WithDestiny 2’snext DLC, The Final Shape, just on the horizon, players have begun preparations for the upcoming Raid, which will be released on June 7th. More and more hype has only built from the final cutscene, marking the end of the Season of the Wish storyline, showingCrow truly ‘confronting’ his past.This is helped further along by rumors that the raid may tie into the storyline of the upcoming DLC, only serving to fuel the fire of players even more.
Bungie has also decided to help players seeking powerful weapons byboosting the ‘shiny’ variantsof the BRAVE arsenal weapons. These guns are not ones to miss, as weapons like Edge Transit, Luna’s Howl, The Mountaintop, and Forbearance are among some of the best weapons in the game going into The Final Shape.
5Find A Raid Team
A Good Team Makes All The Difference
While some contest mode raids have been cleared with less than six Guardians (such as Root of Nightmares), it is the standard that everyone’s first clear is in a group of six as clearing a raid within the first 48 hours of release is a monumental challenge for the average player, meaning that finding a raid group of good, committed players that are all interested in working together is important.
Whilesystems like Fireteam Finderexist and act as an in-game LFG (Looking For Group) service, it is strongly recommended that players use places like LFG Discord servers or form a team with a group of friends rather than entering the unpredictable gauntlet that is Fireteam Finder. The reason for this is that in the Fireteam Finder, players will find Guardians of many ranging skill levels, some of which might be below a standard that is demanded from a challenging experience like a contest mode run.
4Prepare Bounties
Bonus Experience Allows For Early Artifact Mods
Preparing both weekly and daily bounties, often known as ‘bounty prepping’, has been a practice long-established by players for quite some time by both contest raiders and casual players alike. Each season, a new Seasonal Artifact releases, coming with a plethora of new mods that massively alter gameplay. While some may want tochange this system, there is no denying the value the mods have on the meta.
Due to their power, players often take to preparing weekly and daily bounties, up to a total of around 60, storing millions of experiences waiting to be claimed on the release of The Final Shape. While players can complete a ton of bounties on all three characters, this is typically overkill. If playtime is high enough, it should be enough for players to simply enjoy the new content while collecting a few bounties on one character.
Avoid prepping bounties from Ritual Activity vendors (Gambit, Strike, Crucible), as those bounties will be deprecated in The Final Shape in favor of the Pathfinder system. Instead, prioritize destination bounties and bounties with “XP++”.
3Have Builds Ready
Multiple Builds Increase Flexibility
While some raid encounters definitely promote the use ofadd-clear focused builds, there is room for almost all kinds of builds in a raid setting, from DPS setups to team-utility builds to help the team clear the encounter. Having at least one build on each subclass ready to go using the loadout feature allows players to be ready for any and all situations as each subclass typically has different strengths.
Additionally, if players have enough time before the raid releases, completing the campaign on Legendary difficulty on multiple characters will allow players to swap at a moment’s notice, being the ultimate point of flexibility for their team, making them a desired player in any contest raiding party.
2Bring The Best Weapons
Only The Best Weapons Will Do In This Environment
There are so many weapons available inDestiny 2, but there are only a handful that areactuallyworth using in a contest raid setting. While somepowerful options can be crafted, they still require quite a bit of work to obtain, like the crafted Apex Predator or Supremacy from the Last Wish raid.
Some other powerful weapons include the Edge Transit or The Mountaintop from Into the Light’s Onslaught game mode. These weapons are unfortunately not craftable, meaning players will have to hunt for the god-rolls of these weapons the old-fashioned way.
1Get Some Practice In
Practice Makes Perfect
It’s no secret that contest raids are difficult, meaning that players will need to be in tip-top shape for the raid. This means that players should complete some activities that are quite challenging, likeInto the Light’s Pantheon raid gauntletor raids on master difficulties.
Not only will this improve skills, but it can also build synergy with teammates, which is a massive boost for the team. While being individually skilled at the game is obviously beneficial, having good synergy with the rest of the team is arguably just as important, meaning practicing and playing with a consistent team is crucial.
