Destiny 2 Dares of Eternity guide: Encounters, mechanics, Lightning Round, more

Destiny 2’s 30th Anniversary celebration is in full swing, with Guardians diving into the new Dares of Eternity activity to grab some exciting loot. Here’s exactly how to conquer Xur’s complex game show challenge.

With Destiny 2 developer Bungie celebrating their 30th Anniversary in 2021, the studio’s flagship franchise received plenty of engaging new content as the celebration kicked off.

In addition to goodies like fancy new cosmetics, crossover weapons, and even free Bright Dust rewards, Destiny 2 players were awed by the addition of two new activities: the Grasp of Avarice 3-player dungeon and Dares of Eternity 6-player matchmade activity.

This new gauntlet is hosted by none other than the mysterious Xur, and this Agent of the Nine has plenty of surprises in store each time you jump into his game show experience. Here’s what you need to know in order to conquer Dares of Eternity.

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Destiny 2 Dares of Eternity Explained

While some of Destiny 2’s new content requires you to purchase the 30th Anniversary Pack, Dares of Eternity does not. Bungie released this activity as part of the free-to-play portion of the celebration, and you can jump right in by selecting the new Eternity node in the Director.

After your first Dares of Eternity run (when you login for the first time after the Anniversary Update, you’ll be thrown into the activity automatically), you’ll make a quick pit-stop in Xur’s Treasure Horde to prepare for your future forays.

In this new social space, you can visit Xur and the mysterious Starhorse to stock up on bounties and collect rewards. This will be the main source of loot during your adventures in and out of Eternity.

Along with bounties from Xur, you can also tackle challenges from the Starhorse, which are more difficult to complete but grant you impressive rewards.

Dares of Eternity might be the first game show we’ve seen in Destiny 2, but its gameplay loop will be quite familiar to veterans: defeat groups of enemies with different mechanics during various encounters, then collect some shiny new loot.

Once you’ve loaded up on bounties, you can return to Eternity’s node in the director and launch Dares of Eternity — and this is where we really get down to business.

Destiny 2 Dares of Eternity Mechanics

While Xur’s game show features plenty of fighting, it also has new mechanics to help keep the experience fresh. During the first two encounters, you’ll spin the Wheel of Adversity to find out which enemies you’ll be facing and what special objectives you’ll have to complete.

What you get during each run is totally up to chance, but luckily, we’ve got a full breakdown of what to expect in each case:

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• Taken: when facing the Taken, you’ll need to defeat specific enemies that release Paracausal Energy (shiny Taken orbs) and throw these orbs at a Taken Blight until it’s destroyed. Kill enemies, pick up the energy they drop, throw it at the orb and repeat as needed
• Vex: defeating the Vex means defeating their powerful Gatekeepers. This can only be done by disabling their shields with Void Craniums, which drop from another special enemy called Headbearers. Use these powerful lasers to melt the Gatekeepers’ shields, then take them down
• Fallen: a callback to the Warden of Nothing Strike (and the Prison of Elder before it), when facing the Fallen you’ll need to disable their mines. Whenever a mine spawns, go stand in its general vicinity until its disabled, then rinse and repeat
• Hive: if you’re fighting the Hive, you’ll need to destroy the shiny crystals that appear in each arena. To do this, eliminate powerful enemies that spawn glowing green Wells, which grant you the Ruinous Resonance buff, allowing you to damage those pesky crystals
• Cabal: similar to the Vex, if you’re going up against the Cabal, you’ll need to eliminate several powerful Commanders after disabling their shields. Defeat enemy Bombtenders who spawn Dare Cores which can then be thrown at these powerful enemies to bring down their shields and expose them to damage

In addition to all of the unique mechanics, Dares of Eternity also features a mixture of all three Champion types: Barrier, Overload, and Unstoppable, so you’ll need at least a few players on your team who have the appropriate mods equipped to take these enemies down.

So, now that you know what you’ll be up against in each encounter, you probably want to know about those encounters themselves. Don’t worry — we’ve got you covered there, too.

Destiny 2 Dares of Eternity Encounters

First Encounter

After starting up Dares of Eternity, you and your fellow Guardians will spawn into a fresh run. Jump through the portal in front of you, which will launch you forward into a snowy landscape, featuring some platforms and tunnels where Taken enemies will be hiding.

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Eliminate the opposition, then spin the wheel to find out who you’ll be facing next. Once the game show chooses your opponents, get ready for a fight and make sure to be aware of each faction’s special mechanics that we mentioned earlier.

After that group of enemies has been defeated, this outdoor arena will be cleared, and you can move on the face Xur’s next challenge: the obstacle course.

Obstacle Course

After making your way past the first encounter, you’ll encounter a gravity lift of sorts. Enter this device, and you’ll be flung up and out towards the obstacle course.

If you time your entrance right, you’ll soar through the air and land neatly on a platform high above the ground. In addition to skipping the obstacle course, you’ll also be granted the Starhorse’s Favor buff, which grants extra resistance, ability recovery, and heavy ammo to boot.

However, if you don’t time your acrobatics just right, you’ll slam headfirst into a rotating collection of rocks, which will send you plummeting to the ground below.

If this happens, you won’t receive that buff, and you’ll have to make your way through a fairly simple but time-consuming and potentially annoying set of moving rocks and slippery slopes in order to reach the next encounter.

Second Encounter

After your whole team has arrived at the second arena, spin the wheel once again to find out who you’re facing next. Whether it’s the same enemies as before, or a new faction entirely, the same rules apply: stay alive while completing each opponent’s specific objectives.

The second encounter also contains a miniboss battle at the very end. Once you’ve taken care of that powerful enemy, you’ll be presented with a choice between three doors, each labeled with the symbol of one enemy faction: Hive, Cabal, or Vex.

Players can stand on three corresponding plates to vote on who they think their final opponents will be — choose correctly, and you’ll receive the Starhorse’s Favor, but pick the wrong opponent and you’ll be hit with a debuff instead.

Either way, one door will open and send you through a much shorter (and easier) obstacle course before facing off against some familiar faces from Destiny 1, each with their own unique mechanics. Read on to find out exactly how to handle these pesky adversaries.

Destiny 2 Dares of Eternity Final Bosses

Like the unique mechanics from before, each of the three final bosses in Dares of Eternity come with their own special challenges that you and your teammates will need to overcome.

Crota

One of the most iconic villains in the Destiny universe, Crota has returned once again to terrorize you in Dares of Eternity. As a callback to Destiny 1, you can only damage this fearsome Hive enemy after knocking him on his knees with a deadly Hive sword.

During this boss encounter, Swordbearer Knights will spawn throughout the arena, which drop those same Hive swords you need to kill Crota. Find and eliminate these Swordbearers, steal their weapons, then wail away on Crota until he’s defeated.

Unfortunately, Crota won’t be taken out that easily, and three more Aspects of Crota will spawn after you defeat the original. There’s a lot of action going on all at once, but work with your team to take out more Swordbearers and focus on the Aspects until they’re all defeated.

Zydron

Like Crota, we already faced down Zydron back in Destiny 1 during our quest to enter the mysterious Black Garden. Well, Zydron has returned in Dares of Eternity, and he comes with plenty of Vex-like mechanics to throw you off your game.

First, the Gate Lord will send out red Vex barriers, similar to the ones we had to avoid during Expunge back in Season of the Splicer. Instead of killing you, however, these barriers will Detain you — a mechanic Guardians will be familiar with from the Vault of Glass raid.

Avoid these massive walls or shoot your way out of the bubbles they trap you in and prepare for the next phase of the fight. Zydron will call in some Vex reinforcements, including two powerful Keybearers that shield their master from damage.

Take them out, then focus on Zydron, dealing as much damage as possible. If you don’t take him down during the first DPS phase, you’ll need to repeat these steps until he is put down once and for all.

Valus Ta’aurc

Another iconic Destiny 1 enemy, Valus Ta’aruc has returned in Dares of Eternity alongside Crota and Zydron. This pesky Cabal will shield himself after taking a bit of damage at the start of the battle, and you won’t be able to finish him off until that shield is gone.

Like earlier Cabal encounters, you’ll need to find and eliminate marked enemies, called Siegebearers, to progress the fight.

Once all of these opponents are defeated, two shield generators will spawn that can only be damaged by hurling Cabal explosives at them. Kill off Cabal, including some Threshers that spawn and harass you from the sky, grab the orbs they drop, then toss them at the generators until they’re destroyed.

Now, you can finally take down Valus himself. Hit the massive Cabal with all your firepower, and he should go down pretty quickly.

Destiny 2 Dares of Eternity Lightning Round

While most Dares of Eternity runs end after the final boss fight, sometimes Xur will surprise you with what he likes to call a Lightning Round.

These appear to be totally random, but always reward you with extra loot — if you’re able to conquer them. This involves facing off against a horde of Taken enemies while fighting to capture sets of control points, so keep your head on a swivel and make sure you’re ready for a fight.

If you do manage to conquer the Lightning Round before time runs out, Xur and the Starhorse will reward you with three bonus chests — multiplying your standard loot haul and practically drowning you in exciting new gear, Treasure Keys, and Strange Coins.

Destiny 2 Dares of Eternity Rewards

There are several ways you’ll be rewarded after your Dares of Eternity runs. The chest (or chests) at the end of each run can drop new gear and the Treasure Keys and Strange Coins you’ll need to claim rewards from Xur and the Starhorse, respectively.

Treasure Keys can be used to open reward chests back in Xur’s Treasure Hold. One Key will get you a random weapon drop from the activity’s loot pool, which contains the following weapons (which all pay homage to previous Bungie titles like Halo and Myth):

• BXR-55 Battler pulse rifle
• Half-Truths sword
• The Other Half sword
• Retraced Path trace rifle
• Wastelander M5 shotgun
• Pardon our Dust grenade launcher

Each Dares run you complete also increases your reputation with Xur, who now has a brand-new vendor screen (think Crucible, Vanguard, or Gambit reputation). Building up your rep allows you to choose more focused rewards but will set you back more Treasure Keys as well.

Finally, the Starhorse offers its own selection of rewards that can be claimed with Strange Coins. These include Legendary Engrams, Glimmer, packages that can contain a mixture of 30th Anniversary gear and currencies, along with more Tresure Keys.

And there you have it, everything you need to know about Destiny 2’s Dares of Eternity activity. While you’re here, make sure to check out these other helpful Destiny 2 guides as well: Destiny 2 Trials of Osiris map & rewards this week | Destiny 2 The Dawning 2021: Start date, content, Christmas rewards | Destiny 2 The Witch Queen expansion: release date, trailer, Savathun story | Destiny 2 Gjallarhorn guide: How to get it, catalyst location & ornaments | Destiny 2 Iron Banner countdown

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