Leviathan Raid: Gauntlet Challenge (Destiny)

by Chappy, Arlington, VA., Wednesday, November 08, 2017, 13:28 (2373 days ago)
edited by Chappy, Wednesday, November 08, 2017, 13:38

This may be unnecessary, but I thought I’d post a note on the Leviathan Raid Gauntlet challenge. The challenge itself is straightforward – guardians may only stand on each of the raised circular platforms once during a running phase across the entire encounter. For example, if I stand on the “Axes” platform during the first running phase, I can’t touch that platform again during the second or third running phases. There’s no penalty for standing on the platforms when they’re recessed into the ground during the ad clearing phases.

I’ve used the following strategy to clear the challenge - raid spoilers follow:

The fire team splits into two teams of three guardians – the “Beast” team and the “Cup” team. There are three distinct jobs for each team of three, and for each of the three running phases people take a different job. During the each running phase, the three-person team moves clockwise around the map, with one person running in the outer gauntlet and the other two keeping pace in the center. The three jobs are:

1) Run the Gauntlet: After the initial psionic energy orb appears at the Beast and Cup gates, the “runner” picks up the orb to teleport into the gauntlet. They circle the room (avoiding any gaps in the floor), and pick up a new psionic energy orb at each of the next three gates and exit. When they reach each gate, they must call out which circular cutout is highlighted in red – either “Top”, “Middle”, or “Bottom”. If the guardians cannot identify each other by the sound of their voice, they can preface the callout with a team name (e.g. “Beast” or “Cup”) to indicate which of the teams they’re speaking to. It’s not necessary to call out which gate they’re facing, as the other members of their team will be keeping pace and will be in front of the same gate. Care should be taken not to speak over the other runner when calling out.

2) Melee the Psion: After the runner enters the gauntlet, the “melee” person stands near the gate, being careful not to stand on the circular platform. They should wait for the runner to call out a target. There are three triangles positioned on the wall in front of the gate positioned vertically- a “Top”, “Middle”, and a “Bottom” triangle. Do not shoot whichever triangle the runner calls out. Of the two remaining triangles, the melee person shoots the lower triangle (generally at the same time that the platform person is shooting the upper triangle). When the runner passes through the now-open gate, a psion appears below it. The melee person must melee this psion as soon as soon as it appears, and then move clockwise around the room and positions themselves so that they can shoot and melee at the next gate.

3) Activate the Platform. Also after the runner enters the gauntlet, the “platform” person stands on the platform in front of the first gate after it’s raised. They should wait for the runner to call out a target. There are three triangles positioned on the wall in front of the gate positioned vertically- a “Top”, “Middle”, and a “Bottom” triangle. Do not shoot whichever triangle the runner calls out. Of the two remaining triangles, the platform person shoots the upper triangle (generally at the same time that the melee person is shooting the lower triangle). When the runner passes through the now-open gate on prestige difficulty, a psionic projection appears in one of 5 location near it – the platform person must shoot the projection as soon as it appears. On either difficulty, after the triangles turn green (and the projection is dealt with if necessary) the platform person then moves clockwise around the room and positions themselves on top of the next platform so that they can shoot at the next gate. Standing on the platform is what highlights the correct cutout for the runner, so the platform person should move quickly*.

Completing the challenge using this strategy means that after completing a running phase, the three members each team must swap to a new role. With three running cycles in the encounter, each person will do each job once – runner, melee, and platform. Make sure to determine the order of the role changes before starting. For example, Runner becomes Melee, Melee becomes Platform, and Platform becomes Runner.

Notes:
The initial as-clearing phase does not affect the challenge – platforms can be stepped on without any concerns. On prestige difficulty, guardians may find it helpful to group together to manage the enemies as three-person teams. The three person team begins clearing ads at Beast or Cup, and after the initial waves are cleared they shift as a group to kill the enemies at Sun and Axes. They kill the yellow-bar enemy at Axes/Sun together, and then finally return to Beast or Cup to kill the yellow bar that spawned there. If there are any enemies remaining in the area, the platform and melee person can finish them off while waiting for the gauntlet to start.

The final group run through the gauntlet is also unaffected by the challenge. Guardians may find it helpful to remain in their three-man teams to manage which orbs should be skipped and by whom. The Beast team can skip orbs at the first gate, third gate, and finish line while the Cup team can skip orbs at the second and fourth gates. That way only three people need to talk to each other about which orb they’re going to take. On normal difficulty, there will be a fourth orb available for anyone who falls behind.

*on Prestige difficulty when the platform person must shoot the projection, the runner may reach the next gate before the platform person activates their platform. They simply need to wait until one of the cutouts turns red (via the actions of the platform person) and continue as normal. If this is bothersome, the platform person can run to the next platform immediately after the triangles turn green and then turn around and shoot the projection at the gate they just left, but this risks a wipe if they fail to get the kill before the projection detonates.