Destiny 2's Beyond Light DLC introduced a new raid called the Deep Stone Crypt. As with previous raids, it also brought in some new raid mechanics and puzzles for players to figure out. While the raid has been out for almost a year now, some might still find it daunting to try with their friends due to its mechanics.

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Moreover, the Season of the Lost has introduced some significant changes to weapon balance. Some strategies previously considered great now pale in the face of the new weapon meta Season 15 introduced. This is also likely to change in the future, so stay tuned for any changes when it comes to preparing for Deep Stone Crypt. Without further ado, here's how to complete the Deep Stone Crypt raid in Destiny 2 and defeat Taniks.

Preparing For The Raid (In Season Of The Lost)

Destiny 2 Sleeper Simulant

The meta in Season 15 favors fusion rifles and linear fusion rifles. Fusion rifles such as Tarantula, Sleeper Simulant, or even One Thousand Voices will make damage phases a cakewalk. Make sure everyone has Particle Deconstruction unlocked on their artifact.

Encounters in this raid will be easy to deal with above 1300 light as the raid is not difficult in terms of enemies and combat. Rather, Deep Stone Crypt is more about puzzles and raid mechanics. For the final boss, having a Well of Radiance and a Ward of Dawn for maximum damage is recommended, so make sure the fireteam has a Titan and a Warlock.

Some encounters will also feature Overload Champions, so some members of the fireteam should equip relevant Overload mods, be it for bow or for blades.

First Encounter: Sparrows

Destiny 2 Eventide Ruins
  • Goal: Find the Crypt entrance

The fireteam starts off in Eventide Ruins. Clear the enemies to open up a hatch leading down a tunnel into an opening where a red bubble is located. This is the beginning of this encounter. Players must use their sparrows or the pikes provided to navigate through the storm from bubble to bubble.

Destiny 2 Player Riding Sparrow In Deep Stone Crypt Raid

While outside the bubble, players will notice a Frostbite debuff. Once this debuff reaches a stack of 10, the player will die. The path also features mines that when detonated slow the player's sparrow down, as well as cliffs that might require players to jump on to rather than using their sparrows.

Destiny 2 Deep Stone Crypt Inside A Safe Bubble

Some bubbles will have enemies inside of them. Clear them out. The final bubble features a Brig, which marks the end of the encounter. After clearing the enemies at the final bubble, they can enter the next area through a nearby door. Below is a map of the path players should take on their sparrows.

Destiny 2 Desolation Sparrow Path

Image courtesy of Jruss1976.

  • Pro-Tip: Have one player scout ahead

If this part proves difficult, only one player can scout ahead for the next bubble. If they die, their ghost returns to their previous bubble where the fireteam can revive them quickly. This way, players won't have to wait for revives for an extremely long time. There's also a hidden chest to discover in this area.

Second Encounter: Crypt Security

Destiny 2 Deep Stone Crypt Upper Level Fuses
  • Goal: Disable Crypt Security

The arena for this first encounter is divided into two: upstairs and basement. Both areas are also divided into dark side and light side. On both sides upstairs, three large fuses sit side by side. The goal of the encounter is to shoot the fuses in a specific order.

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The basement is similarly divided into dark side and light side. On each side, five keypads are located on pillars or walls. These keypads are also visible to players upstairs through windows on the floor.

Destiny 2 Augment Terminal With Operator Augment

The fireteam should split into two groups before the encounter starts: three on the dark side upstairs and three on the light side upstairs. The doors between the two sides will close, hence why players need to team up. To begin the encounter, one player on either side can approach an augment terminal and pick up a red buff called Operator.

Enemies will spawn in, and one of them will carry a second, yellow buff called Scanner, which will hover over its head. Make sure to kill that enemy first and have someone pick it. The person with the Scanner buff should walk around the windows on the floor and check which of the keypads below are glowing, and call them out.

Destiny 2 Deep Stone Crypt Scanner Role

Once they are done with their side, the Scanner transfers their buff to the other side using the augment terminal. Someone on the other side will pick it up and now do the same thing, and call out which keypads are glowing.

Destiny 2 Deep Stone Crypt Basement Map

Image courtesy of Xirenec_

Once the first side is done, the player with the Operator buff can make his way down to the basement by shooting the keypads on the door leading down there. The Operator's job is to shoot the keypads that were called out.

Once this is done, the Operator should deposit their debuff on the augment terminal located in front of the basement's door. Upstairs, someone will pick up the Operator augment, and whoever has the Scanner augment, will deposit it and pass it down to the Operator using the augment terminal.

Destiny 2 Deep Stone Crypt Basement Scanner

The player in the basement now picks up the Scanner role from their augment terminal. On both sides of the pillar, there are three fuses that represent the large fuses upstairs, and the Scanner buff will allow the player to see which of them are glowing. The player needs to call out which one is glowing to the players upstairs, who must then shoot the right one.

If this encounter is not finished in one phase, the player with the Operator buff upstairs should come and open the basement doors for the Scanner. Otherwise, the player in the basement will burn to death. All the while this encounter is happening, enemies are also spawning both upstairs and in the basement, so make sure to help teammates clear them out.

Destiny 2 Scanner Looking Down Into Basement
  • Pro Tip: The player with the Operator buff needs to be patient

The Operator should wait until at least the first Scanner has called out the keypads on their side before going downstairs and shooting the keypads. Starting too early will start the countdown for the basement to go up in flames.

Once inside the basement, the Operator cannot exit, unless they pass their Operator buff to someone upstairs and wait for them to come and open the basement doors from the outside.

Third Encounter: Atraks-1, Fallen Exo

Destiny 2 Deep Stone Crypt Atraks-1 Behind Glass
  • Goal: Defeat Atraks-1, Fallen Exo

The next area features the first big boss in the raid, Atraks-1. The arena is divided into two parts: the bottom floor and the top floor. The bottom floor is where players will first walk in, and the top floor is accessed through space pods at the back of the room. In space, the arena also has airlock chambers on each side, with keypads that an Operator can interact with.

Destiny 2 Deep Stone Crypt Space Pods

The team is divided into two. Three players remain bottom, while three go top. When the encounter starts, one of the players going top should remain bottom and look for an enemy with the Operator augment. Kill them, pick up the augment and head top. The Operator remains top throughout the entire encounter.

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Destiny 2 Deep Stone Crypt Servitors

Meanwhile, the players at the top should look for an enemy with the Scanner augment. Kill the enemy and have one player pick up the Scanner augment. At this point, both at the bottom and top, Servitors will have spawned. In order to begin the boss damage phase, both bottom and top need to kill their Servitors around the same time.

Destiny 2 Deep Stone Crypt Atraks-1 Boss Fight

Atraks-1 will now begin his damage phase. Multiple copies of him have spawned around both arenas, but the first phase is at the top, where the Scanner first appears. The player with the Scanner augment should look around and find the copy of Atraks-1 that's glowing in yellow. After calling out which one it is, all players should burst him down dealing as much damage as possible.

Destiny 2 Deep Stone Crypt Atraks Replication Debuff

He will leave behind a purple orb, which must be picked by a player who is not the Operator. The orb has a debuff called Atraks-1 Replication debuff, with a timer counting down. The Operator needs to open one of the airlocks located on the side of the upper arena, have the player with the debuff walk in and shoot the orb to remove the debuff. The player then exits the airlock as Atraks-1's soul is flushed into space.

Destiny 2 Deep Stone Crypt Atraks-1 At The Bottom Floor

In the meantime, as soon as the damage phase is over, whoever has the Scanner role should pass it down to the bottom team, who must do the exact same thing. Someone at the bottom will pick up the Scanner augment from the terminal, look for the boss that's glowing in yellow, and the players will burst him down with damage.

Destiny 2 Deep Stone Crypt Two Players Going Into Airlock

Then, one of the players will pick up the purple orb and grab one of the pods to head up to space where the Operator will lead them into an airlock and shoot the orb off their head. After that, the player returns bottom to help their teammates.

After eight purple orbs have been ejected into space, the final phase begins and all players should come to the top floor in space. Whoever has Scanner will once again call the right Atraks-1 copy to attack and the team bursts him down.

Destiny 2 Scanner Looking At Atraks-1

Pro-Tips:

  • The time during which players can damage Atraks-1 is very short, so players should count down when to shoot. Shooting too early will start the count down for the boss to disappear and leave his soul behind, so dealing the maximum damage in a short burst is best to complete the encounter quickly.
  • Operators should frequently send down space pods from the top to the bottom team so that players with the Atraks-1 Replication debuff at the bottom can make their way to the top as quickly as possible.
  • Not picking up the Atraks-1 Replication debuff will cause the team to wipe after 40 seconds. However, once the debuff is picked up by a player, the Operator can shoot the debuff off their head to reset the timer if they're running low and haven't made it to an airlock yet.
  • Two people can use the same airlock for the Operator to purge them. This is more efficient, since opening the same airlock twice during the same phase is not possible. Operators can tell which airlock is available by checking which keypad is glowing.

Fourth Encounter: Taniks, Reborn

Destiny 2 Taniks Reborn
  • Goal: Suppress Taniks while depositing nuclear cores

After a jumping puzzle through space, players will arrive at a cockpit of sorts. Taniks will be standing at the front of the arena, near the windows. Approaching him will begin the encounter. The goal isn't to kill Taniks here. Instead, players must grab nuclear cores from machines located on both ends of the room and deposit them into the correct terminals located in front of Taniks.

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The Operator and Scanner roles will make a return, but there's also a new role now: Suppressor. Divide the team into three groups of two, with two players for each role. Here's what each role will be in charge of doing:

Destiny 2 Keypad In Deep Stone Crypt Raid

Operator: On each side of the room, two keypads are located. One on the far end of the room, and one in the middle on a metallic walkway. Every time an alarm sounds, one of these keypads will be glowing, and the Operator needs to shoot it. This will allow other players to grab nuclear cores from the terminals.

Destiny 2 Nuclear Cores Glowing For Scanner

Scanner: In front of Taniks, four terminals are located on each side. When the alarm sounds, two of them will be glowing. It's the Scanner's job to call out which of them so that the players carrying nuclear cores know where to deposit them.

Destiny 2 Deep Stone Crypt Suppressor Shooting Taniks

Suppressor: Around the room, three hovering white balls or drones are located. One is in front of Taniks, one is on his left side on a walkway, and one is on the right side, a bit further up. Suppressors must stand underneath whichever bubble is glowing and shoot the boss to stun him. Repeat this until all white balls have glowed.

Destiny 2 Deep Stone Crypt Deactivated Augment

All of these roles are acquired from enemies that spawn in the first wave. Although players were divided into pairs, only one person at a time in the pair will hold the augment. The second player acts as a backup because after Suppressors have stunned Taniks three times, a player with one of the three roles will get a debuff called Deactivated Augment.

When this happens, that player needs to transfer their role to their pair using any of the augment terminals scattered around the room.

Destiny 2 Player Depositing Nuclear Cores

Players without an active role should be clearing enemies, as well as carrying nuclear cores. However, carrying a nuclear core causes a Radiation debuff. Once this reaches to a stack of 10, the player will die. So, make sure to babysit players who might have a high Radiation buff by swapping the cores between players. The Radiation debuff goes down slowly, so players who just had a core might want to wait a bit before picking up another one or helping a friend.

Once enough nuclear cores have been loaded, the floor between the terminals where the cores were deposited will open up. Players should jump down and run fast as they can down the hallway as the vessel crashes.

Destiny 2 Taniks Reborn In Deep Stone Crypt

Pro-Tips:

  • A lot of enemies will spawn on both sides of the room, so make sure everyone is helping with clearing them out evenly. Operators in particular can do this a lot since they have a minimal role in this encounter.
  • Players with active augments can carry nuclear cores as well. Scanners in particular make great candidates for carrying cores since they know where to deposit them. However, Suppressors should never do this, because their role is to keep Taniks in check so that the cores can be deposited in the first place.

Final Encounter: Taniks, The Abomination

Destiny 2 Taniks The Abomination
  • Goal: Defeat Taniks, the Abomination

Next up is the final boss fight of the raid, in the last arena, which is the outside area players first arrived at when entering the Crypt. The goal is to kill Taniks here by shooting his body to release nuclear cores, deposit them, and then start damaging him during his special damage phase.

Destiny 2 Deep Stone Crypt Final Encounter Map

Image courtesy of emerymcr

The arena is fairly simple. There are three sides: spawn, blue, and orange. Each area has two terminals where nuclear cores need to be deposited. Taniks will rotate towards one of these sides during a phase and summon down a purple blast on the ground that players need to dodge. During this phase, three white balls will appear around Taniks, under which the Suppressor must stand to shoot and stun him.

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Destiny 2 Deep Stone Crypt Purple Detain Bubble

Once Taniks has rotated, players must shoot the boosters on his body to drop two nuclear cores and deposit them into the right terminals. However, players carrying nuclear cores can get detained in purple bubbles during this phase, so an Operator needs to shoot them to release them quickly before they die. Radiation is also an issue, so those carrying cores should have a pair to babysit them and grab the core from them when the debuff gets too high.

Destiny 2 Taniks The Abomination Damage Phase

After 4 cores have been deposited, Taniks will float to the middle of the arena where he first spawned. Electricity and debris will rotate around him in two circles. Players should jump past the outer edge of the circle and begin the damage phase by casting Supers like Well and Ward.

Destiny 2 Taniks Facing Player

Taniks will blast players back during this phase, but players can usually safely jump back in and continue during damage. After that, repeat from the beginning. Once Taniks is low enough, after the damage phase he will teleport away. Players don't need to do anything special here: simply shoot him until he's down and the encounter will be completed.

The three buffs from the previous encounter make a comeback here, as does Deactivated Augment, which is triggered by Suppressors when they stun Taniks for the third time. Players can remain in the same pairs as they were in the previous encounter for simplicity. Each buff/role can be picked up from enemies that spawn during the first wave. Here's what each role does in this encounter:

Destiny 2 Deep Stone Crypt Player Detained

Operator: When players pick up nuclear cores, they might get detained in a large purple sphere. Only Operators can shoot these spheres to free them. This also means the player with an active Operator buff should never carry a nuclear core.

Destiny 2 Spawn Area In Taniks Boss Fight

Scanner: Scanners will be able to tell which terminals in the three areas of the arena need nuclear cores. Scanners can also carry nuclear cores if needed.

Destiny 2 Deep Stone Crypt Taniks Rotating

Suppressors: Before players can deposit nuclear cores, Suppressors must stand the white balls and shoot at Taniks to stun him, similarly to the previous Taniks. The correct ball is the one that is glowing. Once all three balls have glowed and Taniks has been shot, nuclear cores can be deposited.

Destiny 2 Taniks The Abomination Final Fight
  • Pro-Tip: Suppressors need to be patient

When Suppressors stand under the third ball and stun Taniks for the third time, one player with a role will get the Deactivated Augment debuff and will need to switch with their pair using an augment terminal. Due to this, Suppressors should always wait for two players to get detained before stunning Taniks the third time. This way, the Operator does not risk losing their role too early.

Destiny 2 was released on August 28, 2017, and is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Google Stadia, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.

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