Destiny alpha: how to beat the Devil's Lair Strike
Having trouble passing the Destiny's alpha's single co-op raid? Don't worry - you're not alone. Here's how to do it like a pro, before time runs out!
At time of writing, you only have just over an hour to get the Strike under your belt before the Destiny alpha ends, so I'll make this brief and to the point. Get in there and get it done, soldier; no complaints.
The Strike is in three sections. You begin on the outskirts of a battle between the Hive and the Fallen. Ignore it and run to your nav marker; these guys will keep respawning. After a ramble through the ruins, you'll reach the first of three encounters - a three wave battle - after which it's only a short stroll to the mini-boss and final boss.
Surviving the first section
Don't worry - this is the hardest part of the Strike. In this build, you don't seem to need to defend your Ghost so feel free to use the terrain to your advantage. Key points to remember are to split up slightly, so you and your teammates are flanking enemies, but to remain close enough for revives.
If you have a mic, co-ordinate with your teammates - one of you focus on picking off the smaller enemies and defending the frontlines while the other two combine efforts to bring down larger foes such as Fallen Captains and Hive Wizards. Watch for the camouflaged snipers - they really hurt.
When the third wave is nearly over, you'll be attacked by a buffed-up Captain; try to keep your distance. Don't wander down the side tunnel; it leads to a Hive lair you can't defeat.
How to kill the Devil Walker
This is laughably easy with a good crew. First, keep behind cover and pick off the smaller enemies - watch out for the Fallen Captains.
Each of you should then take up a position far from your teammates. Facing the Devil Walker from the entrance to this area, good spots are behind the large pillar on the left; in the tunnel on the far right; and in the horizontal tunnel behind a bank of earth right in the middle. The Devil Walker will be constantly turning to face its most dangerous target of the moment, who ought already to be in retreat, giving the other two Guardians time to strike.
You'll need a long range weapon. Keep your distance, and stay mobile. The boss has two major attacks you need to watch. If his turret lights up blue, move away. If a red targeting laser comes anywhere near you, leg it. (Remember; sprinting will cancel reload actions, and hitting reload or scope will cancel you out of a double jump much faster.) Both of these attacks do splash damage so really put some space between you and the projectiles. The two side positions need to back off further between attacks as they're more exposed. Just shoot, get behind cover while the Devil Walker fires, rinse and repeat.
You need to shoot the Devil Walker on the legs; it takes very little damage anywhere else. If you shoot one leg enough to break off its armour, the Devil Walker will fall down and its case will open, exposing its vulnerable core. (If you don't do this, you can still win - it just takes a lot longer.) The two Guardians on the sides should charge in and unleash supers and grenades; if you have a Hunter with you, it's best if they stay in the central spot, because they can use their super to snipe - it's easiest to hit from the left bank. Unarmoured legs are not worth shooting, so change targets when you've knocked one leg out.
When the field fills with enemies, retreat to someplace entirely safe from the Devil Walker and take them out, then return to continue hammering the boss.
If you run out of ammo check the puddle in front of the Devil Walker's stage, and the stage itself, where plenty of downed Shanks should provide ammo drops. If the Devil Walker is firing or about to fire at a teammate you can usually nip in and grab some ammo, then go on the lam before you're hit. If you keep running out of ammo, consider buying some ammo refill packs at the Tower before setting out, or use a slower, heavier weapon.
When the Devil Walker finally falls, the door behind it opens and a number of Fallen Dregs and Vandals will flood out. Don't let them take you by surprise; this is a hot spot for first timers to party wipe.
Defeating Sepiks Prime
Again, this is pretty easy with a good crew - but I also did it on my own once when my teammates dropped out, and I'm terrible at shooters, so! The same tactics you used on the Devil Walker work here. Split up, and take turns damaging and then hiding from Sepiks Prime. The servitor's attacks are easy to avoid but hit very hard; you won't survive more than two direct hits.
Sepiks Prime will not take damage until you have killed off all the Fallen populating the boss arena when you first walk in.
Sepiks Prime takes 150% damage in the exact centre of its "eye" but unless you have a very slow powerful weapon it's not worth waiting for him to turn completely before firing. Do not attempt to melee Sepiks Prime. Do not attempt to shotgun Sepiks Prime.
Switch to your secondary weapon when fighting the smaller foes; a shotgun is ideal as you cat and mouse through the narrow corridors. Don't forget your super, grenades and melee power; apart from the Hunter's super, they're not much chop against the floating eyeball so you're not wasting anything.
Towards the end of the battle, things get much harder; with a full fireteam of three, you'll face constantly spawning groups of two Fallen Vandals and one Captain. It's best to have two Guardians keep a lid on this - the Captains are deadly - while the last Guardian keeps plugging away at Sepiks Prime. You'll chip him down eventually, and should find plenty of ammo dropped by the smaller foes.
Destiny arrives on PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One in September. The alpha ends at midnight PST today, but these tips should carry through to the June 17 Destiny beta. How did you go fighting off Sepiks Prime and his underlings? Any more tips to add?