-effective and efficient at their job even at lower levels. Honestly, with how much firepower we’re packing nowadays, having better protections and deterrents around the ADU is usually far more valuable than having a bit more damage. You do have to be aware of your Decoy’s health, though, as they’ll start flashing red when they get low.
If you need any more convincing that Decoys are the way to go, just know that the max-level Shaxx Decoy can tank consecutive hits from a Tormentor on Wave 50 for about 30-45 seconds without issue. As we’ll discuss later, those buggers are the deadliest thing you’ll encounter in Onslaught so Decoys instantly become incredible just because of how much aggro they draw.
Shaxx Tanking a Tormentor
Second on the Onslaught priority list are Turrets, easily the most attractive defensive force in the mode. Turrets do exactly what you’d expect: they’re powerful stationary targets which just deal a lot of damage. On the surface, this should make them elite and the top of the pack in terms of priority. However, thanks to pathing issues and the fact that they can get stuck shooting walls or even Decoys if an enemy is stood close by, they often aren’t as effective as you’d think. Also, you’ll likely only start noticing their true power once they reach maximum rank which takes a lot of Scrap.
Manage to get them there, though, and the Turrets will do wonders for your team. The max-level Turrets can shred through almost any enemy target, making them an incredible asset to have in the final few waves on Legend. Furthermore, because previous defences stay where they are when the ADU moves, past Turrets, will continue to contribute to the fight even when you move to a new zone. So, in short, while their offensive power is unmatched, their stationary nature and lack of aggro draw puts them in a solid second place.
As for why Tripwires are so much less worthwhile than either of the other two options, they simply run into too many shortfalls that the other defences don’t. For one, tripwires on odd angles, such as the slopes and stairs at Vostok, can often result in enemies just walking under them, completely invalidating your scrap: in fact, Shanks can straight up fly right over them. Secondly, to make tripwires effective and have them not vanish after only a round or two, you need to invest a lot of Scrap into them, Scrap which is often better off on either Turrets or Decoys.
Turrets Turn the Tide
Wave Loadouts and Boss Loadouts
Every ten waves in Onslaught, you’ll be transported into the Pyramid Ship to do battle with one of several bosses. From Tormentors to massive Shanks, Witches to Captains, there’s a good deal of variety in these boss encounters. What’s best for slaying adds and defending often isn’t the best for defeating bosses, though. As such, a good option is bringing two loadouts, one for the waves and one for the boss encounters every ten waves.
A good example of this is Void Hunter. During the waves, weapons like Buried Bloodline, Graviton Lance, or any strong Void weapon which can benefit from Volatile Rounds are sublime, allowing you to absolutely tear through waves with ease. However, once you get to the bosses, switching to a stronger Void weapon like Leviathan’s Breath is a much better option, especially because it can still benefit from your Void build while hitting far harder. What’s even better is that, before each boss wave, you can plant a Rally Banner to get back your ammo, Super, and abilities, making loadout switching such an easy experience.
You don’t even have to have an entire new loadout, either. Just having two separate Exotic weapons is more than enough to get you through it. Of course, you could just stick with the same weapons throughout the whole process but, when rounds of Onslaught take upwards of an hour to fully complete, any method of making things go faster is welcome.
The Boss Room
Throw ADU Batteries Even When The ADU Is Full
For our third tip, we have to discuss the main feature of Onslaught, the ADU. The ADU is the main thing you’ll be protecting against the hordes of Hive and Fallen and, if it drops to zero health, your run will end prematurely. To avoid this, you need to pick up and throw ADU Batteries which drop from specific enemies (usually marked as Saboteurs) which will health the ADU.
However, even if your ADU is at full health, do not ignore the ADU Batteries and keep throwing them. Whenever you throw an ADU Battery at the ADU, you will gain a small amount of Scrap based on how much you heal (usually around 15 Scrap). However, throwing a Battery at a full-health ADU will net you a much larger amount of Scrap.
The difference is extremely substantial and it will honestly be the key source of Scrap as you go into the more difficult waves. What’s even better is that certain enemies like Champions will drop an abundance of Batteries which will skyrocket your Scrap count with pretty minimal effort.
Protect the ADU
Crowd Control Debuffs Are King
Thanks to the way Onslaught plays, crowd control effects and debuffs are more effective than ever before. Effects like Jolt, Volatile Rounds, and Scorch were already excellent but thanks to the sheer density of adds and enemies, especially in later waves, they almost become must-have perks. On the offensive side, Volatile and Scorch are relatively easy debuffs to obtain and they will tear through large packs of enemies in a blink. Meanwhile, on the defensive side, Blind is a superb tool for slowing down packs of enemies in an instant, an effect which can be replicated on any class using a Disorienting Grenade GL. Even Weapons of Sorrow and Corruption are excellent choices for Onslaught.
In particular, Stasis has become a top-tier pick when it comes to Onslaught on all three classes because of how strong Slow, Freeze and even Crystals are. Bleak Watcher Turrets can lock down choke points on maps like Midtown or Vostok, giving you some extra breathing room if you’re dealing with a flood of enemies, whereas Hunters with Slow Grenades can halt both entire hoards and bosses down real quick. Perhaps the funniest interaction is with Behemoth and Stasis Crystals where you can stack crystals around the ADU using Glacier Grenade, Howl of the Storm and your Super, creating a defensive wall which enemies cannot get through.
In essence, Onslaught is the perfect place to test out your crowd control builds as it promotes the best sort of environment for them. Whereas you may lean more towards damage perks or comfort perks in other PvE settings, Onslaught is begging you to use some sort of debuff and it makes life a lot easier. As a side note, in Legend, where enemies are harder to kill, your abilities are going to be your main driver when it comes to applying CC debuffs as they are way more consistent and have a better payoff.
Push Them Back
Bonus Objectives (Usually) Only Need One Person
While you are defending the ADU, Onslaught will occasionally throw a bonus objective for you to complete along the way. The actual objectives vary in terms of difficulty and time investment: for example, shooting three Pyramid Splinters is ten times easier than taking down a rogue Skybomber. If you manage to complete these objectives, you’ll net your whole team a useful Heavy Ammo Crate which can be invaluable in later waves.
The most important thing you need to know about bonus objectives is that they will usually only need one person to attend to them. In later waves when enemy forces get thick, having a lot of people abandon point to chase Spliriskys and risky move. For those low-risk objectives like shooting Splinters or capturing the point, send one player (likely the strongest defensively, just in case they run into trouble) to secure it.
The primary exception to this rule is the Skybomber bonus objective. Unlike the regular Skybomber event, this event will spawn a gigantic Brig or Knight which will continually rain fire down on the ADU until you kill it. These targets are chunky, have way too much health and shields, and they will deal tons of damage to the ADU if left unattended. As such, you need to prioritise this objective and should send two people to deal with it: the sooner you get it out of the way, the sooner you’ll be back in safe hands.
Optional Objectives
Most Dangerous Waves to Plan For
Speaking of prioritising objectives, the final tip is going to be about the two most dangerous normal waves you’ll come across in Destiny 2 Onslaught: the Tormentor wave and the Demolitionist wave. Demolitionist waves can be really hectic. When the wave begins, two gigantic Hive Knights or Fallen Captains will spawn within throwing distance of the ADU. If you leave them unattended, they will bring the ADU to nothing in moments but, unlike the Tormentor waves, you won’t be able to draw their aggro as efficiently. As such, raw firepower is your best bet here. Ignore the adds as best you can and just focus on turning the Demolitionists into nothing: Supers, Heavy, abilities, whatever gets the job done quickest.
Tormentor waves are easily the scariest. Not only are the Tormentors themselves massive threats in their own right, capable of killing you and demolishing the ADU health pool in no time flat, but they’ll also be accompanied by a wave of smaller enemies. If you aren’t able to balance both sets at once, you’ll often be overwhelmed in one way or another; focus too hard on the Tormentor and the ADU may fall to the adds you leave alive; focus too much on the fodder and the Tormentor is sure to cut you down to size.
The best way to deal with these waves is to try and bait the Tormentor away from the ADU. Tormentors will prioritise Guardians when it comes to their attacks, meaning that if you stay away from the ADU, the Tormentor will be far less likely to deal any real damage to it. Defensive abilities like Well or Bubble are honestly excellent here as you can just stand there and tank the damage without risking the ADU. Also, as we mentioned briefly earlier, a max Shaxx Decoy will draw all the aggro of a nearby Tormentor and hold them at bay for a significant length of time, making them a great investment when it comes to Scrap. Just don’t forget to have someone keep an eye on the adds so they don’t swarm the ADU while you leave it unattended.
Beware the Tormentor
Those were six essential tips for overcoming the new Onslaught horde mode activity in Destiny 2.
