Destiny 2 : Spire of the Watcher Rite of the Nine Refresh

The Rite of the Nine update for Destiny is here. The first dungeon on rotation is Spire of the Watcher. While Spire is not a fan favorite for most Destiny 2 players, the loot refresh will bring them back to the dungeon. Along with the loot refresh, the encounters have received changes that alter how you approach the dungeon. Below are all the differences in Spire of the Watcher.

Destiny 2 Spire of the Watcher Opening

The opening for Spire of the Watcher remains predominantly the same. The two significant differences here are that you can rally to the flag, and once you complete the nodes, a boss Hydra spawns. The enemies will not despawn in this phase and periodically spawn over time. The Hydra does not have much health, so dealing with it will not be an issue.

Spire of the Watcher: Ascend the Spire

As with the opening encounter, there are negligible changes here that you will not notice. Completing the nodes on each floor does not open the elevators immediately. Instead, you must defeat different enemy types on each floor. The first floor has three Harpies, the second is a Hydra, and the final floor has you battling an oversized Minotaur. A further note is that there are seekers throughout each floor, so be on the lookout for them.

Spire of the Watcher: Akelous, the Siren’s Current

Players who have completed the NODE.OVRD.AVALON Exotic mission will be familiar with the change mode in the Akelous encounter. Instead of completing the nodes in any order, you must complete them in order based on the Geometric Shapes displayed. Other than that, the encounter functions identically to the standard.

Spire of the Watcher: Descent

Understanding the change during the interlude between Akelous and Persys will help you in the final encounter. Before, when shooting the red nodes, all of them would be open, but for the Rite of the Nine version, random nodes will open, so players must pay attention to which nodes to shoot.

Spire of the Watcher: Persys, Primordial Ruin

The Persys boss fight incorporates the added mechanics from Akelous and the descent. Players must shoot the inner open nodes to open and close the middle door, and complete the outer nodes in the designated order based on the shapes given to initiate the damage phase. Seekers will reappear in this encounter as well. Besides those changes, the encounter remains the same, and you can defeat Persys to obtain your loot.

Spire of the Watcher Loot Table

Ascend the Spire

• Terminus Horizon – High Impact Arc Machine Gun
• Long Arm – Aggressive Frame Arc Scout Rifle
• Seventh Seraph Carbine – Precision Frame Kinetic Auto Rifle
• Arms
• Legs
• Helmet

Akelous, the Siren’s Current

• Terminus Horizon – High Impact Arc Machine Gun
• Seventh Seraph Officer Revolver – Precision Frame Kinetic Hand Cannon
• Arms
• Chest
• Class Item

Persys, Primordial Ruin

• Any Weapon from Previous Encounters
• Liminal Vigil – Aggressive Burst Frame Stasis Sidearm
• Wilderflight – Double Fire Frame Void Grenade Launcher
• Hierarchy of Needs – Solar Exotic Box
• Any Armor from Previous Encounters

Final Thoughts

Overall, the updates to the Spire of the Watcher Dungeon patch the problems players have with it. The standard version felt boring, with players not needing much thought on the mechanics. The introduction of the random nodes opening and needing to follow the Geometric shapes makes it so players will need to focus when completing the mechanics. The dungeon still feels lackluster, but at least these changes make it more enjoyable to play the dungeon. Hopefully, Prophecy and Ghosts of the Deep will receive similar upgrades to their encounters to make them more enticing to play.