Destiny 2: King's Fall Guide | High Ground Gaming

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Reviewed by Ashley Johnson

It’s been a long time since the original Destiny, and getting a fan-favorite raid back is one thing we’ve anxiously been waiting for. King’s Fall was originally the climax of the 2015 expansion, The Taken King, and its return is more than welcome. In this article, we’re going to take a look at each part of the raid and discuss the major strategies for each.

Let’s get started!

How to Launch the King’s Fall Raid

Launching King’s Fall is very simple. All you have to do is click on the Legends tab on the destination menu (it’s the same section as Vault of Glass and Prophecy).

The minimum light requirement is stated as 1550, but by the time you get to Oryx, it will have scaled up to 1580 (the Pinnacle cap). Between armor and artifact levels, it shouldn’t take long to be prepared.

Entering King’s Fall (Intro Encounter)

This section of the raid is really simple, so we won’t go too in-depth on it. You’ll want to split into three groups of two, with a group assigned to left, right, and middle. The left and right groups will need to pick up a Taken orb (this should be done at the same time on both sides), then the teammate left without an orb on each side should protect the orb carrier.

There will be Taken barrier on the doors to each side that also need to be shot by either the extra person on each side or the people in middle. Take the orb to the middle area, where you’ll see a Taken symbol on one of the statues. Both orb carriers should deposit them at the same time. Do this several more times until the path forward is opened.

Jumping Puzzle (Swinging Platforms and the Ships)

This jumping puzzle consists of two halves: a simple one that involves jumping across swinging platforms, and one of the most infamous in raid history — the ships.

Making it across the swinging platforms is pretty easy. You just time your jumps so you land at the right time and keep doing so until you make it all the way across.

The second part of this section is more complicated. After making it past the swinging platforms, you’ll find yourself by a large ship. Wait for your teammates to make it, then everyone should hop on together. It isn’t required to all go across at the same time, but it makes things easier. This is especially true if you have new players who don’t know the route on your team.

Once on the ship, it will begin to move forward. You’ll notice a bunch of other ships floating around near you, as well. Once the ship you’re on begins to disappear, you’ll need to be on your way to a new one. A bunch of ships will spawn from time to time within jumping range, but you need to land on the correct one.

Once you make it across, there’s a secret chest in a side room near where you’ll have to stand on plates to open the door for the last ship. You’ll see the entrance to this room as a hole in the wall to your left when going through this last section on the ship.

Totems (First Encounter)

Totems is the first real encounter of the raid. We’ll provide a detailed rundown of what each player’s role is, then we’ll give a TL;DR for those who need a quick explanation. First, though, we’ll start off with loadout recommendations.

Best Weapons for Totems:

Heavy Machine Guns (for ad-clear)
Shotguns (for Taken Knights and Unstoppable Champions)
High DPS primary (SMGs are great)

Best Subclasses for Totems:

Solar Hunter w/ Blade Barrage
Void Hunter w/ Tether and Invisibility
Solar Titan w/ Hammer of Sol
Solar Warlock w/ Well of Radiance
Void Warlock w/ Nova Bomb

To start off, break your team into two groups of three — both groups will be doing exactly the same thing. The three members of each group will start out with a specific role, then rotate to another one once completing their first. Here are the three objectives for each team:

One person takes the orb at the top of the path to their side and must stand with the buff by their totem. The buff is called “Brand of the Weaver,” but most people just call it the Brand. While down there, the Brand holder needs to kill enemies to build up stacks of Deathsinger’s Power (you get them by killing enemies, and you get more from more powerful enemies).

Another person stays in the middle and helps clear ads until a Wizard spawns on their balcony. After killing the Wizard, a Taken Knight will spawn. Kill it as fast as possible and pick up the “Brand Claimer” buff it drops.

This person needs to run down to the person standing on their totem and “steal” their buff. Once this is done, the player who was originally on the totem has to run up top to deposit their Deathsinger’s Power on the middle plate.

The other player in middle that didn’t just deposit Deathsinger’s Power should then kill the Wizard and Taken Knight and start the cycle over again. Keep cycling like this until the encounter finishes. You can see symbols lighting up around the door in the middle, and once those symbols reach the top of the door frame, you’re done.

Totems TL;DR:

Split into two groups of three. Both sides do exactly the same thing.
Player 1: Pick up Brand of the Weaver and go stand on the totem. Kill as many enemies as possible while down there.
Player 2: Kill the Wizard and Taken Knight on the balcony and pick up the “Brand Claimer” buff. Run down to the player with the Brand on a totem and “steal” their buff.
Player 1: Run back up to middle and deposit Deathsinger’s Power on the middle plate, then take Player 3’s place.
Player 3: Do the same thing Player 2 just did.
Keep cycling until enough Deathsinger’s Power has been deposited and the encounter ends.

Warpriest (Second Encounter)

Warpriest is the first DPS encounter, and it’s also the most annoying encounter in the raid. It’s not bad, it just has some annoying mechanics.

Best Weapons for Warpriest:

Izanagi’s Burden or Arbalest + LFR (Cataclysmic, Taipan-4FR, or Stormchaser)
One person with Divinity is really good in this encounter

Best Subclasses for Warpriest:

Arc Hunter w/ Gathering Storm (no more than one)
Solar Hunter w/ Blade Barrage
Solar Titan w/ Hammer of Sol
Solar Warlock w/ Well of Radiance (at least one)
Void Titan w/ Bubble (no more than one)

The first thing to do for Warpriest is split into pairs — one group each on left, right, and middle. Each group should clear ads as quickly as possible until a Revenant Knight shows up for each group. Once all three Revenant Knights are dead, the glyph sequence part begins.

You’ll get an on-screen notification when the glyph sequence starts. One of the people in the middle group has to stand on the center plate and look at the back of the large stone pillars in front of them (there’s one for each side).

One of them should be glowing on the back side (if you can’t see any glowing, that means it’s the middle one. The glyph reader should instruct a teammate to stand on the plate corresponding to the lit up pillar, then that person will stand on their plate and “read” the statues just like the last person did.

Once your team activates all three plates, the damage phase starts.

The damage phase for Warpriest can be chaotic, so we’ll walk through each part. Actually damaging the boss is easy —just stand by the person with the glowing red aura and shoot him in the head. There are several good places to stand during DPS, but make sure you pick a place with a good line of sight on Warpriest.

During the damage phase, there are knights that spawn and must be killed, otherwise the damage phase ends early. You’ll typically want to assign two people to kill the nights — one who kills the first, another who gets the second.

Once the Knight is dead, the person who killed it needs to go pick up the “Brand Claimer” buff it drops and take the Brand from the person currently holding it during DPS. Make sure the person who currently has the Brand calls out when its timer is getting low.

Once a damage phase ends, you have to hide behind the same stone pillars used to call out the glyph sequence, otherwise you’ll die to the boss’ massive damage burst. Each time a damage phase ends, he’ll destroy one of the pillars with this damage burst.

If you don’t kill the Warpriest within four damage phases, he’ll enrage and wipe your team. This happens because you won’t have anymore pillars to hide behind once the three are taken out.

Warpriest TL;DR:

Split into three groups of two, covering left, right, and middle plate.
Kill all three Revenant Knights as quickly as possible.
Middle Group: One person stands on their plate and looks at the back side of the pillars in front of them and calls out which is glowing (if they can’t see any, then it’s middle plate). The person whose pillar is lit up needs to stand on their plate and check the pillars themselves to call out the last plate in the sequence. The last person to stand on a plate will get a red aura.
Stand by the person with the red aura to do damage.
Assign two players to kill the knights that spawn in the area during the damage phase, otherwise it’ll end early. The knights spawn one at a time, and only one person at a time should handle them so you get maximum DPS.
Hide behind a stone pillar to prevent dying to the Warpriest’s damage at the end of each phase.
Repeat until done.

Maze Puzzle

The maze between Warpriest and Golgoroth isn’t too complicated once you know where to go. The route to the next encounter is as follows: turn right, left, left, right, and then just run straight ahead. There is also a hidden chest here that requires five plates in the maze to be stood on.

Once you do that, you can find the chest in the middle area. If you get into the straight hallway that leads to Golgoroth, the chest is in the back end of that straight section.

Golgoroth (Third Encounter)

Golgoroth is the third encounter in the raid, and while he can certainly be annoying, usually it goes much more smoothly than Warpriest does. His damage phase is incredibly long if done correctly, and the mechanics aren’t too frustrating. Let’s take a look at weapons and subclasses first!

Best Weapons for Golgoroth:

Izanagi’s Burden or Arbalest + Legendary LFR
Legendary Sniper Rifle + Sleeper Simulant

Best Subclasses for Golgoroth:

Solar Warlock w/ Well of Radiance
Void Titan w/ Bubble
Arc Hunter w/ Gathering Storm
Any subclass can technically work here, but defensive ones work best since Golgoroth’s vulnerable areas are hard to hit with most damage-based supers.

There are two roles in the Golgoroth encounter: damaging the boss and distracting him (holding his gaze). The gaze team will be tasked with acquiring Golgoroth’s gaze and making him turn so his vulnerable spot is facing the DPS team. All six players should help kill ads at the start of the encounter and in-between damage phases as well. It’s important to kill all the ads before the damage phase begins.

The major mechanic of the Golgoroth fight is Pools of Reclaimed Light. This is the name of the “pool” of light that will drop from the glowing white orbs above the arena during the damage phase. To damage Golgoroth, your team needs to shoot down this orb and stand in it while the gaze team holds Golgoroth’s gaze.

To acquire Golgoroth’s gaze, you have to shoot the glowing spot on his back. This will allow the person who shot it to have his gaze for a rather short period (just under twenty seconds), and the other person on this team needs to be in position to shoot the spot on his back again before their teammate’s timer hits zero.

To do this optimally, the two gaze people should always stay on opposite sides of the area so one always has a shot lined up. The most important part of holding his gaze, however, is positioning him so the DPS team can hit his crit spot.

It’s in his stomach and can be hard to get a shot on if he isn’t perfectly facing them, so it can get pretty hectic. Keep doing this until the damage phase ends and it should go well.

Being on the DPS team is a bit less intimidating because it’s a larger group, but they have a lot to keep up with. Other than damaging the boss, the DPS team has two major concerns. The first is staying aware of how long until they need to shoot down the next orb, and the second is watching out for Unstable Light.

Unstable Light is a status effect that people on the DPS team will randomly get, which will explode and do damage to anyone around them once its timer hits zero. When you notice this debuff, you need to leave your teammates and run to the boss.

Unstable Light’s detonation will do a decent chunk of damage to Golgoroth as well. If you have trouble noticing when you have the debuff, just pay attention to your screen. If you have Unstable Light, your screen will begin turning green.

Golgoroth has a ton of health, so it’s likely to take multiple phases to kill him. Keep cycling and it shouldn’t take long to end the fight. Once you finish him off, you’re off to another jumping puzzle and two more encounters.

Golgoroth TL;DR:

Split into groups of two and four. The two-person team holds Golgoroth’s gaze, while the four-person team does DPS. It’s usually best to put at least one experienced player on the gaze team.
Kill ads until white orbs spawn above the middle section of the room.
DPS Team: Stand inside the pool of light that spawns when one of the white orbs is shot down from the ceiling. Watch for new orbs to spawn and shoot down throughout the encounter, as each Pool of Reclaimed Light only lasts a limited time.
Gaze Team: One member of the gaze team needs to shoot the glowing spot on Golgoroth’s back to attract his gaze. The other should position themselves on the opposite side of the arena to shoot the spot and take over before the other player’s timer runs out.
Position Golgoroth so the DPS team can hit his crit spot (his stomach). Should one of the DPS team members contract the Unstable Light debuff, they should separate from the group and run to Golgoroth so the damage effect hits him instead of their teammates.
Repeat until done.

Jumping Puzzle (Wall)

This puzzle is pretty simple. As you progress toward the last two encounters, you’ll travel along a wall with large objects jutting in and out of it. These will send you flying across the room if you get hit by one, so watch out for them.

As you go through the room, you’ll encounter plates similar to the other encounters. Have one player stay on each plate as you come to them until a path is fully visible, then everyone can progress through the room.

Daughters of Oryx (Fourth Encounter)

Daughters is the quickest encounter in King’s Fall, and it’s also one of the most fun. Due to the weird way the Daughters themselves are coded, certain weapons do far more damage to them than they do to other enemies. This allows for a really fun damage phase unique to this raid.

Best Weapons for Daughters of Oryx:

Wardcliff Coil, Gjallahorn, or The Hothead (these Rocket Launchers melt the Daughters because of the strange way they take damage)
Sniper Rifle or Scout Rifle for long-range enemies

Best Subclasses for Daughters of Oryx:

Solar Warlock w/ Well of Radiance
Void Titan w/ Bubble
Void Hunter w/ Tether and Invisibility

The actual Daughters of Oryx encounter is really simple, and its major mechanic is actually the same in the Oryx fight afterwards. You’ll notice four pillars in the room, each with a plate on top similar to other sections of the raid.

There are several ways to label these pillars, but most people use the callouts L1, L2, R1, R2. From the entrance to the room (where the raid banner goes), the closest one on the left is L1 and the one in the back is L2, and it’s the same for the right side.

One player should be assigned to each of the four plates, and the other two people rotate around helping when needed. At the start of the encounter, there will be a knight kneeling on one of the plates. Kill it, and have the person assigned to that plate stand on it.

Once they do, they’ll be able to see an orb in the air above one of the other plates, which they need to call out. The person for that plate should stand on it, revealing a path in the air for the person who gets Taken.

The player that gets Taken is random, but it’ll be obvious who it is because their screen will be grayed out and they won’t be able to shoot or use their abilities.

This person has a pretty simple job. They need to go to the first plate, then make their way across the new platforms in the air that lead to the second plate. When they reach the end of this path, they’ll run through a floating orb and lose their Taken status.

Stay focused during this encounter, especially if you’re one of the people without a dedicated plate. If a person who was supposed to be on a plate gets Taken, one of the unassigned people has to take their place.

You’ll have to complete this process three times before you can damage either of the sisters. On the third cycle, the Taken person will actually interact with the orb at the end of their path, giving them the “Brand Claimer” buff from earlier.

With the buff, that player can steal the protective shield from the sister that is glowing green. Once they’ve done that, they should join the rest of their team on the platform beneath the other sister and do DPS. One phase should be more than enough for the first sister, as long as everyone has their Rocket Launcher equipped.

After that, you just repeat the process for the other sister. Then you’re on to the final boss of the raid — Oryx, the Taken King.

Daughters of Oryx TL;DR:

There are four plates in the arena, labeled L1, L2, R1, and R2. The ones closer to the rally banner are L1/R1, and the ones in the back are L2/R2.
One person should cover each plate, while two others roam around helping when needed.
Kill the knight on the plate and take its place. Then look in the air and see where a floating orb is (it will have an obvious symbol indicating its location). Call out where it is and have the person assigned to the plate below it get on their plate.
One player will become Taken, and they have to start at the first plate called out and go across the floating platforms to the second plate called. They need to run through the orb at the end of the path.
Repeat this cycle twice more. The Taken player on the third cycle has to interact with the orb to gain the Brand Claimer buff.
Use the Brand Claimer buff to steal the protective shield from whichever sister is glowing green.
Stand on the platform beneath and across from the unshielded sister to do DPS.
Repeat for the other sister.

Oryx, The Taken King (Fifth Encounter)

Oryx isn’t an incredibly hard encounter to learn, and thankfully, we’ve already covered one of its main mechanics. Let’s take a look at loadouts and subclasses first.

Best Weapons for Oryx:

Izanagi’s Burden or Arbalest + LFR
Sniper Rifle + Sleeper Simulant

Best Subclasses for Oryx:

Solar Warlock w/ Well of Radiance
Void Titan w/ Bubble
Void Hunter w/ Tether and Invisibility

Here’s the good news about this encounter — since a part of it is exactly the same as Daughters, you already know how to do it. This is the section where one player gets Taken and travels from plate to plate. If you need a refresher, there are detailed instructions in the above section on Daughters of Oryx.

In addition to the plates, there is one new mechanic during this fight. While the Taken player does their job, Ogres will spawn near the plates. Kill the ogres as quickly as possible, and when they’re dead, you’ll notice a black orb floating where they died.

Don’t walk too close to the orb just yet, but do keep track of it. After that orb appears, a Knight will spawn opposite and diagonally from where the Ogre did on the same side. Keep watch for the Knight, because it will rush toward the orb and attempt to steal it. If it does, it causes the damage phase to become shorter.

Once the third Taken player gets to the end of their path, they will grab the “Brand Claimer” buff. This time, however, they’ll rush down to where a Knight will be standing in the middle with the shield and take it from him. Then kill the now-exposed Knight and get ready for the last objective before the damage phase.

This last objective is to detonate the orbs dropped by the Ogres earlier. Have each player stand beside (not on top of) the orb they were responsible for earlier. On the bottom left of the screen, wait until you see a notification stating “Oryx calls upon the darkness.” Once you see that, have each player walk up to their orb to start the detonation process. As soon as you see “[your username] has detonated a blight” get away from it — it will explode.

Once your team has detonated all four orbs, the damage phase starts. Oryx has a pretty long damage phase, so you’ll have plenty of time to do damage. After the damage phase is over, if he’s not dead, Oryx will do one of two things. Either he’ll spawn bombs on top of you that require you to run around to avoid them, or he’ll pull random players into a bubble with him (often called the Thunderdome). The goal in the Thunderdome is to kill the shade of Oryx. After this is over, you just repeat the whole process again.

Oryx TL;DR:

Claim a plate, and have two other players help out as needed.
Complete the same process as the Daughters encounter, with one player becoming Taken.
Kill Ogres as quickly as possible, then protect the orb they drop from the Knights that will try to run and “steal” them.
Third Taken Player: Start the damage phase by grabbing the “Brand Claimer” buff, then stealing the shield from the Knight in the middle of the room.
Plate Players: Stand by the orb dropped by your Ogre. After this detonate all four orbs (walk near them to detonate them) at the same time. Once your name shows up on the bottom left of the screen, run back to the middle for DPS.
Repeat until the Taken King is dead.

Join the High Ground

Thanks for reading this guide on the King’s Fall raid! It’s great to finally have this raid back, and we hope our guide has helped you complete it. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter for more Destiny 2 guides!

Happy gaming!

Related Reading

Destiny 2: Arc 3.0 Guide

Best Weapons to Craft Guide (2022)

Destiny 2: King’s Fall Guide

How to Launch the King’s Fall Raid

Entering King’s Fall (Intro Encounter)

Jumping Puzzle (Swinging Platforms and the Ships)