How to Beat Crota in Destiny 2 (Mechanics, Phases, and Tips)

The final boss of Crota’s End is not surprisingly…Crota.

The encounter utilizes both the Chalice and Sword Relic seen in earlier encounters in the raid.

The goal of the encounter is to defeat Crota who has a shield that prevents him from being damaged.

Both the Chalice and Sword Relic are required to destroy the shield to damage Crota.

Chalice Mechanics

The Chalice is a key component of the entire raid and its mechanics are essential for completing objectives within the raid. Feel free to skip this section if you are already familiar with the Chalice Mechanics.

There is only one Chalice during an encounter. When picking up the Chalice a charge bar can be seen in your buffs section. The Chalice is charged over time, but it also increases charge as your team gets kills. Once this charge bar hits its maximum the holder of the Chalice will become Engulfed in Light.

This buff lasts for 10 seconds and if it runs out, you will die. This can be avoided by having a teammate take the Chalice using the interact key/button when standing next to the player Engulfed in Light. Once another player takes the Chalice from the player who is Engulfed in Light, the player who was Engulfed in Light will then become Enlightened. This buff lasts indefinitely, is used to complete mechanics within the raid, and only disappears when dying or performing the encounter mechanic that requires being enlightened.

If a player who was Enlightened performed a mechanic that consumes the buff, that player will become Drained of Light for 45 seconds. During this time period this player is unable to pick up the Chalice.

Various encounters have a holder for the Chalice that allows the team to deposit it and pick it up for later with no penalty. These locations are signified by a message reading Preserve the Chalice and can be deposited by using the interact key/button.

Entering Damage Phase

To get into the damage phase Crota’s shield must be destroyed.

At the start of the encounter the Chalice will spawn in the bottom center of the arena. The final encounter is unique in that the Chalice can only be passed in Pools of Light that randomly appear in the arena. These areas are indicated by a bright, shining light on the floor. Begin the encounter by passing the Chalice to give players the Enlightened buff. A player who is Enlightened can use the buff to pick up a Sword Relic which is the only way to damage Crota’s shield.

It is best to have 3-4 players become Enlightened during the encounter as 2-3 Swords are typically needed to remove Crota’s shield, and the remaining Enlightened buff is needed during the damage phase. Once 3-4 players are Enlightened the Chalice can be preserved in the bottom center of the arena as there will be no more use for it beyond Enlightening players who are damaging Crota’s shield.

Once a Swordbearer is defeated they will drop a Sword Relic that can be picked up by an Enlightened player to damage Crota’s shield. A Swordbearer and other strong enemies will spawn in once the Knight Boomers are defeated in the towers in the back left and right of the arena. Repeat these steps until Crota’s shield is destroyed to enter the damage phase:

1. Pass the Chalice when Engulfed in Light and standing in a Pool of Light to become Enlightened
2. Defeat Boomer Knights in the towers to spawn in a Swordbearer
3. Defeat the Swordbearer and have an Enlightened player pick up the Sword Relic that is dropped
4. Damage Crota’s shield with the Sword Relic

Typically 3 of these cycles are needed to remove Crota’s shield and the damage phase then begins.

Damage Phase

Once the team removes Crota’s shield, he will go into a kneeling position and is able to be damaged by any source. Your team should deal as much damage as possible during this damage phase with one caveat.

Once damage phase opens up, an Oversoul debuff that lasts 30 seconds will indicate the maximum damage phase duration. If this timer ends, the team wipes. A player who is Enlightened can destroy the Oversoul which the massive green ball in beyond the back center of the arena. To destroy the Oversoul you do not need to deal much damage, but should stop damaging Crota with at least 5 seconds left on the timer to avoid a wipe. If you destroy the Oversoul the damage phase will end, so do not perform this too early either.

Damage Crota down to roughly 10% health, indicated by a tick mark in his health bar, to enter final stand. Once this damage threshold is met, the damage phase will start up once again in roughly 10 seconds automatically. Damage Crota until he is defeated and the encounter is finished.

Tips and Tricks

• Find a Pool of Light and call out its location to smoothly transfer the Chalice as there is a small window to do so.
• The Sword Relic charges a super very quickly that deals more damage than a heavy swing as well as animation cancels the heavy attacks which can be used to damage Crota’s Shield quicker.
  • Use a heavy attack and then super immediately to perform the animation cancel.
• Damage buffs and debuffs to Crota affect the Sword Relic’s damage.
• Multiple Sword Relics can be held on to and used simultaneously to remove Crota’s shield which can be easier for groups as buffs, debuffs, and positions are all set and ready for the damage phase.
• Be sure to have an extra predetermined player Enlightened to destroy the Oversoul as its timer is about to expire. This player can be enlightened during the initial Chalice passing of the Sword Relic players.
• Crota can break a Well of Radiance so be sure to have multiple Well of Radiance Warlocks and/or cast the super on top of Crota so it is not in contact with the ground and cannot be broken by his sword swing.

Recommended Loadouts

Subclasses

• Well of Radiance Warlock
  • This subclass is essentially mandatory to give a damage buff and protection while damaging Crota.
  • Equipping Healing Grenades with this class is also great for protection of the Sword Relic holder while they damage Crota’s Shield or when a Well of Radiance is expired.
• Damage Supers
  • Thundercrash Titan
  • Blade Barrage Hunter
    • Has the added benefit of equipping a Healing Grenade
• Throwing Hammer Solar Titan
  • A good option for the Tractor Cannon user as this player can use a Throwing Hammer for damage while applying the Tractor Cannon debuff
• Banner of War Titan
  • A good means of a team sword damage buff although it is hard to upkeep during a damage phase

Weapons

• Swords
  • Swords deal extra damage to Crota intrinsically and are a great option for this reason and the general layout of the encounter.
  • Lament
  • Falling Guillotine
  • Bequest
  • Goldtusk
• Tractor Cannon
  • Use this shotgun to provide a 30% weaken debuff to Crota and his shield
• Fusion Rifle
  • Use a Fusion Rifle as a good secondary source of damage and it can easily destroy the Oversoul.
• Shotgun
  • Use a Shotgun as a secondary source of damage and easy way to kill the Swordbearer.

Loot Table

• Weapons
  • Word of Crota
    • Void Hand Cannon
  • Abyss Defiant
    • Solar Auto Rifle
  • Swordbreaker
    • Strand Shotgun
• Armor
  • Helmet
  • Arms
  • Class Item

Check out builds and weapon rolls to help in taking down Crota’s End!

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