The Into The Light update for Destiny 2 brought massive changes and additions to the game's sandbox. At the heart of it is Onslaught mode, a new game mode that promises a new experience that also serves as an excellent source of awesome loot.
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Onslaught offers some of the best gear for players to use across all modes, including the new content revealed for Destiny 2: The Final Shape and beyond. Before you dive straight into the marauding hordes of aliens, here's what you need to know about this game mode.
What Is Destiny 2's Onslaught Mode?
Simply put, Onslaught is a new, permanent, three-player horde mode with tower defense elements for teams of three Guardians. Players don't need to own any DLC to enjoy this new content and it's rewards.
The goal is to protect large devices called ADUs until the fireteam exhausts the enemy wave count or the ADU is destroyed. Onslaught matches take place within Destiny 2's Crucible maps, with some being slightly altered to better cater to a PvE experience.
There are two Onslaught playlists available: one with only 10 waves of enemies to beat, and another with 50. The latter offers significantly more rewards, but enemies will grow in power after every 10 waves.
Onslaught Activity Guide
If you're booting the game for the first time since the Into The Light update, you'll likely start in the Hall of Champions, a new social hub similar to Xur's Treasure Hoard, which was introduced when Bungie released the Dares of Eternity mode. Speak with Lord Shaxx to start the Feats of Bravery quest, which is basically an introduction to Onslaught mode.
The goal in Onslaught is simple: guard the ADU, and after the 10th wave, beat the boss aboard the nearby Pyramid Ship to earn loot. You'll have a number of tools at your disposal while defending the ADU, including turrets, decoys, and tripwire traps that will all help slow down the advancing enemy hordes.
There are two main ways to fail an Onslaught activity:
- If the ADU is destroyed
- If the fireteam is wiped out at any point beyond Wave 30
The ADU can take a beating, but it will eventually break if not protected. Occasionally, enemies will drop orbs that you can throw at the ADU to heal it back up. Keep in mind that getting wiped out in later waves means you get booted back to orbit, so consider using the best add-clear builds in Destiny 2 so you can stand a better chance against stronger enemies. Getting wiped won't have any penalties, however — you still get to keep all the loot you got from previous waves, though you'll miss out on full completion rewards.
Legend Onslaught is unlocked once you finish the Feats of Bravery quest, and it's basically the same as normal Onslaught, but harder due to additional modifiers. Regardless of what difficulty you play, you will always encounter Champions, so make sure to bring the necessary equipment to deal with them.
Destiny 2 Onslaught Rewards
Like Dares of Eternity, Onslaught has a unique pool of loot. Here, players can earn some of the best guns in the game, including new versions of those that were previously impossible to get in Destiny 2. Now referred to as Brave weapons, these guns have been modernized with the ability to roll with random perks. Such guns include:
- Edge Transit
- The Recluse
- Luna's Howl
- Mountaintop
- Midnight Coup
- Hammerhead
- Blast Furnace
- Forbearance
- Falling Guillotine
- Succession
- Hung Jury
- Elsie's Rifle
Some of the signature perks for these weapons have been reworked and rebalanced. The Mountaintop, for example, can now be used to rocket jump. Meanwhile, The Recluse's signature Master of Arms trait got nerfed to compensate for the addition of random rolls. All Brave weapons come with the Indomitability Origin Trait. The perk restores either grenade energy when you score final blows while using a Light subclass, or melee energy if you're using a Darkness subclass.
As you complete Onslaught runs, you'll earn reputation points for Lord Shaxx and Trophies of Bravery, both of which lead to even more Onslaught loot back in the Hall of Champions. Use the trophies to open the BRAVE chest next to Lord Shaxx to earn a masterworked Brave weapon, and don't forget to do quests from Arcite-99 for even more loot.
