02: The Summoning Pits

Ishtar Sink, Venus

Level 12 Strike

Objective:Deep within the Hellmouth, the Hive are breeding powerful abominations to unleash upon the Earth. Find the pit where they live and stop any new horrors from rising[/strong]

Fireteam: 1-3 players

Cooperative

Matchmaking

Rewards: 2400 XP, Armor Upgrade

Hellmouth

Head to the entrance with your teammates and take out the knights. Continue downstairs where you'll have to deal with more Hive forces.

The Gatehouse

Eliminate the Hive troops in this area. There is ample cover, and with the combined firepower of your team, you should be able to take them all out easily. Continue through the next passageway and to the gate. Deploy Ghost so he can work on opening the gate. While he's working on it, the area will become a Darkness Zone and more Hive reinforcements will arrive.



While the first rune is being decoded, you'll have to deal with the initial wave of thralls, followed by heavily armed Knights. Don't stretch yourselves too far; stick close with your teammates and remain mobile to avoid getting flanked or surrounded.



As Ghost tries to decode the second rune, a group of Acolytes and their Hallowed counterparts will appear. Shortly after, sword-wielding Knights, and Wizards will join the fray as well. The quicker you can dispose of the easier-to-kill Acolytes, the easier time you'll have dealing with these more powerful Hive units.



For the last rune, Cursed Thralls will join the waves of enemies that will hunt your group down. Keep your distance away from these highly-volatile abominations since their explosives can easily rip your shields off or even kill you instantly. Knights and Acolytes will join the group, as well as a Wizard mini-boss called Mormu. Hold your ground and defend the position until Ghost opens the gate successfully.



Go through the gate, and head to the next area. You'll encounter more powerful Hive troops again, including Hallowed Knights, Hallowed Thralls, and an Ogre. After clearing the area, go through the pitch black tunnel until you reach the next area.

Circle of Bones

Take out the first group of enemies ahead. This is just the basic combination of acolytes, some thralls, and a Wizard. After clearing the first group, follow the marker and take out the two Hallowed Knights along the way. Continue through the next hallways, and you'll find the source of the massive, unholy roar. Your team has to work together to destroy Phogoth.




Phogoth will be vulnerable, and won't be able to do anything while chained. During this time, your team should prioritize taking out the minions; or better yet, somebody from the team should already start focusing his/her fire to the boss. The boss has a massive HP pool so it will take a while to bring it down, even with the combined effort of your whole team.



Take out the Acolytes and Knights with launchers since they can deal splash damage, especially if your team are close together. Once Phogoth breaks free from his shackles, enemy reinforcements will appear. You have to stay in cover as Phogoth's beams can easily rip you to shreds. Several Wizards, melee Knights, and Acolytes will join the battle at this point. What's even more annoying is that there's a Shrieker that will spawn in the same room where you came from, giving you no safe zone to fall back to. (You can fall back to the hallway before that room) The enemies are known to enter this room as well so if you really need to fall back to recharge your shields or to wait for your teammate's spawn counter to finish, it's safe to wait in that passage.




Spreading out is a double-edged strategy. The advantage is that this will divide the boss' attention and will prevent your team being pinned down by the boss' deadly energy bursts. It will also allow you to switch aggros simply by attacking the boss in different directions. The problem however, is that you'll have to deal with the enemies individually. There is enough cover but the sturdy Knights, and the annoying poison mist or homing projectiles of Wizards will give you little time to recover or recharge your shields. You have to look out for Cursed Thralls as well.

Golden Chest
This chest can only be acquired during the strike mission on the moon, Summong Pits. Once you've reached the boss area, run across the field to the other side to find a lowered platform. You'll find the chest near the stairs and the edge of that platform.


Fortunately, this stream of reinforcements is limited. Take out the minions first while staying in cover. After surviving long enough to defeat all the minions, your team should be able to focus on Phogoth alone. This part of the battle is the easiest since you only need to surround the boss, taking turns to shoot and reload until it I defeated.