How to complete the Macrocosm encounter in Destiny 2

Explicator of Planets

Destiny 2‘s new raid The Root of Nightmares is live in-game now, and you’ve already used our guides to help your fireteam clear the Cataclysm and Scission encounters. What’s next? After a brief traversal during which your team will need to continue using the light and dark buffs to survive the waves of instant death that pour across the environment, you’ll enter a room with 12 planets and a pretty scary-looking boss, Zo’Aurc, Explicator of Planets.

Your fire team will want to split the room into three sections – center, left, and right. The left and right sides contain six planets each in the shape of two triangles. Each planet is randomly assigned Light or Dark at the beginning of the encounter, this changes with each team wipe. The left will start with four Light and two Dark, and the right will start with four Dark and two Light. Your objective is to get all Dark planets to the right and all Light planets to the left.

To do this, clear enemies in the middle until Centurions spawn. After these are defeated, four Colossus enemies will spawn, one on each triangle. When a Colossus is killed on your side of the room you can see which planets are Dark and which are Light.

Beginning on the bottom triangles, call out which are the odd planets. One person from each side will walk underneath the planets to collect a buff. The buff should be taken from the odd planet and carried to the opposite side.

We’re reading the planets?

Only the person who kills the Colossus can see which planets are Light or Dark, and only on their side of the room. You should therefore assign one person to deliver the final blow to the Colossus and read out the odd planets. There are three rounds in which to do this correctly, and with two planets from each side needing transferred over, there is the opportunity to have one incorrect round. Inserting both buffs in the correct position on the opposite side will see the planets shift places.

When you have six Light planets on the left and six Dark planets on the right, you can prepare for the damage phase. Another Centurion and Colossus will spawn, but when the Colossus is killed this time you can see whether the center planets are Light or Dark. There are three planets in the center and there will always be at least one Light and one Dark, so you can call out the position of the singular and your fire team will know the remaining two must be the opposite. For example, “Dark left,” means that the other two must be Light.

Once you know this, you can collect a buff from under any Light or Dark planet and dunk them in the plates on the ground below the corresponding planets. The planets should then combine and a damage phase can begin. The boss will be orange or white. If he’s white, stand on the white plate and do damage. If he’s orange, stand on the orange one. When you’re standing on the correct plate, shoot the crux to begin the damage phase. The boss will change color and the plate cannot be used any more once that phase is over.

The final phase will begin when all the plates turn orange and you can damage from any of them. Lay as much ammo into him as possible to clear this encounter.

You’re done!