The Abyss in Destiny 2’s version of Crota’s End has some chaotic energy to it. And if you’re used to a little bit of chaos, the Conservation of Energy challenge will give you extra loot if you’re capable of finishing the encounter under certain conditions.
The Abyss encounter (also affectionately nicknamed “Lamps”) puts players through a dark abyss crawling with Thralls and Hive pendulums, which turn a somewhat brisk walk into a horror ride. And that’s even before taking the Conservation of Energy encounter challenge into account.
Finishing the Conservation of Energy challenge will give you an extra drop from the first encounter, as well as some guaranteed Essence of the Oversoul. And though this challenge isn’t exactly the hardest in the game, it can still take a bit of practice, especially since you’ll be far slower than you would in a normal run.
Conservation of Energy (Abyss): Challenge guide
For the Conservation of Energy challenge, you can Enlighten one lantern per each time you’ve preserved the Chalice of Light. If you’ve dunked the Chalice of Light twice, for instance, you have two Enlightens you can use throughout the encounter. Each Enlighten detracts from that number. You’re essentially conserving the energy from the charged-up Chalice of Lights you’ve deposited.
Our strategy on our first attempts was only Enlightening the lanterns that have a Preserve spot next to it, and only after we preserved the Chalice of Light. This made for a rhythm to the encounter, but it didn’t leave much of a margin of error. This method meets the win condition for the challenge, but it’s not the only way to complete it.
Due to some pendulum-related incidents in one of my runs, I had to enlighten a lantern that didn’t have a Podium attached, which didn’t cause the challenge to fail. After some trial, error, and research (including a brilliant writeup on the r/raidsecrets subreddit), it seemed there was more to that formula, even if the widespread method counted as a completion.
Only Enlightening the lanterns that have a podium next to them works as a general rule, though it may not always be the most efficient way to tackle this. As always, communication and managing your buffs are essential, since you need someone without Enlightened to grab the Chalice.
Because of how tricky this challenge might be, I mainly used Eager Edge swords and Strand. If someone in your fireteam has a Navigator with the catalyst, your squad can use it for free grapple points, though Strand users should definitely create and throw Tangles for free grapples whenever possible. Sticking together is essential, however, since a death can set your squad back a great deal (especially if the guardian who died had the Enlightened buff).
In addition to Eager Edge, I have been running either an Exotic that improves mobility (such as Transversive Steps for Warlocks) or using an armor piece that can grant quick grenade regeneration (my choice on Titans, of course, is Heart of Inmost Light).
For this challenge, I used Traveler’s Chosen as the Exotic weapon since it can easily generate grenade energy, though you can get a similar effect by using anything with Demolitionist on it. MIDA Multi-Tool also helps with some extra movement, though focusing on ability regeneration puts our mind more at ease than the speed buffs.
If you’ve successfully completed the challenge, you’ll get a second gear drop at the end of the encounter, which can be any of the drops pertaining to the Lamps encounter. Claiming the associated triumph will also give you an Essence of the Oversoul.
