Dares of Eternity

Dares of Eternity is a 6-player activity made accessible during the Season of the Lost as part of the 30th Anniversary Pack DLC. It is available to all players.

Overview
Guardians from across the system gather to take part in a gameshow-like activity. Xûr acts as the host, alongside a mysterious horse with powers that appear to breach the fourth wall. There are a mix of combat encounters and short platforming sections, with the Starhorse's Favour buff being given upon successful completion of specific actions, such as completing a platforming route, or guessing correctly as to which race will feature in the next combat encounter. This provides Guardians with regenerating heavy ammunition and increased defense. Depending upon the race faced, objectives will change, providing small variations in the progression of the activity.

The Valley
The first area Guardians will come to is The Valley. Upon landing, a gathering of Taken enemies will be present and must be cleared. Once eliminated, a large wheel spawns, alongside a button and a Rally Banner deposit spot. When the button is pushed, the wheel spins and selects an enemy race at random (This race becomes fixed on Legendary difficulty, on a weekly rotation). Once declared, enemies will spawn and combat will begin. Depending on the race, different objectives become present.

Cabal: The unique mechanic for the Cabal encounter is the spawning of Bombtenders and Commanders. Commanders have shields providing invincibility, but this can be removed by throwing Dares Cores at them. These are dropped by Bombtenders upon their death. A large laser will beam down upon the spot that a Dare Core impacts, dealing heavy damage to anything passing through it. Various Cabal units will spawn during the fight to support their Commanders.

Fallen: Splinter Mines will spawn around the map, with players required to defuse them to obtain progress. Standing beneath them will begin the defusal process. Failing to defuse a Splinter Mine before it detonates won't damage or kill anyone nearby, but will simply remove the ability to obtain activity progress via that mine. Fallen enemies will continually spawn to deter the player from defusing them, including Brigs. When enough mines are defused, multiple will spawn where the wheel initially appears, alongside a large Servitor. Defeating this Servitor will complete the event, or players can choose to defuse enough mines.

Hive: Wellkeeper Knights will spawn around the arena, glowing to indicate their importance. When defeated, they will drop a pool of Hive magic. Passing through this will grant the Ruinous Resonance buff. Within the 10 seconds of this buff existing on the Guardian, they will be able to damage the crystals spawned around the area. Destroying these crystals will grant progress towards completion. Other assorted Hive units will spawn to support the Wellkeepers and deter Guardians from completion.

Taken: A large Taken Minotaur will spawn, which upon defeat, will drop many orbs. These can be picked up and thrown. The objective is for Guardians to toss these at the large Taken Blight hovering in the middle of the map. When enough have been thrown, the objective will be completed. Various Taken units will spawn to harass players while performing this. The orbs from two Taken Minotaurs will suffice to damage the Taken Blight enough for completion.

Vex: Similar to the Cabal variant, the Vex variant will spawn Headbearer Goblins and Gatekeepers of Eternity. Gatekeepers are shielded and cannot be harmed until their shields are stripped. Killing a Headbearer Goblin will cause them to drop a Vex Cranium, which when picked up and fired, will strip the shield from a Gatekeeper. Once enough Gatekeepers have been slain, objective completion will be met. Various Vex units appear to support their mechanical brethren.

Upon clearing the racially-set objective, Guardians will be prompted to move on to the next section, through the "obstacle course" set by the Starhorse and Xur. A mancannon of sorts will exist at the far end of the valley, facing a rotating floating structure. Walking into the mancannon will fire the Guardian towards the rotating structure. Passing the gaps in the structure will provide passage to another short obstacle course, where Guardians contest with a moving platform and rotating columns. Bypassing this without falling into the pit below, the Guardian will be granted Starhorse's Favor for the next area. Opting not to use the mancannon, or being blocked by the structure, means Guardians can progress to the next section by walking through a lower path found at the bottom of the back wall of The Valley. This will forfeit the chance to gain Starhorse's Favor.

The trick to ensuring that you always pass through the gaps of the rotating structure is to wait until the outer hemispherical section of the floating structure aligns with the inner hemispherical section on rotation. When they match, walk into the mancannon and safe passage to the next obstacle course section is guaranteed. Although some guardians discovered that you can also walk in backwards while constantly holding the movement button back, launching them over the disc entirely. This, however, is more complicated than the former method.

The Vault
The second zone Guardians must traverse is The Vault. This large interior space will have another wheel, button and rally flag deposit spot close to the entrance. The same enemy selection process must be initiated before the activity can continue (Fixed weekly rotation on Legendary difficulty). Once declared, enemies will spawn and must be defeated alongside any other mechanics aligned with their race to advance.

An additional stage is provided after clearing the first wave objectives.

Cabal: A Goliath Tank will spawn at the far end of the room. There is nothing notable about this tank, as it operates the same as any other Guardians may have encountered so far. Deal heavy damage by targeting the hover jet sections, or by attacking the back.

Fallen: A gigantic Brig will spawn at the far end of the room. This Brig functions the same as any other Brig, only with increased size and lethality. Pile damage on until its weak point is exposed on its face, and finish it off.

Hive: A large shielded Knight will spawn at the far end of the room. Wellkeeper Knights will spawn nearby, and the same as before, provide a pool of Hive energy that grant Ruinous Resonance upon touch. Use this buff to remove the shield from the large Knight, and kill it to progress.

Taken: A large shielded Taken Knight will spawn at the far end of the room. Blightmonger Taken Minotaurs enemies will begin spawning, which upon death will drop orbs. Throwing these orbs at the Taken Knight will strip its shield, exposing it to regular damage. Defeat the Knight to advance.

Vex: A large shielded Hydra will spawn at the far end of the room. Headbearer Goblins will spawn as before, dropping a Vex Cranium upon death. Using this, strip the shield from the Hydra to expose it to regular damage. Exterminate the Hydra to continue.

Bonus round: Lucky Guardians may encounter a Taken Ogre known as Kashh'n Pryzus during this phase. Upon defeat, this Taken Ogre will drop extra prizes, such as Strange Coins, Treasure Packs and more.

Upon completion of the second wave, Guardians will be asked to take part in a guessing game (Fixed weekly rotation on Legendary difficulty). Three plates are provided at the far end of the room, each featuring a symbol relevant to a race (Hive on left, Cabal on middle, Vex on right). A countdown begins and Xur will urge Guardians to make their choice by standing upon a plate. When time expires, Guardians guessing correctly will be granted Starhorse's Favor for the final stage of the gameshow. Guardians should then proceed through the opened door, through a small platforming section.

Final Stage
Dependent upon the race indicated by which door opened previously, Guardians will face off with a familiar Destiny 1 foe as their final contestant, in a different region for each.

Cabal: For Cabal, Guardians will be sent to Eternity's Beach. This is a large open area, featuring a rally flag deposit point close to the start. Once combat has begun, Valus Ta'aurc will appear alongside hordes of Cabal. Damaging him enough will spawn a shield upon him at the far back of the higher section. To remove this shield, Guardians must kill Siegebringers which roam around the arena. Defeating all of these will cause a Thresher ship to appear in the sky. Destroying this will spawn a Dare Core, which is used to destroy the shield generators surrounding the Valus. Once both generators are gone, the Valus can be finished off.

Hive: Guardians will head down to The Pit to face off against Crota, Son of Oryx. This is a room set in a featureless void, with a rally flag deposit point and a few Hive portals at the edges. Alongside Crota himself, various Hive enemies will spawn in the surroundings upon starting the fight, of which Guardians should seek out the Swordbearer Knights. Killing these will allow Guardians to wield their swords, which are the only method of damaging Crota. To increase the damage output of these Hive swords, special Acolytes will appear with a slight glowing aura. Killing these will provide a stacking buff to sword damage for all Guardian contestants. Once Crota has taken enough damage, he will split into 3 Aspects of Crota. Slaying all of these with Hive swords will grant victory.

Vex: For the Vex, Guardians are invited to The Spire, where they will face off against Zydron, Gate Lord. This is another large open area, with a rally flag deposit point close to landing. When combat is initiated, Zydron will be invincible, summoning advancing walls of energy that will trap Guardians in cages if touched. These cages can be shot from outside and within to break them. After two waves, Vex will begin spawning around the arena. Keybearer enemies must be destroyed to allow damage to be performed on Zydron. During its shieldless phase, Zydron will teleport around and seek to kill Guardians with its Torch Hammer, all while summoning waves of Vex reinforcement. If Zydron is not defeated quick enough, it will teleport back to the center stage, becoming invulnerable and repeating its wall waves and summoning of Keybearers.

Lightning Round
Guardians of exceptional fortune can hope to encounter the Lightning Round upon defeat of the final enemy contestant, signaled by Xur and crackles of thunder. This is a chance to open an additional 3 chests of loot by completing capture points against a timer, all while being assailed by Taken forces. There are 3 waves of capture zones that will spawn around the map at set points, with Heavy Ammo crates inside them. Capturing all points in a wave will unlock a chest of loot. During this segment of the gameshow, Xur's Chosen, Special Guest Star can spawn, which is a cloaked Taken unit. Killing this is simply a bonus objective, and is not required for completion, nor will it provide extra loot itself, only progress towards a Triumph.

Fallen

 * Overload Captain
 * Paraversal Challenger
 * Paraversal Contender
 * Paraversal Contestant
 * Xûr's Contender

Hive

 * Barrier Knight
 * Crota's Swordbearer
 * Paraversal Challenger
 * Paraversal Contender
 * Paraversal Contestant
 * Unstoppable Ogre
 * Xûr's Edgekeeper
 * Xûr's Wellkeeper

Vex

 * Overload Minotaur
 * Gatekeeper of Eternity
 * Paraversal Challenger
 * Paraversal Contender
 * Xûr's Headbearer
 * Xûr's Keybearer

Cabal

 * Barrier Colossus
 * Commander of Eternity
 * Paraversal Challenger
 * Paraversal Contender
 * Paraversal Contestant
 * Unstoppable Incendior
 * Xûr's Bombtender
 * Xûr's Siegebringer

Taken

 * Overload Taken Hobgoblin
 * Paraversal Contenter

Bosses

 * Kashh'n Pryzus, Starhorse's Treasurer
 * Crota, Son of Oryx, Dares Champion
 * Valus Ta'aurc, Dares Champion
 * Zydron, Gate Lord, Dares Champion

Trivia

 * Scorn are the only race of enemies that have not been implemented in Dares of Eternity.

List of appearances

 * Destiny 2
 * Season of the Lost