Forum:Shadow's Dawn
From Destinypedia, the Destiny wiki
| Forums: Index → Fan Fiction → Shadow's Dawn | 
|
|
Prev: |
|
|
Next: |
|
| Shadow's Dawn | |
|---|---|
| |
|
Game: |
|
|
Player(s): |
1-3 |
|
Recommended Power Level: |
1210/1240 (Season of Sorrow Legend/Master) |
|
Location: |
The Nephilim, Kuiper Belt |
| “ | End a Hive plot to resurrect the Court of Sorrow." | ” |
Shadow's Dawn is a Dungeon that was added to Destiny 2 in the Season of Sorrow. It revolves around Eris Morn sending a fireteam into the Nephilim to stop a plot by Zâtrox to resurrect the members of the Sorrow Court. Guardians must infiltrate the depths of Shin'ra's dreadnought and put an end to Zâtrox and his Hive coven.
Walkthrough[edit]
Opening/The Grave Descent[edit]
The opening starts in a similar fashion to the Pit of Heresy, where players first start out at the entrance into Necromancer's Folly from the Court of Unmaking. Hive lanterns burn with green flame as drifting Souls emerge from fissures in the bone walls.
Adherents of Zâtrox kneel beside these lanterns, channeling necromantic energy that accelerates incoming Souls. Deathkeepers patrol side platforms and fire suppressive Void blasts, creating pressure while increasing Soul movement speed if left alive. These two enemy types form the foundation of the encounter's pacing: Adherents control the ritual’s progress, while Deathkeepers dictate tempo. Defeating marked enemies grants the Soulbound state, allowing players to destroy drifting Souls. Souls move in deliberate arcs toward lanterns; if enough reach their destination, the lantern seals permanently for a short duration and spawns a Deathkeeper.
To advance, players must extinguish all ritual lanterns in sequence. Each cleared chamber opens the next descent platform. The encounter emphasizes target prioritization: Deathkeepers first, Adherents second, then Soul control.
On solo runs, Soul movement pauses briefly before accelerating, giving a single player time to reposition. On Master difficulty, Souls move continuously and Deathkeepers spawn more quickly if lanterns are neglected.
The Bone Galleries[edit]
Emerging from the descent, players enter the rib-lined Bone Galleries — suspended corridors arching over vast hollow cavities within the Nephilim’s interior. The environment narrows considerably here, with thin bone bridges connecting rune-sealed doors.
Sorrow Court Guards stand vigil at rune plates that block progression. Killing designated enemies drops ritual remains that can only be carried while Fleshbound. Carrying a corpse reduces movement speed slightly and disables sprinting abilities, increasing traversal risk across narrow bridges. Simultaneously, Adherents continue summoning drifting Souls that seek to empower the sealed doors. While Soulbound, players must intercept these Souls before they reach rune conduits along the walls. If too many Souls connect, the door regains strength and resets partial progress..
On Master difficulty, Souls spawn in overlapping waves and Deathkeepers occasionally appear at midpoints along bridges, forcing engagement in dangerous terrain. Solo flawless attempts require clearing bridge defenders completely before corpse transport begins. Once all rune plates are satisfied and Soul surges are suppressed, the central ossuary doors unlock.
The Ossuary Gates/Binder of Corpses[edit]
The ossuary chamber is circular and layered, constructed from stacked remains embedded into the Nephilim's interior. Bone pillars rise toward a hollow ceiling, and rune altars ring the arena’s perimeter.
Necrûn, Binder of Corpses governs this space not through Soul manipulation, but through structural control. The encounter revolves around ritual Blessings obtained by defeating Deathkeepers stationed at elevated rune platforms. Each Deathkeeper drops a Blessing tied to a specific altar symbol. Players must carry these Blessings to matching altars to activate them. However, periodically a Shade of Zâtrox manifests and attempts to steal any active Blessing, temporarily disabling altar progress if successful.
Once all required altars are activated, Necrûn’s outer plating fractures, and he becomes vulnerable. During damage phases, the arena grows increasingly hostile. Adherents intensify Soul output toward central anchors. If Souls reach these anchors, Necrûn gains stacking resistance, visually reinforcing his bone armor. Sorrow Court Guards spawn near player positions to disrupt sustained damage.
On Master difficulty, Barrier Knights spawn near active altars during damage windows, forcing players to split attention between DPS and survival. In solo tuning, only one Shade appears at a time and altar timers decay more slowly.
Upon Necrûn's defeat, the ossuary destabilizes, revealing a spiraling descent deeper into the Nephilim's core.
The Catacomb Spiral[edit]
The Catacomb Spiral is a vertical traversal section that winds downward around the Nephilim’s hollow organ cavity. Ritual totems pulse at intervals along the descent, and narrow platforms jut outward from bone walls.
Here, players must activate paired rune plates at staggered elevations. Ritual corpses must be transported downward while drifting Souls rise upward along predictable paths. This creates a vertical counterflow of mechanics. Deathkeepers positioned above increase Soul velocity, making upward interception more difficult the deeper players descend. Sorrow Court Guards appear on narrow ledges, forcing players to secure safe zones before interacting with rune plates.
If Souls reach dormant totems below, those totems emit periodic shockwaves that knock players backward, increasing fall risk. Thus, Soul control directly impacts traversal safety. This section rewards controlled pacing. Clearing upper accelerators before descending reduces later pressure. On Master difficulty, Souls spawn in larger clusters and shockwave knockback is stronger, making recovery harder.
Successfully activating all spiral runes opens the cathedral chamber at the Nephilim’s core, leading into the final encounter.
The Dark Resurrection/The Necromancer[edit]
The arena is divided into four quadrants, each containing a Soul Cage, a Corpse Anchor, and a ritual rune. The encounter revolves around balancing spiritual containment with physical offerings in order to disrupt Zâtrox's ritual and force vulnerability.
At the start of the encounter, drifting Souls begin emerging from fissures along the chamber walls while Adherents of Zâtrox channel necromantic energy into inactive runes. Players must defeat key enemies to obtain either the Soulbound or Fleshbound states. While Soulbound, players are able to damage and capture drifting Souls, guiding them into Soul Cages located within each quadrant. If Souls are left unchecked, they seek out empty Anchors and empower Zâtrox, granting him stacks of Corrupted Ascension, which reduce incoming damage during future phases.
Simultaneously, while Fleshbound, players may carry ritual corpses dropped by designated enemies and deposit them upon Corpse Anchors. Each Anchor must be properly fed in conjunction with a filled Soul Cage within the same quadrant. Only when both spiritual and physical requirements are satisfied does the associated rune activate. Fully charging all four runes destabilizes Zâtrox's ritual and forces him into a vulnerable state.
During the damage phase, Zâtrox alternates between corporeal and spectral forms. In his corporeal state, Sorrow Court Guards emerge to shield him, and they must be defeated to expose vulnerability markers that allow sustained damage. In his spectral state, Zâtrox becomes partially immune and summons Shades of himself to siphon energy from charged cages. These Shades must be destroyed quickly, or they will drain progress from active runes and prematurely end the damage window.
Throughout the encounter, Deathkeepers accelerate Soul movement, increasing pressure on cage control. On Master difficulty, Barrier Knights spawn near Anchors and actively disrupt corpse placement, requiring immediate attention to prevent mechanical resets. Failure to maintain control of Souls or Anchors results in escalating Corrupted Ascension stacks, extending the encounter and increasing difficulty.
In solo runs, only one Shade manifests at a time, and rune decay timers are slightly extended to allow a single Guardian to rotate between quadrants. However, strict prioritization remains essential: Souls must always be intercepted before Anchor placement, and Shades must be eliminated immediately during spectral transitions.
Bosses[edit]
- Necrûn, Binder of Corpses (First Boss)
- Zâtrox, the Necromancer (Final Boss)
Unique enemies[edit]
Rewards[edit]
Weapons[edit]
- Blightmarrow — Exotic
Sidearm - Chilling Touch — Legendary
Auto Rifle - Contagion — Legendary
Combat Bow - Denied Animator — Legendary
Shotgun - Hollow Promises — Legendary
Machine Gun
Armor[edit]
(TBA)
Other Rewards[edit]
(TBA)
Transcript[edit]
Death Toll[edit]
First Necrotic Fragment[edit]
- Zâtrox: I was but a mere Thrall, grasping for whatever tribute I could find. I was too weak. But I knew that I was not born to be a warrior to wield mighty blades to cut down my foes. So instead I chose to become a scholar, to take the tribute to enhance mind over blade.
Second Necrotic Fragment[edit]
- Zâtrox: I had learned many things through my studies in the Deep, many of them heretical to the likes to the Sword Logic. It was not like I had much of a choice to learn the arts of necromancy for myself. It was the tool that I would use to shape the existence of others.
Third Necrotic Fragment[edit]
- Zâtrox: I had come into the servitude of a high priest, unbound to any god but himself. Shin'ra, the Sorrow-Maker. A blade with a dull edge, but one to craft greater and stronger blades for him to wield. A true Maker and Shaper, unlike the one who calls himself the Lord of Shapes. Shin'ra will remake the universe into an image of undeath. A masterpiece that I shall take part in.
Fourth Necrotic Fragment[edit]
- Zâtrox: And so the Court of Sorrow was established. A defined space of the Maker's greater design of what is known as Perfection Eternal, something that lesser minds would know as the Final Shape. I had made my statement to Shin'ra that it was imperfect, for it only existed within the space between the domains of the Sky and Deep. He would assure to me that we will take it with us wherever we go and that there was still much for me to learn from him.
Fifth Necrotic Fragment[edit]
- Zâtrox: I stood at the helm of the Nephilim, the instrument to spread the idea of Perfection Eternal. It is a mighty beast of great potential, born from the corpses of Leviathans once hunted and slain by Shin'ra's Celebrants. An experience that I wished to have seen for myself but was preoccupied with developing the Court. The ship was left barren with halls left to be filled with new ideas, ideas that I would share with the Sorrow-Maker.
Sixth Necrotic Fragment[edit]
- Zâtrox: I could not believe the words that were coming out of his mouth, the Court of Unmaking was meant to represent my ideas, but the great Maker has apposed the idea for me to lead the Cult that follows my ideals. He would instead choose another champion named Storgor to take the lead of the Cult, MY CULT. Shin'ra angers me so, but he says that he has other ideas he wants to share with me.
Seventh Necrotic Fragment[edit]
- Zâtrox: Through my long years of undeath, I did not think that I could be trusted with such a task. The great Maker has entrusted me with hiding the deaths of each member of the Court, to protect them from their final deaths. He has shown me that a Great War is coming and the Perfection Eternal encroaches. I must prepare for the worst before the end.
Eighth Necrotic Fragment[edit]
- Zâtrox: We came upon the system known as Sol, the hiding place of the Sky and its little dead things. The Deep encroaches towards its heart and I am so eager to watch the many daggers and cut open the Sky's heart. Its blood spill and be consumed by all, and I shall bask in that feast.
Trivia[edit]
- Shadow's Dawn is the third Dungeon to feature the Hive as the main enemy.
- This is the first Dungeon in which the main enemy addresses the players.
Appearance[edit]
- Destiny 2: Season of Sorrow (First appearance)