King's Fall is a six-player Destiny 2 raid that returned from the original Destiny. To prepare, check the recommended power level, bring a flexible loadout and use voice chat. A self-play carry lets you play your own account while a Sherpa explains each encounter.
Last updated: November 3, 2026. Written by the Guardian Sherpa Team.
Quick answer: King's Fall is a six-player Destiny 2 raid reprised from the original Destiny in August 2022. It runs through Hive-themed encounters, from the Basilica relic opening to Oryx, the Taken King. Most wipes come from missed callouts, so learn each role first. A Guardian Sherpa carry lets you play your own account while an experienced guide explains every step.
What is the King's Fall raid?
King's Fall first appeared in the original Destiny, where it unlocked on September 18, 2015, and it was reprised for Destiny 2 on August 26, 2022 during Season of Plunder (source: Destinypedia). It supports a fireteam of up to six Guardians and is built around Hive themes: relic orbs, Brand buffs, Taken tablets and a final fight against Oryx, the Taken King.
This guide uses publicly documented encounter descriptions. Power requirements, the weekly featured-raid rotation and loot tables change over time, so always confirm the recommended power in the in-game Director before you queue. Our own weekly post tracks what is currently featured: see the weekly raid and dungeon rotation. Typical clear length depends heavily on team experience, so we do not publish a fixed time.
King's Fall encounter guide
King's Fall has six main encounters, with two jumping-puzzle sections between them. The order below follows the raid's progression. Mechanics below come from public guides and wikis (Shacknews, Destinypedia) and describe general play, not guaranteed strategies; numbers such as timers can change with updates.
1. Basilica: opening the gate with relic orbs
Goal: Dunk orbs at the central statues to open the Hive portal, then clear the enemies in the court.
Roles: Split into two groups of three. In each group one Guardian carries the orb relic while the other two break the door barriers and clear adds. Leave one or two Guardians near the center to control spawns.
Key mechanics: Picking up an orb seals the doors behind the statues until the dunk is done, and the relic timer is short, so a held orb expires. Each successful dunk adds a few seconds to the timer.
Common wipes: Letting an orb expire and wasting the cycle, or leaving no one at the center to clear spawns while carriers are away.
Tip: Call each orb pickup out loud and rotate carriers so nobody holds a relic for too long. In Master difficulty the encounter challenge is named "The Grass is Always Greener" (Destinypedia).
2. Totems: keeping the Annihilator plates powered
Goal: There is no boss here. Survive the Hive while charging the central plate with the Deathsinger's Power.
Roles: One Guardian holds the Brand and gets kills on a side plate, another kills a Blightguard to take the Brand Claimer buff, another holds the Deathsinger's Power and drains charges at the center, and a Guardian must always stand beneath each Annihilator Totem.
Key mechanics: A Brand carries a roughly 30-second timer. If any Annihilator Totem has no Guardian underneath it, the team is wiped. The Master challenge for this section is "Under Construction" (Destinypedia).
Common wipes: An unmanned totem, a Brand timer that runs out, and slowing enemy spawns with crowd-control supers so the totems never get the pressure they need.
Tip: Assign totem duty by name before the encounter, not during it. After the totem room the raid has a Hive ship jumping puzzle; it is unchanged from the original Destiny according to Shacknews, so take it slowly rather than racing.
3. The Warpriest: glyphs, monoliths and the Oculus
Goal: Damage the Warpriest while standing in the Brand of the Initiate aura.
Roles: Players pair up across three areas. Some collect Brand Claimers from Blightguards and pass the Brand, others solve the glyph sequence by stepping on plates in order, and everyone hides behind monoliths when the Oculus fires.
Key mechanics: The glyph sequence must be stood on in the right order, the Oculus punishes anyone left in the open, and damage only counts in the aura. Shacknews reports a maximum of four damage phases, so uptime matters. Overlapping damage-boost effects of the same kind, such as Divinity and Shadowshot debuffs, do not stack (Shacknews).
Common wipes: Failing to hide behind a monolith, passing the Brand late, and stacking duplicate buffs that give no extra benefit. The Master challenge, "Devious Thievery", rewards careful Brand Claimer handling; one reported rule is not holding the buff for more than five seconds.
Tip: Keep one calm caller for glyph order. A quick pre-fight rehearsal of who hides where removes most Oculus deaths.
4. Golgoroth: pools of reclaimed light
Goal: Damage Golgoroth's stomach while standing in Pools of Reclaimed Light.
Roles: Two Guardians handle Golgoroth's Gaze and trade it. The rest of the team takes pool damage and deals damage from inside the pools.
Key mechanics: Gaze lasts about 20 seconds and is traded between two players. Unstable Essence explodes on a random pool user. A Tablet of Ruin collects marks for unused orbs and wipes the team after six marks.
Common wipes: Missing orbs, which adds Tablet marks, and moving while carrying Unstable Essence near teammates. The Master challenge, "Gaze Amaze", asks that the Gaze holder be in a Pool when the buff ends.
Tip: Name the two Gaze holders at the start and keep them fixed. Everyone else should drop out of the pool when Essence appears on them.
5. Daughters of Oryx: the ascendant path
Goal: Form the Ascendant path three times to collect a Blightguard, steal a Daughter's aura and defeat her. Repeat for the second Daughter.
Roles: One Guardian per platform, with two floaters covering extra platforms. One Guardian is the Torn Between Dimensions player who carries out the aura steal.
Key mechanics: A two-minute Dirge of Unraveling and Hymn of Weaving timer wipes the team unless the aura is stolen. Platforms must be activated quickly, and a Taken Phalanx near the entrance should not be ignored.
Common wipes: Slow platform activation that burns the two-minute window, and ignoring the Phalanx until it blocks the path. After this encounter the raid has a piston-wall jumping puzzle to traverse.
Tip: Platform order and floaters should be agreed in advance. If the timer is under 45 seconds with no aura, communicate early rather than hoping.
6. Oryx, the Taken King: bombs, ogres and the final stand
Goal: Stun Oryx with Corrupted Light bombs, damage his chest, repeat until he is at roughly 25 percent health, then finish him in the final stand.
Roles: The Torn Guardian collects Blightguard pieces. Four Guardians detonate bombs and return to the Aura of Immortality. Others kill Light-Eater Ogres to drop Corrupted Light and Light-Eater Knights so the knights cannot consume it.
Key mechanics: The Shade of Oryx dome fight and the Oryx bomb phase alternate. Light-Eater Knights eat Corrupted Light if left alive. Burst damage during stun windows is the main source of progress.
Common wipes: Running out of Heavy ammo and Supers before 25 percent, and killing the same ogre and knight twice when the challenge, "Hands Off" on Master, forbids it.
Tip: Bank Heavy ammo for the last phase. A confident final stand is mostly about keeping the team alive after the earlier mechanics are over.
What roles and loadout work in King's Fall?
A six-Guardian raid works best when every slot has a clear job before the first room. The chart below uses generic archetypes. No specific weapon or subclass is mandatory, and the best loadout is the one you already know how to play well.
- Caller: reads timers and mechanics aloud so the team acts on one voice.
- Mechanic runners: handle the encounter-specific task, such as nodes, relics or chalices.
- Add control: keeps enemies off the mechanic players with wave-clear weapons and abilities.
- Boss damage: brings precision or Heavy weapons and saves Supers for damage windows.
- Flex support: revives, covers a missed slot and swaps in when someone falls behind.
Bring weapons for three jobs: adds, bosses and long-range threats. Pack at least one weapon you can use with Heavy ammo, keep a couple of utility abilities handy, and be honest with your fireteam about your role comfort. Review that you can recognize Brand Claimer and Brand of the Initiate icons, and that you have a heavy weapon with enough ammo for Oryx.
How do I prepare for King's Fall?
- Update the game and check the recommended power level in the in-game Director.
- Bring weapons for different damage needs and a build you know well.
- Use a headset so you can hear callouts.
- Turn on two-factor sign-in for your account.
- Agree on roles and a caller before you start.
- Pick a time window when you can play without interruption.
What are the most common King's Fall mistakes?
- Treating the totem room as a normal fight and leaving a plate unmanned.
- Rushing the Hive ship and piston jumping puzzles instead of scouting them as a team.
- Spending all Heavy ammo before the Oryx final stand.
- Skipping the pre-fight briefing and trying to learn mechanics mid-wipe.
- Spending Heavy ammo and Supers on adds instead of saving them for damage windows.
- Talking over each other, which hides the one callout that matters.
- Letting one player carry every mechanic, which makes a single death a team wipe.
What rewards does King's Fall offer?
In Destiny 2, Touch of Malice (an Exotic Kinetic Scout Rifle) has a random chance to drop at the end of the raid after Oryx is defeated (Destinypedia). The raid also has extra chests after Oryx if the chest symbols were opened before leaving the starting area, which can include a deepsight-resonance weapon (Shacknews). Seal and title details were not confirmed on the sources we checked, so we do not list one here.
Drop tables, drop rates and rewards can change between seasons. Always confirm in game, and do not treat any drop as guaranteed on a given run.
How does a King's Fall carry work?
A Guardian Sherpa carry is a guided self-play run. You stay signed in on your own account and play every encounter yourself, while an experienced Sherpa joins your fireteam, explains each mechanic and helps the team stay on track. We never ask for your password on self-play orders. See the King's Fall raid carry for the options; it is listed from $45 for a full clear, and the flawless-goal option is $90.
- Pick the run type on the product page and check out.
- Open your private order page and confirm your platform, Bungie name and a time window.
- You can cancel for a full refund until a Sherpa accepts your order.
- A Sherpa accepts the order and sends a normal in-game fireteam invite at the agreed time.
- You play the raid together on your own account, with each encounter explained.
- After the run you have a 48-hour review window.
What is included, and what is not?
- Included: a guided, self-play run with an experienced Guardian, a private order page, encounter explanations and a 48-hour review window.
- Not included: account sharing or piloting (see our separate piloted listings if you want that), guaranteed drops, guaranteed completion times or any promise of in-game results.
What is a flawless run?
A flawless run is one finished without a death. We play toward that goal but cannot guarantee in-game results.
Is a carry safe for my account?
Self-play carries less risk than services that log in for you, but no provider can promise zero risk. Read our account safety page.
More raid guides
- Raid carry guide
- Last Wish
- Garden of Salvation
- Deep Stone Crypt
- Vault of Glass
- Vow of the Disciple
- King's Fall
- Root of Nightmares
- Crota's End
- Salvation's Edge
- The Desert Perpetual
New to carries? Read how a self-play carry works and see the FAQ.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a King's Fall carry cost?
A King's Fall self-play carry is $45 for a full clear and $90 for a flawless-goal run (no deaths) at Guardian Sherpa. Prices are shown before checkout, there are no hidden fees, and the WELCOME20 code takes 20% off a first order. See the King's Fall carry page for the current price.
How long does a King's Fall run take?
Time varies with the team, how many encounters are new to you and whether you choose the flawless goal. Your Sherpa gives an estimate on your order page before the run starts and explains each encounter as you go, which adds a little time but saves wipes.
What power level do I need for King's Fall?
Check the recommended power shown in the in-game Director for King's Fall and bring a character at or near it. Your Sherpa checks your character before the run and can suggest a quick power catch-up if you are under the recommendation.
Do I have to share my Destiny 2 login?
For self-play orders, no. You stay signed in on your own account and you stay signed in on your own account and join our fireteam through a normal in-game invite. On self-play orders we never ask for your password, your email login or your platform credentials. Piloted orders need secure account access, shared only after payment through your private order page. Read the account safety page for the full policy.
Can I cancel my order for a refund?
Yes, up to the moment a Sherpa accepts your order. Until then you can cancel from your order page for a full refund to the original payment method. After a Sherpa accepts, the customer-side cancel option closes, but our team can still cancel, refund or reschedule if something goes wrong. See the refund policy.
How do I book and what happens next?
Pick the run type on the product page and check out. You get a private order page where you confirm your platform, Bungie name and a time window. A Sherpa accepts the order, you receive a fireteam invite at the agreed time, and you play the activity together. Afterwards you have a 48-hour review window. The step-by-step guide covers each stage.
Can a Sherpa help if my team is new to King's Fall?
Yes. A Sherpa joins your fireteam, explains each encounter before you reach it, and calls out roles such as orb carrier, totem holders and Gaze trading. You still play every moment on your own account, which means you also learn the raid. We cannot promise a result, but explaining the mechanics early removes most avoidable wipes.