Destiny 2‘s Root of Nightmares raid pits guardians against a newly resurrected Nezarec, the Final God of Pain.
The boss is the fourth and final encounter of the raid. If you’re looking for more loot, more ways to beat Nezarec, or even just a better chance at getting the raid Exotic, though, you can also take him on in the All Hands encounter challenge whenever it’s live—though, like its name says, you’ll need help from your team to pull it off.
The Root of Nightmares raid challenges usually bring minor inconveniences or inversions instead of some full-on backbreaking tactics. Root of Nightmares is particularly light on mechanics compared to some other raids, and even the Scission encounter challenge doesn’t really give non-runners much to do. The Illuminated Torment challenge in the first encounter, for instance, sets the condition that only players with the Field of Light buff can kill the Tormentors, which shifts the strategies around a bit.
Likewise, the Cosmic Equilibrium challenge (Macrocosm) asks players to swap the planets differently.
On the other side of the coin, the Nezarec challenge has all players doing a small part of the mechanic. While Nezarec’s Hatred mechanic is unchanged, all players will need to learn how to run the nodes if they want to wrap up the All Hands challenge.
Here’s how you can get it done.
All Hands (Nezarec) challenge guide in the Root of Nightmares raid
The All Hands challenge requires all players to activate at least one Light node and one Dark node on each damage phase against Nezarec. Guardians must trigger the final node on both the Light and Dark sides almost simultaneously, according to content creator AllThePlayers, which adds a layer of complexity to this challenge. Creating the Refuge doesn’t seem to interfere with this challenge, though.
There are a few strategies you can follow if you want to complete the All Hands challenge. AllThePlayers recommends splitting the fireteam into two squads of three guardians. Each squad will take the first three nodes on each side, then swap sides after creating the Refuge, which should be around the halfway point in the fight. They also assigned numbers to each guardian to mark an order.
For instance, a team could get the first three nodes on the Dark side and the final three nodes on the Light side, while the other trio does the opposite. I followed that method and it can net you some good runs as long as everyone is comfortable running and dealing with adds (which shouldn’t be a problem). It’s also straightforward enough that you can reasonably run with it in an LFG. AllThePlayers’ team swapped sides after each damage phase, though that’s optional.
In my experience, the designated Hatred runners should stay on different sides, and they shouldn’t have to run to their own nodes at the same time. This ensures at least one of them can shake off Nezarec’s Hatred. Your experience may vary depending on your fireteam, however, and it’s important to find a method that clicks.
If you follow these steps, you should wrap up the All Hands encounter challenge and get an extra drop from Nezarec, potentially including the Conditional Finality shotgun.
If you don’t get it, however, don’t forget to claim the triumph, which should increase your chances of getting it in subsequent clears.
