Destiny 2
Destiny 2’s The Final Shape campaign is definitely the best it’s ever done, but players may find themselves running into a brick wall for the final fight. It took me well over an hour on Legendary mode, and I’d say it’s much harder than anything that came before, even though there are some other tough fights in the story.
It was made much easier by the time I figured out the mechanics and patterns I needed to survive, and I think I can give you some advice as to how to beat it on whatever class, as some things about the fight are universal. So, here’s what I learned, and spoilers follow.
First, don’t lose heart – Once I saw that a Subjugator kill was only taking away a third of The Witness’s shield, I was worried there were going to be three long hard phases. There are only two, and two Subjugators to kill. Still hard, but there is no third nor a direct square-off with The Witness. Your allies will come help you and the final part of the shield is a gimmie.
Burst Super – I very much recommend a big “blow up” super which even on Legend, can take close to half the health of the Subjugator right off the bat to start the Aegis part of the fight. Then you’ll probably have it back by the time you’re ready to fight the second one, or close to it.
Destiny 2
Stasis Subjugator – This is the harder one of the two, and you fight him first. Stay in the back ring of barriers, as it’s a bit harder for his ice to get back there. Once he starts putting out his ice, run like hell to another barrier, push through the slow, don’t shoot the ice. If you are surrounded by too many crystals he can insta-kill you when he blows them up. Of course this also has to be timed so The Witness doesn’t shred you when you’re transferring between barriers, but you have to just move out of the slow regardless. Sometimes you can get out before it catches you.
The Witness’s Attack – This may be one of the biggest problems with the fight and the reason you will find yourself seemingly randomly dying out of nowhere. Both the Witness’s attack and location are not well telegraphed. There is a tiny indicator at the bottom right saying he’s gearing up for an attack. You need to hide behind a barrier, but you also need to know where he is. He’s usually in the middle but he can also go to the sides and hit you behind some barriers if he has the right angle. Always hide from this, do not run, you probably have a 70% chance to die if running in the open.
Aegis Phase – This seems sort of hard but it’s easy once you get it. Get the shield, stay near the hallway. Kill Thrall that run at you to charge up super. Then peek out (when The Witness isn’t attacking) and super blast the Subjugator shield. Now, and this is important, DO NOT GO FIGHT THE SUBJUGATOR. Run directly to the rally flag part of the map as The Witness is about to do an autokill attack. Then hold the shield in the light fissure which will give you infinite energy. You have to stand there a long time as it takes forever for the “storm” to go away.
Destiny 2
Subjugator Kill – Then, the shield will disappear and you will have to kill the Subjugator the old fashioned way as you probably do not have a super up again. Do not get too close. I used a machine gun for heavy as rockets were too unreliable and this is not a time to break out a sword. I’m told Leviathan’s Breath and Deathbringer are also good options here. Use a AOE weapon for Grim add clear. You do not really have to worry about the tiny Attendants on the ground. The Aegis hallway is a somewhat safe spot to reside for damage but it can be hard to get an angle on the Subjugator with so much stuff in the way.
Strand Subjugator – It’s the same thing, but now the air is poisoned. This seems worse than it is. You just have to pop one of the nodes every 45 seconds which is not all that hard. Just run fast, hit it, don’t get hit by The Witness, go hide again. The Strand Subjugator can indeed suspend you, which if you’re caught, may kill you, but you can slowly shift in the air behind a barricade, and this attack is not nearly as bad as the Stasis crystal snap. At half health (use that burst super again if you have it), you repeat the same Aegis phase and final damage phase I said above, though remember the poison air timer.
Finale – After the second Subjugator kill, your allies will show up to help you. You can theoretically still die here to random adds, but you just need to get the sword and go in for the final Shrouded statue kill, and the fight is over.
Whew. Yes, it’s hard. Very hard. But I think that’s justified give the stakes here. Really curious to see just how hard the raid may be now if this is just the campaign.
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