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.
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
Week | Nightfall | Location | Events | Week # |
---|---|---|---|---|
23 May 2023 | The Devil's Lair | Cosmodrome | - | 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.
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:
Art | Nightfall | Threat | Shields | Champions | Requires |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Proving Grounds | ![]() | 3-6x ![]() 3-6x ![]() 0-5x ![]() | 10x ![]() 9x ![]() | ![]() Free-to-Play |
![]() | The Glassway | ![]() | 3x ![]() 8x ![]() | 12x ![]() 14x ![]() | ![]() Beyond Light |
![]() | The Arms Dealer | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | 8x ![]() 8x ![]() | ![]() Free-to-Play |
![]() | Battleground - Mars | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | 8x ![]() 8x ![]() | ![]() Free-to-Play |
![]() | Hypernet Current | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() ![]() | ![]() Lightfall |
![]() | Lake of Shadows | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | 8x ![]() 8x ![]() | ![]() 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.
Week | Art | Weapon | Type | Element | Ammo | Week # |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
30 May 2023 | ![]() | Hung Jury SR4 | Scout Rifle | ![]() | ![]() | Week 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:
Source | Location | Increase | Frequency | Fireteam needed? | Fireteam needed | Requires | Requirements | Type |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nightfall: The Ordeal Score 200,000 points | Playlist: Vanguard | +2 | Weekly | Yes | Yes | ![]() Free-to-Play | Free-to-Play | Pinnacle |
Nightfall: The Ordeals 3 clears at lower difficulty | Playlist: Vanguard | +3 | Weekly | No | No | ![]() Free-to-Play | Free-to-Play | Powerful |
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.
Your work is appreciated, Ric Molina.