Ghosts of the Deep is the first of the two dungeons in the Lightfall expansion, which introduced a lot of new weapons with unique perk combinations into the game. However, it is also one of the most challenging dungeons currently available in Destiny 2.
This is not only due to the enormous number of constantly respawning mobs in any encounter, but also due to the non-obvious and fairly complex mechanics compared to Spire of the Watcher or any other dungeon we used to play before.
In our Destiny 2 Ghosts of the Deep guide, we will explain the mechanics of each stage, as well as all the loot you can obtain from it.
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Ghosts of the Deep Dungeon Requirements
Before starting the run, make sure you have the Ghosts of the Deep Dungeon Key and have picked up the corresponding quest from Hawthorne at the Tower. Otherwise, you will have to spend 2000 Silver at Eververse to purchase this key.
The recommended power level for completion is not extremely high, with 1790 power level for Legend difficulty and a standard 1820 power level for Master difficulty.
We strongly recommend entering the dungeon once you reach a minimum power level of 1780, as otherwise, even on Legend difficulty, it can pose numerous challenges for you.
Breaking the Ritual – 1st Encounter
The very first encounter of the Ghosts of the Deep dungeon is not something difficult or convoluted. The first thing you should do is find the ritual site, located at the opposite end of the map from the spawn point.
After clearing all the mobs, pay attention to the green trail that appears near the statues (it will appear a few meters away from the road leading to the statues). This trail will indicate the direction to a group of mobs (note that it will not lead you directly to that group of mobs).
The main landmark for you will be a huge hive rune in the air (we recommend memorizing it, as its symbol will be useful to us later on). After clearing the hive group, another green trail will appear, leading you to another group.
Eventually, you will reach the location of the Lucent Hive surrounded by weaker enemies. Killing its ghost will grant you the Vestige of Light buff, which needs to be used near the 6 statues.
While the Vestige of Light buff is active, you need to manage to kill the witch and knights at the ritual site in order to unlock the opportunity to obtain the Deepsight buff.
After acquiring the Deepsight buff, each of the 6 statues will have its own rune, but only one of them will match the one you saw when destroying the previous enemy groups. This is the statue you need to use the Vestige of Light buff for.
To complete the encounter, you need to repeat these actions several times, after which the gates to the next stage will open for you.
Ecthar, The Shield of Savathun – 2nd Encounter
During the first intermission phase, you may have thought that it is the second stage of Destiny 2 Ghosts of the Deep, and nothing follows after it, but that is not the case. BLOG20
The mechanics of the first boss encounter are much more intricate than those of the first encounter. This is primarily due to the division of space into the underwater and regular parts.
All you need to do in the underwater section is correctly activate three runes scattered throughout the underwater portion of the arena. The order of activation is not important, but you will die if you make a mistake during the activation process.
To see these runes, you need to kill all the knight mini-bosses and activate the Deepsight buff in the middle of the arena on the water surface. Using this buff on the walls on the left and right sides at the bottom of the arena, you will understand which runes you need to activate underwater.
Each activation of a rune will spawn Lucent Hive Wizard, killing whose ghost will still apply the Vestige of Light buff to you, which you need to bring to the 3 statues on the water surface (the order of insertion is not important).
After activating the final statue at the very end of the arena, Wellkeeper Knight will appear, killing whom will trigger the appearance of a Well DPS zone. From this zone, you will be able to deal damage to the shield and eventually the boss.
If you are unable to defeat the boss in one phase, you need to repeat the same actions until Ecthar is defeated and opens the underwater path to a new encounter.
When going through this part of Ghosts of the Deep D2, we strongly recommend using the following weapons:
Weapon Name | Source | Exotic Catalyst |
The Lament | Banshee-44 Exotic Quest | No |
Merciless | Random world drop | Random drop from the Vanguard Playlist |
The Fourth Horseman | Exotic Kiosk | Random drop from the Vanguard Playlist |
Conditional Finality | Random drop from the Root of Nightmares Last Boss | No |
Simmuah Ur-Nokry, Lucent Necromancer – 3rd Encounter
This encounter is the most challenging part of the Ghosts of the Deep walkthrough, both due to the number of mobs and the mechanics, understanding of which can raise a lot of questions for many players.
The Deepsight Vision buff remains our starting point, and after acquiring it, you will see a green triangle with vertices located in different parts of the deceased Oryx.
The goal of the encounter is to activate the points where all 3 angles of this green triangle are located.
The first stage of activation occurs when you deal with a Risen in Heresy Knight under the effect of the Ritual Conductor buff at the location where one of the vertices of the green triangle is located.
You can obtain this buff simply by being near the point where one of the three triangle vertices was previously located.
If you have done everything correctly, a small hive sign will appear in that position, as well as a green circle a few meters away from it. You need to position yourself in a way that allows you to see the sign through the green circle.
After that, when looking at the sign through the green circle, the small hive sign will transform into a large rune symbol. This indicates that you have completed the first stage of activating the triangle vertex.
You need to follow the same pattern with the remaining two vertices, ensuring that a large rune symbol of the hive appears above each of them as well.
The second stage of activation will require you to kill 3 mini-bosses in different parts of the map. You can find them beyond the watery barriers on the left and right sides. Upon entering the cave where a Lucent Hive mini-boss resides, you will see a massive rune sign of the hive that matches one of those you activated earlier.
After defeating the Lucent Hive and its ghost, you will once again receive the Vestige Buff. It needs to be placed in the position with the identical rune sign of the hive as the one you encountered in the cave where you acquired the buff. It is worth noting that you can only place the Vestige Buff when the Deep Sight Vision is active. Otherwise, you will not be able to do so.
When you place the buff in the final position, a Well DPS Zone will appear at each of the 3 triangle vertices. This zone allows you to remove the boss's shield and subsequently deal damage to him.
For dealing the maximum damage to the boss, we strongly recommend using the following weapons:
Weapon Name | Source | Catalyst |
Two-Tailed Fox | Random world drop | Random drop from the Vanguard Playlist |
Leviathan’s Breath | Exotic Kiosk | Random drop from the Vanguard Playlist |
Xenophage | Moon Quest | No |
Deterministic Chaos | Neomuna Quest | No |
Secret Chests Locations
The first of the two Ghosts of the Deep secret chests can be found between the first and second encounters. You need to complete the entire section with turbines and descend to the very bottom - to the ocean sand. After that, follow the path to the second encounter. Upon entering the first cave, proceed forward and turn back to where you came from. You need to enter the ravine on the right, where the first chest is located.
The second chest can be found on the way to the third encounter. After defeating the ogre boss, climb up the building under which he was located. At the very top, you will find the final chest.
If you do not have time to farm Ghosts of the Deep or if you want to obtain a specific god roll, you can use our Ghosts of the Deep Carry service to get all the desired loot in the shortest time possible. We offer the best market price and guarantee the result.
Ghosts of the Deep Rewards
Unlike raids, farming Ghosts of the Deep loot is not tied to a weekly reset, except for the dungeon exotic. This means you can obtain as many weapons and armor pieces as you need per week.
However, each encounter still has a specific reward pool, which can partially simplify the process of obtaining a particular item.
The Ghosts of the Deep loot table below contains all the key information about the items you can obtain from each encounter in this dungeon:
1st Encounter - Breaking Ritual | 2nd Encounter - Ectahr, The Shield of Savathun | 3rd Encounter - Simmuah Ur-Nokry, Lucent Necromancer |
New Pacific Epitaph (Grenade Launcher) | No Survivors (Submachine Gun) | The Navigator (Random Drop) |
No Survivors (Submachine Gun) | Cold Comfort (Rocket Launcher) | New Pacific Epitaph (Grenade Launcher) |
Cold Comfort (Rocket Launcher) | Greasy Luck (Glaive) | No Survivors (Submachine Gun) |
Helmet (Armor) | Chest (Armor) | Cold Comfort (Rocket Launcher) |
Arms (Armor) | Class Item (Armor) | Greasy Luck (Glaive) |
Legs (Armor) | - | Helmet (Armor) |
- | – | Arms (Armor) |
– | – | Chest (Armor) |
– | – | Legs (Armor) |
– | – | Class Item (Armor) |
New Pacific Epitaph
- Type: Grenade Launcher with Wave-Frame;
- Damage: Stasis;
- Best 3rd Column Perks: Demolitionist, Perpetual Motion, Unrelenting;
- Best 4th Column Perks: Collective Action and Redirection;
- God Roll: Demolitionist + Redirection.
No Survivors
- Type: Submachine Gun with Aggressive Frame (750 RPM);
- Damage: Solar;
- Best 3rd Column Perks: Rangefinder and Demolitionist;
- Best 4th Column Perks: Target Lock and Incandescent;
- God Roll: Demolitionist + Incandescent.
Cold Comfort
- Type: Rocket Launcher with Aggressive Frame (25 RPM);
- Damage: Stasis;
- Best 3rd Column Perks: Envious Assassin and Impulse Amplifier;
- Best 4th Column Perks: Bait and Switch, Chill Clip and Explosive Light;
- God Roll: Envious Assassin + Bait and Switch / Chill Clip.
Greasy Luck
- Type: Rapid-Fire Glaive (80 RPM);
- Damage: Solar;
- Best 3rd Column Perks: Lead from Gold, Disruption Break and Impulse Amplifier;
- Best 4th Column Perks: Close to Melee and Incandescent;
- God Roll: Lead From Gold + Close to Melee.
It is also worth noting that all Ghosts of the Deep weapons have a unique perk called Restoration Ritual. After performing a finisher, all weapons with this perk in your loadout are reloaded. In addition, after using a full magazine of ammunition, this weapon is instantly fully reloaded.
The Navigator – Ghosts of the Deep Exotic
One of the best support-buff guns at the moment. Its perks allow you to apply Woven Mail to yourself and an ally, as well as deal damage that severs the target, which can synergize well with the Strand subclass.
Considering the introduction of the Cenotaph Mask Exotic Warlock helmet in Destiny 2, using The Navigator can not only provide buffs to allies but also supply them with heavy ammo. For more information on this gun, check out our Navigator Destiny 2 Guide available at the blue link.
If you have no time to farm this Exotic Trace Rifle, you can always use our Navigator Carry service and get not only the weapon itself but its Catalyst as well. We offer the best market price and guarantee the fastest result.
Ghosts of the Deep Armor Set
The new armor looks like it was brought back from Destiny 1. Its intimidating yet stylish appearance, complemented by ghost-themed class items, undoubtedly deserves your time and effort to obtain the new armor set.
Conclusion
Surprisingly, during the Destiny 2 Ghosts of the Deep walkthrough, it never felt like we were taking part in a dungeon, but rather in a raid. The multitude of locations that hardly repeat each other undoubtedly made this dungeon one of the most visually pleasing in the game.
In turn, the difficulty of the dungeon is fully justified by the loot obtained during its completion. It is worth noting that this is the first dungeon that does not include 2 random world drop weapons, as was the case with Duality or Spire of the Watcher.
Each raid mechanic is unique, and the stages do not feel like complete repetitions of each other. With each of the 3 stages, partially new mechanics are introduced, which make the process more challenging and exciting.
We hope that our Ghosts of the Deep guide has been helpful to you and that you have found the information you were looking for. Make sure to stay with us, as we will keep updating it if any changes occur.
F.A.Q.
How do you complete Ghosts of the Deep?
The completion of the dungeon relies entirely on understanding the mechanics of hive signs and various buffs. It is important not to forget the need to use meta gear to gain the maximum advantage during the boss damage phases.
What is the best weapon for solo Ghosts of the Deep?
Perhaps the most versatile choice would be Xenophage due to its high ammo efficiency and impressive overall damage output.
What guns should I use in Ghosts of the Deep?
In general, if you are running the dungeon in a team, the choice is often limited to using The Lament during the second encounter, as well as Two-Tailed Fox or Leviathan’s Breath with Catalyst during the final encounter.
Do I need the dungeon key for Ghosts of the Deep?
Like for most dungeons, you will need a dungeon key to start a run. Ghosts of the Deep is no exception.
How do I get the Ghosts of the Deep dungeon key?
You can buy the Ghosts of the Deep dungeon key from Eververse for 2000 Silver. This will allow you to complete the dungeon.
Is the Ghosts of the Deep a free dungeon?
Unfortunately, Ghosts of the Deep is not included among the free dungeons. Currently, there is only one dungeon available for free – Prophecy.
How do you get the dungeon key in D2?
In Destiny 2, there are currently three Dungeon Keys - Duality, Spire of the Watcher, and Ghosts of the Deep. You can obtain them only through the exchange of the in-game currency called Silver in the Bungie store.
Where to find secret chests in Ghosts of the Deep?
Secret chests Ghosts of the Deep are located between encounters. The first one can be found in the first cave at the bottom of the ocean, on the top left. The second one is located before the final encounter on the roof of the building where the ogre boss was standing.