Destiny 2 | New Override Activity Explained (Season of the Splicer)

HGG Override Activity Walkthrough Feature

Image: Bungie

Human Made

Kody is our expert Destiny 2 and shooter genre writer. He lives in Oregon.

It seems like every new Season in Destiny 2 brings a unique game mode with an upgradable item. Season of the Chosen brought in the hectic, enemy-filled Battlegrounds. Now, Season of the Splicer introduces a new activity called Override.

Override isn’t a difficult activity by any means, but that doesn’t mean you can’t optimize your runs. Read on for our full guide on what to expect from Override in Destiny 2.

What Is Override?

What is Overdrive in Destiny 2 — *Image: Bungie via HGG*

Override is a six-player matchmade activity set on Europa, and is directly tied into the Season of the Splicer storyline. It involves you using a Splicer Gauntlet supplied by Fallen leader Mithrax to infiltrate the Vex Network. Your goal is to steal codes and bits of information that can help you remove the simulation covering the Last City.

This activity does require the current season pass. Luckily, the pass also gives you access to most of the Season of the Splicer Weekly challenges, meaning you can quickly upgrade your Gauntlet and gain some Bright Dust.

From a gameplay standpoint, your goal is to defeat a final Vex boss in order to gain high-level gear by opening chests. Now, instead of charging up your Hammer of Proving with Cabal Gold to smash chests, you charge up your Gauntlet with Ether to unlock chests. Wildly different, right?

How Override Works in Destiny 2

Most of the tasks in Override will seem familiar to seasoned Destiny players, with some elements from past seasons making up this new event. The randomized runs are reminiscent of the Sundial, and the semi-challenging platforming sections feel inspired by the Menagerie. There’s also a hint of Battlegrounds thrown in with the ADD-filled boss waves at the end.

Override Activity Step-by-Step

It’s recommended that you hit at least Power Level 1300 before taking this activity on, which shouldn’t be much of a challenge for most players. Here’s what you can expect once you start hacking into the Vex network.

1. Bank Motes and Challenge the Vex

Bank Motes against Vex in Destiny 2 — *Image: Bungie via HGG*

When you first start out, you and your team will need to activate the Vex construct. This will immediately spawn in waves of enemies — either Vex or Cabal — that you’ll need to defeat to collect motes. Most Minor enemies will drop a single mote, challenging enemies drop two, and mini-bosses will drop 4–6 at a time. Like Gambit, you can carry up to ten before you need to cash them in to the “bank.”

Your goal here is to deposit enough motes to lock down the bank, showcased by a checkpoint in a small meter on the left-hand side of the screen. Once you’ve reached that point, it will spawn one or two Champions that you need to take out, alongside other Minor enemies.

Bank Motes part 2 in Destiny 2 — *Image: Bungie via HGG*

Then you’ll need to destroy the red cubes surrounding the center construct while avoiding Vex fanatics in order to spawn platforms to initiate the next wave. You’ll need to repeat this process three times in order to open up the portal into the Vex Network.

Keep in mind that you can speed up this process by collecting and depositing a Data Spike. You can acquire one by depositing motes to open up a portal that allows you to infiltrate a section of the Vex Network. You go in, defeat a Champion, grab the Data Spike, and return to deposit it.

2. Navigate the Vex Network

Navigate the Vex Network Destiny 2 — *Image: Bungie via HGG*

Now that you’ve entered the Vex Network, it’s time for some platforming. In this Tron-inspired virtual wonderland, you’ll need to navigate a handful of hazards in order to make it through unscathed. Die at any point, and you’ll spawn right back at the start until someone on your team makes it all the way through. Here are some of the hazards you can expect to encounter:

Lasers: These will either be rotating or sliding laser walls that you’ll need to time correctly to get through.
Ramps: A long ramp section that will send you flying forward with incredible speed. Be sure to time your jump correctly so you don’t slam into the ground or go flying off the edge.
Barriers: These white walls can be opened by destroying the cubes connected to them.
Anti-virus Walls: These red walls of death will come toward you during ramp, laser, and barrier sections. Just try to avoid them or you’ll instantly be deleted.

Once you’ve run these platforming sections a few times, it should be easy to get through without dying. If you need a little help, there are some Splicer Gauntlet upgrades available, but we’ll cover that in a bit.

3. Eliminate the Subjugated Mind

Eliminate subjugated mind Destiny 2 — *Image: Bungie via HGG*

Once you’ve entered the portal at the end of the platforming section, it’s time for a Boss fight. This time, you’ll be taking on Tacitas the Subjugated Mind, which (in true Destiny 2 fashion) is really just a giant Wyvern with deadly close-quarters stomping and spin attacks to override your team (get it?). Like the first section, you’ll be taking this boss down in three waves, which are all split apart by you having to kill a Champion.

Once the Champion is killed, you’ll pick up a Data Spike and deposit it. Then, you’ll need to eliminate a few white cubes to open the arena back up and resume fighting the Boss. Do these three times in total and you’ve successfully finished an Override encounter.

What’s the Difference Between Override Activities?

Now, as the season has progressed, Bungie has released two additional versions of the Destiny 2 Override activity.

The second takes place on the Moon and has you fighting Portunos the Subjugated Mind. This boss is a large Minotaur, similar to the Modular Mind in the Inverted Spire Strike, that will attempt to rush you and unleash a deadly stomp. Now, the only difference between this and Override on Europa is that you’ll have to navigate additional platforming sections between boss phases when depositing the Data Spike.

The last Override activity takes place on the Tangled Shore and has you facing Thesmotae the Subjugated Mind. This giant Vex Hydra fight basically reflects the Europa fight, just with slightly different attack patterns.

The only other differences you’ll encounter are the randomized platforming sections. There are 2–3 variations with similar mechanics that you’ll encounter as you play. These are not connected to specific Override versions, so your experience can be different every single time.

Override Rewards and Benefits

Rewards and benefits in Destiny 2 Override activity — *Image: Bungie via HGG*

The reward system in Override is very similar to Battlegrounds. In short, before you take on an Override activity in Destiny 2, you want to collect enough Ether by playing Strikes, Crucible, etc. to activate Key Codes on your Gauntlet. This will allow you to not only open the standard chest at the end but also the Conflux Chest.

The standard chest will give you randomized gear in the current Override loot pool. The Conflux Chest will give you Season of the Splicer gear along with Decrypted Data. The Decrypted Data is really the important part since that is what allows you to unlock perks for your Splicer Gauntlet.

You can actually get more Encrypted Data during a run by cashing in Data Spikes in the first round. The more you cash in, the better chance you have of spawning a Network Anomaly during the final boss fight. If defeated, these Champion level Goblins will drop additional Decrypted Data. This is unfortunately a random event, so there’s no guarantee one will spawn every time.

Which Splicer Gauntlet Upgrades Are Best for Override

Choosing the Splicer Gauntlet — *Image: Bungie via HGG*

Now, in the current season of Destiny 2, your Splicer Gauntlet is the key to unlocking perks that can benefit you when prepping for or playing Override. This will look a lot like the upgrade process for your Hammer of Proving, with less expensive upgrades allowing you to unlock more powerful variations. We won’t dive deep into all of them today, but here are the core upgrades to go for first.

Keep in mind that five of these modifiers are locked for now, so there may be some down the line that are better to get first.

1. Memory Expansion

Memory Expansion option on Splicer Gauntlet upgrade screen — *Image: Bungie via HGG*

The first thing you’ll want to focus on is upgrading the amount of Ether and Splicer Keys that you can carry. At the start, you can only hold three Splicer Keys and they cost 50 Ether, which you can only hold a max of 100 at the start. This means that you’d have to pause playing Strikes, Crucible, or Gambit to run Override and get rid of a key.

The Memory Expansion perk increases your total to a maximum of six Keys and 250 Ether if you unlock all three perk Tiers. It’s worth going after early so you can rack up keys and save Override runs for when you want to play.

2. Override Efficiency

Override Efficiency option on the Splicer Gauntlet upgrade Screen — *Image: Bungie via HGG*

The actual loot you get from both types of chests at the ned of Override is somewhat random. This perk helps alleviate that by improving the quality and quantity of loot you get, along with some extra Decoded Data.

Standard chests have an increased chance of dropping seasonal gear, and Conflux chests throw in more Focused and Unfocused Umbral Engrams. The greatest benefits come from maxing out this perk, so make sure you take it all the way to Tier 3.

3. Ether Purifier

Ether Purifier option on the Splicer Gauntlet upgrade screen — *Image: Bungie via HGG*

If you’re wanting to get through a bunch of Override rounds efficiently you’ll want to have your Splicer Keys maxed out. This requires a fair amount of Ether, which does take time to acquire, especially if you’re upgraded to six keys. The Ether Purifier helps speed up the process by increasing the amount you gain in every activity.

Become a High Grounder

Override doesn’t quite live up to the hype of Battlegrounds, but they’re still a good time with plenty of rewards to pursue. To help your Fireteam optimize every run, be sure to share this guide on your favorite social channels.

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