Destiny Weekly Nightfall Strike – Meridian Bay – Valus Ta’aurc

Greetings, Guardians.

This week, the team at Bungie has thrown down the gauntlet with the Weekly Nightfall Strike, tossing Valus Ta’aurc from the Meridian Bay strike on Mars in our path. It’s one of the most difficult activities in all of Destiny without the added mission modifiers, but as with every Weekly Nightfall Strike, there are plenty of those to complicate things even further.

Mission Modifiers for January 6 to January 12, 2015

• Epic – Heavily shielded and highly aggressive enemies appear in great numbers.
• Nightfall – If all players die, your Fireteam is returned to Orbit.
• Lightswitch – Minions of the Darkness deal much more melee damage.
• Angry – Minions of the Darkness won’t flinch, even after massive damage.
• Juggler – No ammo drops for your equipped weapon.

Tip: There is no Arc Burn, Solar Burn or Void Burn to give you a bump in damage, so the only elemental damage types you’ll need is Void to take out the Elite Psion, and Solar for the Imperial Centurion. If you have two or more members of your Fireteam, have one person take down the shields while the remaining member(s) go for the kill shot.

Know When to Walk Away

The first part of this strike can be beaten by simply running past all of the enemies that are put in front of you. At one point you will need to deploy your Ghost, but you can do so quickly and then continue on your journey. In fact, you’ll want to run past all of your foes until you reach the Trenchworks and your ability to respawn is restricted.

Tip: To make bypassing enemies even easier, consider the Bladedancer subclass for the Hunter. This will allow you to become invisible. Then it’s just a matter of jumping, running and sliding past all of the Cabal.

The Trenchworks, Darkness Zone Begins

This is where you’ll want to start pounding the Elite Psion scum with Void Damage, having another member of your Fireteam go for the kill when their shields are down. Patience is key here. Simply stand at the door of the Trenchworks and hammer away until the area around the tanks is clear.

You don’t have to get into the tanks, but doing so will allow you to conserve your personal cache of ammunition, and that will be a massive benefit for the upcoming boss fight. Just be patient and slowly pick off the Cabal, including Val Bou’urc, Val Zu’uarc and Val Ma’aurg.

Destroy the Goliath, Val Ca’aul

Before the final boss, you’ll need to take out a fourth guard who is sitting inside of a Goliath Tank. The tank’s weak points are actually its legs, but the thing can do crazy damage if it hits you even one time. In fact, one shot will likely be enough to kill you. Try to remain in cover, peeking out with shots from a powerful sniper rifle to take it out.

Tip: Just past the point where you could have gotten into a tank, where you originally bumped into the Elite Psions when you entered the Trenchworks, is a wonderful cheese spot. Hop up on a cliff to the left and use your sniper rifle to take out the Goliath Tank. No chance it can hit you when you’re in this position. Well… almost no chance.

Know When to Run

It’s back to running and ignoring all of the enemies in front of you. Sure, they’re going to shoot at you, but just bounce around (or go invisible) and avoid them. You can even ride your Sparrow all the way to the final room where you’ll do battle with Valus Ta’aurc. There is no point in getting bogged down if you don’t need to.

Valus Ta’aurc Boss Fight

Defeating the boss is a pain only because he likes to shoot rockets and can take a lot of damage. The real problem on this Weekly Nightfall Strike are the Elite Psion and Psion Operant enemies. Because Lightswitch is on, these guys can kill you with one melee attack, and their Void shields allow them to take a huge amount of damage. Again, teamwork is key here, so assign one player to take their shields down with a Void weapon, and another person to finish them off.

In between hoards of his minions, aim for the head of Valus Ta’aurc to deal critical damage. Sniper Rifles are again useful, but so are Auto Rifles that have low recoil and can deal high damage.

Tip: If you want to cheese this one, take note of where Valus Ta’aurc enters the room, then pretend that you are him. To your right and in the corner are some boxes on the ground floor. You can jump behind these and remain completely safe from attack while still causing damage. Just be sure to bring plenty of Ammo Synthesis with you to ensure you don’t need to leave your cozy corner.