My fellow Guardians, it is my honor to be able to stand before you once again and lovingly spin you the manly yarns of my success. Curios as to my meaning or still need help with defeating the Vault of Glass? Check the link for further information. However, I am not here to simply talk of my past glories, I am here to help each of you find your own! While this raid is considered to be far easier than the last, it brings forth its own challenges for Guardians to test their merle. Before you enter the Hellmouth, however, there are a few things you need to prepare for: [b]The Pregame[/b] 1. Just as with the last raid, you will need a lot of ammo synthesis, but primarily Heavy Ammo. 2. Your best-er gear. Be sure to level up a few pieces of gear that came with the DLC such as the new armor offered by Vanguard and Crucible alike. So long as you hit level 30, you should be fine. Any less, however, and you will be dealing no damage by the time you reach the final room. Trust me, I've tried. 3. Make sure you bring something to deal with the Hive Wizards (aka Solar Damage) 4. The Ice Breaker exotic weapon is a must have in here, but there are a few other weapons I will also recommend: - Red Death: Namesake perk will assist you when fighting the final boss - Hard Light: Specialty perk will allow you to cut through Thralls in the first part like butta. In fact, any weapon that has over penetration will help you here. [b]Feet First into Hell...[/b] No don't jus - and you jumped right in, didn't you? Don't worry, statistics show that every 1/6 Guardians make this mistake... and are laughed at for it by the other 5 in his/her party. Still, dust yourself off and activate the platform. This particular circle will re-appear at the end of the first part, and for both you do not need to stand on them the entire time. All you have to do is touch them and wait for the timer to run out. Once the bridge is formed, jump down through the hole at the end and be prepared to plunge into darkness. Oh, and be careful; that first step is a doozie... [b]All Nightmare Long[/b] The Hive will "Hunt you down without mercy! Hunt you down All Nightmare Long..." and will not relent so long as you remain in the darkness. Many terrors await you in the shadows. Constantly scan your environment and be prepared for anything. In this entire zone, the Weight of Darkness will be pushing down on you, preventing you from using your enhanced jump abilities and eventually stopping you in your tracks. Most Guardians assume that the air becomes too thick, but it's their bodies recognizing the fear their brains cannot register. [u]Part 1: The Lanterns[/u] Stand tall, Guardian. While the monsters await you beyond this small pillar of light you now stand in, there are lanterns to help you rejuvenate yourself when you start to falter, but do not loiter loo long in this zone. The light will just as soon become your enemy as well as your ally. After about 8 seconds, the lantern will change begin to charge for detonation and, upon doing so, you will either be obliterated or blown back a considerable distance at a frightening velocity into the nearest structure and splattered like the bugs on your visor when taking a stroll about on your sparrow. All you can do is run to each lantern and lessen the weight of darkness while clearing out the legions that pursue you as you move through the labyrinth. [u]Part 2: Bridge to Nowhere[/u] After you reach the final lantern, you will come across a small circular platform similar to the one you activated to descend into the Hellmouth. As I stated before, all you must do is touch the platform to activate it, but be warned; the entire time that the bridge is being formed, you cannot touch it and hordes of enemies will flock to your location. Much like the rest of the game, amirite? Man, I'm clever. Anyway, facing Thralls should be second nature to you by this point, so I am not going to go in depth about their presence. The enemies you need to worry about are the Knights and Ogres that will spawn off in the distance. Take out these enemies IMMEDIATELY. If they get too close, they will knock you down and pillage yer booties faster than Blackbeard. As soon as the bridge is formed, run like hell and make it to the light at the end of the tunnel. Only one person needs to survive the entire encounter for you to be moved onto the next part, so keep that in mind. NOTE: There is a chest in this area somewhere in the darkness. Where you might ask? Well Bungie seems to prefer you go search for it since its location changes every time you spawn. I suggest you look for a map. [b]A Rainbow in the Dark[/b] This part of the guide will take you through the next two small areas of the raid and help you summon Crota for one final spanking by your hand. Don't get hung up on this part for too long, it is arguably easier than the first part due to the lack of the endless horde nipping at your heels. Basically, identify key targets and mind the objectives. While this may seem complicated at first, it is very simple with practice. [u]Part 1: Another Bridge? I'm Starting to Sense a Pattern...[/u] Before you stands two large platforms and a vast crevice. Jump across it? Oh, you poor, deluded fool... You are in Crota's realm and he won't take your stupid logic and will kill you if you try to cross without, you guessed it, A BRIDGE! A flawless defense... except the architects saw fit to give you the means to construct your own bridge by another circular platform in the center of the arena. Unlike the other bridge-building platforms you have come across in the past, this one requires that you are constantly standing on it for the bridge to form and be sustained. Also unlike the other bridges, there are two pillars to the side that will destroy you if the bridge is formed without the a Guardian feeding it their light. On top of that, the moment you set foot on that bridge, you will summon the minions and someone called the "Swordbearer." Killing him will drop his sword, allow whoever is carrying it to cross the bridge you should have been forming this whole time, and summon the "Gatekeeper" on the other side. The Gatekeeper cannot take damage from anything but the sword and, after a certain amount of time, the sword will despawn much like the ones you can pick up by killing the Blades of Crota on Earth or the Moon. After crossing the bridge and killing the Gatekeeper, take note of the similar platforms from the other side as well as the new minions that are trying to gnaw your face off. As the rest of your team is trying to get across, you must search for and kill the two Wizards and Ogres that will spawn on this side. If you eliminate all of them, the bridge will form and allow your entire fire team to cross without protest. However, you should still be trying to get them across. After you are three and three, have the other team leave their platforms and have the three who crossed the bridge take up their positions and summon the bridge for them. Use your snipers to assist with the larger mobs like the Swordbearer and the Objective minions from both sides of the bridge. Honestly, you need to feel this one out. Find the members of your team that can carry themselves well and split them up properly to take care of each challenge presented to them. Everyone will need to know what to do since this requires the combined efforts of your whole team. After you take care of the four objective minions, get your rocket launchers ready and lace up your Space Jordans, because its time to run, jump, and shoot stuff. [u]Trike Team: Pedal Hard, Pedal Fast[/u] Before that door opens, there is something you should know; if you do NOT wish to get the chest at the end of this part, tackle the Shriekers inside at your own leisure. If you want that sweet loot, then you and your team need to move fast. Have one person focus on sprinting to the end at any cost. The rest need to kill the shriekers in the hallway as fast as possible while also wading through the wave of Thralls running up to them. Mind the hole and do NOT enter the room unless all of the Shriekers are dead. If you killed them in a timely manner, then your point man should have been able to slip into the door and will re-open it for your team to all share in the treasure. After that is done, make your way down the hole and prepare to defeat Ir Yût and her master: Crota, Son of Oryx. [b]To Be Continued...[/b] This next part is rather long and needs its own page to be properly fleshed out. Stay tuned for how to end the raid like a truly bad mamajama.