Destiny 2: Into the Light has Onslaught, which is the primary source of the new Brave weapon arsenal. In this mode, players must battle the enemies of the Last City in a horde defense-styled activity. There will be a boss battle after every 10 waves, and players who defeat the boss will receive a chest containing a Brave weapon and two Tokens of Bravery. You can spend these in the Hall of Champions to earn even more Brave weapons. Legend difficulty, in particular, is more difficult than normal Onslaught but is twice as rewarding with double loot after a boss wave. This guide will discuss some tips, tricks, and strategies to earn some of the best weapons in the game.
Deploying Diverse Defenses
Part of the core gameplay for Onslaught is the defenses that Guardians can purchase with a mission-specific currency called Scrap. Scraps are earned by defeating enemies, throwing ADU batteries while it’s at full health and completing bonus objectives. With Scrap, you can purchase turrets, decoys, and trip mines to stall the enemy's advance towards your objective.
The priority list for defenses to purchase are Decoys > Turrets > Trip Mines. Decoys currently have the highest health values out of all the defenses and will draw aggro from most enemies coming from the lane the decoy is on. This is especially important since enemy waves sometimes feature difficult enemies like Demolitionists and even the dreaded Tormentor mid-boss. Meanwhile, Turrets can deal decent damage to weaker enemies but cannot hold lanes by themselves. Finally, Trip Mines are the lowest priority since they are one-time use traps that will not regenerate after exploding. They’re also way too expensive compared to the other options.
Each defense has three upgrade tiers, starting at blue, purple, and yellow. If you can spare the scrap, upgrade decoys to the maximum tier to make it nearly indestructible. Upgrade the turrets next so that they can deal more damage. Once both defenses are maxed out, spend the remaining scrap on the Trip Mines so that no Scrap is wasted.
You should save your Scrap for the first 10 waves since they aren’t as challenging. You can save up to 20 waves worth of Scrap if you feel confident about your survival. After reaching the wave threshold, start spending your Scrap for decoys first since there is a chance that the Tormentor will spawn, and Tormentors will focus on the decoy if it spawns near one.
Tackling Tormentor Threats
The Tormentor mini-boss‘ ability suppression, high health, and difficult weakspot locations are why teams wipe out constantly when facing him. Always have a backup build or weapon for the Tormentor in case it spawns on the tougher waves since the wave it spawns on is randomized.
The first set of weak points are on its shoulders and are the only locations that can be damaged in the first phase of this boss. Once both shoulders are destroyed, its second weakspot is on its chest and can be damaged anywhere on its body. At this stage, it will be more aggressive and start using Light-suppressing attacks, so do not engage this boss in close-range combat. Its slam attack is its deadliest attack, so keep a healthy range and chip away its health using precision weapons like snipers, scouts, or linear fusion rifles. This Tormentor cannot be crowd-controlled with Strand suspends, Stasis slows / freeze, and blindness, so use your highest damaging set-ups for the boss.
Some strong weapons for this enemy are the Leviathan’s Breath, Whisper of the Worm, Sleeper Simulant, Forerunner, and Izanagi’s Burden. For Supers, Well of Radiance can increase your chances of survival, Burning Maul with Pyrogale Gauntlets can burst its health, and Shadowshot: Deadfall with Orpheus Rig can debuff it to make it take more damage. If you have your Super on this wave, use them now if you have it since there is no better opportunity to use it.
Working Weapons with Waves
Having a hybrid add clear and miniboss DPS weapon loadout makes all the difference in completing a wave. Weapons with AoE perks like Incandescent, Voltshot, Destabilizing Rounds, Firefly, Kinetic Tremors, and Chain Reaction will always be helpful in this game mode with the massive number of enemies that spawn on the map. Anything with a single target damage perk for your Special weapon will help you defeat tougher targets. Shotguns with One-Two Punch, Snipers with Focused Fury, and Fusion Rifles with Chill Clip are some of the best options for this role.
For Heavy Weapons, machine guns are the go-to weapon for clearing groups of weaker enemies. The Killing Tally perk on a machine gun is notably powerful for clearing trash mobs, especially with the extra difficulty modifiers giving them more Power Levels per wave. Still, once you reach the boss wave, a Linear Fusion Rifle with Bait and Switch will greatly serve for boss DPS.
General Onslaught Tips
- There is an exploit where Guardians can duplicate ADU batteries by activating their class ability just after throwing the original battery into the ADU. You can duplicate this battery multiple times using the Radiant Dance Machine exotic boots if you are a Hunter. Overflowing the ADU’s health will give the entire team three times the scrap, so take advantage of this to purchase more defenses.
- Don’t be afraid to switch builds between add clear and boss damage since boss waves will always have a rally flag before reaching the arena. You can always recuperate ability energy for the regular add phase by utilizing subclass synergies.
- A Heavy ammo crate will spawn near the ADU if you complete a bonus objective. Using the box will cause it to expire after a 10-second timer, so make sure you coordinate with your team on obtaining ammo so that everyone gets their share of the supplies.
- If you’re dealing with a difficult wave or most of your team is dead, always pop your Super since it is better to try to using it to save your team than to return to orbit, having never used it once. With this activity's added enemy density, you can easily generate a lot of Orbs of Power for Super energy with a decent build.
- On Exploder Shank and Cursed Thrall waves, do not try to spawnkill them but shoot them at a distance. These enemies can one-shot you even on the lower waves of regular Onslaught, and they can come from multiple angles, so don’t risk trying to retrieve an ADU battery until the area is safe.
- Always play it safe. Legend Onslaught has the Extinguished modifier on by default, meaning you can get sent back to orbit as soon as you wipe on the first wave. Utilize cover and play more defensively.
