Destiny 2 Crota son of Oryx boss strategy in Destiny 2

How to defeat Crota: Crota's End boss fight strategy in Destiny 2

The arena is the same as the Ir Yut encounter. You start in the central chamber of the main structure, sealed in by semi-transparent barriers. There’s a large crystal at the center of the room. The Chalice of Light rests outside at the lower center area.

Everyone on the fireteam must press against the Crystal, once they have all done so Crota will appear, the barrier will drop, and the fight will begin.

The flow of this fight is straightforward. You will need to use the Chalice of Light to get at least three members of your fireteam Enlightened. Two of them will then pick up Hive Swords dropped by Swordbearers. These are the only things that can damage Crota’s Shield. Once his shield drops, everyone unloads DPS, and Crota will summon the Oversoul, a massive eye at the for end of the arena. This will wipe out the party after a 20 second timer, and must be destroyed by the remaining Enlightened person. This will end the damage phase, and the cycle repeats.

There are three important things to pay attention to during this process. First, the Chalice of Light can only be passed while standing in a pool of light that appears in different parts of the arena. It will remain in one place until a Chalice pass has occurred, then relocate.

Second, a Swordbearer will only appear after the Boomer Knights in the upper level of both towers are eliminated. Note that a pair of Ogres appear at the bottom middle alongside the Swordbearer.

And third, when Crota’s health is low he will enter his last stand mode. His shield will return, then fade again. He will summon another Oversoul, you will need to have an extra person Enlightened to deal with this. After that one is destroyed he will summon one more indestructible Oversoul. You have until this timer expires to dump as much damage as you can, and eliminate Crota.

Crota boss battle strategy in Destiny 2

Damage to Crota can be done from up close, so swords like Lament or Falling Guillotine, or shotguns like Zenith of Your Kind can be extremely powerful. Once again a Warlock with Well of Radiance is helpful. A Tractor Cannon is highly recommended, as it decreases the number of Swords needed to break Crota’s Shields, and increases damage done during the DPS phase.

Start by assigning roles. Two Guardians will wield the Hive Swords (three if you don’t have Tractor Cannon), and be responsible for taking down Crota’s Shields. One Guardian will be the primary Oversoul eliminator, and another will be a backup/last stand Oversoul eliminator. One Guardian will be responsible for docking the Chalice.

Start the fight by having everyone press against the crystal simultaneously. Send Guardians both left and right to clear enemies. The first sword wielder takes the Chalice and, while it is charging, locates the Pool of Light. The second sword wielder meets them there, and takes the Chalice once it is full. They then locate the new Pool of Light, and meet the Oversoul Eliminator for the next swap. The Oversoul Eliminator will then swap it to the person in charge of docking it.

While this is happening everyone else should focus on clearing adds and taking out the Hive Boomer Knights in the towers. Once all four Boomers are dead, two ogres will spawn in the middle of the map, and a Swordbearer will come through the doorway. Kill the ogres, but do not kill the Swordbearer until a sword wielder is Enlightened and ready to pick up a sword.

Continue this until both (or all three if you don’t have Tractor Cannon) sword wielders have swords, the Oversoul Eliminator has Enlightenment, and the Chalice is stowed. Ideally wait for Crota to rotate (or 'Crotate', as the community calls it) towards one of the areas near the main structure. If you have a Tractor Cannon now is the time to fire a shot into Crota, then all of the swords should attack.

Crota’s shield will break, and everyone can begin dealing damage. Make sure to drop the Well of Radiance or other healing options right at Crota’s feet. Killing the Oversoul ends the damage phase, so the Oversoul Eliminator needs to watch the timer, and destroy it with just as little time on the clock as possible, but before it reaches 0.

When Crota’s shield returns everyone should first get to safety. Then, set up and start the entire process again. Once you think there is a chance a DPS round will reach the Last Stand phase, have the backup/last stand Oversoul Eliminator gain Enlightenment before passis the Chalice to the dock person.

As soon as Crota’s health reaches the last stand threshold he will summon his shield temporarily. Be patient, and wait for it to drop again. Now it’s a race to do enough damage to kill him before he wipes the party. The last stand Oversoul Eliminator will be in charge of watching the timer and taking out the Oversoul as the clock nears 0. As soon as the Oversoul is destroyed a new one will spawn with a fresh timer. This one cannot be killed, this is the last chance to finish Crota.

If you succeed Crota will fall, and loot will rain down on your fireteam. Congratulations, that’s one less Hive God to worry about.

If you are ready for a fresh run, head back to the start of our Crota's End guide, and begin anew!