Ghosts of the Deep

Ghosts of the Deep  is a Dungeon that was added to Destiny 2 in the Season of the Deep. This dungeon also confirms and expands the lore of King's Fall, with the corpse of Oryx, the Taken King falling from the rings of Saturn down into the oceans of its moon Titan. It involves a fireteam going into the depths beneath the Arcology to stop the Lucent Brood's mass ritual to resurrect the Taken King.

Hive Ritual
You begin in a large forested area bordered by arcology structure, with small reddened pockets indicating hive activity. Going more or less straight forward leads to a large door blocked by a hive ritual circle. In order to progress, four thrall statues need to be imbued with a "Vestige of Light." To do so, four cycles must be completed.


 * 1) Defeat the Soulfire Binder Ogre that wanders nearby the ritual site. It may take a moment for it to spawn.
 * 2) The ground somewhere close to the ogre's death will begin to glow, indicating the direction towards a squad of Hive, including several Wizards. When they are killed, another glowing path will be revealed.
 * 3) The third group of Hive will include a Lightbearer which, when its Ghost is killed, will grant the player who crushed it the Vestige of Light. Keep note of the Hive rune floating above the area it is killed at.
 * 4) Returning to the ritual circle, there will now be a Veilweaver Wizard. Its death will drop a deepsight illusion, and reveal runes on each Thrall Statue. The player with the vestige must deposit it at the same rune as where it was picked up.

After four cycles, the path is cleared.

Deep Methane
After entering the building, you will enter an underwater area. For the most part, the idea is to sink as deep as you can along the structure. At two points, there will be a turbine pushing you upward into an aerated room, which will allow you access to the next underwater part. Continuing, Hive architecture begins to dominate the scenery, but it is still a fairly linear advance. Keep in mind that the oxygen bubbles' existence is shared by teammates, unlike in the Salvage activity. Once you reach the bottom, a void shielded knight, Ecthar, will attempt to attack you. His attacks will not deal damage directly, but rather drain your pressure gauge significantly. Just past him is what appears to be an upward current that leads to the first boss fight. Be careful not to disturb the Acolytes between the entrance and the Rally Flag until ready.

Ecthar, the Shield of Savathûn
Once the acolytes gathered near the entrance are killed, enemies begin spawning. Defeat the supporting Hive instead until, similar to the first encounter, an Ogre appears. It will drop a deepsight illusion which will reveal three symbols on the wall near the entrance. Diving back into the water, there are now Hive runes dotted around the area, and Ecthar will return to try and stop you. Touching the three matching symbols will each spawn a Lightbearer wizard above water, which will again reward a Vestige of Light for killing their ghost. There are three thrall statues; a left, right and middle one, but Vestiges can be deposited in any of them so long as they haven't already been charged. Once all three are charged, Ecthar will appear alongside a Wellkeeper Knight. The Wellkeeper Knight drops an area in which players can damage Ecthar's shield. Once it lowers, damage can be dealt, although the damage phase duration begins once he appears. If he is not killed, the mechanics repeat. If he is, his ghost must be crushed or else he will respawn with a small portion of his health regenerated, and an underwater door unlocks and players may proceed.

Šimmumah ur-Nokru, Lucent Necromancer
Eventually, the path ends in a large, open cove holding the half-buried body of Oryx, the Taken King. Above him hovers Šimmumah ur-Nokru and an unclaimed ghost. Crushing the ghost will alert Šimmumah and begin the encounter. After killing several Hive, a deepsight illusion spawns somewhere in the middle of the arena. It will reveal three small orbs, which each float over one of Oryx' body parts. At this point, Vorlog, Risen in Heresy will spawn (and respawn when killed), and chase players. Vorlog can be killed at will, but if killed by a player standing under one of the revealed orbs, Šimmumah will be attracted to them. When she is, a ring and a taken symbol will appear. They must be lined up from the perspective of a player standing on the ground, and will reveal a rune once they are. This is done for all three orbs. Both sides of the arena, as well as under Oryx' head, have a methane pocket which conceals a room containing a Lightbearer; one knight, one acolyte, and one wizard. Once again, their ghosts grant a Vestige of Light to the player that finishes them, and have a rune floating above them that indicates the orb where it must be dropped off. Note that the orbs must be revealed with deepsight to interact with. Once the last of the three is imbued, Šimmumah's shield may be attacked and her damage phase beings. Once she is killed, her ghost is revealed. Finishing it completes the dungeon.

Bosses

 * Ecthar, the Shield of Savathûn
 * Vorlog, Risen in Heresy
 * Šimmumah ur-Nokru, Lucent Necromancer
 * Thul-Ar, Acolyte of Nokris

Unique Enemies

 * Soulfire Binder
 * Veilweaver Wizard
 * Runebound Visage
 * Keeper of the Deep
 * Wellkeeper Knight
 * Adherent of Šimmumah
 * Adherent of Ecthar
 * Adherent of Mor'ak

Weapons

 * The Navigator - Exotic Trace Rifle
 * New Pacific Epitaph - Legendary Special Grenade Launcher
 * Greasy Luck - Legendary Glaive
 * No Survivors - Legendary Submachine Gun
 * Cold Comfort Legendary Rocket Launcher

Armor

 * Taken King Suit

In Memoriam
Scattered throughout the dungeon are 12 Calcified Fragments that tell the story of Xivu Arath, her life as the God of War, and her life after the death of The Taken King. The fragments also tell of how the death of her brother has affected her.

Fragment 1

 * Xivu Arath: LONELY NAVIGATOR, WE HAVE TRAVELED SO LONG WITH ONLY EACH OTHER. I KNOW YOU LOVE TO HEAR AND SPEAK NEW TONGUES. COME, SIT IN THE FLESH GARDEN. I WILL READ YOU THESE STORIES I BOUGHT AT KAHARN.

Fragment 2

 * Xivu Arath: I... WAS XI RO. I WAS WEAKNESS. FRAGILITY. THEN YOU DROWNED ME IN THE DEEP. MURDERED MY FLAWS. YOU ARE OUR NAVIGATOR, OUR GUIDE. LET ME DOWN THE BLADED PATH TO BE REFORGED AS XIVU ARATH. I WILL REMEMBER YOU, OUR NAVIGATOR. OUR BROTHER. OUR KING. IN THIS, YOU ARE ETERNAL.

Fragment 3

 * Xivu Arath: I REMEMBER THE LANGUID CONTEMPT OF OUR FATHER. THE COLD EYES OF OUR MOTHER. I SEE YOUR DETERMINATION ETERNAL. IT IS DETERMINATION THAT DEFINES YOU. CERTAINTY, CLARITY, FAITH-YOUR WILL IS A KNIFE, HEWING AWAY AT OUR LIES. YOU ARE TRUTH. WHEN I DOUBT, YOU NEVER SPARE ME THE BLADE. WHEN I FALTER, YOU NEVER SPARE ME YOUR WORDS, AND YET... I KNOW THERE IS MORE.

Fragment 4

 * Xivu Arath: YOU ARE DEAD. YOUR THRONE WAITS EMPTY. BLASPHEMY. BLASPHEMY! MY BROTHER-MY BROTHER IS VANQUISHED. COURT... SCATTERED. TEMPLES... RANSACKED! MY BROTHER IS DEAD, AND HIS KILLERS HAVE NOT ASSUMED THE MANTLE OF THE TAKEN KING. BLASPHEMY. BLASPHEMY! HOW? HOW CAN THE SPEAR THAT PIERCED A MILLION WORLDS BE KILLED BY THOSE WHO WOULD DENY THE ALL-EDGED TRUTH? MOTHER... ARE YOU LAUGHING? SISTER, ARE YOU SMILING? IS THIS THE FATE WORSE THAN EXTINCTION? WAS IT ALL FOR... NOTHING?

Fragment 5

 * Xivu Arath: I HAVE DIED... AND YET WAS SUMMONED BACK BY YOU. YOU, WHO REMEMBERED ME AS WAR? OUR SISTER DIED, AND WAS SUMMONED BACK BY YOU. YOU, WHO CONSPIRED WITH HER CUNNING? SO IT MUST BE FOR NOW. IF YOUR LEGACY IS TRUE, BROTHER, IT WILL COME UNTO US AND DEFAT OUR BLASPHEMY. AND IF NOT... IF NOT, WHAT WE ATTEMPT CANNOT BE BLASPHEMY. FOR WE HAVE SURVIVED YOU. SURPASSED THE POWER OF YOUR WILL. AIAT. AIAT.

Fragment 6

 * Xivu Arath: THE SKY... IS FRAGILE. FLAWED. LIES. LIES! I SEE HOW EASILY IT IS CHAINED, BROUGHT TO THE HEEL, AND MUZZLED. THE TRUTH CANNOT SO EASILY BE BOUND. YOU SHOWED US THAT. TRUTH HAS WINGS. I TAKE FLIGHT IN YOUR STEAD. I BRING THE KNIFE OF TRUTH TO THE GRISTLE OF LIES.

Fragment 7

 * Xivu Arath: YOU WOULD HAVE SAVORED MY TRIUMPH. HOW OUR SISTER'S GIFT TO ME WAS TREATED WITH SUCH CARE. SCREAMS LIKE A CHOIR AS THEIR MOUNTAIN TREMBLED. SCREAMS LIKE A CHOIR AS THEIR SEAS BOILED! I STEPPED DOWN INTO THAT WORLD, THRUST MY SWORD INTO THE HEART OF TOROBATL, AND CARVED LIES FROM TRUTH.

Fragment 8

 * Xivu Arath: HERESY. HERESY! OUR SISTER DENIES YOUR TRUTH AND CRAWLS LIKE AN ANIMAL INTO THE SHADOW OF THE SKY! SHE BLEATS AND HOWLS, ALLOWING HERSELF TO BE PROFANED BY IT! SHE SPITS ON YOUR MEMORY! SISTER, YOU ALWAYS DOUBTED. BUT NOW, IT IS TIME TO TEST THEORY IN PRAXIS.

Fragment 9

 * Xivu Arath: SOMETIMES, TO WIN A BATTLE, YOU NEEDN'T RAISE A HAND. YOU LET THE IGNORANT FIGHT IN YOUR NAME, UKNOWING. THEY MOVE THEMSELVES INTO POSITION, POSTURING THEIR VICTORIES, LEAVING THEIR SOFT FLANK OPEN. SISTER, I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE. YOU WERE WRONG.

Fragment 10

 * Xivu Arath: THERE IS AN END IN SIGHT NOW, CLEARER THAN I HAVE EVER SEEN IT. THE HORIZON NARROWS DOWN TO A SINGLE EDGE, SHARPER THAN HOPE. I SEE THE FINAL SHAPE COMING INTO FOCUS IN THIS CUTTING MOTION, AND THE DEEP SINGS ITS PROMISES. I CRACK MY WHIP UNTO THE RHYTHM. I GUIDE YOUR KNIFE IN BETWEEN RIBS! EVEN NOW, ALONE, YOU ARE MY NAVIGATOR.

Fragment 11

 * Xivu Arath: THE SKY'S LIARS ARE ELOQUENT IN THEIR TENACITY. THEY MAKE ME DOUBT MY OWN HAND... MY OWN RIGHT! OUR BLADES CLASH, AND I AM DRIVEN BACK, BACK! I HAD MY BLADE AT THEIR THROAT, AND THEY SLIPPED PAST MY GUARD. BUT IT IS TOO LATE NOW. EVEN THEIR DEEPEST CUTS ARE TOO SHALLOW TO KILL. I SEE THE FINAL SHAPE COMING FOR THEIR HEART.

Fragment 12

 * Xivu Arath: I COME TO YOU NOW TO SAY GOODBYE, BROTHER. THIS WILL BE MY LAST VISITATION. A FINAL KNEE AT YOUR GRAVE. I'M LEFT TO WONDER IF THERE IS ANYTHING IN YOU STILL IN THERE. I AM LEFT TO WONDER... WHAT IS THIS FEELING? THE SKY IS MORTALLY WOUNDED, BLEEDING OUT. YET... A PART OF ME LONGS FOR THE COMFORT OF THE GARDENS. OF YOUR STORIES. OF SISTER'S. I LONG FOR OUR JOURNEYS TOGETHER... BUT KNOW THEY HAVE COME TO AN END. WE WILL BE PROVEN RIGHT. YOU WILL BE PROVEN RIGHT. BROTHER, IF YOU HAVE TAUGHT ME ANYTHING, IT WAS TO NEVER DENY A TRUTH, EVEN WHEN IT GRIEVES US. WHAT IS THIS FEELING? I DO NOT WANT IT!

Trivia

 * During the intro sequence to the dungeon, players can spot the Maintenance Tank which was used to escape the Hive during the Red War campaign mission Utopia.
 * After interacting with several monitors around the opening area, players can summon in this Maintenance Tank.

List of appearances

 * Destiny 2
 * Season of the Deep