Destiny 2 Solo Shattered Throne As Warlock Guide

Destiny 2 Solo Shattered Throne As Warlock Guide by ttrgr

Hey, so I wrote this a while ago after I finally solo’d the Shattered Throne myself, and waited for this week to actually put anything up, because of trends. There’s also a video if you like listening instead of reading, but in case you don’t like that sort of promotion, the script from the video is basically the text in this post.

There’s also a bunch of unlisted video links scattered through the write-up. Some are long, some are short, but they’re there if it turns out I suck at words and you want to know more.

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The Shattered Throne is the dungeon found in the Dreaming City while the city’s curse is at its strongest, and it’s currently the game’s toughest activity as far as power level is concerned. Chances are you’ve already completed it with a fireteam, and for the purpose of this write-up I’m assuming you have and understand the core mechanics, but if you haven’t yet hopefully these solo tips will also help your fireteam. Here is how you solo it, as a Warlock.

[ Why a Warlock? ]

Besides the fact that I main a Warlock and I’ve only done it on the one character, what I learned I believe demonstrates that Warlocks have the best tools at their disposal in turning this challenging ordeal as easy as possible. If you read this and still disagree, let me know why, somewhere, and we can talk about it.

For this strategy you’ll need the following:

1. A long-range precision weapon.
2. A void range weapon.
3. An automatic shotgun.
4. Whisper of the Worm.
5. Lunafaction Boots.
6. Well of Radiance.
7. Any Roaming Super.
8. 600 Power.

The following are optional, and having them can make things easier, but not mandatory:

1. A short-range precision weapon, for the final fight.
2. An arc ranged weapon, for Mini-Bosses with matching shield.
3. A solar ranged weapon, for Shielded Vandals in the last platforming section.
4. Crimson, for the Thrallway.
5. Whisper of the Worm Catalyst.
6. The armor mod Taken Repurposing. [Put a pin in this one]
7. The armor mod Taken Armaments.
8. The armor mod Super Mod, in multiples, for the final fight.
9. The armor mod Transcendent Blessing, in multiples.
10. The armor perk Heavy Ammo Finder.
11. Nova Warp.
12. Stormcaller Top Tree, for the final fight.

I recommend Strafe Glide for the majority of the encounter, as precision floating is really where Warlocks outclass Hunters and Titans in platforming, though do switch to Burst Glide or Blink during the Ogre fight for speed. As for rifts, you only need to heal.

The specific weapons I used during my solo run are all static rolls, so this strategy should be easily replicated. They are:

1. No Turning Back w/ Boss Spec
2. Midnight Coup
3. Inaugural Address [Void @Collections]
4. IKELOS_SG_v1.0.1
5. Whisper of the Worm

We’ll talk about the entire encounter in order, but if you want to skip ahead to the Ogre fight, everything is marked so go ahead and skip I won’t mind.

[ Taken Miniboss-Rush. ]

This accounts for the opening and the area immediately after, where you’ll be bouncing around a wide arena looking for symbols and minibosses, followed by a platforming section. You should be fine: using Strafe Glide around the rooftops should quickly get you from spawn to spawn, especially if you’re like me and don’t perfectly remember where all the symbols are. Relying on your radar and high ground, using precision weapons to take down everything from safety, has been sufficient for me every time.

Take caution when jumping across wide gaps, however, as sometimes Hobgoblins will spawn behind you, and you’ll need to take care of them before they take care of you. While any Roaming Super should be fine, I recommend either Nova Warp or Dawnblade with Icarus Dash just in case a Phalanx reminds us why they need to be nerfed.

[ The Pit. ]

After you open the door to the long hallway that begins the Pit, use that door as cover as you slay Hobglins, Knights, and Phalanxs to clear a path to safety. Bows are amazing here, since their range lets you really abuse that cover, but Scouts or Snipers should also be fine.

During the Beams of Ogres and Death, take your time spawning each wave of Ogres, running back to solid ground, and slaying them with Whisper of the Worm. Without proccing Whispered Breathing, they take 3 crits each to slay, which is ideal. While Strafe Glide permits precision in your jumps, be careful not to clip an edge the wrong way during this section.

Also, whatever you do, don’t use Sweet Business to try and slay the Ogres at range. I had a long day when I finally did this.

[ The Thrallway. ]

During my first attempt with the Thrallway, I learned that you can use the Crimson and walk back through most of it, especially if you take care to slay the Shadow Thralls with crits. During my second attempt, I learned just how broken Nova Warp is during this challenge, teleporting you most of the way to the exit. Bring both if you’re concerned, and somebody test for me if you can Warp across the gap and save time that way.

The section immediately following the Thrallway should be easy enough, just take care that the Taken Pulses don’t ruin any platform recovery.

[ The Big, The Bad, The Ugly. ]

Welcome to the Meat of the Write-Up. Vorgeth, the Boundless Hunger is stupid, and there’s a chance if you’re watching this video you already hate him. Or you hate the Wizards. Or you really hate those Goblins with their Invulnerability Spray. Let’s kill them all.

For orientation, the Wizards are named Left, Center, Right, and Far Wizard for the one furthest from your entrance.

Open the engagement by falling to the left or right, putting the tall pillar closest to the entrance between you and Vorgeth. Either side works, but I personally became comfortable with opening left, so that’s what I’ll refer to in this write-up. Stagger Center Wizard with your Void weapon as it spawns, then switch to your precision weapon to start slaying any Vandals and Goblins that are too close to you, checking if any spawn right next to you. Remember to Strafe to avoid being melted by the Wizards.

All Wizards have two Vandals and two Goblins accompanying them in my experience.

After you slay what you can, using that same pillar as cover, you can block line of sight from Center Wizard and Vorgeth, and Left Wizard sometimes if you crouch. You *WILL* be in the line of sight from Left Wizard’s Vandals, so drop a Healing Rift as soon as you decide you need that cover so you have a chance to slay them.

After recovering in that moment, you can use the cover found on the stairs next to you to keep Vorgeth’s line of sight denied while finding new angles to slay more ads and to stagger Left Wizard. This is a better angle to quickly catch more kills, but remember you’ll be in line of sight of Right Wizard’s Vandals here if they wander. Also, Center Wizard can track into position to hurt you here, so remember her if you’re focusing on Left Wizard.

Your objective during this stage is, while staggering the Wizards, slay all the ads on Left, Center, and Right. It may take a bit to get used to the cover, but you do have enough time to heal between engagements with only the periodic healing rift.

After all the ads are slain on Left and Center, weaken Left Wizard to where one more shield break should kill her, then sprint over to Right Side. Burst Glide or Blink provides speed to quickly get back to cover, though take care not to maintain too much airtime for Vorgeth to exploit. Sliding dodges more projectiles than jumping.

Now your objective is to gather the petitions. Weaken Right Wizard the same way, then slay Center Wizard and pick up her petition. Then move to Left Wizard or Right Wizard, whichever Vorgeth will let you reach, and slay, leaving the other alive for now. I usually leave Left Wizard alive.

45 seconds is enough time, with No Turning Back w/ Boss Spec and Inaugural Address, to slay both Vandals, both Goblins, and Far Wizard with petition pick up. However, sometimes the Goblins fuck you, and sometimes the Wizard decides she likes cover. Ideally, you slay Far Wizard third, but if they don’t agree with your approach, you can take the time to slay what you can, then come back for Left Wizard. Usually coming from the other side solves the problem, especially since you reset the timer.

This is the reason I pepper Left Wizard before any petition pick up.

During all of this, your cover game is at the weakest. There are no “good” chest high walls Far Side, and Vorgeth will abuse your movement whenever he can like a pro. Take care to keep a tall pillar between you and where he’s standing, minding that he will reposition to get line of sight. You can also stand extremely close to the raised platform he’s on for cover, though mind the Wizard and Vandals abusing your tighter space. When running towards a dropped petition, it’s best to swoop into the ball instead of a straight line so that Vorgeth will push you into it if he hits.

After you pick up all four petitions, Center Wizard will respawn with her Vandals and Goblins. I got into the practice of taking the time to slay the ads so that they don’t harm me during damage and don’t stack with more ads during the second round, but I have no confirmation if this actually is beneficial. You do have another 45sec timer, so if you need a rift, you have a moment to recharge the energy.

Purify a well, and move to damage phase. I performed damage not in a corner but casually against the wall, so I have the most time to fire. This is where Well of Radiance comes in: you can pop your Super and scope on your Whisper, and at 4 Resilience I was able to take all four Axion Darts to the face while waiting for Whispered Breathing to proc. It procs, and just go ham on his dumb face, and you should easily knock out 66%+ of his health. Lunafaction Boots work here because getting perfect crits on console is hard and one miss will ruin the whole damage phase.

When his shield returns, you have one last trick to master before you can confidently say you can solo Vorgeth. You have to return back to cover where Center Wizard spawns, like how you opened, except this time your foes have already mostly spawned. There’s no good advice here; Vorgeth should be thinking about his life choices long enough to Burst Glide over to cover, but you’ll have to be extra careful about the Vandals in front and behind you as you settle into position. If you can get comfortable again next to Center Wizard, just rinse and repeat. Your super will recharge by the time you slay the Wizards, and one more damage phase should end Vorgeth’s stupid face.

[ Taken Repurposing. ]

This is where the Dummy’s Part of the Guide comes in, and why I’ll argue Warlock is the easiest class to Solo the Shattered Throne with. I tried a couple approaches using Nova Warp to try and overcome this boss, specifically trying to use the Super to protect me from ads as I try and reposition after a damage phase.

Eventually, I became comfortable with the core loop, but I was having difficulty dealing damage to Vorgeth. I became too nervous about the darts, I’d miss a crit, and I’d do less than 25% to him; I even died to the “Failed Petition” auto wipe that happens if you cleanse all four wells without slaying him. I also noticed that I wasn’t using Nova Warp for damage, but rather repositioning, and I figured if I got a little better I could be more flexible in my Super and maybe get the Well of Radiance just for damage.

This is where Taken Repurposing comes in. This is an Armor Mod from the Last Wish Raid that, in my experience, can drop from bonus platforming chests. The mod says “Destroying a Taken shield refreshes your grenade ability.”With Nova Warp, I was using it aggressively, as you can throw an Axion Bolt at a Wizard, do significant damage, and then do it again. What I was attempting was refreshing my grenade and then trying to lob it at ads in corners of the map I wasn’t, to get cheeky kills that I wasn’t able to before, but that was inconsistent. I then started thinking about if there was anything else grenades can do with Warlock, since I can consistently pop the Wizard’s shield with the Address anyways, and that’s when I remembered Divine Protection.

You can watch the entire successful attempt here, where I use this strategy. Using my grenades as additional healing, I was able to take more risks and survive more bullshit since I’m always ttrgr**’ing Taken Repurposing with the Wizards.** This combined with Well of Radiance letting you approach Vorgeth aggressively is any casual player’s solution to this Triumph and Emblem.

“Could you use Sleeper Simulant?” is a question I asked a couple times, but ultimately strayed away from. Aggressive Whisper will always outperform Sleeper, and it’s mostly a matter of whether or not you can make the sniper crits. Also, I assume the Axion Darts hurt Whisper DPS less than Sleeper DPS, but that’s only speculation on my part. You can attempt all of this with the Sleeper Simulant, though there’s a chance you’ll need three damage phases, as well as some lucky heavy ammo drops.

[ Ascent. ]

Everything after Vorgeth is a fucking breeze by comparison, and if you made it this far you’re probably fine. Switch to your Roaming Super now. You can skip the wizards protecting the first lift if you just run, and now most enemies will only be annoying than anything else. Having a ranged Solar Weapon that isn’t Whisper will be nice here, conserving ammo while taking care of shields ahead of you.

There will be a checkpoint where more Shadow Thralls run after you. This is a good moment to find some high ground where they can’t hurt you and equip your automatic shotgun, which will currently have no ammo. Slay some thralls until you get some special ammo bricks and proceed.

Like before, be patient. Slay what’s ahead of you before you jump if you can, and don’t worry, the Thralls won’t follow you. Make sure you switch back to Strafe Glide before you approach the outside wall so you can ease into those safe perches, holding the glide until you touch the ground. Don’t be a dummy like me.

You can slay the first two Hobgoblins from a distance, but the third one I usually just glide in and pump some shotgun shells into, even though he gets a bullet into me. His counterplay also never kills me after that.

Now ascend.

[ Dul Incaru. ]

The witch at the end is infinitely easier than Vorgeth, and a successful run MUCH shorter. The only downside to this fight is your reliance on your Super, and this will ask for considerably more waiting for your abilities to recharge if you have to re-try. I used an armor set with Super Mods to ease the burn, though you don’t have to.

Begin the encounter by scoping in your Whisper of the Worm and appreciate how everything goes quiet as you ready your aim and prepare to slay Dul Incaru. Put a bullet in each of the Knights, proccing White Nail, then get ready to toss a sustained grenade, such as Pulse or Vortex, into either the left or right Psions. Then pop your Super and proceed to kill all Psions you find, since they will duplicate into oblivion and make your life hell.

After the Psions are dead, just deliver Whispers into the Knight’s faces until they’re all equally near death. Finish one off with Whisper, then switch to your Shotgun and end the other two. Pick up the orbs, drop a healing rift where you’ll have line of sight on the Witch, and proceed to end her with Whisper shots that do more than 999,999 damage. One proper damage phase and you’ll be fine.

There’s a chance you won’t slay the Knights before Dul Incaru summons an Invulnerability Crystal. This happened to me, and what I did was hop around the arena; mostly the outside; and waited for my Super to recharge. Then when I popped the Crystal, I could easily take care of the Psions again.

If you do miss the first phase like me, this is where you’ll absolutely want Strafe Glide, since that guarantees you’re able to make all the jumps along the outside. You can either get used to jumping from platform to platform for the whole four minutes you’ll probably need to recharge your Super, OR there’s this nice edge you can abuse to wait it out.

Orient such that Dul Incaru is front and you enter back, bait the Knights to the Right platform, jumping around to the Back platform to bait them there, then carefully jump to the tip of the left platform that’s closest to the front, keeping the wall between you and your foes. You should probably watch at least this clip, to know what I’m talking about, since I suck at words.

Congratulations, you just beat the Shattered Throne solo, with the help of the Dummy Warlock’s Guide. This also means technically you can do it flawlessly too, if you put in the time to master it, wink wink.

Fight On, Guardians.