15: Scourge of Winter

Ishtar Sink, Venus

Level 12

Objective:Hunt and kill Draksis, the House of Winter's Kell, hiding deep in the caves of the Ishtar Sink[/strong]

Fireteam: 1-3 players

Cooperative

Rewards: 3000 XP

Headlands

You'll be in the same starting point. Ride your sparrow and continue following the path until you reach a new area.

Ember Caves

Once you've reached the area, you'll find the place littered with several Fallen troops. You need to head past the blue ponds and clear the enemies in the next installation platform. Use the jagged rocks nearby for cover and pick them off one by one. Follow the path and fight your way uphill. Be careful since there's also a Reaver Captain near the cave entrance along the way. Once the enemies around the entrance is cleared, head inside the cave. Keep going until you reach the next area.

Winter's Lair

You'll encounter a small Fallen group shortly as you follow the tunnels. Kill them all and continue forth until you reach a large cavern with a large number of enemies. The rocks will provide ample cover to protect you from the enemies as you clear them out. Once you're done with the first group of enemies, make your way to the upper level where more enemies are waiting – including a couple of Kell's Guards. Use your Super against them if you are supercharged; otherwise, pick them off from cover and deal with the pesky minions in case they're giving you a hard time focusing on the guards. Clear all enemies and follow the path leading to the next tunnel.




Gold Chest
There's a Gold Chest stuck on one of the rocky ledges above. Follow the path uphill until you reach the upper ledges. Right before the next tunnel leading to the mission marker, you can jump on a small ledge near the orange lamp. From there, you can double jump, lift, or glide to reach the chest.



Keep following the path until you reach the next area.

The Cinders (Darkness Zone)

Keep walking until you find a Fallen Ketch. You have to fight your way through a large number of Fallen forces. Don't rush; just take out the targets within your sights one by one as you make your way through closer to the massive ship.



There are more enemies waiting below. Use the ground elevation to your advantage. If you have a sniper rifle, the uphill path is a very good vantage point to take out enemies safely from a distance. Once you've whittled down the enemies, continue fighting your way uphill this time, leading to the ketch's loading bay. A couple of vandals will be sniping you with their fusion rifles. Rush towards them and take them out. Before heading inside, there's another Gold Chest location here that you can find.



Gold Chest
Once you've reached the Kell's ketch (ship), check then bow-side of the loading/docking platform (this is after the small ramp to your right, as soon as you enter the ship) to find the chest there.




After looting the Gold Chest, follow the marker as it leads you deeper inside the ship. More enemies will be waiting inside, lead by a Reaver Captain. Be careful of the melee Vandals that will be engaging you immediately as you enter, and the fusion rifle-equipped vandals in the upper walkway. Kill them all and proceed deeper in the ship.

Wintership Simiks-Fel

Follow the corridor and you'll be ambushed by more enemy units. After getting rid of them, go through the hatch and continue along the straightforward hallway. This will lead you to a large room with more enemies. There's also a Kell's Guard here. After getting rid of them continue forth until you reach the throne room where Draksis is located.




You can snipe the enemies by staying in the edge of the hatch, just enough to keep it open but not too far to trigger the boss fight. He has a couple of elite guards with him and several minions. Draksis can deal heavy damage up close so you have to keep running around and use the various platform elevations, or objects as cover. The small objects in the room works well against Draksis' height since you can shoot his head out of cover while his shots will get blocked. Prioritize taking out his elite guards and any minions that may get in your way.



Draksis can also teleport and attempt to hit you with a devastating melee attack. Once you see him teleport, anticipate this move and jump away to avoid it. The elite Kell's Guards won't respawn but expect Shanks to pour in continuously to annoy you. Keep moving, shoot behind cover, and use your super attacks to defeat him.



After completing the mission, head back to the tower to surrender the mission item you acquired from defeating the boss. You can also exchange the Strange Trinket you got from the mission to get a Strange Coin.