With the release ofDestiny 2’s Episode: Heresy - Act 2, players are treated to the Guardian Games, new seasonal story content, and a new seasonal activity called the Court of Blades. This activity is Oryx’s way of testing Guardians in their readiness to take on the mantle of the Taken King, and if they can succeed through Oryx’s gauntlet, they will be rewarded for it.
Following last Act’s dramatic confrontation between the Taken royalty, their sibling squabble has pulled the Guardian into a mess that’s the most interestingDestiny 2has been sinceThe Final Shape’s epic showdown. Defeat Oryx’s champions and Xivu Arath’s attempts to kill you to succeed in the Court of Blades. To launch the Court of Blades, head to the Last City in the Director and find the Court of Blades Node by the Nether one.
How Court of Blades Works
A Shorter Activity With A Time Limit, So Do The Most For More Rewards
Unlike the Nether, the Court of Blades is a timed activity. For those of us who don’t always have hours on end to playDestiny 2, a shorter run is preferable to something that’s going to take upwards of a half-hour like a Nether run or other PvE activity. During the 10 minutes in which the Court of Blades takes place,you will be faced with encounters that each have two bosses: one mini and one major.
You get a 45-second break between rooms in the Court of Blades to pick up ammo, new buffs, and check out the coming Augments, so take your time while the timer is paused to regroup.
While clearing out the bosses,there will be different sub-objectives (called Augmentations) in each room that require certain conditions to be met.For instance, the “Swarm"Augmentation requires you to defeat 45 enemies within two minutes. Others might ask you to defeat Blights, kill shielded Knights, and do other menial but annoying tasks. When you return to the Court after clearing two bosses in the first room, you’ll be able to see the coming Augmentations before you continue.
Buffs are random, but you get quite a few options between rooms, so you should always be able to find a buff that works for you.
Thankfully,you also get modifiers like you did in the Nether, rewarding you for your progress and giving you different buffs to aid you in your fight. Which buffs you pick can matter a lot, so pay attention to your pain points as you play, and look for buffs that can help mitigate those problems. These buffs are random, but you get quite a few options between rooms, so you should always be able to find a buff that works for you.
How To Clear Court Of Blades
Defeat Bosses, Clear Augmentations, And Prepare For The Final Showdown
Though it’s got a lot of moving parts, the Court of Blades is a relatively simple activity. Unlike the Nether, which was more of an open patrol zone situation,the Court of Blades is linear, like the Deep Dives from Season of the Deep.Once you load in, you’ll be funneled through the activity with little struggle.
You’ll need to head back to the Nether for more seasonal quests in Act 2, so verify to pick upDestiny 2’s Barrow-Dyad questwhile you’re there.
At its core, Court of Blades is an add-clear activity as well as a boss rush, so it’s important that you and your fireteam can do both things. Whilethe primary objective is to defeat Challengers (bosses), you should also clear out adds while you do, just for ease of play. It can be really annoying to throw your super at the boss only to have it track onto one add in the corner of the room, so ensure you and your teammates are clearing as much as you can while you complete Augments and take the boss down.
Once your timer has run out, you’ll get a tag that reads “FINAL ROUND” underneath your health bar. That means that, once you clear the boss you’re on, you’ll be sent back to the Courtroom to grab your rewards. Defeating more bosses seems to increase your rewards, though seeminglythere is no way to guarantee adept or shiny drops.
Like with BRAVE weapons, shiny drops in the Court of Blades roll with two perks in each column, giving you a higher chance at grabbing the god roll you’re hunting for. The best combo you’re able to get in a weapon is both adept and shiny, which allows you to enhance the traits in each column to make them more effective.
Early on in the Act, there was a way you could break the timer to get a full boss run in one sitting.If you could defeat the first boss within two or three seconds of the timer being run out, you could continue to fight bosses until you reach 13 and the activity ends.It seems this has been patched already, but if you’re bored and looking for ways to farm more loot, you can give it a try and see if it works for you.
All Court of Blades Rewards & Loot
The Usual Weapons, Armor, Enhancement Cores, And More
Like any seasonal activity, the Court of Blades drops exclusive seasonal weapons, armor, and other materials in reward for your hard work. You can grab them from the chest at the end of the activity, and you can also deposit anyMetastasized Essentiaon the plinth behind it for extra drops. Here are the things that can drop:
Refusal of the Call
Heavy, Machine Gun
Arc
It’s a healthy array of drops, with chances for some really nice rolls to be had. I’m personally chasing an Overflow/Jolting Feedback Watchful Eye still, even after not getting one all of Act 1.If you’re looking for a solid Arc primary weapon for PvE, Division rolls with Eddy Current and Voltshot. This makes for some excellent add clear not hampered by limited ammo like you would be with Indebted Kindness, as it’s a special ammo weapon.
Destiny 2: Sundered Doctrine Dungeon Guide
Sundered Doctrine takes Guardians back to Rhulk’s pyramid ship to find new and familiar puzzles, enemies, and rewards in Destiny 2’s newest dungeon.
There’s a lot of new stuff to try inDestiny 2’s Act 2 of Episode: Heresy, and the story is the most interesting it’s been in a while. There’s Court of Blades to run, new exotics to unlock, and, of course, new main story quests to get done, so get to playing as we all prepare for Codename: Apollo. If the team at Bungie maintains this level of content and story production, the next major DLC drop is sure to be exciting.
