What once began as the only PvE alternative to Raids, Destiny 2's Nightfall Strikes have undergone a number of major changes since the game released in 2017. With the release of Destiny 2: Shadowkeep, Bungie has entirely reworked the Nightfall system and introduced a brand new challenge called The Ordeal that offers players a chance to earn Pinnacle Gear.
In Nightfall: The Ordeal, players will tackle one of Destiny 2's various Strikes that rotate week to week with a variety of modifiers. On top of that, there are four difficulty tiers from Adept (750 Power) to Master (980 Power) and a new type of enemy known as Champions. Completing The Ordeal with 100,000 score or higher is one of the only ways to earn Pinnacle Gear to help players level above 950 Power.
How to Get Platinum Rewards in Nightfall: The Ordeal
To complete Nightfall: The Ordeal and earn Platinum rewards, it's best to play on either the Legend or the Master difficulty. The former has a recommended power requirement of 950, while the latter is 980 and neither of these difficulties has matchmaking enabled. The higher the difficulty, the more modifiers that are enabled, which naturally leads to tougher enemies that reward more points per kill. The other major factor to take into account is the time limit - Nightfall: The Ordeal has a 20-minute timer and once that time is reached, the player's score will begin to slowly decrease.
Once the Fireteam has been put together, it's important to know what modifiers are going to be present for that week and which types of Champion enemies will need to be defeated. There are three types of Champions in The Ordeal: Barrier, Unstoppable, and Overlord. Barrier Champions will spawn an additional over shield at 50% health and can only be taken down by weapons that are Shield-piercing or have Anti-Shield weapon mods from the new seasonal artifact. Unstoppable Champions have significantly more health than a normal enemy and take less damage per bullet. Finally, Overlord Champions are aggressive, will chase players down (similar to Thrawl), and can only be stopped by abilities or mods that Disrupt an enemy.
The final piece of the puzzle is to kill every single enemy in the Nightfall Strike and watch out for the timer. Missing an enemy will lose out on points toward the overall score and passing the 20-minute timer will result in on-going deductions. Completing the mission with enough score will reward players with a pinnacle drop that can go above the 950 Powerful Gear cap.
Destiny 2 is now selling level boosts to reach 900 Power but even that's not high enough for players to tackle the Master difficulty which is easily the toughest endgame content that Shadowkeep has on offer. Nightmare Hunts has failed to resonate with players since launch, but with Master difficulty right around the corner, there might be another top tier endgame activity to rival Nightfalls.
Destiny 2: Shadowkeep is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. A Google Stadia version also in development.
Source: Polygon