ET TO THE LIGHTHOUSE (OR HAVE SOMEONE CARRY YOU)
For many Guardians (myself included), Destiny 2’s arrival will mean lights out for the original Destiny. So, before we close the doors on our first legend forever and meet Ghaul’s challenge head on, we need to get a few things out of the way. Here are some tasks you need to cross off of your Destiny bucket list before the Red Legion comes and sends it all to heck.
The Lighthouse is a destination in Destiny that only the best Crucible players have seen in person. Those who, like me, aren’t very good at wrecking your fellow Guardians only dream of basking in the Lighthouse’s warm glow as you open the chest for some unique rewards that show off just how good you really are. With the clock winding down towards the launch of Destiny 2, you may soon lose your chance to accomplish this feat.
Now we don’t expect you to become a PvP master overnight. However, there are some nice players on LFG and within fan groups on Facebook and other forums that carry people to the Lighthouse for fun. You should definitely grab some friends or give one of these Crucible sherpas a tap on the shoulder. You can take a cool screenshot like the one above and add another triumph to your Guardian’s legend.
COMPLETE ALL THE RAIDS ON HARD (THERE’S ALWAYS SOMEONE WILLING TO HELP)
Some of the best content that Destiny has to offer is waiting for players in the end game. After killing what is essentially a Vex god and running through all of the various Strikes made available to you, all that’s left to prove you are a true legend is to take on the raids introduced throughout the game’s life. Each one has its own theme of sorts and some wicked boss fights to get past, but the rewards are also among the best in the game, and you’ll want to be able to say proudly that you beat these challenges at least once.
A big hurdle to overcome, though, is the fact that raids are designed for Fireteams of six players. While some can be beaten on standard difficulty with less (especially if everyone is at 400 Light with decent weaponry), for your first run, try to get the full six-man experience. Reach out to other players, get a team going, join a clan, and build your legend.
Now that you’ve finally got some players together and triumphed over each raid one by one, it’s time to do it all over again, but on a more serious note. Heroic Raids are the same raids you know and love, only with a couple of twists thrown in. Bosses are tougher and may have new abilities, enemies come in larger waves and bring along some majors to make things interesting, and reviving your buddies is a thing of the past. If you die, you’re out until your Fireteam clears the encounter or everyone wipes. Sure, if you’re a Sunsinger Warlock you can self-res, but that doesn’t always help the team as a whole.
When Destiny 2 hits, you’ll find plenty of players hanging out in the Farm or one of the other new social spaces reliving past glories. Sooner or later everyone’s triumphs over Heroic Raids will pop up, and sure, you can lie and laugh along with everyone else, but deep down inside you’ll know the truth. So to avoid awkward moments and the need to fib through war stories, go face each raid the way they were truly meant to be faced.
FLAWLESS RAID
Out of all the trophies and achievements in Destiny, the one that has proven to be the most elusive for a lot of players is Flawless Raider. What makes it a challenging task to accomplish is the fact that you must all rely on one another’s respective skill and ability to not die. It’s easy for some players to go entire raids without dying even once, I’ve personally done it many times. However, having everything line up to where not a single person dies? That’s a horse of a different color. I’ve managed to do that an entire one time.
In order to make life easier for you, you’ll want to run Crota’s End on the standard difficulty. It’s by far the easiest raid, and it’s so short that if you have to start over due to some mishap, it’s not that big a deal. Also, skilled players can take out Crota in as little as one sword carry (don’t get greedy, though), which lowers the chance of failure. You must do this soon before all the players that may actually be able to help you start prepping for new raids and leaving your platinum trophy or 1000 gamerscore forever unobtained.
CLIMB THAT DARN MOUNTAIN
Rise of Iron introduced a lot of new elements to Destiny when it released. There were new enemies to contend with, a load of new armor and weapons, a fun raid, and a brand-new social space to hang out at and explore. The Iron Temple had a lot going for it, including one massive puzzle of sorts in the form of a mountain. On the top of that mountain lay a Dormant SIVA Cluster that you needed in order to complete your collection, as well as obtain the powerful Outbreak Prime exotic weapon. However, this towering obstacle bested even some of the most seasoned Guardians.
You absolutely have to climb this thing before Destiny 2 releases. For one, it’s just fun to do even if it is frustrating at times. Secondly, you can take really nice pics from up there that can serve as a wallpaper, or a reflective background for a Facebook post. One thing that many players who did manage to get up there can tell you is that after all of the headaches and dealing with the rubber bodies Bungie gave players to control, there’s a serene sense of accomplishment that washes over you once you finally reach the peak.
KILL SKOLAS
There was a point in time during Destiny where the toughest boss in the game wasn’t confined to a raid. Destiny’s second expansion, House of Wolves, passed over the inclusion of a new raid and instead dropped Fireteams of three into an arena deep within a prison containing the universe’s worst offenders. The highest difficulty of this new activity held a boss that would prove to be the bane of many a Guardian, Skolas.
This was a seriously tough fight that threw tons of rules and mechanics at players that forced them to work as a team. Communication and coordination were of the utmost importance since if only one player messed up, it could spell disaster for the entire run. Victory over this dastardly villain was met with cries of triumph and random Gjallarhorn shots into the air. We recommend marking this notch on your belt as well before moving on, so you can say how you too beat the strongest boss in the game. To make things even more interesting, try going for it at around 330 Light by using older gear. The fight was made much easier with the increase to 400, so you may not get the true feel that veteran players experienced. Or, you can just kill him at 400 and still boast, up to you.
EXOTIC HUNTING
This is definitely the toughest entry on this Destiny bucket list. There are a lot of exotics tucked away in Destiny’s reward system and some are completely random, requiring multiple runs through the same activity (usually a raid), and three are class exclusives. However, not many can boast that they’ve obtained them all, giving you the opportunity to join an exclusive club as part of your Destiny swan song before Destiny 2 becomes the new hotness.
You’ll definitely want three characters made for this endeavor as it will allow you to hit each raid three times a week in order to earn rewards. Some skilled Fireteams can make life much easier during your hunt as well, especially if some are solid at Crucible (some quests will require PvP). You can also take advantage of Engrams that Xur sells every weekend to nab some of the older ones as well. This will eat up most of your time, but trust us, you’ll be able to look back and say that you really did everything.
This bucket list isn’t for the faint of heart, but we’re positive that you can do it. Good luck out there increasing your legends, Guardians.
