The beginning of this week saw the release of The Dark Below, the first expansion for Bungie’s Destiny. It brought new missions with a heavier emphasis on gunplay than was previously available. This especially rings true in The Will of Crota. It is a level 26 strike that proves to be a more intense encounter than any of the previous strikes made available. It also happens to the Weekly Heroic and Nightfall Strike. Follow these steps and you’ll be able to cruise through it like you would any other strike. Before anything though, make sure you have it unlocked by following this guide.
Pre-strike Preperation
As with any shooter, you’re gonna need a good gun. But, a good gun has a different meaning depending on the situation. While shotguns are powerful they are useless when facing large amounts of fast enemies at a decent range. In The Will of Crota you will be dealing with hive, lots and lots of hive. They are powerful enemies who use a mix of highly armored soldiers, super fast melee enemies and wizards that rain down terror.
You will want a fast primary weapon that packs a decent punch. Think auto-rifle or a hand cannon with a decent fire rate. If you’ve managed to beat the Vault of Glass maybe you were lucky enough to score an Atheon’s Epilogue. It is a pretty powerful auto-rifle with a large clip and it does void damage. If you upgrade it far enough the second half of the clip does even more damage. The reload speed isn’t half bad either.
As long as you have a primary that is fast and powerful you should do well with the hordes of thrall that will be thrown your way. Being able to mow down close range enemies is a must, and luckily enough they don’t have much health even on Nightfall difficulty.
The two types of shields that you will come across constantly are arc and fire, especially during the final fight. You will want to make sure that you have a counter for that. In order to do so, make sure whoever has the strongest weapon of that element equips it. Put them in charge of taking down shields of that type so that the rest of the team can do some serious damage. Fusion rifles are excellent sources of damage and you will actually get a really strong one (Murmur) before unlocking the strike, so make sure to equip that if you’re not sure what to go with.
As far as your fireteam is concerned, most classes will do just fine. There is one thing though you probably should take into consideration. Most of the fights in this strike take place in areas that have you surrounded. If you’re good at maneuvering around tight spaces this won’t be too much of an issue, but if you or a team are prone to dying under pressure than you’re going to have a problem. Consider taking a Titan Defender to help with revives when a swarm of hive overwhelms your teammates. Sunsingers and Gunslingers also get a little bit of a boost with the ability to dish out extra fire damage.
Will of Crota: First Section
The Will of Crota can broken down in four sections. The first of which is the room where you must survive until the security beams on the door disappear. This part isn’t too bad since the room is relatively large compared to other areas of the strike and you are afforded a decent amount of cover. But don’t take it too easy, there are a ton of enemies you will have to deal with.
The most important enemies to look out for are melee enemies. Particularly thrall and stealth vandals. They will try their best to flank you. This is even more important if you plan on attempting this strike on Nightfall difficulty. One of the modifiers is Lightswitch, which means you can die from one melee hit, even if it comes from an enemy as weak as a thrall.
Easy way to avoid this is to keep your back to the wall. There is also a room with a window where you can easily take cover while keeping a line of sight on whatever is in the room. Use this position to defend yourself and pick of snipers since they will do the most damage at long range. They will do arc damage which is yet another thing to be wary of if attempting on nightfall.
All in all this is the most straightforward part of the strike. Clear the waves and you’re free to proceed..
Will of Crota: Second Section
The second section is very similar to the first with two exceptions. First is that you will have to look out for ships since they will pick you off and you will have no idea what happened. Nothing is more embarrassing than dying while there are absolutely no enemies on screen and it can be pretty frustrating to lose half of your precious heavy ammo upon death.
The second major exception is that most of the enemies won’t pursue you. You start this section in yet another room with a considerable amount of cover. The first few melee enemies will run in but you will be able to easily put them down. Afterwards they will wait in the outside area so that you will have to come out into the open. Once you step outside you will be treated to a headshot by one of several snipers.
For the snipers outside the door, try to get a vantage point from in the room and take them out. Next just run out and immediately look above the door to take out the final sniper. Now just clean up the few major and ultras that are hiding at the end of the platform and you’re clear to go. Just follow the indicator on your radar to lead you to the next section.
Will of Crota: Third Section
Now is where the challenge ramps up. You will lay eyes on the boss enemy only to have her run, do not chase. You will get the urge to immediately go after the boss only to run into a hive knight, a handful of acolytes and more thrall than you would probably want to face at one time. The tip here is to hold back at first and let the initial wave round the corner. The knights will be arc shielded so be sure to have fireteam members with the elemental weapons cut them down to size.
Eventually you will have no choice but to turn the corner. Two things to be aware of: First there are going to be knights that have very powerful weapons sitting on high platforms. If you don’t look up you will die a quick and painful death. So make sure to keep your eyes up when rounding the corner. The second thing to be aware of are the wizards hanging out beside the boss. Hit them hard with fire weapons.
Be aware of when the boss screams. Once she does more enemies will run out, just take them down and and return your focus to the wizards. After a little while the boss will move on to the final area and you are now ready to head to the end of the strike.
Will of Crota: Defeat Omnigul
Omnigul is the eponymous Will of Crota and the boss of the strike. She is a wizard and behaves pretty much just like a normal wizard although she is much more powerful and has one more ability that will make the fight a bit of a challenge. One thing to be aware of before actually fighting her is that she uses an arc shield which is unique as far as wizards go. So just like with the other enemies be prepared to take it down so the rest of the team can chip away at her health.
The battle takes place in a small crowded room with lots of tight spaces but you are also open for flanking. The first thing you’ll want to do is clear all the smaller enemies before targeting the boss. One good strategy is to have one member of your fireteam constantly targeting Omnigul while the other two clear out everyone else before also focusing on the boss. You’ll always know when more enemies are about to swarm you because the boss will screech.
Omnigul and the other wizards do tons of splash damage, so make sure to keep it moving if you want to survive. Fortunately enough Omnigul never leaves the platform in the middle of the room so when you’re feeling overwhelmed you can either try to run out of the room or just hide under the platform. As long as you keep moving you should be fine and be able to take down the boss with ease. Make sure to rotate roles as you run out of special and heavy ammo to ensure that you’re always doing the most possible damage.
Follow these steps and you will have another strike under your belt. Keep calm, support your fireteam and dominate The Will of Crota. Have you attempted this new strike yet? How have you fared? Feel free to share.
As always, safe travels guardians.
Published: Dec 12, 2014 11:30 am