Are you still struggling with the Haunted Forest in Destiny 2? With these tips, you should be able to drive away as many Ghouls and Demons as possible and increase your survivability.
The Halloween event Festival of the Lost brought numerous thematically inspired rewards, including a new activity – the Haunted Forest. Guardians have the task of driving away the evil that has manifested within it. But that sounds easier than it is.
The Haunted Forest – The new event activity in Destiny 2
What is the Haunted Forest? Here, you’ll be placed in an alternative spooky version of the Infinite Forest. The goal is to eliminate as many enemies as possible and as quickly as possible, fighting your way through many branches – that is, levels of the Haunted Forest. You have 15 minutes for this. The further you progress, the harder it gets. At the end, a special reward awaits.
The Haunted Forest comes in two variations: There is the Haunted Forest and the sealed Haunted Forest. The normal version offers matchmaking, so players are randomly assigned. The sealed variant is, as the name suggests, closed – you can only hunt there alone or with a fixed team.
How do you access the Haunted Forest? You unlock the Haunted Forest through a relatively short quest series that you receive on your first visit to Amanda Holliday. In this quest, you must wear a mask. Once you complete the quest, you can select the Haunted Forest from the map of the Tower.
Why should I run the Haunted Forest? After battling through the Haunted Forest, you will be rewarded with Soul Fragments. You need these if you want to purchase the Festival Masks or the event weapon, for example. If you want all event items from Amanda, you’ll need a total of 410 Soul Fragments. Bounties alone are not enough as a source. That’s why you need to enter the Haunted Forest.
10 Tips for the Haunted Forest in Destiny 2 – What you should pay attention to
Numerous players who are already familiar with the Infinite Forest will likely feel at home in the Haunted Forest quickly. However, the Haunted Forest differs from its counterpart in several aspects.
It’s not about speed, but about quick kills
This is how the Infinite Forest is normally played: Numerous Guardians try to run through the Infinite Forest as quickly as possible when they are, for example, on a strike. Most enemies are simply left behind. It’s just about reaching the respective boss as quickly as possible.
This is different in the Haunted Forest: In the Haunted Forest, it’s more about eliminating as many enemies as quickly as possible. With each new area, new enemies also appear. It’s about finding a balance between moving forward and eliminating enemies – just sprinting doesn’t do much.
If you reach 100% of the required enemies, you will be teleported to the Nightmare – that is, the boss. For this, you need to eliminate about 50 enemies. Then you reach the next branch.
Watch out for the modifiers
Why are the modifiers important? The further you progress in the Haunted Forest, the harder it becomes – especially due to the modifiers that become active after the first branch at each subsequent level and change.
This is often the key to survival. If you don’t adjust your playstyle accordingly, you’ll die more often than you’d like. After the fifth branch, two modifiers will be active and make your life even more difficult.
Stick together
That’s why team play is important: Another key to success is playing in a team. Especially in the later branches, it is essential to stay close together and act as a group. This way, you can eliminate strong enemies more quickly and avoid being overwhelmed.
Avoid self-revivals whenever possible
Reasons against self-revivals: Another reason to stick together is reviving. Avoid self-revivals whenever possible – unless there’s no other option or you’re still relatively at the start of an area.
If you revive yourself, you will appear alone at the beginning of the respective area. Now you have to make your way back to your team before you can be useful again.
The advantage of reviving by teammates: If you are revived by a teammate, you can jump back into the action immediately. This saves valuable time and can sometimes be crucial to reaching the next branch.
What to keep in mind in the Nightmare Arena
What is the Nightmare Arena? Once you have eliminated 100% of the required enemies in a branch, you will be transported to some sort of arena where you must defeat the Nightmare Boss, who is accompanied by some smaller enemies.
What is important in the Nightmare Arena? This room remains the same – no matter which branch you are in. Ammunition dropped in previous battles will remain available for subsequent fights until you collect them.
The timer continues during the boss encounter. So focus on eliminating the boss as quickly as possible. There’s nothing to gain from the smaller enemies here.
By the way: You can easily revive yourself here if you fall in battle. You will always spawn in the room where the boss fight takes place.
Remember to upgrade your masks
What’s special about the masks in the Haunted Forest: Even though the Haunted Forest has a recommended power level of 200, your power level will drop significantly when you wear a mask – but it’s worth it. The masks have special perks that only apply in the Haunted Forest.
This is how to upgrade the masks: You can activate one of three perks for each mask. Once you select a perk, you can further upgrade it by defeating Nightmare bosses. This improves the benefits significantly. You get a perk upgrade for every 10 Nightmare kills. So remember to utilize the upgrades.
Watch out for the Unstoppable Nightmare
What is the Unstoppable Nightmare? It’s a giant Hive Knight with an axe. This one cannot be killed. However, he likes to ambush you in the darkest corners and at the most inconvenient times.
What to keep in mind with the Unstoppable Nightmare? Always keep an eye out for the Unstoppable Nightmare. Especially in the later branches, and when modifiers like Glass or Blackout are active, this monster can eliminate entire teams in a matter of seconds and cost you valuable time. If you notice him, keep your distance and avoid a fight.
Watch where you run
That’s important in the Haunted Forest: While it may sound a bit ridiculous at first, this is valid in the Haunted Forest. The forest is dark and gloomy in some areas where you might easily overlook a gap or abyss, leading to unnecessary deaths. This can cost the team valuable time.
Therefore, avoid large risky jumps whenever possible. Also, try to move as little as possible around the edges and corners of the respective sections. And again, it’s best to stay as close together as possible. If someone does step off the edge, they can be quickly recovered.
No panic when the timer runs out
What happens when the timer runs out? Eventually, the 15 minutes allocated for this activity will run out. Then, a message appears on the left side of the screen saying “Collapse imminent!” This often brings unnecessary unrest, especially in random teams, and often leads to hasty and thoughtless actions.
However, the Haunted Forest allows you to complete the respective branch, including the Nightmare fight – even if time has run out. Unless the whole team dies. Without the timer, you have no reason to rush.
How should you behave after the timer runs out? Play calmer and smarter. Pay attention to staying alive, especially as progress increases. Because the Unstoppable Nightmare and enemy snipers can often take you down with a single shot or strike as the difficulty increases. Additionally, after the timer expires, it takes 30 seconds before you can revive fallen comrades.
The pit of the Unstoppable Nightmare is frightening, but costs you nothing
Warning, spoiler!
What is the pit of the Unstoppable Nightmare? If the 15-minute timer runs out and your team dies, you will be teleported to a place where you can open the chest with your rewards. But Bungie has come up with a surprise for that. Just before reaching the chest, the ground opens up, and you fall into a deep pit where the Unstoppable Nightmare awaits you.
What should you be aware of in the pit? Don’t worry – it’s more or less just a joke. Your loot is therefore not in danger. If you can’t get out of the pit and open the chest, you will find all your rewards in the post office. So nothing will be taken from you.
How to escape from the pit: For those who still want to get out of the pit alive: Look for a small opening in one of the two long walls. That’s your way to freedom. And if you react quickly enough, you can avoid the deep fall into the pit and receive your loot normally.
