Destiny 2: Ghosts of the Deep Rite of the Nine Refresh

Ghosts of the Deep has been a controversial dungeon in Destiny 2 since its release during the Lightfall expansion. One of the biggest problems with the dungeon is the length of its encounters and traversal sections, making the player feel like they have to go an eternity before completing anything in the dungeon. While most of the dungeon remains the same, there are two welcome changes for players in the Rite of the Nine version.

Destiny 2 Ghosts of the Deep: Hive Ritual

One of the least-liked dungeon encounters in Destiny 2 is the Hive Ritual. The encounter drags on for ages, requiring the player to complete the same loop four times. Thankfully, Bungie made two significant changes to the encounter to lessen player frustration. The Ogres will spawn immediately after depositing a Vestige instead of waiting for Deepsight to run out. Players only need to complete the loop three times, making it less painful. Hive Ritual still takes longer than most non-boss encounters, but at least Bungie listened to community feedback.

Ghosts of the Deep: Explore The Wreckage

The first traversal section of Ghosts of the Deep is infamous since it takes forever to get through the entire section. Bungie made it longer instead of shorter with the Rite of the Nine version. At three points throughout the section, players must kill Ogres to take down the Hive barriers. The first is right after the secret chest. The second follows shortly past the underwater section, and the last appears before you cross the chasm. The caveat to the final section of Ogres is that there are two of them to kill. Once killed, a Boss Hive Hunter Guardian spawns that you must eliminate.

Ghosts of the Deep: Ecthar, The Shield Of Savathun

The fight with Ecthar is mostly the same. The process to initiate damage does not change. Only once damage starts do the differences show themselves. First, the shield you need to take down is significantly weaker, meaning Arbalest or high burst damage is not necessary anymore. The other change is that Ecthar will not begin the damage phase in his super state. Instead, he will only activate it once you have passed the damage threshold. Tether is incredibly strong here since it prevents Ecthar from using his super.

Ghosts of the Deep: Simmumah Ur-Nokru, Lucent Necromancer

After defeating Ecthar, the path to Simmumah has no changes. As with the previous boss fight, getting to damage does not change. Simmumah’s shield, like Ecthar, has far less health, so once again, you do not need Arbalest. Simmumah will also enter her super state once you pass the damage threshold.

Ghosts of the Deep: Loot Table

With the Rite of the Nine version of Ghosts of the Deep, all four weapons can drop from any encounter. Players can acquire additional weapon drops from the Emissary Chest. The weapons available are:

• Cold Comfort – Aggressive Frame Stasis Rocket Launcher
• Greasy Luck – Rapid Fire Solar Glaive
• New Pacific Epitaph – Wave Frame Stasis Grenade Launcher
• No Survivors – Aggressive Frame Solar Submachine Gun

Final Thoughts

The changes to the Ghosts of the Deep dungeon for the Rite of the Nine event are successful. Needing one less Vestige on the first encounter and having the shields for the two bosses not matter as much makes the dungeon more enjoyable. It is unlikely that it will rise dramatically in players’ minds, given that it is still a chore of a dungeon. Adding the Hive barriers during the first traversal section makes little sense, given how long it takes to go from first to second encounter in the first place. While it does not significantly increase the time spent, it is an unnecessary element to the section.