Warlord’s Ruin stands as the latest pinnacle dungeon in Destiny 2, beckoning Guardians to brave the treacherous, snow-laden peaks near the EDZ. This dungeon plunges you into a newly unveiled Ahamkara threat, challenging you through three distinct, loot-rich boss encounters and a labyrinth of hidden secrets and cunning traps.
This comprehensive Destiny 2 guide will equip you with the knowledge to navigate the Warlord’s Ruin dungeon effectively. We’ll provide step-by-step strategies to overcome each boss, including Rathil, the Broken Knight Chieftain, and Hefnd’s Vengeance, the Blighted Chimaera, and reveal the locations of both coveted secret chests. Prepare to delve into the heart of the mountain and claim your hard-earned rewards.
Getting Started in Warlord’s Ruin Dungeon
Unlike typical dungeon introductions, Warlord’s Ruin thrusts you almost immediately into the action. Your initial task is to ascend the mountain path and infiltrate the imposing stronghold.
Image: Navigating the mountain path in Warlord’s Ruin, Destiny 2.
The route is fairly linear, but for those moments of uncertainty, keep a sharp lookout for distinctive red flags. These serve as your guides, ensuring you remain on the correct path towards the dungeon’s depths.
Warlord’s Ruin Dungeon First Encounter: Defeating Rathil, Broken Knight Chieftain
Having successfully navigated the mountain ascent and entered the stronghold, you now face your first major challenge: Rathil, Broken Knight Chieftain. This initial encounter introduces the core mechanic of the Warlord’s Ruin dungeon in a straightforward manner, setting the stage for the trials ahead.
Image: Rathil, Broken Knight Chieftain, the first boss of Warlord’s Ruin dungeon in Destiny 2.
Understanding Scorn Lanterns Mechanic
A crucial element in each of the three Warlord’s Ruin encounters is the Scorn Lantern. These lanterns are dropped by bosses or specific enemies onto the battlefield. The key feature to identify is the small Taken Blight residing at the center of each lantern.
Image: Scorn Lantern with a central Taken Blight, a key mechanic in Destiny 2’s Warlord’s Ruin dungeon.
Each lantern emits a white circle, marking its activation radius.
Image: White circle indicating the activation radius of a Scorn Lantern in Warlord’s Ruin, Destiny 2.
To activate a lantern, Guardians must stand within this white circle. Upon doing so, the Taken Blight will dissipate, transforming into a blue light with bone fragments swirling within. This activation process takes approximately five seconds, but speeds up with multiple players inside the radius. In every encounter, the objective is to activate the lanterns before the “Imminent Wish” timer on the left of your screen reaches zero.
Image: Activating a Scorn Lantern in Destiny 2’s Warlord’s Ruin dungeon to initiate the encounter mechanics.
Escaping the Cage and Damage Phase Strategy
The Rathil encounter follows a simple, cyclical pattern. The boss will periodically teleport each Guardian into separate bird cages suspended above the arena.
Image: Taken Eyes encircling a cage in Destiny 2 Warlord’s Ruin, crucial for opening the cage.
Around each cage, you’ll notice three Taken eyes. Eliminating these eyes will unlock the cage door, allowing you to jump back down to the arena floor. Be warned: failing to destroy the eyes quickly enough will result in the cage ascending into a spiked ceiling, leading to immediate death.
Once your team is free from the cages, focus on activating the Scorn lanterns by standing within their radii. Activating just one lantern before the wish timer expires is sufficient to initiate the damage phase (DPS). However, activating multiple lanterns grants a longer DPS window, allowing for greater damage output.
With Rathil’s shield dispelled, the DPS phase begins. Rathil has a relatively low health pool, so you can effectively use a wide array of weaponry. Rocket launchers are consistently a strong choice for burst damage.
Image: Rocket launcher in action during the DPS phase against Rathil in Destiny 2 Warlord’s Ruin.
Continue damaging Rathil until the “Naeem’s Wish Empowerment” buff, visible on the left side of your screen, expires. Once the buff ends, Rathil’s shield will return. Repeat this cage escape, lantern activation, and DPS cycle until Rathil, Broken Knight Chieftain, is defeated.
Warlord’s Ruin Cell Puzzle Solution
Following Rathil’s defeat, you’ll be teleported to a prison area, requiring you to solve a cell puzzle to proceed. In two of the cells, you’ll find Roman numerals etched next to skeletons.
Image: Solving the cell puzzle using Roman numerals in Destiny 2 Warlord’s Ruin dungeon.
These two Roman numerals, let’s call them X and Y, will always sum up to six.
Around the prison, you’ll find six interactive dials.
Image: Dials in the prison cell puzzle of Destiny 2 Warlord’s Ruin, used to unlock the cells.
Interacting with these dials by shooting them causes them to behave in three ways:
- First shot: Activates the dial, causing it to spin counterclockwise.
- Second shot: Stops the dial from spinning.
- Third shot: Makes the dial spin clockwise.
The puzzle solution requires you to set X dials to spin clockwise and Y dials to spin counterclockwise. For instance, if the Roman numerals are III and III, you need three dials spinning clockwise and three spinning counterclockwise.
Once you have configured the dials correctly, shoot the glowing key located in front of one of the cells.
Image: Glowing key that unlocks the prison cells after solving the dial puzzle in Warlord’s Ruin.
Upon successfully shooting the key, the cell doors will open, allowing you to proceed through the maze, up the mountain, and towards the second encounter. Along your path, you can discover…
Warlord’s Ruin Secret Chest Location 1
Warlord’s Ruin is replete with hidden chests, but only two are secret chests that contain actual loot. The others are booby traps, spawning Screebs that will explode and eliminate unsuspecting Guardians. The first secret chest is found after escaping the prison, in one of three potential locations. The chest containing loot will be identifiable by the absence of a blue glowing effect. This effect may take a few seconds to appear, so wait briefly before approaching a chest.
The first possible location is in the maze area, after climbing over a small section of rubble.
Image: Approaching the first possible secret chest location in Warlord’s Ruin dungeon, Destiny 2.
After descending the large stairs pictured above, turn right, and then another right. If you can see the chest through a gate, you’ve gone too far. Retrace your steps and follow the path over the rubble to locate the first potential chest.
Image: Secret chest located behind a gate, one of the possible locations in Warlord’s Ruin.
The second potential chest location is within a room in the maze, located immediately after the first possible chest location.
Image: Room with potential secret chest location in the maze of Destiny 2 Warlord’s Ruin dungeon.
You’ll know you’re in the correct room as a group of Scorn enemies will spawn upon entry.
Image: Secret chest inside the room, the second possible location for loot in Warlord’s Ruin.
The third possible chest location is found after crossing the large bridge.
Image: Location of the third possible secret chest in Warlord’s Ruin, after the large bridge.
Upon reaching the large set of stairs just below the second encounter arena, enter the keep instead of proceeding left towards the encounter.
Image: First secret chest at the top of the stairs within the keep, Warlord’s Ruin dungeon.
The first secret chest will be at the top of these stairs.
Warlord’s Ruin Second Encounter: Braving the Tempest
The second encounter challenges you to endure a fierce snowstorm while lighting pyres to gain protection and combat a colossal Taken Ogre. This involves activating four Scorn lanterns, each spawning a “Burning Desire” orb. These orbs must be carried to four pyres situated around the boss arena to initiate the damage phase.
Image: Guardians facing the tempest and the boss in the second encounter of Warlord’s Ruin.
Spawning Scorn Lanterns and Managing Biting Cold
To begin, you must spawn the Scorn Lanterns. This is achieved by eliminating all Taken eyes that appear around the boss arena. Defeating the Taken eyes will summon two Scorn Broken Knights, one on each side of the arena. These knights will drop a lantern upon defeat and may spawn an additional lantern if they remain alive for an extended period.
Image: Fighting a Scorn Broken Knight to spawn lanterns during the tempest encounter in Warlord’s Ruin.
Upon the knights spawning, the wish timer will commence, and a snowstorm will engulf the arena.
Image: “Biting Cold” debuff accumulating during the snowstorm in Destiny 2 Warlord’s Ruin.
The combat log will display “The bones call forth a freezing tempest,” indicating the storm’s onset. This storm applies stacks of the “Biting Cold” debuff. Reaching 10 stacks of Biting Cold results in death. The debuff will dissipate once the Imminent Wish timer concludes.
To mitigate Biting Cold, seek refuge near torches positioned along the back edge of the arena.
Image: Using safety torches to reduce “Biting Cold” stacks in Destiny 2 Warlord’s Ruin dungeon.
Proximity to these torches will remove stacks of the debuff, allowing you to survive the storm.
Lighting Pyres and Initiating DPS
The number of Scorn Lanterns activated determines the number of “Burning Desire” orbs that spawn in the center of the arena, near the rally flag. Efficient teams can spawn three or four orbs, accelerating the transition to the DPS phase.
Image: “Burning Desire” orb, essential for lighting pyres and starting DPS in Warlord’s Ruin.
Carry each orb to one of the four pyres encircling the boss arena. Lighting all four pyres will initiate the DPS phase against the Taken Ogre boss.
Image: Pyre locations around the boss arena, used for DPS phase in Warlord’s Ruin tempest encounter.
DPS Strategy and Rotation
For DPS, gather near the last pyre you activated. Each pyre provides approximately 15 seconds of damage time. Staying close to the lit pyres is crucial as they offer protection from the re-emerging snowstorm and the deadly Biting Cold. As the timer on a pyre expires, rotate to the next.
A simple strategy is to rotate to the left consistently to maintain orientation. The boss possesses significant health, so optimize your DPS for a sustained encounter. Recommended loadouts include rocket launchers and potent secondary weapons like the kinetic sniper rifle Succession or the Solar fusion rifle Eremite. Linear fusion rifles are also effective options. After cycling through all four pyres, repeat the lantern spawning and pyre lighting process until the boss is defeated.
Warlord’s Ruin Secret Chest Location 2
The second secret chest is located after the second encounter, the tempest. Progress until you reach a room containing six chests. To claim your loot, open the chest that is not glowing blue.
Image: Second secret chest in Warlord’s Ruin, distinguished by the lack of blue glow.
Warlord’s Ruin Final Boss: Defeating Hefnd’s Vengeance, Blighted Chimaera
The final confrontation of Warlord’s Ruin pits your fireteam against Hefnd’s Vengeance, the soul of a long-deceased Ahamkara, manifested as a formidable Taken Chimera. This encounter mirrors the fundamental mechanics of the previous battles, requiring the activation of Scorn lanterns to dispel the boss’s shield.
Spawning Lanterns and Managing Vengeful Corruption
Similar to the previous encounter, spawning Scorn Broken Knights, which in turn drop Scorn Lanterns, is initiated by eliminating Taken eyes. Upon clearing all Taken eyes, Scorn Broken Knights will appear. As before, allowing a knight to live longer may trigger the spawn of an additional lantern.
Image: Wish Buff active during the final boss encounter in Destiny 2 Warlord’s Ruin.
Activating just one lantern is sufficient to lower the boss’s shield, but activating more extends the DPS timer, indicated by the “Naeem’s Wish Empowerment” buff.
Dealing with Vengeful Corruption
In place of the snowstorm, this encounter introduces the “Hex of Vengeful Corruption” debuff. Failing to remove this debuff before the timer expires will result in death.
Image: “Hex of Vengeful Corruption” debuff that Guardians must manage during the final boss fight.
To remove “Hex of Vengeful Corruption”, melee a “Corrupted Hex Drinker” enemy. Be cautious, as if a Hex Drinker melees you back after you transfer the debuff, it will return to you. Maintain distance after meleeing a Hex Drinker to avoid re-acquiring the debuff.
Climbing the Arena and DPS Phases
Dealing sufficient damage to the boss, indicated by depleting the white portion of its health bar, will trigger it to ascend to the next arena level.
Image: Destroying a health gate to advance the boss to the next phase in Warlord’s Ruin.
Repeat the process of spawning lanterns and damaging the boss enough to ascend through three levels. Reaching the top platform initiates the true DPS phase.
Once at the summit, the full DPS phase commences.
Image: “My hide is thick, O vengeance mine” message prompting platform rotation during DPS.
Continue dealing damage until the combat log displays, “My hide is thick, O vengeance mine.” This indicates the current platform will become corrupted with Taken energy, and the boss will become immune.
Image: Rotating to the next DPS platform in the final boss encounter of Warlord’s Ruin.
Rotate to one of the other two large platforms. This will remove the boss’s immunity shield, allowing you to resume damage. Extend your DPS window by eliminating the Taken eyes orbiting the boss.
When “My hide is thick, O vengeance mine” appears again, rotate to the final platform. Continue DPS until the boss becomes immune once more.
Subsequently, you will be teleported back to the bottom. Repeat the entire lantern spawning, Hex of Vengeful Corruption management, and climbing process until you reduce the boss’s health below the final stand threshold—this can occur even during the ascent phases, not exclusively during the top platform DPS phase.
Final Stand and Victory
Once Hefnd’s Vengeance reaches its final stand health threshold, you will be teleported to an open platform for a final showdown. Defeat the boss before it overwhelms you.
Image: Final stand platform against Hefnd’s Vengeance in Destiny 2 Warlord’s Ruin dungeon.
The Taken eyes can pose a significant threat during this phase, so balance damage output to the boss with eliminating the eyes. Pillars on the platform can provide temporary cover. Upon defeating Hefnd’s Vengeance, Blighted Chimaera, you will be teleported to the rooftop to claim your well-deserved loot.
On your initial completion, you will receive the “In the Shadow of the Mountain” quest, tasking you with discovering collectibles across multiple dungeon runs. Our comprehensive guide to all Warlord’s Ruin collectibles is available to assist you in locating them all.
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