Destiny Effective Hunter Swordbearer Guide

Destiny Effective Hunter Swordbearer Guide by galakfryar

Posting this to help anyone struggling to be an effective hunter swordbearer on Crota HM. Using the ever so popular LFG tactic of:

(a) Middle ledge strategy (b) Right Tower to kill Ogres after second sword (If you miss killing Crota)

I have been on Destinylfg.net vigorously this week to test a new swordbearing strategy which allows for Crota to end in TWO swords. This may be easy for seasoned raiders with a static group, but for a group that is formed brand new with people that have never played with each other before, this is downright crazy. After plenty of research with a lot of help from youtubers guides, I have come up with an effective way for myself to swordbear to victory. Note that this strategy only requires Crota to be downed twice per sword, killing him in two swords is very doable. Here are my simple steps

[Step 1] A good hunter swordbearer should stock up on some rockets for this part, tell your group to wait for your command before killing the swordbearer. You will need to wait for the swordbearer to exit his room and move left or right (depending on his mood). When he stops moving, fire a rocket which forces the swordbearer to jump into the open allowing your team to easily dispatch him. The swordbearers death should be a trigger for one fireteam member to start distracting boomers (This can be done in many ways, the most popular being a Titan bubble on Crota’s Right or Left Platform). This ensures the swordbearers survival while hitting Crota.

[Step 2] Activate your bladedancer super and make your way to the sword, this allows you to withstand Crota and boomer fire that is inevitably coming. As you make your way to the sword, tell your group to throw grenades on the swords location, killing any thralls and potential cursed thralls camping on the sword. Once the sword is near, activate Vanish with R2 or RT (bladedancer subclass ability – spec for shadowjack for increased invisibility), grab the sword and make your way to the right rock under Crota’s middle platform (my preference) and count to three before letting your team know to fire at crota. When you call out your group to fire, make sure you are on crota’s platform on the middle waiting for the rockets to hit. Once your team has fired rockets, tell them to switch to primary weapons and continuously fire at crota until he turns orange (This adds approximately 0.5 secs to his kneeling time – try it yourself). The swordbearer should be ready to attack at the instant Crota’s shield depletes to 0. The exact combo I use is (R1 R1 R2 R1 R1 R2 R1 R2) or (RB RB RT RB RB RT RB RT), with a lot of practice I have consistently hit Crota with this combo. Repeat this for the second takedown on the first sword, and Crota’s health will deplete to around 45%.

[Alternative Combo] R1 R1 R2 R1 R1 R2 R2 or RB RB RT RB RB RT RT, this combo is safe but very risky if even 1 hit misses.

[Step 3] After the sword timer has completed, your team should immediately take cover either in the crystal room or on the left pillar outside the room. During this time it is crucial that your team does not interact with any thralls outside. This attracts the swordbearer to the outside of the bottom middle hallway which causes problems for your swordbearer. Once the sword is picked up, because the sword is so far away from crota, there is precious sword time wasted. Ensure that this does not happen.

[Step 4] This is the final part of the encounter, once Crota moves to the middle, everyone should exit the crystal room and take positions on the middle ledge, no one should die to the Boomers (hug the walls while exiting the room for increased survivability), this will cause complications with taking down crota as the timing will be delayed for at least 10 seconds (killing oversoul takes time). Perform the same routine as [Step 2] and Crota will enrage after the first takedown on the second sword. Finish him on the second takedown and be proud of this achievement. It is not easy killing Crota in two swords on Hard with people you haven’t met before or played with before.

I hope this helps, take care guardians and enjoy the sweet taste of raid victory. Regards, Fellow Lfg’er

EDIT: Based on the feedback from the comments, I feel it necessary to add some disclaimers to ensure that you know the ideal conditions to even try this.

(1) Make sure that you have a good connection with your fireteam, usually I change my ships around in the instance to determine if there is any delay whatsoever. If there is a delay in changing it, go to orbit,disband and join on a suitable fireteam member with a good internet connection.

(2) Only attempt this if your fireteam has sufficient damage to take down Crota with 1 rocket barrage. This will not work otherwise.

(3) Grenades are not necessary but I do feel it helps. An alternative would be to use bladedancer super and vanish first, run to the sword, and use vanish again followed by the swordbearer picking up the sword.

(4) Do not force this strategy, If your fireteam does not want to kill him in two swords, just do what feels comfortable. The groups I found this week were all so very interested to kill Crota in two swords and the reaction I heard after accomplishing it makes it worthwhile. (Remember to get fireteam consent before attempting this).

Video of the above strategy in action with me as swordbearer

Sorry for the background music, was my friends video.