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The second act ofDestiny 2’sEpisode Heresy has given us a new activity on the Dreadnaught. Along with the return of the Taken King Oryx as the Echo of Navigation, we’re faced with a new challenge in fighting in the Court of Blades,a newboss-rushactivity similar to Rushdown in this year’s Guardian Games.
While you can explore the Nether to continue getting loot from the Dreadnaught,Court of Blades is the only way you can earn thenew weapons released in Act 2.
Here’s a quick guide on how to maximizeyour loot, along with tips and tricks on how to take advantage of the game mode’s mechanics.
Destiny 2: The Nether Guide
We’re back to ransack Oryx’s Throne World yet again.
What Is The Court Of Blades?
Court of Blades is a rogue-like boss rush challenge that is very reminiscent ofDestiny 1’sCourt of Oryx. The only difference is that, instead of a public event, Court of Blades is a private instance where you load in with only yourself and your fireteam.Unlike the Nether, you don’t have to worry about limited healing.
You can find the Court of Blades node in The Last City destination on your Director.
You may choose to play eitherthe Standard or Expert version.There are no mechanical differences as they share the same mission modifiers, but the enemies in Expert mode predictably have more health and hit much harder. Also, the faction you encounter on Expert mode rotates periodically.
Expert mode is the only way for you to earn rare Adept and shiny versions of Act 2’s new weapons.
For Standard, you’re free to experiment and goof around a little bit because the bosses are pushovers. But if you want to farm for the best loot, then Expert is the way to go. Naturally, if you want to stay alive for more than 5 seconds and deal considerable damage to enemies, then you’ll need tobring yourbest gear and loadout.
How It Works - Overview
In both Standard and Expert runs, you’ll be doing essentially the same thing with the same goal: buy upgrades, defeat bosses, and reap your rewards.
You’ll start the activity by spawning at the entrance to the Court of Oryx. As you go through the corridor, you’ll find a few enemies waiting for you. Defeating them will allow you to stand on one of three circles on the ground.
There’s a hive worm in the underpass for the new quest for the Barrow-Dyad exotic weapon.
Stand in one of the three circles to begin the activity.A portal will open for you to cross.
The portal will take you to one of three arenas: Rathmore Subterrain on Europa, Remnant of Silver on Io, and Hive Warship in Unknown Coordinates.
During the encounter, you’ll be met with a boss challenge (it can be multiple yellow-bar enemies or one big boss), which you’ll need to defeat.Another boss will then spawn afterward.
After you complete the encounter,you have 45 seconds to restock on ammo(the ammo crate doesn’t fully fill your ammo, but you can upgrade that on the shaping slab), buy armaments, and prepare before the next encounter starts. Alternatively,you can start the next encounter early by standing on the circles again.
You have 10 minutes to defeat as many boss encounters—called Challengers—as you’re able to. When the timer runs out,the round that you’re in will be your last before the activity ends,and you can collect your loot.
However, if you manage to defeat all 13 Challengers within 10 minutes, then you’ll getthe maximum amount of loot. If you’re lucky, maybe you’ll get some god rolls and shinies.
Also, at the end of the activity, you may depositfive Metastasized Essentiainto a small dark podium to earn some extra loot.
In the intermissions between each encounter, you’ll return to theCourt of Oryx to restock on ammo and purchase upgrades.
You’ll also notice thatthere is a Hive statue on either side of the areawith their arms out.
Each statue may be holding one or two flaming balls in their hands(totaling a maximum of four) that represent the modifiers present in the next encounter.
These modifiers can either make the activity harder or change up the flow of battle.
It helps to take a few seconds during the intermission toread up on what the next Augmentations and Hazards arebefore you begin the next encounter. Thankfully, the text is rather descriptive.
Augmentations
Instead of dealing damage and slaying out like you normally would,Augmentations randomly change things up a bit by giving bosses or enemies certain characteristics or events. They can either help make things easier or much harder amidst the chaos.
It’s important to know what to do with these challenges when they pop up, asthey reward Runes when you complete them within the allotted time.
Hazards, as the name suggests,are dangerous elements that may make the fight a little more challenging.This encourages you to watch your step and be smarter with your approach.
While there is no exhaustive list of Hazards,you should always keep an eye out on what the Hazards are before you head in.Otherwise, you might get caught unaware during the fight and be left confused as to what killed you.
During theGaze of the DeepHazard, giant eldritch eyeballs will start spawning. Having them on your screen will stack up the Suffocating Terror debuff, which kills you at 20 stacks. Prevent the stacks from building by looking away.
You’ll noticesix Hive statues in the corridor before you arrive at the Court of Oryx.These carry Armaments—buffs that last for the entire run and can be purchased with Runes.
You’ll also noticea meter on the left side of your screen. This indicates how many Runes you’ll need to upgrade Tiers.The higher your tier, the more options are available to you.
Runes can be collected by completing encounters and by completing bonus objects in Augmentations.The amount depends on your performance, and they accumulate and build up into Tiers.
During an intermission, you may use your Runes to buy Armaments. If you have a Tier 3 Antiquated Rune, you’ll be able to buy any available Armaments.
Buying any Armament will remove the Rune, regardless of Tier level. If you buy a Tier 1 Armament while carrying a Tier 3 rune, you won’t go down to Tier 2. Choose your Armaments wisely.
Tips And Tricks
Because Standard is pretty easy,these tips and tricks are best for those who are looking to tackle the Expert version.
Make sure to have your best loadouts andtake Champions into account. Have a good balance of add clear and DPS weapons, and make sure tohave at least one ranged weapon.I’ve tried going full melee, and there are some enemies you just can’t hit, like Shriekers.
If you’re a Titan, you can always take advantage of how broken Bolt Charge is and use Storm’s Keep. A Synthocep build works well in this activity too, as you’re going to be constantly surrounded.
I found that a Stronghold build using any sword with Flash Counter really enhances the tank power fantasy for any Titan.
As for Warlocks, a Prismatic build with Bleakwatcher and Devour will always reign supreme in any PvE activity, as you’ll be consistently topped up on health, and you’ll be regenerating grenades faster thanks to Devour.
Arc Warlock with Geomag Stabilizers and Ionic Sentry with the Delicate Tomb fusion rifle is also one of my favorites.
Hunters, on the other hand, have some reliable builds like the Void Hunter Gyrafalcon build, or even Prismatic with Gifted Conviction.
Remember topurchase Court of Blades upgrades at the Runic Enhancement tab on the Shaping Slab in Eris’s Apartment, as they can enhance your experience.
Since you’ll eventually have enough to slot in every rune, you should spend your Sigil Shards on the following runes first:
