Destiny 2: Duality Dungeon Guide

Image: Activision & Bungie via HGG

Human Made

I've been playing video games pretty much nonstop ever since I got my first 360. I love arena shooters, MMOs, and MOBAs, but I'll pretty much try any kind of game.

Reviewed by Ashley Johnson

Along with the return of the Leviathan and Calus, Season of the Haunted also brings us the first new dungeon of the year — Duality. This dungeon provides a series of exciting new encounters utilizing mechanics that, while new, shouldn’t be too complex to grasp for experienced players.

It definitely holds up to the standards Bungie has set for themselves ever since The Witch Queen release. We’ll help you prepare for it in this Duality Dungeon guide for Destiny 2.

Let’s get started!

Duality Dungeon Guide Intro: Learning the Mechanics

The intro of Duality sees you discuss the dungeon and your goals with Eris before descending into the actual dungeon itself. In this first area, the goal is to learn the core mechanic of the dungeon — the bells.

In this first section, you must navigate through an easy jumping puzzle, shooting bells to switch from the “normal” and “nightmare” versions of the area. The normal versions look, well, normal. The nightmare variants, however, are red and hellish.

In the normal version, shooting the bells is simple. Just shoot the bell and flip over to the other side.
In the nightmare version, you (and your fireteam) must be near the bell for it to work. There will be an aura around the bell showing you where you need to stand.

To progress to the end of this introductory section, keep making your way forward (or downward) from realm to realm until the section ends. As long as you find the bells and make sure your entire fireteam sticks together, it should be easy.

Do be aware, though, that if your fireteam gets split up, things become more complicated. The bells are universal, so if one player is in a different realm or section of the map, you need to make sure everyone is ready for the bell to be shot before doing so.

First Encounter

Let’s check out the first encounter in the Duality Dungeon guide. This encounter is made up of two parts: the normal realm and the nightmare realm (this is the case with every encounter). In the normal realm, you’ll see four holographic white symbols called essences. The four are War Beast, Chalice, Axes, and Sun. Make note of where these are, because they’ll be necessary later.

first-encounter-nightmare-3 — Image: Activision & Bungie via HGG / Brett Moss

In the nightmare realm, the essences spawn in unmarked side rooms. The goal in the nightmare realm is to acquire these essences, then go back to the normal side and deposit them. Doing this for each essence will trigger a damage phase on the boss. Here’s a detailed description of the sequence in which this encounter works.

In the normal realm, survey the room and make sure you know where the essence symbols are. Once you’re ready, shoot the bell to go into the nightmare realm.
In the nightmare realm, check each corner room for enemies called Standard Bearers. Kill the Standard Bearers to spawn essences. Pick those up and teleport back to the standard realm once all Bellkeepers are dead.
During the second normal realm phase, you need to deposit the essences and clear out the rooms that open up behind where you deposit. Clear those rooms out and have one person stand in each new room while the third person shoots the bell.
In the second nightmare realm phase, the people who stayed in the rooms behind where the essences were deposited will have to fight through a wave of enemies called Visions of Gahlran. These guys aren’t very tough — most fusion rifles can kill one in a single blast. After killing all six that spawn on each side, everyone will be able to come to the main room for a damage phase. Make sure Bellkeepers are dead before the damage phase starts so you don’t have to stop damaging early to kill them.

First Encounter Boss — Nightmare of Gahlran, Sorrow Bearer

Gahlran is a very mobile boss, so you want to be somewhere where you’ll be able to keep sight of him. Since the boss arena is fairly small, this shouldn’t be too hard. However, I’ve found that he loves to go into the corners of the room where it can be hard to hit him at times. Here are some ideas for loadouts, but you can use whatever you’re comfortable with here.

Linear Fusions are great, especially with Divinity.
Rocket Launchers work too, especially if someone is using Gjallarhorn.
Some combination of Fusion Rifle (or maybe Shotgun) and auto-loading holster weapon (Rocket Launchers work for this strategy).
Izanagi’s Burden or Whisper could also both be great, especially if someone is using Divinity.

The damage phase for Gahlran has a pretty short time limit, so it’s most likely going to take multiple damage phases to finish him. After the first damage phase, you repeat this process however many times you need to.

Statue Puzzle and First Hidden Chest

Following the first encounter, you have a pretty straightforward platforming section. Finding your way to the second encounter doesn’t require much effort — just follow the path, hit the switches, and try not to get lost.

Along the way, you’ll come across a simple statue puzzle and the first hidden chest (check the next paragraph for info on that. It’s recommended to get the chest before starting the puzzle). The goal of this puzzle is to have all the statues facing the middle of the room.

To do this, use the bell in the middle to go into the nightmare realm and use the switches behind the statues to rotate them. They rotate counterclockwise ninety degrees, so be sure to rotate them the correct amount. Once this is done, go back to the normal realm and proceed down through the opening beneath the bell.

Hidden Chest #1: The first hidden chest is located on one of the platforms surrounding the statues in the normal realm. Just check each platform to see which has a chest hidden behind its door.

Second Encounter

The second encounter is similar to the first. The main goal here is to go into the nightmare realm to collect essences, then return to the normal realm to deposit them and kill a mini-boss. This repeats until three mini-bosses have been killed, then the vault unlocks.

Unlocking the Vault

Here is the detailed run-down:

Split your group into two groups: two people collecting standard essences and the other killing Bellkeepers.
While in the normal realm, make note of which essences need to be collected and where they are. You will see their symbols around the map on rectangular markers. Have the two essence collectors stand by the correct ones while the Bellkeeper person shoots the bell.
In the nightmare realm, the essence collectors should go up the stairs beside them and kill all enemies there. Then a Standard Bearer will spawn (this time a more powerful enemy than before). Kill the Standard Bearer and come back to the middle to teleport back. While they do this, the Bellkeeper person should clear them out. They spawn opposite the bell they shot, so they’re easy to find.

Second Encounter Mini Boss in Duality Dungeon Destiny 2 — Image: Activision & Bungie via HGG / Brett Moss

Back in the normal realm, deposit essences and get ready to kill a mini-boss. There isn’t a time limit here, so DPS isn’t as important as survivability. Once the mini-boss is dead, repeat this whole process two more times until three are dead. Then the vault will unlock and you’ll be on your way to the end of the dungeon.

The Route to the Third Encounter (and Second Hidden Chest)

Progressing on to the third encounter is pretty simple. It’s similar to the intro part of the dungeon, as it requires you to shoot bells to progress. After progressing forward a bit, you will reach an area called The Depths.

Hidden Chest #2: In this room, go under the platform in the middle and check for a hidden crawlspace. The second hidden chest is located there. After getting that, keep making your way forward until you reach the third and final encounter.

Third Encounter

3rd encounter normal — Image: Activision & Bungie via HGG / Brett Moss

Now let’s cover the final encounter in the Duality Dungeon guide. Once again, this encounter uses the same mechanic as before. Split your team into the same two groups as before and enter the room to start the encounter.

In the normal realm, locate the essence symbols needed. Have the two essence collectors stand on the balcony with their symbol above it and teleport into the nightmare realm after killing the Bellkeepers

3rd encounter nightmare — Image: Activision & Bungie via HGG / Brett Moss

In the nightmare realm, the essence collectors should spawn right beside their Standard Bearer (once again a weak Psion). They should be able to kill them immediately and join the Bellkeeper person to help kill any remaining Bellkeepers. Once the Bellkeepers are dead and the essences are collected, teleport back.
In the second normal realm phase, deposit essences, kill Bellkeepers, and get ready to repeat what you did before. Go back into the nightmare room and do the same thing, then return to the normal realm.
Once back in the normal realm, deposit the last two essences. Large chains will spawn around the room which you need to damage in order to start the damage phase. You will be teleported back into the nightmare realm for DPS.

Third Encounter Boss — Nightmare of Caiatl, Princess Imperial

This boss fight can be a bit complicated and hectic, so make sure everyone is focused during this part. For DPS, you can use the same thing as you did for the first encounter, as Caiatl will be pretty close to you at all times. However, during the actual DPS phase, she is stunned and unable to move. Take advantage of this and perhaps bring out some Linear Fusions if you want to. Here’s the step-by-step process.

When your team spawns, notice immediately where Caiatl is running. There are three bells in the room, each with two Bellkeepers. Caiatl will run towards one of these bells, at which point both Bellkeepers there need to be killed as quickly as possible (all three team members should help with this). Once that is done, shoot the bell as soon as she gets close to it. This will stun her and allow you to damage her.

Repeat this process at each bell, making sure to kill Bellkeepers before she gets to the bell. If Caiatl gets to the bell without being stunned, she will teleport away and the damage phase will end early. The best way to avoid this is simply to be observant of where she is heading and getting there as quickly as possible.

Some people also prefer to kill all six Bellkeepers at the start of the phase, so you can try that as well if your team has difficulty doing them one at a time.

If your fireteam doesn’t one-phase Caital (which they probably won’t), you’ll have to repeat the entire encounter however many times it takes to deplete her health bar. Don’t get discouraged, as most fireteams have to do two or three phases before she’s finally dead. Once you’re done, though, you’ll get your final chest and you will have finished the Duality dungeon!

Join the High Ground

Thanks for checking out our guide on the Duality dungeon in Destiny 2. This dungeon is the first new one of the year, but there should be more. Be sure to come back to see our guide on the next whenever it releases as well!

Happy gaming!

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