March 10 – Added confirmation from Bungie regarding the Destiny 2 Root of Nightmares World’s First raid race winners.
The Destiny 2 Root of Nightmares Lightfall raid has launched and, in it, Guardians face one of the most terrifying enemies in the history of Destiny 2‘s expansive lore.
More than a thousand raiders have jumped into the World’s First race to complete the Destiny 2 raid in contest mode, which increases the event’s difficulty for the first 48 hours of the raid. The beautifully-designed raid features the voice of Nezarec, the Final God of Pain, encouraging players to seek the entity out while on the Witness’s pyramid ship.
The fireteam Hard in the Paint is the confirmed winner of the World’s First race, as confirmed by the official Destiny 2 Twitter account. The team defeated Nezarec to complete the raid in about 2 hours and 24 minutes.
Each member of the winning team will earn a special raid belt that Bungie has developed specifically for the event winners. However, all players who complete the raid within the first 48 hours will get a special emblem.
True to Bungie’s form, the raid is full of puzzle mechanics and intricate platforming, rendering it a significant challenge for even the game’s most elite players. One area in particular features an alignment of planets, a mechanic players first saw in a Lightfall promotional trailer. Many of the raid’s mechanics emphasize the Light and Darkness interplay.
Nezarec is a Tormenter, an enemy type new to Lightfall with powerful attacks and the ability to withstand heavy damage. Players may recognize Nezarec’s name from the Season of Plunder. Players gathered parts of his body hidden throughout the Solar System to prevent Eramis from collecting and using them against the Light. The entity is also the namesake for weapons and gear such as the Nezarec’s Sin exotic Warlock helmet and the Nezarec’s Whisper exotic glaive. The Delicate Tomb arc fusion rifle also features lore pertaining to Nezarec.
Upon collecting the relics in the Season of Plunder, Mithrax combined them to create a tea, which awakened Osiris from a slumber that enveloped him after Savathun assumed his likeness and left him in exchange for Mara Sov’s commitment to remove the worm that possessed The Witch Queen. However, even then, Guardians understood the dangers of using the Darkness powers of the disciple of the Witness to awaken Osiris.
Bungie had subtly hinted that Nezarec could be the final raid boss. Players recently reported hearing voice lines from Nezarec around Neomuna when they had specific Nezarec-linked weapons equipped.
Hundreds of thousands of viewers tuned in to watch the raid via Twitch Rivals and individual Twitch streamers’ and YouTubers’ channels.
If you’re not quite ready to take on the Destiny 2 Root of Nightmares raid in the multiplayer game, check out our guides to the Destiny 2 Quicksilver Storm catalyst, the Destiny 2 Winterbite exotic glaive, and the Destiny 2 Final Warning exotic Strand sidearm.