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How to Beat Thalnok in Destiny: The Taken King, Court of Oryx Tier 3

Pick up the Relic, bring down Thalnok’s shield and kill the Fanatic of Crota!
This article is over 9 years old and may contain outdated information

Welcome back, Guardian. This feature will tell you how to kill Thalnok, also referred to as the Fanatic of Crota in Destiny: The Taken King. Thalnok is one of the game’s rotating bosses you will likely square off against in the Tier 3 Court of Oryx Public Event; other bosses include Kagoor and the Servite Ogre mini-boss. Because Thalnok thinks quite highly of Crota, he’s sort of his doppelganger.  Beat him and you will receive a chest full of loot.

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Tip: In order to get ready for this Tier 3 Public Event, you should have a Light level hovering close to or higher than 300.

Things kick off with Thalnok appearing in the middle of the rift platform, flanked by two bothersome Hive Wizards. Additionally, you’ll see a Swordbearer in the middle of this place hanging out on the level below, and with it, swarms of Taken to make this even more challenging. Similar to Crota, Thalnok possesses a shield and is immune to your attacks so long as the shield is up. Once you bring the shield down, you’ll need to equip a Swordbearer’s weapon to make a dent in his health. This means you need to grab the Relic from the Swordbearer before even thinking about battling Thalnok. 

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First go after the Wizards, because these guys will repair Thalnok’s shield and attack when someone gets close. Ideally either you or another member of the team should have a weapon with Solar damage to quickly deplete their shields and health.

After killing the Wizards, focus your targeting reticule on the Swordbearer.  Gang up on this creature so when it dies you can easily grab the Relic left behind. From here, instruct one person to pick up the sword Relic while the other members of the fire team chip away at Thalnok’s shield. 

With the shield down, Thalnok falls to one knee. Whoever holds the sword should immediately run up and hack away like his or her life depends on it, rapidly pressing either the Right Trigger or R2 depending on which console this person’s plays Destiny on. Thalnok will stand back up, and you basically want to repeat the process of lowering the shield and having the sword carrier go on the offensive.  When he stands back up a second time, the sword despawns. 

When this happens, the mobs of creatures reappear and you must do the entire process over again. Slaughter the Wizards, beat up the Swordbearer, pick up the Relic, bust through Thalnok’s shield and hack, hack and hack some more until he’s dead.  Depending on the level of team coordination and skill, the entire boss fight may last a while, but don’t give up hope. Remain persistent.

Once Thalnok, Fanatic of Crota dies, you will see a chest appear on the center platform. Inside is a variety of cool things, including (maybe) Calcified Fragment 47. Everyone receives a reward, but the person who activated the Tier 3 rune makes out the best.

For more tips, visit Prima’s Destiny: The Taken King Walkthrough and Guide.


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