Root of Nightmares

Root of Nightmares is a raid in Destiny 2, released in the Lightfall expansion on March 10, 2023.

Bosses

 * Zo'aurc, Explicator of Planets
 * Nezarec, Final God of Pain

Macrocosm
To finish the Macrocosm encounter, players must successfully defeat Zo’aurc, Explicator of Planets. In order to do so, the team must work together to align planets correctly, and break Zo’aurc’s shield

The first phase of the encounter starts off with centurions spawning on each of the far sides of the room. Once defeated, four Terrestrial Lieutenants will spawn on the four, large triangular plates at the corners of the arena. The players who defeat the Terrestrial Lieutenants will be able to see the indexed planets (glowing light or dark), and must communicate which planets are mismatched, and must be switched. In order to move the planets, hold the interact button below the target planet, and run over to the destination, and hold interact once more.

Once a planetary movement has been activated, players have a set timer on the left of their screen before the planetary shift concludes, and the planets begin moving

If a planet is moved to a destination that is already occupied by another, it will return to its original position. This means that planets may only move to spots where the destination planet is also moving, forcing players to essentially “swap” planets on the left and right.

Players may see if their planets have been swapped correctly, because the planets themselves will move once the timer has ended, and will either stay in their destination spot, or return to their original position

If done correctly, phase 2 will begin, and the indexed planets will reveal themselves in the center. Players must kill Terrestrial Lieutenants to see which of the three plates in the center requires a planet of what color. This time, players must move planets of a certain color to the plate in the center with the corresponding color (light or dark).

Once the planets and destinations have been selected, the planetary shift timer will end, and the planets will move over the three plates. If the indexed paracausal forces match (light or dark) the damage phase will begin. If the indexed paracausal forces do not match, it will trigger a planetary collision and wipe the fireteam.

If players take too long on either phase, Zo’aurc will attempt to align the planets incorrectly, causing three separate planetary collisions which emit a lethal wave of energy that destroys everything inside the arena.

Depending on where Zo’aurc shifts his attention, players must rotate between the three damage plates in order to damage him. Once damage phase has ended, phase 1 will begin again the exact same.

Once Zo’aurc reaches the final stand health cap, or if Zo’aurc becomes enraged, he will initiate a nonstop damage phase, players will have to rotate plates again in the same way, and will have a certain amount of time to defeat the boss before the planets collide and kill the entire team.

Nezarec
The final fight of the raid consists of combat against the reborn Nezarec. Now fed with both Light and Darkness by the fireteam, he is now able to leave his sarcophagus. Getting in close proximity of this will trigger him to shatter it, slam to the ground and begin the encounter.

To open up Nezarec to damage, the team must link two sequences of Light and Dark seeds on the left and right sides of the arena respectively. Starting close to where the team enters this area are the first two usable seeds, highlighted by an aura surrounding them. Shooting this while inside the area of effect will grant the same buff as in previous parts of the raid. Similarly, a faint trail of Light or Dark will emanate from the shot seed, pointing to another which has just spawned and must be shot to create the link. Once linked, another aura will appear around a completed seed and a Guardian must shoot this, obtain the buff, then travel to the next indicated seed to shoot it, so on and so forth.

While this is being performed, many enemies will spawn in the arena. Colossi, War Beasts, and Legionaries will appear in waves to tarry the team. Also, Nezarec themselves will not sit idle, performing attacks similar to Tormentors. They will periodically throw Abyssal Cleaves at targets close to them, or spawn a floating pool of Void energy that will cast many of the same Abyssal Cleaves as it travels around the arena. Once enough time has passed, Nezarec will begin casting Nezarec's Hatred, which spawns a Psionic Blast beneath Guardians, which will blast them upwards after a set period of time, dealing damage. This will continue until Nezarec's chest weak point is broken. Once broken, Nezarec will jump down from their perch and begin chasing the Guardian who broke their chest, performing further Tormentor-like attacks, such as the Void suppression divekick they are known for. The hunted Guardian will eventually lose the attention of Nezarec, them picking a new target and chasing them, but it can be regained by once more breaking their chest.

The timer for the fight that determines failure or success revolves around a spell Nezarec will begin casting, wherein they begin to exhibit a strong white glow. Once enough time has passed, Nezarec will unleash a pulse of Overwhelming Energy or Overwhelming Light, wiping the entire team if they are not sufficiently protected. Similar to the platforming section before Macrocosm, Guardians must create a refuge of Light or Darkness, matching the spell Nezarec will cast. To determine this spell type, the shoulder weak points of Nezarec must be broken. Once both are broken, Nezarec will display a Light or Darkness coloured tattoo across his body for a brief amount of time, matching the spell they will prepare. Shoot the matching seed while holding the opposite paracausal affinity, similar to the pre-Macrocosm relay platforming, to create a field that will grant a 14 second buff that protects against being killed by Nezarec's spell. Be careful not to shoot a seed that currently holds an aura field around it, as doing so will not create a refuge. Instead, it will provide the Field of Light or Flux of Darkness buff instead. The protection buff can be refreshed repeatedly by getting close to the seed once the refuge has been created, and the refuge will stay until Nezarec casts the spell.

Once a side has fully linked their seeds, large pulses of energy will go off from them in sequence, indicating success. Once both sides have been completed, Nezarec will shortly become vulnerable, indicated by a blast of light striking them. During this vulnerable phase, Nezarec will display some new attacks, such as the ability to perform a teleport into a slam, a slam that spawns large spinning Void projectiles across the ground, mixed in with their regular Void slashes. As they are not inactive during the damage phase, it is advised to locate the team on the final seed spot on either the Light or Darkness sides, as Nezarec will be unable to teleport behind the group, ensuring that sight won't be lost during the short damage phase.

As Nezarec becomes immune, they will prepare a slam attack which will suppress any Guardian caught in the vicinity. This is the fireteams cue to return to their initial starting positions, from whence the fight repeats itself.

If Nezarec's health is depleted enough to reach Final Stand, Nezarec will roar, displaying more Resonant energy coursing through their body, turning black. Now it remains a race to deplete Nezarec's health before they prepare another Overwhelming Energy blast that will annihilate the fireteam.

Unique Enemies

 * Aspirant of Nezarec
 * Cavum of Nezarec
 * Redolence of Decay
 * Redolence of Splendor
 * Terrestrial Lieutenant

Weapons

 * Conditional Finality - Exotic Shotgun
 * Rufus's Fury - Legendary Auto Rifle
 * Mykel's Reverence - Legendary Sidearm
 * Nessa's Oblation - Legendary Shotgun
 * Acasia's Dejection - Legendary Trace Rifle
 * Koraxis's Distress - Legendary Heavy Grenade Launcher
 * Briar's Contempt - Legendary Linear Fusion Rifle

Other rewards

 * Raid Armor Mods
 * Chill Out - Defeating a combatant with a Stasis weapon spawns a Stasis crystal. Must have a Stasis subclass equipped.
 * Precise Jolts - Rapid precision hits with Arc weapons jolt the target. Must have an Arc subclass equipped.
 * Volatile Volleys - Defeating powerful combatants with a Void weapon gives your Void weapons Volatile Rounds. Must have a Void subclass equipped.
 * Radiant Heat - Powerful combatant final blows with Solar weapons grants Radiant. Must have a Solar subclass equipped.
 * Tangled Up - Defeating a combatant with a Strand weapon spawns a Tangle. Must have a Strand subclass equipped.
 * Cabal Extinguisher - When an ally gains Flux of Darkness or Field of Light, deal increased weapon damage to Cabal combatants for a short time.
 * Release Recover - When you lose Flux of Darkness or Field of Light, begin recovering health.
 * Focused Darkness - When you have Flux of Darkness, gain increased ability damage and mobility.
 * Focused Light - When you have Field of Light, gain increased weapon damage and resilience.
 * Inspiral Lore Book

Transcript
Mission Starts The Guardians reach the ledge overlooking a bud of a Tree of Silver Wings. The Guardians approach the Cataclysm encounter. After successfully completing Cataclysm. The Team progresses through Scission, halfway through the transition. After completing Scission, the team returns to an overgrown Cataclysm. The Fireteam progresses through the overgrown Cataclysm area. The Fireteam enters a temple-like complex. One of the Guardians bypasses the temple and approaches Macrocosm. The Guardians enter the Macrocosm complex and advance through it, encountering Zo'aurc, Explicator of Planets and his entourage of Psions. After defeating Zo'aurc and opening the floral door, the Fireteam approaches a fully grown Cataclysm. The fireteam begins their approach to the overgrown spike where Nezarec rests. Nezarec's spike is approached. After a hectic battle with Nezarec and turning the Light and Dark against him, the fireteam vanquishes Nezarec.
 * Nezarec: [Laughs Ominously]
 * Nezarec: Oh, you have arrived. Good.
 * Nezarec: I'm glad my messages reached you. I considered you might leave me here to rot, but we both know you Guardians can't resist unanswered questions. Or a challenge.
 * Nezarec: Oh, these sensations! The tingle in my fingertips! This power is familiar, yet... different. Oh, it's invigorating!
 * Nezarec: If I had a modicum of my original power, I'd have killed one-or three-of those citizens to expedite your arrival. Instead, I suffer from the incompetence of these... new recruits.
 * Nezarec: Mmm... I can hear the shifting roots across the Pyramid's architecture. Taste the paracausality on my tongue. Progress.
 * Nezarec: After that witch killed me and cursed my remains, I assume that's when she whisked away the Veil to Neptune. The coveted key to the Witness's plans... and the sapid secret of its first victims. As much as I loathe her, I must applaud her efforts.
 * Nezarec: As I've gathered, there was barely anything left of me for the Witness to collect. Hmm... has anyone suffered from the pieces they took? I wonder if I could track them down. Do you happen to know who took them. Consider the information reparations for my untimely death.
 * Nezarec: Lightbearers have always seemed... efficient at creating their own chaos. Your Warlords did a masterful job of that. Do you enjoy hearing the final screams of your enemies? Screams are the most delicious when they're wrenched directly from the throat. An echo that reverberates through eternity. Aah... beautiful.
 * Nezarec: Tear that useless sack of meat apart for me, won't you? He hasn't accomplished nearly as much as you in your short time here.
 * Nezarec: Such tenacious adventurers. It's fascinating to see the lengths you'll go to reach your goals. Emissaries of pain and death. It's inspiring.
 * Nezarec: I have been trapped for a very long time. Such a cruel fate for simply fulfilling my duties... don't you think? Free me. I want to experience this world with my... new perspective.
 * Nezarec: [laughs maniacally] Oh, a shame we can't entertain our one-sided conversations further! Ah, but this... this feels too good. Guardians! Let me devour your fear!
 * Nezarec: My memory will never extinguish. In your calmest moments, your deepest slumber... you will remember me Guardians.

Post-Raid Completion
{Cutscene}

A sketched reenactment of the battle over Earth is shown and the camera zooms in on the Traveler and the Essence.


 * Osiris: While our attention was drawn to Neptune, something wicked stirred in the Witness's Pyramid.

''The beam of Light shoots from the Traveler and pierces the Essence, as the beam subsides, floral growths appear along the blast. The camera zooms into the hull.''


 * Osiris: A life force thought to be lost, unknowingly revived by the Traveler's terraforming power.

''The scene then cuts to the Cataclysm arena and zooms in on the spike where Nezarec rested. He is then sketched into view, eyes glowing.''


 * Osiris: Its defensive display forever imprinted upon the vessel,

The growth then ravels itself into the shape of the Tree of Silver Wings within and begins to bloom.


 * Osiris: the infamous "final god of pain" sought to use this paracausal power for his own curiosities.

Leaves begin to fall.


 * Osiris: But it proved to be his final mistake.

''The roots then transition into live circuits as the camera pans towards where they converge, the center of Neomuna. Nezarec's claws are seen clutched around the city.''


 * Osiris: The people of Neomuna may now be free of Nezarec's influence,

''Nezarec's claws disintegrate as a blast of light emerges from the center. The circuitry then converge to sketch a stylized Vex Goblin head at it's center.''


 * Osiris: but the Cabal and Vex remain at their doorstep, though an unanswerable question remains on all our minds...

''Light glows from it's center and consumes the screen. It then shrinks to the scarred Traveler with the Witness's triangular portal at it's center, Pyramid ships flanking it.''


 * Osiris: Where has the Witness gone?

The camera zooms out to see the main planets of the Sol System


 * Osiris: We must begin our search in the pieces it left behind.

The Witness is drawn behind the Traveler and Earth


 * Osiris: It will not succeed for as long as we remain in existence.

The scene fades to black and ends

Following the cutscene, players can interact with the terminal in the Hall of Heroes and get the following dialogue.


 * Jisu Calerondo: [Neomuna News with Jisu Calerondo musical jingle] Vanguard forces recently engaged an independent provocateur identified as "Nezarec" within a derelict Black Fleet vessel. Described as "the final God of Pain" in pre-Collapse sources, he possessed potent psionic abilities. Authorities believe these abilities allowed him to access and disrupt CloudArk operations here in Neomuna.