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Destiny 2 Nightfall this Week: Shields and Champions

by | May 16, 2023 | Leveling

With several difficulty levels and rewards to offer, Nightfall: The Ordealswill become a part of your weekly ritual early on in your Destiny 2 journey. When tackled in Legend, Master, or Grandmaster difficulty levels, they become a true challenge for any Fireteam, just as Solo Lost Sectors are challenging to solo players.

Today we focus on higher-difficulty Nightfalls and cover their weekly rotation, Shields, Champions, and more.

Destiny 2 Nightfall this week: May 16, 2023

The Nightfall: The Ordeal on rotation this week is the Lake of Shadows, located on the EDZ.

Nightfall: The Corrupted

Featured Nightfall this week

Shields: Solar Solar,  Void Void, & Destiny 2 Arc Arc    /     Champions: Overload rounds Overload & Unstoppable rounds Unstoppable

Requirements: Free-to-Play

As with most things in Destiny 2, Nightfall: The Ordeals are on rotation. In this case, a weekly rotation. For the sake of clarity, the week officially resets on Tuesdays at 9 AM PDT.

Season 20 Nightfall rotation

WeekNightfallLocationEventsWeek #
23 May 2023The Devil's LairCosmodrome-Week 1
30 May 2023-Week 2
6 June 2023-Week 3
13 June 2023-Week 4
20 June 2023-Week 5
27 June 2023-Week 6
4 July 2023-Week 7
11 July 2023-Week 8
18 July 2023-Week 9
25 July 2023-Week 10
1 August 2023-Week 11
8 August 2023-Week 12
15 August 2023-Week 13
22 August 2023-Week 14

Nightfall guides: Grandmaster Shields & Champions

Legend, Master, and Grandmaster Nightfalls can be challenging activities, especially for the average player.

Barrier Champions Destiny 2 featured

But no matter your skills, whether you can speedrun Grandmaster Nightfalls or can barely complete a Legend Nightfall, you need to make sure you bring weapons with matching elements and armor with the necessary Champions mods:

ArtNightfallThreatShieldsChampionsRequires
Proving Grounds Grandmaster NightfallProving GroundsDestiny 2 Solar Solar3-6x Destiny 2 Arc Arc
3-6x Destiny 2 Void Void
0-5x Destiny 2 Solar Solar
10x Shield Piercing rounds Barrier
9x Unstoppable rounds Unstoppable
Free to Play Destiny 2 icon
Free-to-Play
The Glassway NightfallThe GlasswayDestiny 2 Void Void3x Destiny 2 Solar Solar
8x Destiny 2 Arc Arc
12x Shield Piercing rounds Barrier
14x Overload rounds Overload
Beyond Light Destiny 2 icon
Beyond Light
The Arms Dealer Grandmaster NightfallThe Arms DealerDestiny 2 Solar SolarDestiny 2 Solar Solar
Destiny 2 Void Void
8x Shield Piercing rounds Barrier
8x Unstoppable rounds Unstoppable
Free to Play Destiny 2 icon
Free-to-Play
Mars Battleground featured Destiny 2Battleground - MarsDestiny 2 Solar SolarDestiny 2 Void Void
Destiny 2 Solar Solar
Destiny 2 Arc Arc
8x Shield Piercing rounds Barrier
8x Unstoppable rounds Unstoppable
Free to Play Destiny 2 icon
Free-to-Play
HyperNet Current NightfallHypernet CurrentDestiny 2 Arc ArcDestiny 2 Void Void
Destiny 2 Solar Solar
Destiny 2 Arc Arc
Overload rounds Overload
Unstoppable rounds Unstoppable
Lightfall Preorder icon
Lightfall
Lake of Shadows Nightfall featuredLake of ShadowsDestiny 2 Arc ArcDestiny 2 Void Void
Destiny 2 Solar Solar
Destiny 2 Arc Arc
8x Shield Piercing rounds Barrier
8x Unstoppable rounds Unstoppable
Free to Play Destiny 2 icon
Free-to-Play

Destiny 2 Nightfall rewards

There’s a reason why Nightfalls are such a popular activity in Destiny 2. While they can certainly be fun and challenging, most Guardians play Nightfalls every week for a chance to earn exclusive weapons and Powerful and Pinnacle rewards.

Nightfall weapons

There are 10 Nightfall-specific weapons in total, and with Season of the Risen (S16), only 6 of them are on a weekly rotation, with only one dropping each week.

WeekArtWeaponTypeElementAmmoWeek #
30 May 2023Hung Jury SR4 artHung Jury SR4Scout RifleKinetic symbol Destiny 2 KineticPrimary ammo Destiny 2 PrimaryWeek 2

You can read all about Nightfall weapons, including adept versions, drop rates, and rankings, here.

Powerful and Pinnacle rewards

Each week, completing Nightfalls will also reward you with the following gear Powerful and Pinnacle gear:

SourceLocationIncreaseFrequencyFireteam needed?Fireteam neededRequiresRequirementsType
Nightfall: The Ordeal
Score 200,000 points
Playlist: Vanguard+2Weekly

Yes

YesFree to Play Destiny 2 icon
Free-to-Play
Free-to-PlayPinnacle
Nightfall: The Ordeals
3 clears at lower difficulty
Playlist: Vanguard+3Weekly

No

NoFree to Play Destiny 2 icon
Free-to-Play
Free-to-PlayPowerful

Destiny 2 Nightfall farm: Level Requirements

If you’re interested in farming Nightfalls, you need to have a proper Power Level (including your Artifact’s bonus Power):

Nightfall Difficulty Recommended Level Drop rate
Hero 1770 Uncommon
Legend 1830 Common
Master 1840 Common
Grandmaster TBC Common+

For the record, the Grandmaster screen does not say what the drop rates are, but players keep reporting higher drop rates at Grandmaster difficulty than Master.

Needless to say, these aren’t easy and the least you should do is ensure you have a reasonable Power Level. By reasonable, we mean no less than 10 Power Levels below the recommended levels. If you find yourself struggling, work on increasing your Power Level as much as possible.

Your turn

Hopefully, you now have everything you need to know how to conquer and “easily” farm Nightfalls in Destiny 2.

About The Author

Ric Molina
Ric Molina
I've been covering gaming since 2012, and some of my work has been featured by large brands, including MSN.com, Forbes, Rock Paper Shotgun, and more. I've been obsessed with Destiny 2 for years now, and I hope to provide new and returning players with the guides and resources I wish I had when I first started.
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1 Comment
  1. Torin

    Your work is appreciated, Ric Molina.

    Reply
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