Destiny: The Taken King - Sunless Cell Strike

The Sunless Cell refers to a type of Hive holding cell that houses an adversary named Alak-Hul, also known as the Darkblade. As a result of rebelling against Oryx and attempting to seize the throne, Alak-Hul was confined to the Sunless Cell to be shrouded in darkness. As a Guardian, you have been tasked with eliminating this formidable foe.

The Sunless Cell Strike takes place on the Dreadnaught. From the starting area, begin to make your way through a series of corridors by following the indicator on your map, until you reach The Founts. Locate an opening in the floor with a few enemies wandering below. You can pick off a few of these enemies from your current floor if you wish. Proceed to drop down the opening to the lower level, and take out the handful of Thrall and Acolytes you encounter.

Continue through the passage, and prepare to fight several shielded Hallowed Wizards up ahead. These guys tend to have a red shield, meaning a Solar weapon has its advantages. The Wizards can be a bit of an annoyance, but shouldn’t be too difficult overall.

Clear out the enemies, and proceed through a door leading to The Asylum. This room contains an elaborate door held shut by a magical incantation. You must deactivate the batteries on the left and right to unseal the door. Each battery is surrounded by several moving platforms, as well as some Wizards and Shriekers. You can shoot the Wizards from a distance, and use a Void elemental weapon to take down the Shriekers if they’re using such shields. Jump across the gap onto the platforms toward each battery, and be careful not to fall into the abyss. Once you have hacked both batteries and eliminated the Hive in the area, proceed through the newly unlocked door.

Head through the door to the next room, and prepare to battle a slew of Taken. Once you eliminate the first set of enemies, several more waves of Taken will spawn near the far door. Continue to kill each wave of enemies, causing a Hive Wizard to spawn. If you have a Nightstalker in your group, the Shadowshot is a great option against these enemies. Work together with your teammates to defeat the Wizard, staying mobile and taking cover behind nearby structures when necessary.

After eliminating the enemies, head through a door on the side of the room. Continue through the corridors, using the indicator on your map to guide you until you reach the Hanging Crypts. You are getting close to Darkblade’s cell, but you must deal with a room full of Shriekers first. Stay up high on the staircase where you entered and start to take out enemies from a distance. Eliminate the nearest Shrieker from the top of the stairs, taking cover behind the walls of your safe area if necessary. If you have to get close to the Shriekers to activate them, nominate a Fireteam buddy to act as bait while the other two deal the damage.

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Begin to move through the room, using the pillars in the area to take cover as you focus on taking out each of the remaining Shriekers. When you’ve cleared out all the Shriekers, prepare to face set of Taken as well as a shielded Wizard.

Once you have eliminated all the enemies, you can now proceed towards Darkblade’s cell. There will be a slew of Thrall as you progress through the passage. Jump down into the dark void, and wait on the dimly-lit circle for Alak-Hul to arrive.

Darkblade lurks in the darkness, wielding a powerful axe that can kill you in one blow. Thrall and Cursed Thrall will also emerge to assist the boss, so focus on eliminating them when they appear, keeping your distance from Darkblade.

When you shift back to focus on Darkblade, try to stay spread out from your teammates to avoid getting taken out in one swipe. He can appear amidst your group and hit you all at the same time. Keep an eye on your radar to track Darkblade’s movements through the darkness to avoid getting ambushed.

If you are brave, step away from the circle and into the darkness, to try and lure Darkblade to an area to target him. Sometimes he even steps into the circle of light, allowing you to keep him in your sights. Since it can be difficult to line up a shot on Darkblade while he’s in the darkness, your best bet is to use weapons that issue a strong burst of damage per shot, such as a rocket launcher or a high power sniper rifle. You can also try to tether him to the ground with the Shadowshot of a Nightstalker, but the reliability of this maneuver is still in the testing stages.

Communicate with your teammates, and coordinate a way to have someone fend off the Thrall while the other two focus on Darkblade. If you are spread out accordingly, this can prevent the team from getting overwhelmed by the surrounding enemies and can also make reviving a downed ally a bit easier.

As his health gets low, Darkblade’s helmet will fall off, giving him a speed increase. However, at that point you should have a good grasp of what you’re doing, so just continue to work together as a team to chip away at his health bar until Darkblade is defeated. After the Strike concludes, your efforts will be rewarded according to the difficulty level of the Strike.

If you want continue your journey through the galaxy, spend some time with our Destiny: The Taken King Walkthrough and Guide.