The Salvation’s Edge Raid finally brings Guardians face to face with the Witness for the final showdown in Destiny 2, but getting to the Witness requires completing a series of encounters throughout the Raid first. Salvation’s Edge is one of the coolest Destiny 2 Raids Bungie has ever created, but the mechanics take some getting used to for new players.
Thankfully, Salvation’s Edge is a fairly straightforward raid once you get the hang of things, and there are a lot of repeated mechanics from The Final Shape campaign so you should be at least somewhat prepared before going in. There’s a lot of loot on offer — including an all-new Exotic weapon — so here’s what you need to know about Salvation’s Edge in Destiny 2 The Final Shape.
How to Start the Salvation’s Edge Raid in Destiny 2
To start the Salvation’s Edge Raid in Destiny 2, you must first complete The Final Shape campaign on any difficulty. You also need to complete the Wild Card post-campaign Exotic Quest to obtain the Still Hunt Exotic Sniper Rifle before you can start the Raid as well. After completing both prerequisites, you can find Salvation’s Edge on the Director map in the Pale Heart of the Traveler. It has a recommended Power level of 1965. If you need more help, we have a full guide on how to start the Salvation’s Edge Raid.
How to Complete the Substratum Encounter in Destiny 2
After the initial platforming section, you’ll arrive at the Substratum with the objective of gaining access to the monolith. This isn’t a boss encounter. Instead, it’s a puzzle with a very strict timer that requires your fireteam to split up and activate pads throughout the arena to gain a special buff required to progress. Here’s a helpful map of the encounter created by an anonymous contributor on the Destiny Raid Secrets subreddit.
To begin the encounter, grab the Resonance and interact with the glowing orange box in the center of the room to deposit it. To complete the encounter, you need to gain Resonance and deposit that buff into this box three times before the “Final Shape Looming” timer reaches zero and your group instantly wipes.
Once the encounter begins, a bunch of Vex will spawn and your team will be swarmed by explosive Supplicants. Split the group into teams of three and pursue the Vex. In each of the rooms, there will be a Hydra and Minotaur. Killing these enemies will open doors for each group so they can progress further.
After taking them down, a Tormentor will appear in the center of the arena near the Resonance box. Defeat the Tormentor and more rooms will open up. Repeat the process and kill the Vex, but be prepared for a Champion to appear this time. Defeat the Champion and another Tormentor will appear in the center of the arena.
Once you kill the Threshold Sentinel Tormentor, you’ll receive a notification that says, “Energy flows into the architecture.” More Vex will spawn. Follow them into their respective rooms, clear the area, and you’ll find a glowing orange plate. Step onto the plate and it will send a pulse along the orange wires on the floor to another plate. Coordinate with your fireteam to ping-pong the charges back and forth between the plates.
As you move the charge between plates, small triangles will appear throughout the arena. You need to collect no more than three of these triangles to gain stacks of Pyramidal Resonance, so coordinate with your fireteam to decide who’s going to grab them. As you charge the plates and grab triangles, you’ll come across black monoliths. Shoot them to reveal a glowing golden weak point. The more stacks of Pyramidal Resonance you have, the more damage you’ll do to the pillar. Breaking the pillar will give you a new Resonance buff that you can take to the center of the arena to deposit into the box.
After you shoot the final totem, you’ll see notifications saying, “The resonant conductor sparks to life” and “You are beckoned toward the center.” Return to the middle of the arena and defeat the Subjugator to activate the box. Deposit all stacks of Resonance. Repeat this entire process three times to complete the encounter and proceed with the raid.
How to Defeat the Herald of Finality in Destiny 2
The second Salvation’s Edge encounter pits you against the Herald of the Finality, the first real boss fight of the raid. This boss battle involves many of the same mechanics from the previous Substratum encounter, just with a few twists. To start the encounter, shoot the Taken blight in the center of the arena.
Split your group into three teams of two and send each pair to a different totem. One is in the middle, one is on the left side, and the last is on the right side. Each area has two plates, so each player is responsible for one of them. It’s the same ping-pong mechanic as the previous encounter, only now both Resonance triangles and Resonance orbs will spawn.
Three players will get a buff called Call to Reckoning. To determine which Resonance shape you need to collect, the players with Call for Reckoning need to go to the center of the arena with the boss. Look around for Taken blights and destroy them to make the boss vulnerable, then shoot him in the head for a critical shot that gives you a buff called Stolen Favor, which will reveal the correct shape for your totem.
Once you learn the correct shape, use the plates to spawn Resonance buffs, collect the right shape, and then shoot the totems like last time. Each side also has a large enemy called the Trammel of Conflict (Phalanx, Wizard, or Ogre) to deal with. Focus on these enemies and do not let them stand on the plates and reach the totem or the entire team will wipe.
After all three totems are charged, a Resonance box will spawn in the back of the arena. Once everyone deposits their Resonance into the box, the damage phase will begin. Rinse and repeat until the Herald of Finality is slain to complete this encounter.
How to Carve a Path in Destiny 2 Salvation’s Edge
The third encounter in the Salvation’s Edge raid requires you to carve a path as you continue toward the Witness, and there are even more plates and pads waiting for you in this room. Ads will constantly spawn during this encounter, so stay on your toes and help your fireteam so they don’t get overwhelmed.
A Tormentor named Threshold Sentinel will appear at the start of the encounter, and it’s a good idea to kill it quickly so your group can focus on mechanics. The plate mechanic is the main focus of this encounter again, only there are now triangles, orbs, and cubes for Resonance. Ping pong the charges between each plate and shoot the totems to get Resonance, then deposit the Resonance in the box at the back of the arena to access the next part of the encounter.
After you climb up to the second room, just repeat the process again. Watch out for the Tormentor and the Witness‘ attacks, ping-pong the plates, and bank your Resonance. There’s a lot of platforming in this room, so watch your step. Once you bank your Resonance, you can proceed to the final part of this encounter.
The third and final section of this encounter involves a lot of platforming and jumping, so try not to fall and ruin things for your group. There are three totems to activate and three yellow bar Tormentors to deal with. Now that you have the ping-pong mechanic mastered by this point, you can focus on platforming and surviving the Tormentors. After activating all three totems and banking Resonance, a Champion will spawn as the final roadblock. Take it out to complete the encounter.
How to Ascend the Monolith in Destiny 2 Salvation’s Edge
We’re still working on this part of the raid guide. Check back soon for more updates!
How to Get the Euphony Exotic in Destiny 2 Salvation’s Edge
Euphony is the Raid Exotic for Salvation’s Edge. It’s a Strand Linear Fusion Rifle with a perk that causes Threadlings to spawn at your target’s feet as they take sustained damage. It’s great for DPS phases, and both Strand and Prismatic Guardians can easily fit it into their builds.
Like all Raid Exotics, Euphony has a random chance of dropping from the final boss of Salvation’s Edge. It comes down to good RNG whether you get it or not. Good luck!
If you miss out on Euphony, there are still plenty of other weapons and items to earn from the Salvation’s Edge Raid. The Pale Heart of the Traveler is also home to plenty of other Exotic weapons and sweet gear that you can’t get anywhere else, so don’t forget to keep farming between weekly runs of Salvation’s Edge.
