Destiny 2: How to complete the Illuminated Torment Master challenge in Root of Nightmares

Liam Ho
Destiny 2 Root of Nightmares Cataclysm Encounter

Destiny 2’s Illuminated Torment is a challenge for the first encounter of Root of Nightmares, granting bonus loot to Guardians can complete it, here’s how to do so.

Raids in Destiny 2 offer major spectacles and difficult challenges to those daring enough to partake in them. They often see Guardians face off against some of the most treacherous enemies humanity has ever encountered, with a story that generally follows after the campaign’s events.

Raid Challenges exist for players who want more challenges in their raids and offer bonus loot to anyone who can complete them and the encounter successfully. Bungie has recently added raid challenges into the latest raid The Root of Nightmares, with the Illuminated Torment challenge being introduced for the first encounter.

Destiny 2: How to complete the Cataclysm encounter

Cataclysm is the first encounter of the Root of Nightmares. This encounter introduces you to the first buff Field of Light. Players need to slowly cross the room transferring the Field of Light buff to various nodes around the room. They must complete this before their debuff Sweeping Terror runs out, as running out of time results in a complete fireteam wipe.

Players can add time to their debuff by killing the Tormentors that spawn into the arena via killing bubbled Psions. This gives them more breathing room and time to reach the end of the room.

The general strategy to complete this encounter is to have runners deal with the Field of Light buff transfers, whilst the other players cut down ADs, spawn and slay Tormentors.

Tormentor enemy in Root of Nightmares Destiny 2
Tormentors will need to be slain to increase the time Guardians have.

Destiny 2: How to complete Illuminated Torment raid challenge

The Illuminated Torment requires that the player who lands the final blow on all Tormentors also have the Field of Light buff. If any Tormentor dies to a player without the Field of Light buff active, the challenge will fail and you won’t receive bonus loot at the end of the encounter.

Therefore players who are killing Tormentors will need to refresh their Field of Light buff with the runners. It’s important to note that the Field of Light buff takes time to spawn, and is only given to those standing inside the aura around it.

Destiny 2: Illuminated Torment Master Challenge Guide

Completing Illuminated Torment on Master Mode isn’t much different than on Normal difficulty. A good strategy here is to have one player as the designated Tormentor killer, so that only one person needs to join the runners for the Field of Light buff refresh.

Destiny 2 Root of Nightmare weapons art
The Illuminated Torment challenge can net Guardians some bonus loot if they complete it correctly.

That player should be running a high-damage burst weapon, such as Izanagi’s Burden to help them get the last hit on the Tormentor. Running a Divinity can also help here as the damage bubble and bonus damage can help for faster Tormentor kill.

All other players should look to complete the encounter as normal, slaying ADs and transferring the Field of Light buff to the end of the room.

Running AD clear or supportive supers can help keep the party healthy, however you’ll be on the move a fair amount in this encounter, so Well of Radiance and Ward of Dawn might not be effective here.

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About The Author

Liam is a writer on the Australian Dexerto team covering all things gaming with an emphasis on MMOs like Destiny and FFXIV along with MOBAs like League. He started writing while at university for a Bachelor’s degree in Media and has experience writing for GGRecon and GameRant. You can contact Liam at liam.ho@dexerto.com or on Twitter at @MusicalityLH.