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Onslaught was first brought to Destiny 2 with the Into the Light free update, and has quickly taken Guardian by surprise with how fun and addicting it is. Onslaught is the first real horde-mode tower defense activity that Guardians have seen yet, and it might have been exactly the addition that Destiny 2 needed. However, given that it’s a relatively new concept for Guardians, it can be somewhat confusing if you aren’t exactly sure how to play it. Let’s take a look at this complete guide for how to play Onslaught in Destiny 2.
How To Start Onslaught in Destiny 2
Starting Onslaught in Destiny 2 is relatively simple. Since the release of Into the
Light, a new node has shown up in Destinations that contains all the Into the Light content, including the Hall of Champions and Onslaught. Once you’re inside the node, you can either start the Onslaught PvE Playlist, which allows you to play quick 10-wave rounds, or the Onslaught activity, which allows you to run to Wave 50 and take on the final boss. The Onslaught activity is also where you will find much harder difficulties and more of a challenge.
The ADU: Defend With Your Life
Once you’ve chosen a mode for Onslaught and made your way in, the rest is pretty straightforward, but there’s one main thing to remember. You must defend the ADU at all costs. If the health of the ADU drops to zero, you automatically lose the activity. That said, there are some defensive measures you can bring into play if you don’t have full faith in you and your teammates abilities, or even if you just need a bit of help. After wave 31 in regular or Legend difficulty, the Delayed Extinguish modifier becomes active. At this point, if the entire fireteam dies, you lose and are taken back to orbit.
Defensive Towers
There are three different types of defensive towers you can purchase within Destiny 2‘s Onslaught. There are Tripwires, Decoys, and Turrets. Each of them performs in a different way, but they’re not too hard to figure out. Decoys draw the fire and attention of enemies away from the ADU, while Tripwires deal damage to any enemy who crosses their path, and Turrets fire alongside you in a fight.
Scrap: Currency of the Onslaught
Scrap is the currency used to purchase defensive towers in Onslaught. Scrap is obtained by defeating enemies and completing objectives, and all the scrap that you earn is your own to keep and use. Therefore, spending your Scraps won’t take away from any that your fireteam have earned separately.
| Tower | Build Cost | Upgrade One | Upgrade 2 |
| Trip Mine | 1,000 Scrap | 1,500 Scrap | 2,000 Scrap |
| Decoy | 2,000 Scrap | 4,000 Scrap | 6,000 Scrap |
| Turret | 2,000 Scrap | 4,000 Scrap | 6,000 Scrap |
Pyramid Rounds
Every 5 waves, you get to take a trip into the Pyramid. There are two different types of Pyramid Rounds you can play. On the 6th, 16th, 26th, 36, and 46th rounds, you will enter the pyramid to take out enemies and pick up a Spark Charge to take it to the exit to return to Onslaught as usual. On every tenth wave, you’ll need to fight a boss. The boss will be difficult, and you’ll need to take on plenty of foes, but after each boss is defeated, you get to collect a chest full of rewards and then either continue on or leave the activity. Rewards include BRAVE arsenal weapons, Trophies of Bravery, Engrams, and Glimmer.
Destiny 2 is now available on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation consoles.
