Destiny 2: Spire of the Watcher Dungeon Guide

Image: Bungie via HGG / Brett Moss

Human Made

Penned by Brett Moss

I've been playing video games pretty much nonstop ever since I got my first 360. I love racing games, MMOs, and shooters, but I'll play just about anything.

Reviewed by Benjamin Barr

Spire of the Watcher is the newest dungeon in Destiny 2 (the second one this year!). It’s rather short, but still exciting, and offers plenty of new loot to farm. We’ve put together this guide on how to beat Spire, including the basic mechanics of the dungeon, how to beat each boss, and the best weapons and loadout options for each encounter.

It’s a really fun dungeon, so let’s get right to it!

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Core Mechanic: Arctician Buff and Cable Management

If there’s anything you should take away from our guide to the Spire of the Watcher dungeon in Destiny 2, it’s this portion.

Each dungeon in Destiny 2 has a core mechanic that players have to learn in order to progress to the end. In Spire of the Watcher, the core mechanic is cable management. That might not sound very exciting to most, but it actually does make for an interesting mechanic that’s also very easy to grasp.

In each section of this dungeon, you’ll find yellow and/or red power cables connecting to diamond-shaped switches. To power up these cables and the machines they’re connected to, you’ll have to acquire a buff called Arctician and shoot the diamond switches.

Most cables will have at least four or five switches that must be activated to complete the circuit, and some will be more difficult to locate than others. You’ll have to start at the power source and work your way to some object that needs to be powered each time.

To acquire the Arctician buff, you’ll have to kill enemies called Conduit Minotaurs. Upon dying, they create a pool on the ground that will grant the buff. This buff is required to activate the diamond switches connecting power cables. It lasts for 30 seconds, and each time you shoot a switch, you get a small amount of time added to the buff.

Figuring out where the switches are is the key in each encounter. These switches might be a bit out of the way, but they’re never that hard to find. And, once you’ve figured out where all of them are, you never have to worry about it again. This dungeon is very quick to re-run due to how simple the puzzles are once you’ve done them a time or two.

Getting Started

After arriving on Mars, you’ll quickly find yourself in an area with a few buildings and a power station in the middle. Kill adds and the multiple Cyclops above until a Conduit Minotaur spawns. Kill the Minotaur and stand in the white pool it leaves behind to get the Arctician buff.

Once you have the Arctician buff, your job will be to power the four cables leading to the middle. To do this, you want to start at the power generator. This can be found by starting at the switch in the middle and following the yellow cable attached to it until it reaches its end. There are four power circuits total here and each needs to be powered.

Once this is done, a hatch will open in the middle area between the buildings. You’ll then be on to the next part of the dungeon.

Ascend the Spire (First Encounter)

In this encounter, you’ll be traveling up the massive Spire you can see during the opening. This process will consist entirely of connecting wires to unlock doors, behind which are elevators to higher-up sections of the spire.

Since this encounter has no boss fight, you’ll just want good survivability and add-clear. You’ll also want something with decent range to kill the Hydras that spawn in the air around the Spire. Arbalest is great for this, since it can pierce the Hydra’s shield, but really anything with range will work.

To complete this encounter, you just do the same thing as in the intro. Find the start of the power source, then power the cables. Some of them will be in weird places, so go through this slowly the first time so you can find all the switches. There is no time limit, so there’s no reason to rush through it. Once you get to the top, you’ll be rewarded with a chest and you’ll be one step closer to the next encounter.

Akelous, the Siren’s Current (Second Encounter)

Before diving straight into the first boss, let’s look at loadout and subclass options. The best weapon type to use here is easily Linear Fusions, since the boss has an easy-to-hit crit spot, but there are a few choices for subclasses. Well and Bubble are both good for defense, and add-clear is great due to the massive number of adds.

Subclass Options:

• Solar Warlock (Well of Radiance)
• Void Titan (Bubble)
• Add-Clear Supers

How to Beat Akelous

This is the first boss encounter in the dungeon. Akelous is the same as the Consecrated Mind from Garden of Salvation, but is much less frustrating to fight. In this encounter, the area is divided into four walkways and a middle section. The cables start in the middle this time, so you’ll want to start there and work your way through the rest of the switches once you get the Arctician buff.

There are four power cables in this section, and each leads to a power core at the end of a walkway. The last of the four to be powered is where the boss will go for DPS, so once the last power cable is activated, go stand by where the last switch was shot (the end of the walkway). Akelous will come face this spot and red glowing eyes will appear on its body. Shoot all of these as fast as possible, then the damage phase begins.

Damaging Akelous is pretty simple, but he does have a lot of health, so it will likely take at least two phases (probably three or four on your first try). Do as much damage as possible, but be careful not to get too close to him. At the end of the fairly short damage phase, Akelous will emit a large blast that will send anyone near him flying. Even if you’re far away, you still might take some knockback from this. Make sure not to get blown off the map, then repeat the same process however many times are needed.

Descent and Red Cables

During the next phase of the dungeon, you’ll be descending deeper into the Spire. Navigating this section is fairly simple, so just keep making your way down. In this section, a new type of cable is also introduced.

These new red cables require each switch on the cable to be activated very quickly, so you’ll need to be quicker with them. These red cables will be an integral part of the final encounter, so make sure you understand how they work before progressing.

Persys, Primordial Ruin (Third Encounter)

This final boss encounter combines all the mechanics you’ve learned so far into a very chaotic fight. The first thing to note here is the room itself. There are two sides: one is the safe room where you spawn, and the other is the reactor room where the boss spawns.

The boss will be on top of you constantly in this fight since it’s so mobile, and on top of that, there are also Supplicants (exploding Harpies) in the room. Before describing the actual fight, let’s take a look at loadout and subclass recommendations.

Loadout Options:

• Linear Fusion Rifles
• Gjallarhorn + Rocket Launchers
• Divinity (maybe)

Linear Fusions still do the most damage, but hitting the boss’s crit spot with them is really difficult. Rocket Launchers are a slightly less DPS option, but since they’re so easy to use, they’re often the best choice. You could also try out Divinity and Linear Fusions, but losing a third of your damage is really tough in this encounter. If your fireteam thinks they can land the shots, then Linear Fusions are the way to go. But for an easier and less frustrating experience, Rocket Launchers are a solid option.

Subclass Options:

• Solar Warlock (Well of Radiance)
• Void Titan (Bubble)
• Arc Hunter (for DPS)
• Arc Titan (for DPS)

Subclasses here are pretty straightforward. You’ll want either a Well or Bubble during the damage phase since the boss does so much damage, but other than that, DPS supers are great. Whatever your team is comfortable with should work, as long as you have a defensive super for the boss.

How to Beat Persys

The actual encounter here is once again more of the same, but with red cables added in. During the start of the encounter, you’ll just want to clear ads until Hydras spawn. Kill those to progress, all while being very careful of the Supplicants. After the Hydras are dead, the Conduit Minotaurs begin to spawn.

Once you have the Arctician buff, your first objective is to power the red cables in the safe room. There are five switches to hit and each is easy to see from the middle of the room (four are on the pillars around the room and one is right above the door in the middle). Next, power up two of the yellow cables running into the reactor room.

Also, make sure the boss is in the reactor room as well before the second is completed. Persys needs to be in there when the reaction starts. Once this is done, you will get a warning that tells you to take cover. Flee to the safe room and prepare to shoot the same red cables from before to shut the door and lock Persys in the reactor room.

Successfully doing this will start a damage phase once the doors open back up. Do as much damage as you can, but make sure to stay aware of your surroundings. Persys can easily kill you if you stray too far away from a Well. After that, you’ve successfully completed the Spire of the Watcher dungeon (plus our guide) in Destiny 2, and will get your endgame loot!

Join the High Ground

Thanks for reading this guide for the Spire of the Watcher dungeon in Destiny 2! Hopefully you’re enjoying the new update and dungeon. If you have any more questions or want us to clarify on anything, let us know in the comments below. Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter for the latest articles and guides on all things gaming related.

Happy gaming!