Destiny 2 Enemies: Types, Shields and Champions

For the most part, you’ll be taking down hundreds of enemies without caring too much about their class, alien race, or damage type. But as you tackle more and more endgame content, namely Master and Grandmaster activities, the type of enemy you face becomes extremely important.

This guide covers every enemy type in Destiny 2, including their combatant type, elemental shields, and more. This will help you better choose your weapons and armor mods when tackling endgame content.

Destiny 2 Combatant types

Regardless of their race or faction, all Destiny 2 enemies 2 are part of a Combatant type, ranging from red bar enemies to bosses. Combatant types will dictate how difficult an enemy is to beat, but also what mods and perks work on an enemy.

There are 3 main combatant types in Destiny 2:

1. Minor enemies (often referred to as “ads”)
2. Majors (including Elites, Minibosses, and Champions)
3. Bosses (including vehicles)

Minor		Major		Ultra
	Rank and File		Elites		Bosses
	Minor Spec (+7.7%)		Major Spec (+7.7%)		Boss Spec (+7.7%)
			Big Ones Spec (+7.7%)		Big Ones Spec (+7.7%)
					Vorpal Weapon (+10-20%)
			Minibosses & Champions		Vehicles
			Major Spec (+7.7%)		Boss Spec (+7.7%)
			Big Ones Spec (+7.7%)		Big Ones Spec (+7.7%)
			Vorpal Weapon (+10-20%)		Vorpal Weapon (+10-20%)

Are Champions Majors or Bosses?

Champions are clearly identified as Majors in Destiny 2. This means that mods and perks that affect Majors will work on Champions, but Mods for Bosses will not.

Powerful Combatants in Destiny 2

Some quests and bounties will ask you to defeat Powerful combatants, but the game never tells you exactly what those are. Simply put, Powerful enemies are Major and Ultra enemies, including Elites, Minibosses, Champions, Bosses, and vehicles.

This video from Fallout clearly covers the different Combatant types in the game:

Destiny 2 Champions

Shadowkeep added a new type of enemy to Destiny 2: Champions. These are some of the most challenging enemies in the entire game, especially because they require very precise mods or weapons to be defeated.

There are 3 different types of Champions in Destiny 2:

1. Barrier Champions
2. Overload Champions
3. Unstoppable Champions

We cover them in depth in our Champions guide, including how to beat them.

About Tormentors and Hive Guardians

Each major DLC usually introduces a new type of powerful enemy. The Witch Queen DLC introduced the Lucent Hive, aka Hive Guardians, and the Lightfall DLC introduced Tormentors. The Final Shape DLC will also introduce a new endgame enemy.

Destiny 2 Enemies: The Complete List

This is the complete list of Destiny Enemies, including their Elemental shields and damage:

--	Race	Enemy	Shield	Damage (Main)	Damage (Secondary)
	Fallen	Dreg	None	Arc	Solar
	Fallen	Vandal	None	Arc	Solar
	Fallen	Wretch	None	Arc	-
	Fallen	Marauder	None	Solar	Arc
	Fallen	Shank	Solar	Arc	Solar
	Fallen	Servitor*	Void	Void	-
	Fallen	Captain	Arc	Arc	Solar
	Fallen	Brig	None	Arc	Various
	Fallen	Fallen Walker	None	Solar	Arc
	Fallen	Pike	None	Arc	-
	Fallen	Skiff	None	Arc	-
	Hive	Thrall	None	Arc	-
	Hive	Acolyte	None	Void	Various
	Hive	Knight*	Arc	Kinetic	Various
	Hive	Wizard	Solar	Arc	Kinetic
	Hive	Ogre	None	Void	Kinetic
	Hive	Shrieker	None	Void	-
	Vex	Hobgoblin	None	Solar	Void
	Vex	Fanatic	None	Solar	Arc
	Vex	Minotaur	Void	Void	Various
	Vex	Hydra	Immunity	Void	Solar
	Vex	Harpy	Arc	Solar	Void
	Vex	Cyclops	None	Void	-
	Vex	Wyverns	None	Void	Arc
	Cabal	Legionary	None	Arc	Solar
	Cabal	Phalanx	None	Solar	Arc
	Cabal	Psion	None	Solar	Various
	Cabal	War Beast	None	Kinetic	-
	Cabal	Centurion	Solar	Solar	Void
	Cabal	Gladiator	None	Solar	-
	Cabal	Incendior*	Void	Solar	-
	Cabal	Colossus	None	Solar	-
	Cabal	Interceptor	None	Solar	-
	Cabal	Goliath Tank	None	Solar	-
	Cabal	Harvester	None	Solar	-
	Taken	Taken Vandal	None	Arc	Solar
	Taken	Taken Captain	Solar	Arc	-
	Taken	Chimera	None	Void	-
	Taken	Taken Thrall	None	Solar	-
	Taken	Taken Acolyte*	Void	Arc	Void
	Taken	Taken Wizard	Void	Solar	-
	Taken	Taken Knight*	Solar	Void	Various
	Taken	Taken Ogre	None	Arc	-
	Taken	Taken Goblin	None	Void	Solar
	Taken	Taken Hobgoblin	None	Void	-
	Taken	Taken Minotaur*	Arc	Solar	Void
	Taken	Taken Hydra	Immunity	Void	-
	Taken	Taken Psion	None	Arc	-
	Taken	Taken Phalanx	None	Arc	-
	Taken	Taken Centurion	Arc	Void	Arc
	Taken	Taken Incendior	None	Solar	Void
	Scorn	Screeb	None	Arc	-
	Scorn	Stalker	None	Void	-
	Scorn	Ravager	None	Solar	-
	Scorn	Wraith	None	Solar	-
	Scorn	Raider	None	Void	Arc
	Scorn	Lurker	None	Solar	-
	Scorn	Abomination	None	Arc	-
	Scorn	Chieftan	Varies	Solar	Various
	Scorn	Scorn Walker	None	Solar	Arc

Destiny 2 Enemy Factions

There are currently 6 enemy factions in Destiny 2:

• Cabal
• Fallen
• Hive
• Scorn
• Taken
• Vex

Frequent questions…

It has to be said that the enemy classification in Destiny 2 is overly complicated. And to make matters worse, their naming is deeply flawed, with different terms sometimes having the exact same meaning. This section is meant to cover some of the biggest questions we see online.

What are rank-and-file enemies in Destiny 2?

Rank and File enemies are Minor enemies that have a red health bar. These are affected by the Minor spec and are often referred to as ads.

What are Powerful enemies in Destiny 2?

Some quests and bounties will ask you to defeat Powerful enemies. Simply put, any enemy that isn’t a red bar can be considered a Powerful enemy.

Your turn

You now know everything there is to know about enemies in Destiny 2. Did we miss something important? Let us know in the comments!