Destiny guide: Moon story missions walkthough and guide
Destiny guide: Moon story missions walkthrough and guide
Destiny players will travel to the moon on their second stop in a trip across the Solar System.
Moon: The Dark Beyond Level 6 Story Mission
Our first moon-venture begins quietly enough. There aren’t any enemies in the initial areas you explore if you’re following your radar, so as long as you’re heading in the vague direction of the goal, feel free to poke about - there’s lots to see.
Instead of spinmetal, the moon offers helium coils, so listen for their jangling and grab any you find along the way. Also keep an eye out for chests; they tend to be easier to spot than on Earth, and, this being a higher level area, have better loot inside. Almost every cluster of building will yield at least one randomly-spawning chest every time you pass through.
We’re on the trail of a lost Guardian, who recently recaptured the nearby Accelerator - the big structure that looks like monorail and the attached buildings - from the Fallen. Deploy your ghost at the objective, exit the room, and said Fallen will make a bid to take it back.
Assuming you're standing facing out of the Accelerator complex back the way you came, the first wave spawns ahead and to your right. Watch out for the stealth Vandals and a Captain.
The second wave spawns directly in front of you, and isn’t much to worry about, being mostly Dregs, but before it’s finished the third wave arrives on your left. It boasts both a Servitor and a souped-up Captain. Take the Servitor down fast to stop it healing its friends, keep moving till pick off the weaker foes, then enjoy a duel with the Captain, cat-and-mousing around the patchy cover.
Facing along the path of the now-active Accelerator, travel along the left side and jump on top of the smallish, free-standing building. Look up at the Accelerator and you should see a Dead Ghost.
A Dreg will be zooming around on a Pike; shoot him - not the vehicle! - and you can claim it for yourself. It makes travelling through the foes ahead faster and easier. Watch out; it takes damage and will explode when destroyed. Use R2 to fire weapons; stick to short bursts as rate of fire decreases over time.
Follow your radar, but when the path forks go left, passing a damaged dome. Pick off enemies here if you like, but save exploring the dome and beyond for later. For now, stop just past the dome where some yellow barriers guard against driving off a cliff into a crevasse. Walk to the edge and look down to spot a ledge playing host to a Dead Ghost.
Watch out for two Dregs on Pikes as you move on. Taking them out is good practice for PvP. If you lose your Pike, don’t worry; there are two more parked just further along the path. There’s a knot of enemies on your right before you reach them, including a Captain, but if this worries you, dash past, grab the Pike, come back and teach them the error of their ways.
Stay on the path until you reach the Anchor of Light, a cluster of buildings and structures. Your goal is the cake-shaped building straight ahead of you; hope off your Pike and climb in. The easiest way in is by a ramp found on the left side, facing it from the path you came in by. Deploy your Ghost at the objective.
Before you follow your radar to the next objective - optionally retrieving your Pike - you might want to take a trip to a nearby Dead Ghost. See the boxout if you decide to make the trip.
Following your radar takes you past a structure crawling with enemies, including a Servitor. Cruise past or dispatch them as you like; it’s worth searching all the buildings for chests if you fancy a bit of loot. When you’re done, the path passes through a narrow but short ravine, takes a turn, and runs into a rock wall - but don’t be fooled: you CAN drive a vehicle up it!
This area is the Temple of Crota. Deploy your Ghost over the downed Guardian to trigger a cutscene - and a welcoming committee.
As usual with the Hive, swarms of Thralls are the first - and a recurrent - threat. The Acolytes and Hallowed Acolytes tend to hang back, and once you’ve picked off the frontlines, will try to lure you through the doors and into an ambush.
Once inside, you’ll face a number of Acolytes and even a souped-up Wizard. Put them down. There’s a Gold Chest near this structure, but it’s not accessible during this mission; you’ll need to come back on Patrol or during the Chamber of Night, so just retrieve the Dead Ghost to complete the mission.
Moon: The World’s Grave Level 7 Story Mission
Remember that dome we bypassed before? We’re heading back there. You’ll face a group of Fallen on approach to the dome, as well as just inside. Pass through and head down to the entrance to the Hive lair; a couple of Hallowed Knights lurk here, waiting for you.
Enjoy the atmospheric downwards climb or just jump down level by level; there are no enemies here, despite the tension. At the bottom, don’t enter the narrow corridor right away - follow the water to your right, into a crevice under the ramp, to find your first Gold Chest on the moon.
In the next chamber you can do a bit of sniping rather than rush in, but watch out for the Knight’s ranged attacks. Don’t get too cocky, either; a little further in you’ll meet a Wizard and a couple of Acolytes lurking in a very small arena.
The next room hosts quite a big fight. A Tomb Ship warps in to kick things off, but the usual wave of Thralls is the first threat. The ramp down into this room makes an excellent funnel, but don’t get so distracted hanging back and sniping that you let the swarms get you.
The fight is complicated by a Wizard and a Shrieker (the first you will have seen, following this guide) as well as the now inevitable Knights. Hang back far enough and the Shrieker will remain inactive so you can pick off the Wizard comfortably. When you’re ready, move forward. The Shrieker can only be damaged when it is open, so pop a rocket in it (or unleash your machine gun) when it fires up. Be wary: it unleashes projectiles when it goes down, and these hit, ricochet and hit again, for significant damage.
Before you exit this area and enter a Darkness zone, turn back to face the room, then hug the right wall and check out the other side of the gorge to spot a Dead Ghost.
If you would like to collect another nearby Dead Ghost, now’s your chance; check the boxout for directions.
Whether you picked up Dead Ghost #5 or elected to leave it, follow your radar around the Circle of Bones, fighting off the enemies you meet. You’ll encounter Wizards and Acolytes, mostly. Depending on which way you approach, you may need to deal with one set of reinforcements from a Tomb ship. Do a decent job of clearing them out ahead of the boss so you can retreat to safety if necessary.
The boss is in a tiny enclosed arena with a Wizard so if you have a grenade or Super ready you can kick things off nicely. Rockets do well here, too. The enemy is generally too stupid to follow you back out, especially if there’s at least two of you drawing their attention from the pair of entrances, so this shouldn’t be too hard providing you don’t rush in and get stuck in the middle. Watch out for the Hallowed Acolytes, though - en masse, they’re a headache. Once you’ve killed the Knight, you can stay to clean up or just leg it with the key, which you pick up automatically.
Following your radar, you’ll pass through an ornate room and enter a tunnel. Watch out - around the bend is a nest of Thralls, including your first Cursed Thralls. These little bastards explode when they die, so don’t melee them.
In the next room you’ll be attacked by Thralls, a couple of Acolytes and a Knight. Dispatch and climb to enter the final room of The World’s Grave.
Getting too close to the worshipping Hive triggers a battle, so take advantage of their inaction to get a few hits in. The real threat here are the two Knights and their hard-hitting cannons. Either take them down hard and fast during the initial confusion, or smack a few Acolytes to thin the ranks, and then retreat to the cover of the entrance, popping out to snipe.
Once this battle is done, don’t immediately deploy your Ghost. There’s a Gold Chest in the water in this room. Once you’ve got it, feel free to deploy and trigger the next - and final - battle.
Take out the Cursed Thralls quickly - not only does this minimise risk, but it may damage nearby foes. Keep an eye on the back platform, where ranged Knights and Wizards spawn. The final wave is a tense affair, with a couple of melee Knights charging up the ramps towards you.
Next: The Sword of Crota and Shrine of Oryx.
The Sword of Crota: level 7 Story Mission
This mission contains an unusual combat encounter and is one of my favourites so far.
Follow your radar along the road past the Accelerator, stopping to take down any enemies you fancy. On the road to the Hellmouth you’ll pass from a twisty road to an open area before going through a break in a wall; there's a Gold Chest here, nestled in some rocks to your left.
If you'd like to collect a Dead Ghost, follow the directions in the boxout before proceeding.
Follow your radar to the first Hive prince. There’s a Wizard here to welcome you, and you’ll have to take down multiple Acolytes before the Knight spawns. He’s a little tougher than normal, and uses that horrid cannon thing, but he’s not too tough.
Follow your radar down the road; you may as well take a vehicle as it’s a dull trek. Fight up the staiors through a mass of Acolytes, and then into the structure itself, watching out for the Knights just beyond the doors.
A mass of Hallowed Knights and Acolytes awaits you a little further in. The further you press in, the more spawn, so save yourself a headache and proceed slowly. Once they’re dead, don’t go running down the golden-lit path; search the edge of the abyss for a Dead Ghost.
You’ll fight plenty of Acolytes and Thralls as you push into this room, and eventually, a buffed-up Wizard. Once everything’s down, you can grab the Sword of Crota. Be prepared: s**t’s about to get real.
You will now be in third-person. Use the left bumper to throw grenades as usual, but your melee attack now swings the sword, teleporting your forward slightly, and the right trigger does a ground pound. Activating your Super does a more powerful ground pound with and area of effect damage bonus. These attacks are quite forcefully auto-aimed, so don't stress too much; point and shoot.
Take out Thralls and Acolytes as soon as you see them; you don’t want to be swarmed or jabbed at by projectiles while you’re deulling the Knights. You’ll have to face three Knights, one by one, and they’re quite tough - but you’re quicker, and can use your double jump to escape while your shields regenerate. Dash in with sprint, use a Super and a few attacks, and run away; rinse and repeat.
Shrine of Oryx Level 8 Story Mission
From the starting point, head up the stairs, taking out the Acolytes, and proceed into the Hellmouth, taking out the three Knights that await you just inside.
You won’t meet any enemies till you’ve progress into the Gatehouse, and it soon becomes clear why - the Fallen are invading. You’ll now have to fight both groups of enemies, but you can use their distraction to thin the ranks before fully commiting yourself; pick off members of both sides before they both, inevitably, turn on you.
Once you’ve cleared this firefight, trek down the halls to the room where you found the Sword of Crota. Here there’s a fight between a Fallen squad and a Wizard; you should first try to take out the Vandal sniper, as having him behind you as you battle the Wizard is a definite no-no.
In the next chamber, you’ll fight a Baron - a very nasty souped-up Captain. Treat him like any other of his kind and you’ll be fine.
Follow the radar, battling through the Circle of Bones and the Hall of Wisdom until you reach the Darkness Zone. You'll have to push through another morass of contesting Fallen and Hive, including a cannon Knight. Don't hang about to pick off the reinforcements; push on to the heart of the shrine, through a group of Acolytes, a Knight and a Wizard and later a knot of Dregs battling with Acolytes, which you should wipe out completely.
You'll soon come across an Ogre. These huge foes fire lasers from their faces, so if they can see you, they can hurt you. Hitting them with a Gunslinger’s Swarm Grenade or a Titan’s Flashbang Grenade will cause them to close their “eyes” giving you a good chance to smack them around. Otherwise, just keep your distance and use cover, trying to circle him faster than he can lumber about. Happily, if he becomes enraged, he won’t use his face laser - but he will charge use, unleashing huge melee attacks. This one is quite easy to drop with a heavy weapon, though, as you have plenty of breathing room on approach.
Just one more Knight and a group of Thralls stand between you and the shrine, and then you're free to look around for a Dead Ghost.
The shrine itself is initially guarded by Acolytes, who should be eliminated; you need to clear the room to trigger the next stage of the quest. As usual, check that your weapons are reloaded before you deploy your Ghost at the objective marker.
The boss here is Sardok, the Eye of Oryx Knight, and he doesn't keep you waiting, but turns up in the first wave of minions. He'll bring in at least two more waves of reinforcements, but your best bet is sto pick off the Acolytes and Thralls before tackling the big guy. In the end, though, he's just one Knight - and you're a Guardian. The mission ends with Sardok's death, and you'll be rewarded with a unique item, which can be traded in at the tower for a new weapon.
Next: Chamber of Night, the Moon's final mission.
Chamber of Night Level 8 Story Mission
Deploy your Ghost at the nearby objective marker and the hop on your Sparrow and zoom around to the next one. This is the area where you found Dead Ghost #6, so grab it if you haven’t already.
There are several knots of Fallen around the Hellmouth; you know the drill by now, either kill them or zip past, unconcerned. Your next objective is the Temple of Crota; approaching the door triggers a cutscene.
Once the cinematic is over, you’ll enter the Temple and fight an Ogre, a cannon Knight and a couple of acolytes. Once the room is clear, head to the ground floor and look for the path leading downwards.
As you progress around the following room, which has a distinctive structure hanging in the middle above a pit, you’ll fight some Thralls and Acolytes; a Wizard and some Acolytes; and a Knight and some Acolytes. Before you leave, grab the nearby Gold Chest from a platform on the side of the pit.
Through the next set of corridors you’ll fight a few more enemies, but there’s nothing too challenging until you reach the Hive Seeder. When you exit this room you’ll be attacked by three melee Knights and a Cursed Thrall. Don't forget to grab the Dead Ghost nearby if that's your bag; see the boxout for details.
In the room beyond, you’ll start off with a few Acolytes and progress through a Wizard and another knot of three melee Knights. Luckily you have plenty of room to move; double jumping to a high platform temporarily discombobulates the Knights.
This mission is fight after fight so you won’t be surprised to learn the next room includes a Hallowed Knight at the far end in addition to multiple waves of Thralls and the Wizard who pops up immediately.
You’re nearly done, though; the next room houses the Syphon Witches, three nasty Wizards. They won’t notice you till you get close, so think about your approach first - you might want to put one down immediately with a Super or heavy weapon, to make facing the next two easier. Once the three are dead, the battle continues, so don’t get cocky or use up all your ammo.
You'll face an initial wave of Thralls, Cursed Thralls, and Acolytes capped off by three Knights. The next wave brings a Wizard. Don't waste your heavy ammo on these waves, because the third one delivers a unique Ogre.
You know how to fight an Ogre, but it’s hard in this circular arena with no safe hidey holes or room to retreat. If you’re going solo, this will be a tough fight, as you’ll be constantly swarmed. One method of shaking your enemies long enough to recharge your shields is to circle the room at a spring, double jumping between cover to make you harder to track with projectiles. Occasionally spin in the air and lob a grenade or fire a shottie into the Thralls behind you. More will keep spawning, alas.
The mission ends when the battle does - assuming you survive - and so does your moon-venture. To Venus!
Be sure to check the rest of our Destiny guide for more tips and info.