Bosses in the Destiny franchise are notorious for either being complete pushovers or some of the hardest foes in the genre. While most of the game's hardest enemies can be found in raids, there are certainly quite a few bosses that hold their own in other activities.
The opposite is true as well. Some raid bosses are complete pushovers when compared to typical strike bosses or Public Event enemies. No matter the activity, there is a wide range of foes to defeat in Destiny 2. Here are the 5 most powerful and weakest bosses in Destiny 2 from a gameplay standpoint. Lore is not taken into account for these rankings.
10 Powerful: Likeness Of Oryx
Many players forget just how powerful the bosses inside of Reckoning can be. The Hive Knights are definitely a force to be reckoned with, but they can't hold a candle to the strength of the Likeness of Oryx.
This boss has a wipe mechanic, floats atop a deadly pool of Taken fluid, fires projectiles from a distance, and has more health than most raid bosses. Unless Heavyweight is an active modifier, do not expect to down this boss in a couple of seconds.
9 Weak: Kalli The Corrupted
Destiny 2's Last Wish raid begins with one of the easiest bosses in the game. Kalli the Corrupted introduces players to the image managing and DPS checks that lie ahead. After players have obtained high Power and good weapons since Forsaken released, this encounter has lost most of its bite. Downing Kalli is easy since players can stun her at any plate using Anarchy or use Falling Guillitone to one-phase her.
8 Powerful: Gambit Prime Primeval
In the same vein as the Reckoning bosses, many players that don't frequent Gambit might be surprised to see the Primeval on this list. Make no mistake, these bosses pack a serious punch.
Most Primevals can kill players in seconds with tons of AoE attacks or projectile blasts, but the true fear lies in the ability for the enemy team to invade during the boss fight, adding additional pressure and the ability for the boss to heal itself. Gambit Prime makes this even harder thanks to Primeval Slayer stacks accumulating with every envoy section instead of overtime like normal Gambit.
7 Weak: Grask, The Consumed
Lake of Shadows is one of the easiest strikes in Destiny's history with its short encounters that can mostly be skipped that culminate into an underwhelming boss fight. Grask, The Consumed is a Taken Phalanx with a slightly higher than average health pool. Downing this enemy only takes seconds with a Sword or One-Two Punch Shotgun. He is so weak that players resorted to using Swords on the boss when Lake of Shadows was the weekly Grandmaster Nightfall to down him before enemies could spawn.
6 Powerful: The Sanctified Mind
On PC, the Sanctified Mind is the ultimate test of communication and multitasking since so many mechanics are in motion. On console, this boss is a buggy, frame-dropping mess that makes it one of the game's most frustrating bosses.
No matter the platform players decide to complete the Garden of Salvation raid, the final boss has a wide range of mechanics to keep track of that make this one of Destiny's hardest raid encounters. Managing enemy waves, motes, Cyclops spawns, portals, and tethering to rebuild land are just a few things players need to track during this hectic fight.
5 Weak: Protheon, Modular Mind
The Inverted Spire contains Protheon, Modular Mind. This enemy is a giant Vex boss that is an absolute joke to defeat in today's sandbox. A few Sword swings or Xenophage rounds are enough to turn this final boss into a pile of metal in seconds.
4 Powerful: Val Ca'uor
Val Ca'uor is the final boss of the Spire of Stars raid and is easily one of the most powerful bosses in the franchise. The last two encounters of this raid are excruciating as they require an incredible amount of micro-management from all players all while fighting waves of Cabal in a small arena.
The boss does little in the actual fight, but the mechanics to bring the bosses' shields down are something else. Players need to manage orbs, engulfing orbs, Greed debuff stacks, image callouts, retainer buffs, standing on plates, and hordes of Cabal, all while under a time limit that will wipe sloppy fireteams. LFG teams have a hard time beating this boss, and with good reason.
3 Weak: Dominus Ghaul
Bungie's attempt at making a spectacular final boss ended up with more spectacle than proper substance. Dominus Ghaul was hyped up to be Destiny's scariest antagonist that could give Oryx a run for his money, yet his boss fight amounts to fighting a few Cabal adds then spamming Supers until Ghaul dies.
Infinite Supers make this fight incredibly easy. The uninspired arena gives little way for interesting engagements as players have the high ground against most foes. Cabal enemies don't stand a chance against a Guardian's Super, which they have the entire fight. Even without Supers, Ghaul's health pool is so low that he can die to practically any Heavy weapon in seconds. This was an anti-climatic way to end Destiny 2's Red War campaign.
2 Powerful: Riven Of A Thousand Voices
It wasn't even a contest. Riven of a Thousand Voices, when not cheesed, is the hardest and most powerful boss the Destiny franchise has ever seen. Oryx might have created the Taken and caused mass chaos in the original Destiny, but the events of that DLC allowed Riven to corrupt the Dreaming City and begin Savathun's plan. Besides, Riven can turn any wish into reality with unforeseen consequences.
As a boss fight, Riven is Destiny's toughest encounter. Two teams of three must work synchronously to cleanse images in the arena, damage Riven, and destroy certain eyes on her face or risk defeat. Do this a couple of times to reach the top of the tower, fighting an onslaught of Taken while Riven spews flame and exposing more eyes to be destroyed in a certain order. One mistake from any fireteam member is a wipe. Beating this boss gives a degree of satisfaction that nothing in Destiny 2 can compare to.
1 Weak: The Mad Warden
Such a long strike amounts to the game's easiest boss fight. The Warden of Nothing strike is a great trip down the Prison of Elders, complete with the arena and small snippet of the game mode introduced in House of Wolves. Instead of collecting treasure, however, players fight a corrupted Servitor that dies faster than any other foe in the game. A few rockets, a Falling Guillotine heavy attack, or most Supers can down this foe in a second or less.