This guide will walk you through Preservation, a new campaign mission in Destiny 2. It launched on March 5, 2022, following the first successful completion of the Vow of the Disciple Raid.
The Preservation mission is a straightforward activity with simple mechanics, no head-scratching puzzles, and a whole lot of enemies. Follow the steps in this guide if you need help to advance towards each encounter.
STEP 1: Go to Savathun’s Throne World
The Preservation mission is only available if you have The Witch Queen DLC. Go to orbit, enter the Throne World, and click on the quest icon in the upper-left corner of the map. You should at least have a Power level of at least 1540 to be on par with the enemies in this mission. Otherwise, it will be a challenge—unless that is exactly what you are looking for. Preservation can be played solo or with up to two more players.
Need to catch up on your levels? Check out this guide here to quickly reach the Power cap so you can enjoy higher-level content.
Once you start the Preservation mission, you will spawn in the Miasma in Savathun’s Throne World. Move forward until you reach a huge gate. A horde of Scorn enemies will spawn alongside a Projection of Savathun.
STEP 2: Defeat Savathun’s Projection
You can respawn as many times as you want, so take your time in dispatching the Witch Queen’s illusion. Once you defeat her, enter the gate and keep moving forward. The Preservation has no mission markers that point you where to go, but the map is linear anyway so it should be no problem.
Eventually, you will come across an area in the swamp where another wave of Scorn will spawn. A unique Scorn Abomination called the Knowledge Bearer will also spawn.
STEP 3: Acquire Knowledge from the Scorn
Knowledge fragments appear when you defeat the Knowledge Bearer. These are small, floating black objects that emit a golden glow. Approach these fragments to pick them up.
You can only pick up Knowledge three times before you reach full capacity. You will receive three different buffs based on the number of Knowledge you picked up:
- Heightened Knowledge (1)
- Brimming Knowledge (2)
- Overwhelming Knowledge (3)
If you take too long in getting the Knowledge buff, you will be gradually overwhelmed with a de-buff. Your movement speed will decrease and your HUD will be obscured with darkness. So make sure to grab those Knowledge fragments as soon as you can.
STEP 4: Power Up the Darkness Vehicle
A floating platform will also spawn where you encounter the first batch of Scorn minions. Bring the Knowledge to this vehicle and your buff will reset. Then you can start picking up three more Knowledge fragments.
The Preservation mission has five of these Knowledge-picking encounters. During each encounter, you must gather a total of nine fragments, equivalent to three Overwhelming Knowledge buffs. They are easy to find from afar because of their golden aura.
Bring nine Knowledge fragments to the vehicle so it will power up and start moving to the next area. You can hop on the platform to enjoy the ride and also to avoid the exploding Screebs.
Scorn minions and Knowledge Bearers will spawn whenever you reach a new area. The vehicle will stop moving until you power it up again with Knowledge. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 until the vehicle brings you to the entrance of the Sunken Pyramid.
STEP 5: Navigate Through the Sunken Pyramid
Move forward until you reach this room. From the entrance, walk to the right side, and you will see a staircase that leads further down.
Jump down this gap and you will finally enter the Sunken Pyramid, the main area of the Preservation mission in Destiny 2. This is not a timed mission, so take your time and appreciate the different rooms.
Since there are no puzzles here, all you have to do is wait for more Scorn to spawn, then eliminate them all. The enemies serve as your guide; wherever they show up, that is where you should go.
STEP 6: Eliminate all Scorn in the Sunken Pyramid
You will eventually enter an area with a restricted zone. There will be no checkpoints here, so try not to die until the end of the mission. Find two large rooms and eliminate all the Knowledge Bearers inside.
This is what the final encounter for the Preservation mission looks like. Pass through this corridor and get ready to face three Scorn bosses. Remember that if you die here, you will restart the game at the entrance to the restricted zone. Watch out for the Ravagers’ Stasis melee attacks and the Raiders’ crossbows. Again, there is no timer in this mission so play it safe.
Defeat all three Scorn bosses to complete the Preservation quest. You will earn a piece of Pinnacle gear whenever you complete this mission for the first time after each weekly reset.
Stay tuned for more updates related to The Witch Queen, which Bungie will add to future updates.
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