The Leviathan is live, and like any Destiny raid, it is full of puzzles and mandatory teamwork. You should try to reach at least 270 power level before entering the raid. Although the raid is accessible at lower levels, the difficulty will ramp up and you might find your survivability is substantially less compared to your higher power level teammates. I have yet to complete it, but I found starting the raid at 275 power (Warlock running void) was fairly comfortable.
Other than that, make sure you equip your highest power armor and check on your perks (alter them as you see fit). You might also have mods to apply to enhance some aspects of your gameplay (like mobility).
The Best Approach: Trial and Error
The best advice is probably to be okay with trial and error. Even after you know what to do, it will still require proper coordination with teammates at the right moments to successfully complete an objective. There are parts of the raid where pattern recognition will be more important, and the best way to learn patterns is to see them over and over again. Don’t be discouraged if your team has to wipe multiple times before even beginning to do something correctly. There are parts of the raid that feel fairly mechanically demanding, so be prepared to be challenged and maybe even restart a few times.
There are portions requiring stealth, for instance, and other parts requiring the ability to quickly take down powerful enemies, communicate to your teammates, and travel to the right areas of the map. The raid will tap into different types of skills, but should become easier the more it is practiced.
The Best Gear To Use
As stated above, use your high power gear, obviously. I ran the first couple parts with the Skyburner’s Oath (exotic scout rifle), Origin Story (legendary auto rifle), and Deadpan Delivery (legendary shotgun), successfully. The Skyburner’s Oath is a great choice because of the “For the Empire” perk, which allows the weapon to penetrate Phalanx shields and do extra damage to Cabal. Note also that the projectiles fired from this weapon become more powerful if shot while aiming down sights. Another good exotic choice, however, is the Rat King.
This sidearm becomes even more powerful when other members of your team are also using it, and if you reload after a kill you go invisible for a short time. It is easy to imagine a situation when you might want to simply disappear, even if only momentarily, in a firefight. For your heavy weapons, running shotguns, swords, or rockets seem like a safe bet.
How To Make It “Fun”
This new raid is going to be a learning experience, and will likely require a lot of patience to get used to the mechanics and execute them correctly. So how do we make this fun? For starters, if you can, do the raid with people you know, and people who are unlikely to become easily angry if the raid does not go flawlessly (it won’t at first). You can also use the Bungie app or other LFG sites to recruit fireteam members. Be honest. If you’re new to the raid, don’t tell your teammates you aren’t; it’ll make everything harder for all of you.
There will be people willing to teach the raid, or even learn it all as a group. Another option is to view guides so you are familiar with the sequences before getting a fireteam together.
What are you waiting for? Board the Leviathan and complete the challenges Calus has set!
