How to Kill the Hive in Destiny

How to find all of the Gold Chests and Dead Ghosts in Destiny.

Some of the missions in Destiny are chaotic, and that’s putting it mildly. It’s common to see five or six different types of creatures slinging their nonsense at you and the rest of your fire team. Thankfully, each of these terrifying species have weaknesses that all Guardians should exploit. Today, we’ll run through the Hive, and then break down how to kill each individual threat.

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The Hive

Thrall – These guys are jerks. They don’t have weapons and aren’t afraid to die, so they’ll try to swarm you and tear you to pieces. As long as you maintain distance there should be no issues, but if they start to close the distance, retreat and hit several of them with one of your grenades or automatic weapon fire. At range they are absolutely no threat to players whatsoever.

Cursed Thrall – These are a variant of the regular Thrall, but will self-detonate when they are close to you to try and take players out. They hide among regular Thrall and will explode when killed. If you kill one hiding in a pack of the regular Thrall, the blast should take out the entire pack. Do not under any circumstances allow them to get close to you.

Acolyte – These enemies are a step up from the Thrall, and are most comparable to the Dreg of the Fallen society. They become much better shots when taking cover, so you’ll want to try and take them out while they’re in the open. There’s no special trick to finishing off these guys. They are fairly weak and should fall to any standard weapon, grenade or melee attack.

Knight – This member of the Hive is extremely durable and comes with several variants that can cause players all kinds of trouble. The most common tactic for a Knight to use is to put up a wall of darkness to block incoming attacks and recover some health. When this happens, try to flank and hit them from the sides. If you see a Knight with a sword (Clever Knight), stay well out of melee range.

Wizard – These foes are some of the most problematic Hive that you’ll face on a consistent basis. They hover above the battle and can hurl slow moving projectiles at Guardians, while also healing their comrades. They have shields and can even damage you with a dark sphere of foul energy if you get close enough. Grenades are not a good option. Instead, go with precision weapons from a distance.

Ogre – Just as the name suggests, the Ogre is brutal and direct with its two types of attacks. The first attack is a beam of Void energy, and the second is a ground smash that it utilizes when you are within melee range. Pop in and out of cover to take these guys down from a distance, and if it does get close enough to you for a ground smash, try and jump to avoid damage.

Shrieker – This unit acts as an immobile turret, but can phase into the middle of a battle. Because they don’t move, you can easily take them out from a distance, but be very careful not to get caught in their bolts of Void energy. They don’t appear often, but be very careful not to let one spawn next to you while you’re otherwise engaged.

Tomb Ship – This should remind players of the Skiff from the Fallen society. The Tomb Ship can phase in an out of existence, dropping Hive forces off in any area the ship can fit. Like the Skiff, it’s not really worth your time unless it decides to linger, and like the Skiff, you can shoot out the turrets to stop its attack. Try putting a well-placed grenade at its base to take out large batches of Hive as they land.

Check out the official Destiny sample strategies from the official digital guide.

For complete Destiny strategies, walkthroughs, and multiplayer maps, get the Destiny Limited Edition Strategy Guide. You’ll get a complete, official guide with campaign walkthroughs and strategies for every strike, plus full multiplayer coverage, exclusive illustrated maps available only in the official guide, and weapon and enemy data. It’s 400 pages packed with everything you need and want in a Destiny guide.

The Destiny guide is also available as a Signature Series Guide and as a Digital Guide.