The Court of Oryx is found by spawning into the Level 35 Patrol option on the Dreadnaught. This will deliver you to a region called the Hull Breach. Move forward, hugging the right side wall until you reach a large door that is broken up by several tall pillars. The inside of the door will be lit up with a light, and the floor will be raised up a bit once you enter.
Pass through the door and turn right, going through another. Follow the corridor as it winds to the left, and the back to the right again, delivering you to the Hall of Souls. This will take you back outside, at which point you’ll have to climb up a large set of stairs that also hook to the right. As you reach the top of those stairs there will be a cave-like doorway in front of you. Pass through that door, climbing two more sets of stairs that are both found on the left side of the room you just entered.
At this point, a large, Hive-like rock structure will split the road. It doesn’t really matter, but take the right fork, and run up the large ramp that sits close by. Once at the top, run through the door and turn to your right. Follow the hallway as it curves to the left, bringing you to another room with yet another set of steps off to the left. Turn left when you reach the top and you will have arrived at the Court of Oryx.
Court of Oryx - Defeat Thalnox
Court of Oryx - Defeat Kagoor
Court of Oryx - Defeat Bulwar
Currently we know that the Court of Oryx has three tiers, but there’s a good chance that more will be revealed as Guardians continue to increase their Light levels and discover more secrets around the Destiny universe. For now, however, we’ll stick with telling you about the three we know about.
As you enter the hallway prior to the Court of Oryx you’ll see statues on either side. Along the left wall will be three, and beyond them is the arena that you will do your fighting. The statue closest to the arena will trigger the lowest tier of the Court of Oryx, and the one to its left will trigger the second tier. As you would expect, the third tier is represented by the statue that sits the furthest away from the arena, and this is the most difficult.
Each tier has a recommended Light level, although we’re not exactly sure what the third tier level is just yet. Each one also requires a specific type or Summoning Rune that you must sacrifice in order begin your session in the Court of Oryx, which we’ve detailed down below.
Reciprocal Runes are the easiest to find, as you only need to complete quests and wander around the Dreadnaught to get your hands on some. We managed to score about five in just a few hours of play time during the launch day for The Taken King. These shouldn’t be a problem to get your hands on.
The Stolen Runes are more difficult to obtain, and we’re not exactly sure of all the activities that drop them. You should be able to find them by completing tasks on the Dreadnaught, and we also suspect that this Tier 2 Summoning Rune could drop from Strikes, although we’re not sure just yet. Once you have a Tier 2 Rune, you must charge it by completing three Tier 1 events in the Court of Oryx.
Antiquated Runes are obviously the hardest to get your hands on, and we’re not sure how they are obtained. We’re seeing a lot of chatter about it dropping in the King’s Fall Raid, which makes sense given that it doesn’t appear anyone has their hands on it yet. There are also rumors in our circle of Destiny players that there is a chance these will drop in Nightfall activities, as well as possibly from completing the Tier 2 event in the Court of Oryx.
We’ve told you how to find the Court of Oryx, and how to begin one of the challenges once you do, so now we’ll move on to some general information about what to expect when the preparation stops and the fighting begins.
Take note of several things about the arena where the Court of Oryx takes place. If you look inside prior to placing a Summoning Rune in one of the statues, you’ll see that there is a mist or goo that is on the floor. This is poisonous, so unless you have activated the Court of Oryx, stay out. There is also a platform with a portal on the opposite side, and this is where the player who places the Rune must go to activate the boss fight. It’s also the location where you can pick up your loot once the fight is over.
When the battle begins, pay close attention to the on-screen instructions that pop up as the boss (or bosses, depending on the tier) enters the arena. These will generally give you a hint as to how you can complete the fight. We have yet to play a Tier 2 or Tier 3 Court of Oryx, but we can provide you with some information on the easiest setting.
The first tier of the Court of Oryx has six potential bosses that enter the arena, and they are going to be Level 36 enemies. It is recommended that you have at least 190 Light. This is an ideal fight for a three-person Fireteam that has just completed The Taken King story and are looking to see what the Court of Oryx is all about. In no particular order, here are the bosses.
This member of the Cabal isn’t particularly difficult to beat, but you must have a solid Fireteam to do so. You see, his shield is only active when his lower level friends are around. Focus on killing all of the supporting cast, and then on dealing damage to Bracus Horu’usk for several seconds. Our Fireteam found that having two people destroy adds, while the third tracked and prepared to take out the boss, was the best strategy. We even used the sword.
The key to defeating Krughor is to focus on the Cursed Thralls that spawn into the area around him. We have all seen (and come to dread) Cursed Thralls during our time in Destiny, but in this fight they can actually work to your advantage. You see, the only way to lower Krughor’s shield is to detonate (shoot) Curse Thralls near him. When his shield is down, focus your damage on the big guy until it comes back up. Repeat this process until he is dead.
Lokaar is the saddest of all the bosses in the Court of Oryx, as the special ability of this Wizard is to teleport, only doing so causes the guy to become tired, making him easy prey. There really aren’t any special tricks here. Just bring a weapon that matches his elemental shield, and then lay a beating on him to ensure that he knows his place - at the bottom of the Tier 1 totem. Just be aware that Lokaar sometimes teleports to the hallway with the statues where you can’t hit him.
This boss is very similar to that Prison of Elders boss that switched up his elemental shield each time you lowered it. In fact, he works in exactly the same manner. Basically, this Hive Knight will have either an Arc, Solar or Void shield. Lower it and do some damage, and then prepare for him to replenish it a few seconds later. When the shield comes back up it can be any of those three damage types, and is chosen at random. It’s best that each member of your team is equipped with a different elemental damage type.
It’s like Bungie said, “Hey, Lokaar kind of sucks, so let’s make more Wizards that are completely OP.” Okay, so it’s not that bad, but it’s a pain. These three Wizards don’t do anything special, but you must kill them all within seconds of each other or they will respawn. The strategy here is simple - drop each of their health bars to about 10 percent, and then have your Fireteam burn them in quick succession. Rocket launchers that track their targets are useful for this, although not required.
This is perhaps the most fun of all the Tier 1 fights, as these two are both Knights, but one is Hive and the other is Taken. Their shields only lower when they are close together, so the Hunter - Nightstalker is a big winner here. Get them close together, tie them up, and then have your Fireteam focus on bringing one of the Knights down. Once the first is dead and gone forever, the shield on the second one will drop, and it won’t ever replenish. It’s a pretty cool fight to participate in.
If you plan to spend a lot of time with The Taken King, we highly suggest that you visit and bookmark our Destiny: The Taken King Walkthrough and Guide.
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