The Skolas boss fight in the level 35 Prison of Elders activity is one of the harder events that players will have to take part in. Teamwork and communication are important, but so is knowing exactly what to expect and when to expect it. Luckily, Skolas keeps a strict schedule, behaving in predictable ways depending on the amount of health he has left. By giving players some tips to work better under stressful circumstances, and teaching them what to expect and when, we’re confident we can guide almost any Fireteam through this battle and into the Treasure Room on the other side. The only thing that will stop you from winning are mistakes and attempting this at a level that is not high enough to be successful.
Pre-Fight Planning
When you leave the airlock and get into the arena there are two main areas where you’re going to want to spend the bulk of your time. One of them is to the left from the airlock exit, and one is to the right. The platform on the left will require you to run to the back of the fighting area from where you enter, and it can be tricky since Skolas will spawn minions nearby, and tends to walk up on that platform himself. The second platform (to the right when you exit the airlock) has less room for your Fireteam to move around, but Skolas can’t get up there. Other than avoiding splash damage and the odd brave Captain that likes to parkour into your personal space, it’s fairly safe.
Because of a modifier that we’re going to speak about shortly, your Fireteam needs to stay together. The best way to do this, stay alive and be effective, is to move around the perimeter of the map in a clockwise fashion, stopping at each platform to work, and then leaving when things get too intense.
As for your arsenal, we really like a good Scout Rifle here, and the higher the damage the better. If you have something that does 365 damage, that should be your Primary Weapon. As for your Special Weapon, this varies depending on the member of your team. We like the Ice Breaker because it provides us endless rounds to damage Skolas with, but at least one Fireteam member should have an Arc Shotgun in order to take down nearly invisible Servitors and those pesky Captains we mentioned earlier. Your Heavy Weapon should be the best that you have. If that’s the Gjallarhorn, bring it. Otherwise look for something that has tracking rounds and 365 damage.
Skolas – 100 to 65 Percent Health
During this portion of the battle, Skolas will spawn in one batch of minions, and will be virtually immune to damage unless you kill one of the nearly invisible Servitors that will roam randomly around the map. When you kill the Servitor, your Fireteam will have about 20 seconds to deal damage to the big boss. Don’t just kill the Servitor and start shelling out Gjallarhorn rounds here, communicate with your team so that all three of your Fireteam members are ready to focus on the boss at the same time. You might also want to thin out some of the ads before you do this, just to make life less complicated. Continue finding and kill Servitors until Skolas’ health is down to the next marker.
Skolas – 65 to 50 Percent Health
Once you drop Skolas to 65 percent Health two things will happen. The first is another wave of minions that you’ll have to deal with, and the second is Devouring Essence. The former is standard stuff, so work your way through those minions before you worry too much about hurting Skolas.
Devouring Essence is a real pain. Basically, Skolas will taint one random Fireteam member, and a timer will begin to count down on their screen from 30. Let’s call that person Player A. Before that timer runs out, Player A must have one of their teammates come over and take the Devouring Essence from them. We’ll call that person Player B. Player A won’t be able to take the Devouring Essence again for 40 seconds, and Player B will have to have someone take it in 30 seconds. This means that the only person who can take the Devouring Essence from Player B is Player C. By the time Player C needs to get rid of it, Player A will be able to take it once more. The best way to handle this inconvenience is to pass it from Player A to Player B to Player C, and then back to Player A to begin the cycle one more time. It is absolutely essential that nobody in your Fireteam dies, otherwise things get really sketchy in a big hurry. Your primary focus is the safety of all members of your group. Oh, and this Devouring Essence will last until the end of the fight, not just until the next benchmark in Skolas’ health.
Skolas – 50 Percent Health
At this point players are still dealing with the Devouring Essence, but now they will get another wave of ads, and a Dismantle Mines objective. This is tricky because your team needs to stay close to one another to pass the debuff (Devouring Essence) around, but mines can sometimes spawn in two locations at nearly the same time. If this happens, the player who is furthest from receiving the debuff has to leave the other two members of the team and head that way.
Our favorite class for this is the Hunter with the Bladedancer subclass. If configured to use Vanish, Escape Artist, Shadowjack and Stalker, players can use invisibility to move around the map without Skolas or his group of goons having any idea. This is the best setup for the Dismantle Mines objective. Anyone who has tried this knows you can be sitting next to half a dozen foes, dismantling the mines without them having any clue you’re there.
When all three mines are dealt with, clear out the ads (seriously, don’t just shoot Skolas) and grab up some of that much needed ammunition. When you’re regrouped and ready, take Skolas down to the next health marker.
Skolas – 25 Percent Health
This section is exactly the same as the previous. Players still have the Devouring Essence, and will have to deal with that while they take on more ads, and a second Dismantle Mines objective. The good news is this goes down just as it did before. Work your way through the mines, doing your best to stick together unless one person has to break off to get an overlapping mine. Your only concern with Skolas should be avoiding him.
When all three mines are down, put everything you have into Skolas. He has no more tricks to try and throw you off. His ads are done spawning, the mines are all dismantled, and all that remains is passing the Devouring Essence around while laying a beating on him. Headshots are the critical damage here, so do your worst and kill this Fallen fool.
When the round is over, head back to the airlock and prepare to enter the Treasure Room. If you don’t have a key, get your Fireteam to wait in the airlock until you can transfer one over from another character using the Destiny companion app. Your rewards will be as follows, although you can get some extra goodies that work on the RNG system.
- House of Judgement x 500
- Armor Core x 1
- Weapon Core x 1
- Etheric Light x 1
If you’re looking for more help with Destiny, be sure to scroll through our Destiny: House of Wolves Walkthrough and Guide.
