The very first real encounter of Salvation’s Edge is Substratum, and it promises to put your teamwork to the test. Here’s how to complete Substratum in Destiny 2.
Destiny 2: How to Complete Substratum in Salvation’s Edge
Substratum is the first encounter in Salvation’s Edge, the Final Shape raid. And while we’re still uncovering how to complete this encounter, here’s what we know so far.
To open the doors to Substratum, your entire fireteam must be present and near the doors. This will allow you to enter a chamber containing a golden box that will accept a Resonance. Everyone must be in the room at the same time for a Resonance to spawn. Take the Resonance and dunk it into the box.
This will officially start the encounter, and a pair of hands will descend through the ceiling. The pair of hands will continuously spawn triangles which you should avoid, as they do damage. Standing beneath the hands will almost certainly kill you.
The room, which will start off closed, will have two doors open. Harpies, including detonating harpies, will spawn from the two rooms when the encounter starts. Split the fireteam into two teams of three and have each team move through one of the two separate paths. You’ll encounter Weavers, Goblins, Hobgoblins, and Vex. Prioritize killing the Weavers first, as their Dusk Grenades can easily get you killed.
Once you’ve killed a certain amount of mobs in your first room, a Hydra will spawn. Both teams will need to kill the Hydras in their respective rooms. A new room will then open for both teams, allowing them to progress. In this next room, a Hydra and then a Minotaur should spawn. The Hydra and Minotaur that each team kills affect when the other team can open their doors. So, both teams need to move quickly and clear mobs efficiently.
When both doors are open, you’ll be able to return to the center where a Tormentor will be waiting for you. Kill the Tormentor and two new sets of doors will open.
You’ll need to repeat the same process. However, once you’ve killed the second Hydra, an Overload Champion will appear. Hand cannons, swords, and machine guns are all capable of stunning an Overload Champion. Stun and kill the Overload Champion and two connected plates will begin glowing. A Tormentor will also spawn in the center, so having a team deal with the Tormentor while the other team seeks out the plate isn’t a terrible idea. Or, you can come together to quickly kill the Tormentor.
Two glowing plates will appear, which are the ends of the line you’ll need to make. There will also be a central plate that isn’t glowing. Assign each member of one team to a plate. Have the two players at the end plates stand on their respective plates once the glowing line reaches their plate, not when the plate itself pulses and glows. This will cause a glowing line to extend to the third central plate, which the middle player should stand on when the line reaches them.
The other team should be dedicated to killing the second tormentor who spawns in the middle of the room, killing any mobs and yellow-bar enemies that spawn to ensure that the plate team stays alive.
If you do this correctly, Resonance (golden pyramids) will spawn throughout the room. Grab them, then shoot the black pillar monoliths, which will open, revealing a golden node you’ll need to shoot and break. You’ll have a very short window to do this, and the more Resonance stacks you have, the more damage you’ll do to the pillar. Only go for three Resonance stacks, as that’s how much Resonance will appear in your room.
If you successfully break the pillar, you’ll power it up and get a new Resonance, which you can deposit in the box at the center.
Killing more Tormentors will make new plates glow, so continue this process until you’re able to break each of the pillars in the side rooms. Unfortunately, if you go beyond two rounds, you’ll begin to face new minibosses. Killing the third Tormentor will spawn a Subjugator, and killing the fourth Tormentor will spawn a Statis Subjugator.
Good luck Guardians! Even if you’re not currently in the running for Salvation’s Edge World First, it’s all about the journey. But if you’re wondering why you can’t start the raid, it might be that you need to conquer the campaign and its many missions first.
Destiny 2 is available now.
