Destiny 2 Grandmaster Nightfall guide (October 5-12): Hollowed Lair

Destiny 2 Year 2 Forsaken cover, Hollowed Lair (Image via Bungie)
Destiny 2 Year 2 Forsaken cover, Hollowed Lair (Image via Bungie)

The past seven weeks of Destiny 2 Season of the Lost have prepared Guardians for this moment. Grandmaster Nightfall is back, alongside one of the hardest-hitting strikes in the game, known as Hollowed Lair. With players facing every type of Scorn enemy this season, Bungie added a couple of new things to the mix, including Baby Screebs and incoming stasis damage.

Hollowed Lair is probably one of the shortest strikes in this season's Nightfall tally, compared to the likes of Corrupted, Devil's Lair, or even Proving Grounds. The main thing that makes this Nightfall harder is the number of enemies inside a closed space and the modifiers which are unique to this strike.


Hollowed Lair Grandmaster Nightfall guide for Destiny 2 Season of the Lost

1) Modifiers and enemies

Hollowed Lair boss, Fanatic (Image via Bungie)
Hollowed Lair boss, Fanatic (Image via Bungie)

Destiny 2's Hollowed Lair is a strike activity with a total of three bosses and a lot of Champions. The primary modifiers that the Guardians will have to face are Festering Rupture, where Scorn Stalkers will spawn baby screebs after death. These tiny creatures can even go underneath and explode at the Guardian's feet, carrying the potential of wiping an entire fireteam.

Fanatic's Zeal is also one of the two unique modifiers for this strike, where incoming Stasis and Splash damage from enemies increases. In addition, the Guardians will face the Overload and Unstoppable champions. There are also arc shield enemies in the boss room and many voids and solar shields throughout the activity.


2) Loadout and weapons

Warlock shadebinder (Image via Bungie)
Warlock shadebinder (Image via Bungie)

With countless scorn spawning inside closed rooms, the stasis will be the Guardian's main ally here. Bleakwatchers in Warlock and Touch of Winter in Hunters will be comparatively easier than using light subclasses in this Nightfall.

With Overload Champions alongside solar and void shielded enemies, Guardians can go for Destiny 2's exotic solar bow, Ticuu's Divination, and void bow Le Monarque. These weapons inflict overtime damage on enemies for a short period, granting an additional chance for Overload debuff.

Sleeper Simulant (Image via Bungie)
Sleeper Simulant (Image via Bungie)

In addition, Ticuu's Divination can track all the enemies in Destiny 2 within a small section. So any baby screebs going underground or invisible to the naked eye can be tracked using this weapon. For heavy, Guardians can go for One Thousand Voices or Sleeper Simulant. Since only one exotic weapon can be held at a time, anyone running an exotic heavy can replace their energy slot with a legendary void or solar bow.

Hunter can go for Aeon Gauntlets to guarantee a chance of dropping ammunition since all three Destiny 2 fireteam members are recommended to run stasis. One Warlock can go for Stag headgear for reduced incoming damage, and another can run Eye of Another World for increased ability regeneration.

Stasis elemental well mods are highly recommended as Guardians; especially Hunters will need their super abilities back as soon as possible.


3) Tips and tricks to make encounters easier

Spider Fallen tanks (Image via Bungie)
Spider Fallen tanks (Image via Bungie)

Anything and everything inside a Destiny 2 Grandmaster Nightfall possesses the ability to single-shot an entire fireteam. To get around this, Guardians need to adapt and get around specific encounters to make their time even a little bit easier.

For example, in the second encounter in the Fallen Walker tank boss fight, Guardians can use the plate in the middle and clear out all the enemies beforehand. Just before bringing down the container thoroughly, players need to get off and let their enemies spawn. After further clearing them out, Guardians can then kill the boss without any additional enemies interfering.

The Fanatic boss (Image via Bungie)
The Fanatic boss (Image via Bungie)

In the boss encounter, there is a way where Guardians can entirely skip the tether from Fikrul. Just before the boss starts initiating, players can proc an animation of a finisher or cast their super. This will bypass the tethering process, and Guardians can deal damage to the boss during that time.


Disclaimer: This article is subjective and solely reflects the opinion of the writer.