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Destiny 2’sInto the Light update has added a long-requested endgame activity to the game: a raid boss gauntlet. Each week, players can enter the Pantheon activity and fight a series of tough raid bosses to earn some powerful rewards, including adept weapons, high-stat armor, and even raid Exotics.
The Pantheon is open to all players, including New Lights, so now is the perfect time to enter the raiding scene. This guide will explain how the Pantheon activity works, how to unlock it, and give an in-depth breakdown of encounter changes and gauntlet variants. An FAQ is also attached that answers most questions surrounding this new endgame PvE activity.
Updated May 17, 2025, by Charles Burgar:Nezarec Sublime is the fourth and final gauntlet in The Pantheon activity, and it’s easily the hardest of the bunch. If you want to test your fireteam’s skills in Contest-level raids, this is the week to play. This guide has been updated to include every modifier tied to Nezarec Sublime, including an in-depth guide on how to beat Riven legitimately since she cannot be cheesed in Pantheon.
This guide assumes you know how each raid encounter works. If you have never raided before, we recommend checking out our raid guides onour Destiny 2 hub page.
What Is The Pantheon?
Pantheon is a raid boss gauntlet that is available from April 30 to June 4.Each week, Lord Shaxx will task you with completing a certain Pantheon gauntlet.Speak with him in the Hall of Championsto claim the quest. You’ll find the Pantheon node in the “Into the Light” node on the Director. All players can participate in Pantheon, and it can be replayed as many times as you like—the loot from this activity is farmable.
Pantheon doesnothave matchmaking. You’ll need to create a fireteam or use an LFG tool like Fireteam Finder to play this activity.
The activity is structured similarly to a Nightfall. Defeating enemies, earning medals, and completing encounters quickly will increase your team’s score.Your fireteam’s score will determine how much loot you receive at the end of the encounter.Platinum scores, the highest possible, award Adept weapons in addition to high-stat armor and Spoils of Conquest. Complete the entire gauntlet, and you’ll be able to claim a raid Exotic from Arcite 99-40.
Once an encounter ends, you’ll need to interact with a rally flag to teleport to the next encounter.You may rally between encounters, and the timer doesn’t begin until the encounter starts.Use this time to strategize and configure your loadout. If you wipe at any point, you will have to restart the current encounter from the beginning. Complete every boss fight in the gauntlet to finish the Pantheon run and Shaxx’s weekly quest.
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Encounter Changes
Every encounter now has abonus point timerthat will begin the second the boss fight starts. If your team can kill the boss before the timer hits zero, your fireteam will earn a massive score bonus. The encounter doesn’t automatically fail if the timer expires, just the bonus points.Your timer doesnotreset between wipes.
Additionally, most Pantheon encounters spawn aWitness Conscript, a miniboss unit that awards bonus points when slain. This enemy is usually a Tormentor and spawns after your fireteam completes a mechanic. You will see the message “A Portent of the Witness Arrives…” when the miniboss spawns.
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Pantheon Rewards
Completing each encounter will spawn a chest that awardsraid weapons, high-stat armor, and Spoils of Conquest.Your rewards are determined by yourfireteam score, which you accumulate by eliminating enemies and earning medals. The same medals you see in Nightfalls and Strikes are in Pantheon, so focus on landing multikills and picking up orbs. A Platinum scoreis needed to earn adept weapons.
If you can beat the encounter within the time limit and kill every Conscript that spawns, you should easily hit the Platinum score threshold.
If you complete the entire gauntlet, Arcite 99-40 will spawn next to the final reward chest.If you complete the “Divine Weaponry” quest from Shaxx, you can speak to Arcite and claim an Exotic raid weapon.Should you already own these weapons, you can claim an Exotic Cipher or three Ascendant Shards instead. This quest may only be turned in once, so choose wisely.
Additionally, the Pantheon activity comes with its own set of Triumphs.These Triumphs award Spoils of Conquest, static-rolled adept guns, and exclusive emblems.Be sure to claim these Triumphs once you’ve finished a Pantheon run.
Your effective Power is 1,805 (-5 Delta)
Solar and Strand
N/A
Class Warfare
Using your class ability increases your fireteam’s damage by 10/15/20% for 15 seconds. Stacks x3 times.
Encounters
Golgoroth
Taunt Golgoroth by shooting its back; destroy orbs hanging from the ceiling to create DPS pools.
Caretaker
Stun Caretaker; grab glyphs and shoot matching symbols to start DPS.
Explicator
Move the mismatched planet (Light or Dark) to the opposite plate.
Atraks-1
Destroy six Servitors, then use Scanner to deduce which Atraks to damage.
Atraks Sovereign is the first Pantheon gauntlet and is the easiest of the bunch. You will need to defeatGolgorothfrom King’s Fall,Caretakerfrom Vow of the Disciple,Explicatorfrom Root of Nightmares, andAtraks-1from Deep Stone Crypt.The encounters are mechanically the same.There are only a few small differences:
Other than that, this is a standard raiding experience withSurges enabled.The 25% damage bonus from using the right elements should more than make up for the Power delta. Additionally, theClass Warfarebuff is active throughout the gauntlet. Using your class ability will grant your team a stack of Class Warfare, increasing your damage up to 20% at max stacks. You also gain a small DR buff while the buff is up.
Class Warfarestacks with empowered buffs, surge mods, and weapon perks.
Rocket Launchers and Grenade Launchers work fine for most of the encounters, although we suggest you useGrand OvertureorParasitefor Atraks. Her health bar is quite small, so it’s possible to hit final stand with a single clone. Ramp up Grand Overture by hitting her invulnerable decoys at the start of the encounter, then unleash the rocket barrage once your team’s Scanner finds the right clone.
Your effective Power is 1,800 (-10 Delta)
Shot Caller
Landing a Primary precision hit increases your fireteam’s Special and Heavy weapon damage by 10/15/20% for 15 seconds. Stacks x3 times.
Oryx
Stand on plates to reveal Torn players. Torn players collect pieces of the Blightguard from floating platforms.
Oryx Exalted is the second Pantheon gauntlet available to players, and it’s slightly tougher than Atraks Sovereign. The first major change is thatyour fireteam is set to a -10 Power delta.This is roughly the difficulty of Neomuna patrol and The Coil activity. The good news is that Class Warfare has been replaced withShot Caller, a 20% damage buff that you can activate by simply landing three precision hits withanyPrimary weapon.
The previous gauntlet encounters return with zero changes.Oryx Exalted simply addstheOryxboss fight from King’s Fallas the fifth and final encounter. This fight now includes Tormentors, more durable Knight enemies, and frequent Light-Eater Knight spawns. Coordination is key to beating this encounter.
Light-Eater Spawns
A set of Light-Eater Knights spawn when a player becomes Torn.
Our previous encounter recommendations will work for Oryx just as well.Rocket Launchers and Grenade Launchers are great here, dealing immense damage while Shot Caller is active. you may bring a Hunter with Lucky Pants to ramp up this buff with ease. If ammo is an issue for your team,use Whisper of the Worm.Oryx’s massive hitbox makes it easy to land back-to-back precision hits to trigger Whisper’s auto-reload perk.
Your effective Power is 1,795 (-15 Delta)
Rhulk
Read symbols and gain resonance to empower totems. Reach Rhulk’s throne and empower the totems to start DPS.
The third Pantheon gauntlet has addedRhulkas its newest Champion, the final boss in the Vow of the Disciple raid. The mechanics are the same as before, but there are two key differences:
Before you reach Rhulk’s throne, you’ll have to fight Tormentors after your fireteam empowers two totems with resonance. The Tormentor can easily be dealt with through debuffs like Suspend and Blind. When you reach Rhulk’s throne, the Tormentors will no longer spawn, butRhulk will spawn a clone of himself.This clone has no weapon, cannot enrage, and only kicks people. It cannot be destroyed.
Drawing Aggro
Rhulk’s clone seems to bias the top half of the arena. If you send a player there to taunt the clone, the rest of your team can safely damage the real Rhulk from the entry stairs.
More importantly, this activity is now-15 Power, the same as a Legend Lost Sector or a Legendary campaign. Expect combat difficulty to be much harder, especially during Explicator and Atraks. DPS strategies will need to shift slightly due to this Power deficiency.
Your effective Power is 1,790 (-20 Delta, Contest difficulty)
Riven
Teams must read and purge symbols on each floor. Mark Riven’s glowing eyes for the opposite team to shoot. Break all six eyes at the apex.
Nezarec
Empower each side with Light and Dark. Taunt Nezarec by shooting their shoulders.
Nezarec Sublime is the longest and most difficult gauntlet in Pantheon. Your fireteam is limited to a-20 Power delta, the same as Contest Mode.In other words, you’re clearing eight back-to-back raid bosses with the same combat difficulty as a day one raid.Do not attempt this unless you’re playing with fireteam members you trust.LFG teams are going to seriously struggle here.
This gauntlet adds two additional bosses:Riven and Nezarec.Both encounters have seen some significant changes:
How To Kill Riven Legitimately
Virtually no one has done this encounter legitimately since Forsaken launched, so we’ll give a quick rundown of how the encounter works for people attempting it for the first time. In essence, your team must split in half and cover each side of the tower.One group will immediately get Riven, while the second team will get a Taken Captain.
Taken Captain Side
The team that gets the Taken Captain will need tocleanse a part of the room with Taken Essence.Kill the captain to spawn the Essence, pick it up, and then look near the pillar at the center of the room. You’ll see a symbol (like the first image above). Call out that symbol.
A second player must stand on top of that player to view every available symbol (image two).Call out the position that the Essence player must cleanse.I created a callout map (image three) to make this a little easier. Whoever is Taken must press theirgrenade keywhile standing in the symbol to cleanse it.Once finished, wait for Riven to show up and keep an ear out for the second team’s callout.
Your team will call out two of Riven’s eyes. When she appears in your room, youmustshoot both of those eyes.If you shoot the wrong one, you wipe. But before you break her eye, you have a small window to damage Riven. Damage her mouth until her eyes begin to glow, then break the eyes your team called out. She will then retreat, activating the gravity lift behind your team. Ascend a floor and repeat.
Riven Side
The second fireteam will immediately be attacked by Riven. She will either slam a tentacle into the ground or breathe fire in your general direction.Find cover, avoid the attack, and immediately retaliateby shooting her tentacle or mouth, respectively. Repeat this until she gets staggered.
Riven will then open her eyelids and revealtwo glowing eyes. Record these and call them out.The Taken Captain team needs to shoot these eyes when they’re done cleansing their symbol. Once that team has cleansed a symbol, the gravity lift near the end of the chamber (opposite side of Riven) will activate. Take the lift to the next floor and repeat.
Killing Riven
Once you reach the top of the tower, Riven will appear at one of four corners of the arena.Wait for Riven to attack, then damage whichever body part is glowing.This will stun Riven, revealing two glowing eyes.Record her glowing eyes.Be sure to write them down because you’ll need to shoot them in a minute.
Stunning Riven three times will cause her to appear in the fourth and final corner of the tower.This is your DPS window.Damage her mouth as much as you can. Just like before, you need to end DPS bydamaging all six eyes you recorded.Assign one person to break each pair. If successful, head back to the plates you descended from at the start of the encounter, thenpop all of Riven’s spores.
This should deal more than enough damage to trigger her final phase. Ascend the floating platforms to exit the ascendant plane, damage Riven one more time, and then run inside her mouth to reach her heart. Damage the heart to end the encounter.
Nezarec, God Of Pain
Nezarec hasn’t seen any mechanical changes, yet there’s one change that fundamentally changes this encounter:you can no longer stand on plates.Standing on the circular plates on each platform will cause Nezarec to summon a Darkness beam on your location, instantly killing you.Youneedto DPS Nezarec off a plate.Multiple Warlocks with Well of Radiance are recommended.
A Tormentor also spawns just before the DPS phase begins. Consider using Divinity along with precision weapons like Sleeper Simulant to kill them quickly.
The only other major change is to the Colossus ultras.Each Colossus requires the opposite side’s buff to kill.For example, the left side (Light) needs a Darkness player to run over and kill the Colossus. Each side’s secondary runner can swap sides when needed to kill them.
For DPS, you may either run Swords or stick with explosive weapons like Rocket Launchers. If Nezarec is destroying your team, remember to take advantage of subclass keywords:
Pantheon FAQ
How Can I Start Pantheon?
Speak to Shaxx in the Hall of Champions, then launch the activity from the “Into the Light” node on the Director.Shaxx will have a new Divine Weaponry quest each week, unlocking a new Pantheon gauntlet. It appears that the Pantheon activity rotates on a weekly basis.
Does Pantheon Have Matchmaking?
No, it does not.You will need to use Fireteam Finder or a third-party LFG tool to get a squad together. Raids are balanced around six players, so be sure to get a full fireteam before you start.
Do I Need To Own Any DLC To Play Pantheon?
No, it’s free for all players.You do not need to own any DLC to participate in the Pantheon gauntlet. This also means that New Lights can get their hands on raid Exotics and adept weapons that normally require expansion ownership.
What Happens If I Miss A Particular Pantheon Gauntlet?
It will appear as a difficulty option in the Pantheon playlist.You can pick between different Pantheon gauntlets before you start the activity, allowing you to complete every gauntlet you missed. This is especially useful if you’re aiming toearn the Godslayer title.
Are There Checkpoints In Pantheon?
Yes, there are checkpoints between encounters.You don’t need to complete the gauntlet in one sitting.
What Happens If You Wipe During A Pantheon Run?
You restart the current encounter.You don’t fail the Pantheon run, although the timer willnotreset if you wipe, which can prevent your team from achieving a Platinum score. Wipes are best avoided, but they won’t break a Pantheon run.
Can You Farm Pantheon?
Yes, you’re able to.Guardians can farm the Pantheon activity for weapons, high-stat armor, and Spoils of Conquest. There’s no limit to how many times you may clear the Pantheon gauntlet each week.
Will Pantheon Be Sunset?
Unfortunately, yes.The activity will be removed from Destiny 2 when The Final Shape releases on June 4. It’s unclear if Pantheon will ever return.
How Does The Divine Weaponry Quest Work?
Shaxx will have a new “Divine Weaponry” quest every two weeks.You pick up the quest from the Hall of Champions, and then you complete a run through the Pantheon. Once finished, Arcite 99-40 will spawn next to the reward chest. Speaking with Arcite will allow you to claim one Exotic raid weapon tied to that week’s Pantheon gauntlet. For example, Atraks Sovereign lets you claim Touch of Malice or Eyes of Tomorrow.
If you already own the raid Exotics that Arcite is selling, you may use your quest token to purchase an Exotic Cipher or three Ascendant Shards instead.Each quest may only be completed once.
