Ecthar, Sword of Oryx

"Their leaders belong to you. The rest await extermination."

- Ecthar, Sword of Oryx

Ecthar, Sword of Oryx is a Ascendant Hive Knight that appears as a boss during the Quest A Sword Reforged. Once a confidante and a high ranking member in Oryx's court, he was killed by The Guardian aboard Oryx's Dreadnaught.

He would later be revived as a Lightbearer and joined Savathûn's Lucent Brood, becoming Ecthar, the Shield of Savathûn.

A Sword Reforged
Players seeking to complete the A Sword Reforged Quest are required to seek out Ecthar in Patrol on the Dreadnaught and slay him in combat. He resides in The Asylum, whose entrance is protected by the Warden's Knights. Once inside, Guardians will find him in the suspended steps area. He is assisted by the Silent Brood, along with a unique Cursed Thrall variant, the Dredge Exploder. He can be identified by his glowing white shield and unique Cleaver. This shield can only be broken by damaging it with a Sword and will regenerate, but once broken Ecthar can be damaged by any weapon. He has a large amount of health and his blade can quickly drain a player's health, so caution is suggested when fighting him.

Ghosts of the Deep
During the Ghosts of the Deep Dungeon, Ecthar makes his reappearance as Ecthar, Shield of Savathûn, now resurrected as a Hive Lightbearer. He serves as the second encounter and the first boss in the dungeon. He first ambushes players when they arrive in the submerged part of the arena, using Sentinel Shield to resist the lethal pressure. Once the Guardians disturb the Acolytes above, Ecthar will emerge and begin the battle.

At the beginning of the encounter, Ecthar will be invincible and roam around the arena, attacking with his Boomer and Suppressor Grenades and erecting Towering Barricades, alongside his numerous reinforcements. Once the Blistered Knights and Keeper of the Deep are slain, the Shield of Savathûn will cast Sentinel Shield again and return to the submerged section. Here, he will chase after players trying to activate the correct symbols, with his shield smashes knocking considerable amounts of pressure resistance off of a Guardian's bar.

Once the statues around the arena are correctly lit, Ecthar will reemerge from the central pool, still invincible and coated in his Super. Players must slay the Wellkeeper Knight that appeared nearby and stand in the well it dropped in order to damage Ecthar. Knocking out his shield will deactivate Sentinel Shield, forcing the Knight to fight normally until the well disappears, at which point the battle's mechanics will restart from the beginning.

When Ecthar is killed, players must crush his Ghost to fully defeat him, lest he returns to life and forces them into another rune decryption. Destroying the Ghost will complete the encounter.

Gallery
Sword of Oryx

Trivia

 * Ecthar is the third Hive to speak English in-game, after Crota and Oryx, respectively.
 * Ecthar is unique among the Hive in that he possesses five eyes and not the normal three. In addition, his eyes are white instead of green. This detail was not carried over into his Lightbearer design that appeared in Ghosts of the Deep.
 * Although seen in cutscenes as the usual giant Knight size, being comparable to enemies like Alak-Hul, he is actually the size of a normal Knight in-game.
 * Ecthar also is seen with light grey armor in these cutscenes, while in game he has slate blue colored armor.
 * Ecthar's mechanic was later adopted by Kathok, Roar of Xol in Destiny 2's Warmind expansion.
 * If the player dies to Ecthar, he has no sect listed under his name, although he would logically belong to the Blood of Oryx.
 * Ecthar has a unique sword design compared to other Knights, with an ethereal blue blade with white streak down it emerging from a chitin hilt.
 * Ecthar and Vorlog are currently the characters with the longest gap between in-game appearances, tied at 2810 days.

List of appearances

 * Destiny: The Taken King
 * Destiny 2: Season of the Deep