Jul 19, 2020
The Best Builds for Each Class in the Prophecy Dungeon
A Destiny 2 Guide
Destiny 2’s Prophecy Dungeon is the newest pinnacle activity introduced with Season of Arrivals, and it’s capable of consistently dropping two of the best-looking armor sets in the game. Not only do the new Moonfang armor and reissued Trials of the Nine armor look incredibly dope, they will also be meta relevant for an entire year until Summer 2021 — giving them the longest lifespan for armor in the game. Above all else the fact that it’s temporarily leaving the game at the end of the season means now is the absolute best time to be farming this dungeon.
For the most efficient farming methods you’ll need some specific builds. This guide will break down essential gear and techniques for each class at each encounter to try and keep the grind as efficient as possible.
Mods
Tweaking which mods you place on your armor can be all the difference between getting wiped out every few minutes, and scoring some powerful raid loot. The Taken and Hive mods are especially useful when trying to survive the dungeon’s main types of enemies. They’re only available from The Last Wish and Crown of Sorrow raids respectively, but are worth the effort. Concussive Dampener is also worth running to help against the Taken Knights’ fire pools.
Anti-Barrier Rounds, Breach Resonator, and Taken Spec have us covered on the offensive side, keeping our DPS at a higher and more stable level. The most important piece here, though, is Oppressive Darkness; it’s limited to Void subclasses but the enemy debuff is critical when trying to one-phase bosses. Don’t worry, other subclasses provide too much value at different points in the dungeon for us to be locked into playing Void the entire time if that’s not your vibe. Let’s get into those subclasses now.
Subclasses
Hunters
If you’re running a Hunter then you’re going to want to be running some invisibility in your build. My personal favorite is the bottom tree Nighstalker, Way of the Pathfinder. Its abilities revolve around keeping the build’s grenades and invisibility constantly in play. Vanish in Smoke is a melee ability that uses a smoke bomb to turn you and nearby allies invisible, allowing for easy movement around enemies. Making allies invisible also grants grenade energy, pairing extremely well with our Oppressive Darkness mod. Lockdown makes grenade effects last twice as long and Combat Provision gives melee ability energy back when dealing grenade damage. You’ll want to keep your mobility as close to 100 as possible to keep Gambler’s Dodge available, ensuring you’ll always have invisibility when needed.
Equipping Wormhusk Crown helps with survivability when you’re dodging near enemies all day long. If you’re under 1040 power level you might want to switch over to top tree Nighstalker, Way of the Trapper. The main advantage of this tree is the fact that you can go invisible just by dodging, no need to ever be near an enemy if you don’t want to be. Equipping The Sixth Coyote gives you a second dodge as well, but again, only take this path if you’re feeling a little overwhelmed by the enemies as the skills from the bottom tree work better with the Oppressive Darkness mod.
Titans
There are two subclasses that Titans should be taking advantage of here, the first being top tree Sentinel, Code of the Protector. This main appeal of this subclass, and the reason we’re running it here, is Ward of Dawn. This ability uses up a full bar of super energy to cast a protective bubble around the user, providing those inside with incredible buffs like Weapons of Light and Armor of Light. This is hands down the most efficient subclass to run for damage phases against bosses, and the blinding debuff placed on enemies when using Helm of Saint-14 can be a very good addition.
Bottom tree Sunbreaker, Code of the Siegebreaker, uses its abilities to create Sunspots that grant a damage buff when standing inside them, and recharge Solar abilities faster. Sol Invictus creates Sunspots and restores your health with ability kills. Sun Warrior increases the recharge rate of your Solar abilities and allows your Super to last longer when passing through a Sunspot. Equipping Hallowfire Heart also increases the recharge rate of your Solar abilities, stacking with Sun Warrior to keep the abilities flowing the entire way through the dungeon.
Warlocks
For most of the dungeon a good option for Warlocks is bottom tree Voidwalker, Attunement of Hunger. Feed the Void and Devour use up your grenade ability energy in exchange for health regeneration and additional health with every enemy kill. Insatiable recharges your grenade and extends the duration of Devour with every kill, giving you another opportunity to use that new grenade and regenerate even more health. This cycle of self-healing can carry you through the tougher encounters if managed correctly. Equipping Ophidian Aspect extends your melee range and buffing Devour by proxy. The continuous damage from Vortex pairs well with your Oppressive Darkness grenade for some good damage. Nezarec’s Sin increases your ability energy recharge rate, so it’s always a good option when running Devour.
Warlock’s middle tree Dawnblade, Attunement of Grace, has options for some amazing damage thanks to Well of Radiance. This uses up all of your Super energy to project an aura that both heals and buffs nearby allies. Much like the Titans and their bubble, Dawnblade’s Well should be used when trying to one-phase bosses. We can extend the Well by equipping Phoenix Protocol, this exotic chest piece returns Super energy on kills and assists made while in Well of Radiance. Attunement of Grace can also be used in a fireteam in a support role, using Divine Protection to convert grenade ability energy into a Blessing that heals and provides armor to ally targets.
Weapons
First, let’s acknowledge that the golden standard still remains: The Mountaintop + The Recluse + Anarchy for the sheer DPS potential. The lingering damage from Anarchy pairs well with a few Mountaintop pops to do most of the heavy lifting, while Recluse is a good fallback option in case the crowds get too wild. I’ll go ahead and say this now, though: you don’t need any specific combination of weapons to successfully clear any of the encounters in this dungeon. Certain choices will make certain situations easier, but feel free to experiment with which combinations mesh best with your individual playstyle.
For the large percentage of guardians that don’t carry that specific type of heat (myself included), there are plenty of amazing alternatives that put in the work. Let’s go through each of the encounters and outline some key weapons:
Heaven/Hell Encounter
Kinetic
- Witherhoard: The weapon’s intrinsic perk, Primeval’s Torment, grants the rounds with blight upon impact. The continuous damage (similar to Anarchy) and area-of-effect make for easy map control against the roaming Taken Thrall and Taken Psions, and prove effective against the mostly stationary Taken Knights.
- One Small Step//Threat Level: Both are Rapid-Fire Frame shotguns that output great DPS and pair well with Riskrunner. One Small Step can roll with One-Two Punch and Threat Level can roll with Trench Barrel, both of these perks making it easier to finish off those Knights.
Energy
- Riskrunner: A good alternative to Witherhoard, Riskrunner gives increased Arc damage resistance and output while also giving a chance for shots fired to become chain lightning and return ammo. The Taken Psions and Taken Phalanx boss from the second half of the encounter all shoot Arc damage, and while this gives Riskrunner a perfect opportunity to shine it’s important to pair with a high-damage Kinetic weapon (like a Rapid to efficiently take out the Knights
Power
- Falling Guillotine: This sword rolls with the perk Whirlwind Blade, which increases the weapon’s damage after rapid sword strikes and caps out after five strikes with a 30% damage boost. I’ve always found it best to start off with a heavy attack, stacking Whirlwind Blade until the heavy attack cool down is done, and continue in that pattern. When paired with your Oppressive Darkness grenades and either a Dawnblade’s Well of Radiance or a Sentinel’s Ward of Dawn, the Taken Phalanx boss becomes pretty easy to take out in a single phase.
Wasteland Encounter
Kinetic
- The Long Walk: An Aggressive Frame Sniper Rifle with effective range for the Taken Hobgoblins throughout the encounter. Thanks to perks like Slideshot, Quickdraw, and Outlaw, this weapon can handle itself during the chaotic shifts between long-range duels against the Hobgoblins and the close-quarter brawls against the Taken Thrall and Taken Phalanx.
Energy
- Death Adder: Lightweight Frame makes this weapon a good partner to The Long Walk if you prefer a run-and-gun approach to this encounter. It’s able to clear out Taken Thrall with little effort. Armor-Piercing Rounds also help out against the Taken Phalynx shields.
Power
- Xenophage: This exotic Machine Gun fires Pyrotoxin Rounds, explosive ammunition that make quick work of the Taken Blights and allow you to progress to the next Blight quicker. The Taken Armaments mod and Taken Thrall enemies are extremely helpful here by providing a constant source of heavy ammo on demand.
NOTE!— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
There are a couple of Exotic armor pieces that are very helpful in this specific encounter, and because of their particularity I’ve decided to place them here.
- Transversive Steps: Not only do these boots give Warlocks a boost to sprint speed, they also auto reload the currently equipped weapon. It gives much of the same benefit to Warlocks as Actium War Rig does for Titans.
- Actium War Rig: Titans can take advantage of the Auto-Loading Link perk, which steadily reloads an equipped Auto Rifle or Machine Gun from your reserves. This can constantly feed your Xenophage which will also be beneficial for the next encounter.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Hexahedron Encounter
Kinetic
- Whispering Slab: This combat bow rolls with Swashbuckler perk, increasing damage with either melee kills or kills with this specific weapon. The range and increased Swashbuckler damage make it a good alternative to The Long Walk and prove effective against Hobgoblins and
Energy
- Reckless Oracle: A Rapid-Fire Frame with damage-boosting perks that let you tear through the crowds of enemies once you get warmed up. Kill Clip and Swashbuckler are straight forward damage options, but Demolitionist can also prove useful considering we’d like our Oppressive Grenades available at all times.
- Nature of the Beast: This Precision Frame hand cannon has a modest Impact stat and can roll with the Subsistence and Dragonfly perks, maintaining ammo in the magazine and creating elemental explosions on precision kills. The Precision Frame allows you to be at a comfortable distance away and still hit your shots thanks to the vertical recoil pattern.
Power
- Hammerhead: This legendary Machine Gun can roll with some amazing perks like Rampage, Feeding Frenzy, and Armor-Piercing Rounds just to name a few. The versatility of perks gives you options when approaching this encounter, stack Ringampage and Feeding Frenzy against the Taken Acolytes works wonders.
- Xenophage: Boasting an extremely high Impact and Range for a Machine Gun, this weapon works best when paired with a high-range Kinetic like Whispering Slab. It allows you to maintain your distance behind cover, taking care of Taken Acolytes with your Kinetic before shifting to Xenophage for the Taken Hobgoblins sniping you from above. You’ll be able to take out the Taken Knights that spawn thereafter with just a few well-placed shots, same for the Centurion Echo bosses.
Singularity Section
Sparrow
The first bit of this encounter is a Sparrow/platforming section, testing your ability to traverse down a long and winding road while dodging Taken Vandal snipers and Taken Phalynxes. Using a Ghost with the Speed Demon perk, or a Sparrow with the Transmat Preloader perk, is helpful when trying to shift between your chevro-legs and sparrow. Without these perks to get you on your vehicle faster you become a MUCH easier target for the snipers. You really only need one weapon with good range to deal with the snipers if they’re giving you trouble. You’ll need a few more things for this next part of the encounter, though.
Kinetic
- Witherhoard: The blight damage is incredibly effective in taking out the groups of Taken Psions that spawn at the beginning of this second stage. Just make sure to fire a round at each of the locations they are about to spawn into, evident by the long and obvious Taken animation. This also applies to the Ogre bosses that spawn in after depositing motes, and the final boss at the end of this encounter.
- Whispering Slab: One of your best options for efficient long-range damage to handle the Taken Hobgoblins surrounding the boss in the final part of the encounter.
Power
- Wendigo GL3: This Legendary Grenade Launcher’s Blinding Grenades perk is extremely useful against the Taken Knights and Taken Ogres, stunning them long enough to get a few more shots in and take them out.
- Courageous Surrender: A good alternative to Wendigo and Mountaintop with Spike Grenades and a Rapid-Fire Frame for quick damage against the Knights and Ogres.
- Bad Omens: An Aggressive Frame Rocket Launcher with the incredible perk combination of Cluster Bomb and Auto-Loading Holster. Auto-Loading Holster allows you to quickly swap between this weapon and another (like Witherhoard) back and forth to maintain high DPS.
- Falling Guillotine: One of the best DPS options against the final boss. The strategy with this weapon is to alternate between its heavy attack and Whirlwind Blade perk just like we did during the Phalynx boss fight in the first encounter. Remember to supplement the damage with Oppressive Darkness grenades and either Well of Radiance or Ward of Dawn.
Once defeating the Kell Echo final boss you’ll be rewarded with a piece of beautiful Moonfang Armor. The repeatable nature of the dungeon makes grinding for high stat rolls on these armor pieces a breeze once you’ve gotten all the mechanics down. Remember that the mods, armor pieces, and weapons listed here are meant to be a guideline of what works at each encounter. If you don’t have a specific piece of gear from this guide, or you just really hate a weapon for personal reasons, then just replace it with something else! The beauty of tinkering with builds in Destiny 2 is the ability to reach similar ends through drastically different means. Also, don’t forget that the upcoming transmog system means you’ll eventually be able to make these armor pieces look like any other armor in the game.
Hope you enjoy the dungeon, y’all!
-a mcflyy joint
SOURCES.
