Destiny 2 Leviathan raid guide and walkthrough: Checkpoints, shortcuts and every main challenge explained

Our explainer for how to complete the Destiny 2 Raid.

Guide by Matthew Reynolds Former Guides Editor

Updated on March 6, 2019

The first Destiny 2 raid is arguably the activity players were most looking forward to from the sequel.

Destiny Raids are an end-game activity gated off by high level requirements, where a group of players take on a gauntlet of puzzles and bosses for exclusive items - and the Destiny 2 Leviathan raid is no different.

Though they can take half-a-dozen hours (or more!) on a first playthrough, they are designed to be replayable, with randomised loot drops encouraging players to revisit week-after-week, inching them ever closer to the level cap with every session.

Without spoiling specifics here, Leviathan plays out somewhat differently when it comes to checkpoints and exploration, which we'll be delivering into - alongside standard room and boss explainers - in our Destiny 2 Leviathan guide and walkthrough.

Destiny 2 Leviathan guide and walkthrough

Step-by-step walkthrough:

Additional activities:

Other Destiny 2 Raids:

Destiny 2 Eater of Worlds Raid Lair

How to prepare and what you need to know about the Destiny 2 Leviathan raid

As with the likes of Vault of Glass and Wrath of the Machine with the previous game, the Raid offers challenges and rewards unlike anything else in the game. Here's ways to prepare and things to know about Leviathan:

Getting as close to max Power level will help as much as possible since Leviathan's recommended Light level is 300. In our experience, you can get away with some players in the lower range provided you have some players on average or higher than recommended, though by the end you'll want to have a few levels up for the final encounters so they can stay alive and do more damage.
Similarly, don't worry about classes too much. While certain classes and their abilities can be useful - the Hunter void class can go invisible or tether enemies for damage phases, for example - as with previous Raids on Normal mode there isn't much that depends on a specific class or sub-class.
That said, if you haven't already it's worth unlocking all three sub-classes to give you as many abilities as possible for both offence and defence.
Bring your best weapons with you, and if possible, attempt to pack a range of weapons and armour types to maximise your range of energy options for pesky shielded enemies.

As with previous Raids, team sizes comprise of six players and there is no matchmaking - Raids revolve around tight co-ordination in puzzle-like scenarios and working with a team you know well will see you succeed. However, the new Guided Games system, which allows players to join up with Clans who are advertising for open spots in an upcoming session works around this.
Join a clan and Raid with members of the Clan in order to unlock a bonus Engram by the end of it from Hawthorne.

The Season of the Deep is here alongside the Into the Depths quest. You can know go fishing too! Don't forget to keep an eye on the Lost Sector and King's Fall challenge rotation schedule!

Pick up and get as far as you can through the World-Eater quest, which requires you to complete the Raid in order to unlock the next step.
Before playing, it might be worth completing the Invitation from the Emperor Adventure to learn some interesting backstory for the Raid and its possible cast.
As with previous Raids, Leviathan is one of the few sources of gear that can take you to max Power level, so it's worth replaying each week in order to level your character.
As well as high gear levels, it's also the source of exclusive loot, such as shaders, weapons and armour. It's also one of the few activities you're more likely to get Masterworks drop.
Like other modes in Destiny 2, the Raid features several Challanges to complete, one of which is exploring the Labyrinth underbelly of the Leviathan for all kinds of optional secrets outside the core progression of the Raid itself. While previous Raids has hidden chests and other secrets, the level of optional areas here seems unprecedented.
Following an update in late October, Raid Keys will no longer disappear on a weekly reset - so don't feel the rush to spend them straight away if your team is busy tackling the next part of the Raid.
Upon the first team completing the Raid, Bungie unlocked a Leviathan-set Crucible map for players to fight on.
As of the Curse of Osiris update, you no longer need to complete the Raid in order to spend your Tokens received from each completed segment - the vendor Benedict will accept them straight away.

What you need to know about Destiny 2 Leviathan raid checkpoints and checkpoints

This particular section contains spoilers for the layout and progression of the Leviathan Raid, so read the next few paragraphs at your own risk.

The Leviathan Raid works a little differently compared to other Raids. Starting on the 'Embarkment' - or outside of the ship - you must progress into the main Castellum room with Standard Bearers.

Once you do this encounter, a door will open the next area - in the first week, this was the Royal Pools, but the order of the three events leading up to the main boss changes upon the weekly reset.

After you have finished a section, no matter the order that week, you must then come back to this first Embarkment area and do the same process on a different door - essentially acting as a hub to each new challenge.

Don't be too worried if you come back here on a second attempt.

If you quit out to a social space, while the game will technically keep your progress, you will be dropped right at the very start of the Raid, and have to complete this first Embarkment door opening sequence again to get back to where you were.

If you need to head back to a social space, then have at least one person remain at the room you are currently at to ensure you don't reset everyone back at the start. If you do, again the checkpoint does exist, you just need to the Castellum fight once more to get back there.

Alternatively, you can unlock the underbelly of the Leviathan in order to find a connected network that can take you to each Raid room via alternate means.

The directions there are confusing, so the following four YouTube videos can explain it better than we can. Remember that you need to find your way into the underbelly using levers first, and to get to each section, you need to have unlocked their checkpoints. For example, if you haven't unlocked the Pleasure Gardens objective that week, you cannot get there - you will simply be greeted with a locked door until you do so.

Royal Pools shortcut:

Pleasure Gardens shortcut:

Gauntlet shortcut:

Throne and final boss shortcut:

Thanks to the Destiny subreddit for bringing the above to our attention.

The other benefit of this checkpoint structure that boots you back to the start is it allows you to explore the Labyrinth underbelly of the Leviathan for all kinds of secrets, making the trek there a little less troublesome if you want to open those loot chests.