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The final act inDestiny 2’sEchoes season brought with it a new Exotic mission. Encore takes players to the core of Nessus itself to uncover Maya Sundaresh’s twisted plans. It’s one of the largest Exotic missions we’ve received to date, featuring three mission variants that will rotate each week.
While it’s a fairly long mission, Encore is far from impossible. This guide covers everything you need to beat the Encore mission on both Normal and Expert difficulties. We cover everything from modifiers to encounter specifics to ensure you may beat the Choral Mind and earn the Choir of One Exotic Auto Rifle.
Updated July 28, 2025, by Charles Burgar:The Destiny community has uncovered a hidden Encore variant you can activate in the Expert variant, awarding a unique emblem if you can clear the mission under a strict time limit. We’ve updated this guide to explain how to start this timed variant of the Encore mission.
Encore Modifiers
Encore is an Exotic mission with two difficulty modifiers, both of which featureno matchmaking.Beating this mission solo is possible, but the Expert variant is considerably more difficult.No mechanical variants are present between both modes.Exact modifiers are shown below. Surges rotate weekly, and Overcharge is active on Expert difficulty. Any weapons buffed by the Artifact will be affected by Overcharge’s 25% damage buff.
1,945
Solar and Strand
Solar and Arc
Barrier and Overload
Arc and Void
Exploding units have more health.
Encore Hidden Timed Variant
Encore has a hidden difficulty you may activate during the opening traversal section.Activating this hidden difficulty will impose a 35-minute timer;no other changes are present. Completing the mission under the time limit will award theTransient Whisperer emblem, a throwback to The Whisper mission.
To activate this hidden challenge, you willneedWhisper of the Wormand must play the mission on Expert difficulty.When you start the mission, instead of going right towards the ramp,go left towards the cliffside.You should see a few Vex platforms you can drop down towards. Follow the cliffside path until you reach a waterfall.
Equip Whisper if you haven’t already. The wall beside the waterfall will reveal a hidden room, leading to a corrupted Taken portal. Enter the portal to start the challenge. You’ll teleport to the start of the mission and have to complete the entire Encore missions, bosses and all, in 35 minutes. If you fail, you’ll return to orbit and will need to try again. Everything else plays out like normal.
Encore Walkthrough
Encore starts near the core of Nessus. Your fireteam will be tasked withreaching the depths of the planet.Clear out the Vex at the foot of the steps, thenturn right and climb up the Vex ramp structure embedded into a wall.It’ll be bathed in a dull blue light. When you reach the top of this ramp, turn to your left and look down. You should see a spherical structure with a tube you’re able to dive into.
After a short descent, you’ll find yourself in a massive chasm with seemingly nowhere to go.Look straight ahead and jump towards the blue light.There will be a platform you can land on. Shimmy along the narrow walkway to your left, and right when it appears to end, look downward for a red light illuminating a square platform with a lattice pattern.
The next room is effectively a Vex elevator. Jump across the radiolarian fluid towards the glowing platform on the left. It’ll take you halfway up. Wait for the second platform to descend and hop on. The process is similar in the next room. Use the platform to glide towards the isolated pillar, then use the elevators to reach the top floor.
When you reach the next room,wait for the pillar to fall into the middle hole, then stand atop the pillar before it rises back up.There will be a narrow passage when the pillar fully ascends. Follow the path, catch a ride from another pillar, and you’ll be at the top. Slide through the wall before you, wrap around to your right, and drop down the hole bathed in purple light and fauna.
Create A Connection Pathway
The Shadow Legion will be guarding a detour from your main objective, which is currently locked behind a forcefield. To reach the planet’s core, you’ll need to create a pathway usingVex Modules.Clear out the Shadow Legion guarding the path.
This encounter is effectively a dunking puzzle. Inside the room are a series of Vex Plates projecting a type of symbol. Each plate accepts a certain type of module:
Blue nodes won’t appear in this encounter, so you only need to worry about the first two.When you enter the room, turn around and grab the Connection Node in the corner of the room.This will display “Vex Module// Connection” at the top of your screen. Make your way to the plate near the middle of the room and dunk the Connection Node. This will spawn an obelisk you may interact with, removing a lock from the exit. There are three locks in total.
You may only hold one module at a time.
Your main goal is toactivate all three obelisks by juggling the single Connection Node across various plates.The order looks something like this:
Once all three obelisks are active,grab the Connection Node one more time and dunk it at the first obelisk plate.This will reveal a doorway into a dark corridor. Follow it to the end. When your fireteam is ready, pick up the Connection Node.
Avoiding The Death Wall
Encounter Bug
Dunking a Connection Module too quickly will automatically fail the encounter. If an ally dies while currently holding a Connection Module, everyone wipes.
A laser grid will spawn behind you and continuously chase your fireteam.You must dunk a Connection Module outside the structure before the laser wall kills you.You can use Strand or an Eager Edge Sword to generate some distance. When you enter the puzzle room,dunk the Connection Module in the corner, turn around, grab the Connection Module you planted earlier, and then book it out of there.Deposit the node outside to finish the encounter.
Pursue The Shadow Legion
The Connection Module you deposited will reveal a path forward. You’ll enter a spacious area filled with Radiolaria Fluid and monolithic-sized structures.Make your way across the room and use any gravity lifts you find.
Shadow Legion Cabal and Vex units will be guarding the next room. Eliminate both forces until aPartition Minotaurspawns. Killing them will drop a Partition Module you’re able to grab. Pick it up and deposit the buff at a nearby Vex plate. Head inside. AVex Piston is insideif you need any Radiolarian samplesfor seasonal gearor challenges.
Deep in Nessus' core is a hidden Ishtar Facility that is broken up into various research stations, all of which are broken up by teleporters. To activate these teleporters, you’ll need anAccessModule.Clear out the Vex in the research room and hook around the corner on your right. There should be an Access Module you may grab. Dunk it at the corresponding plate to activate a portal.
This next section is another module puzzle, albeit much simpler than last time. You’re juggling various modules to create an exit.
Defeat Eexonios And Iziira
This encounter is a duo fight against a Stasis Subjugator and a Tormentor.Before you start the fight, equip a good precision weapon.Forerunnermakes short work of Iziira, the Tormentor. If the Subjugator is giving you more trouble,runMicrocosminstead.
You’ll start the fight againstEexoniosand a small army of Shadow Legion. Focus on damaging Eexonios above all else. A strong DPS Super should melt the first third of their health bar.At 67% HP, the boss will drop an Access Module before retreating.Pick up the module and kickstart a nearby portal.
Entering the portal will spawnIziira, a Tormentorwith a massive health pool. You mustdamage its shouldersfor this part; it’s impervious to non-precision damage in this stage. A strong Sniper Rifle orForerunnermakes this part trivial.At 67% HP, Iziira will drop an Access Module and leave. Activate a portal and leave.
Eexonios will appear once again in a more enclosed arena. Clear out the Cabal first to give yourself some breathing room. Damage the Subjugator by another 33%, grab the Access Module, and create a portal.
A checkpoint will save your progress. If you wipe, you’ll restart at this section.
Iziira is back this time and isenraged.You’ll need to play it safe in this part, using the nearby portals to quickly reposition.Use a precision weapon to damage the Tormentor’s chest.Iziira is vulnerable to non-precision damage at this point, although nothing will match the DPS of a strong precision weapon. You know the drill by now.
The final section spawns both Eexonios and Iziira together.We recommend you kill Eexonios firstunless you’re having trouble dodging the Tormentor. Stick to cover whenever possible in this part, fighting near the left-hand part of the map. Once you kill either of them, the fight gets significantly easier. Recover your resources, pop your Super if you haven’t, and melt the remaining Dread unit to finish the encounter.
Explore The Jungle
This next section is a straightforward combat encounter.Vex units guard the path forward.If you ever get lost, look for where the enemies are. Fight through the jungle, climb up the rock slabs next to the dual waterfall, and clear out the small army of Vex.There are Wyverns and Hydras in this part; take it slow.
Disrupt The Choral Mind
Encore’s final boss is a Vex Hydra that can only be damaged after you complete a short Vex Module puzzle.Before you start, make sure your build has some form of healing.That can be through Restoration, Devour, or a Heal Clip weapon. This arena has virtually no cover, so you’ll need to tank quite a few attacks.
When the fight starts, a Minotaur will spawn near the center.Kill the Minotaur and pick up its Command Module.You’ll need to dunk it at the center plate. This will spawn an obelisk you may interact with, disrupting the Hydra’s shield. The boss will move positions shortly afterward.
You need to dunk modules on the side the boss moves to.If it’s on the left part of the core,you’ll need to dunk modules on the left part of the arena. You’ll only have one module to start. Grab the obelisk module from earlier and dunk it somewhere else. If you pick the correct side, a platform should appear with a Vex capture plate.Stand in the plate until it’s fully captured. Vex will spawn around you during this part; be careful.
Now that the plate is online, you can destroy the Choral Mind’s shield and deal some damage.Destroy the pyramid object floating outside the boss' shield to start the DPS phase.You have roughly 20 seconds to deal as much damage to the boss as possible. You can damage the boss past their HP thresholds—50% and 25%, respectively—but thiscan bug out the fight.Don’t push it unless you can land a killing blow.
After the DPS phase, you simply repeat this process until the boss dies.At 50% HP, the Choral Mind will deploy walls that block part of the arena.You simply need to kill the Vex Minotaurs and use their Access Modules to activate dormant portals. Walk through a portal whenever you need to enter a new section of the map.
The last quarter of the boss' HP will cause the Choral Mind to relocate to the center of the arena. You don’t need to do any plate mechanics at this stage. Simply break the boss' shield and land the killing blow. A chest will spawn once you’re finished, awarding you the Choir of One Exotic Auto Rifle. Be sure to talk to Banshee-44 in the Tower to start the weapon’s Catalyst quest.
