In the MMO shooter Destiny the start of the Hard Mode of Crota’s End will be launched this evening. We will accompany the event.
This evening from 19:00 our time it might be happening. However, the exact time is unknown: The Hard Mode of the raid “Darkness Lies Ahead”, Crota’s End, is supposed to open this evening.
Bungie is clever. They do not just make the raid trivially easy to access, but open it manually and create a small event around it, so that players wait for the start signal like runners in a race.
When does the Hard Mode of Crota’s End start?
Some groups and Guardians are already in position and want to be the first to face Crota’s enhanced forces and him. The exact start time is still unknown. It should be announced “from 19:00”.
In approximately one hour, we will begin the process of activating Hard Mode for Crota’s End. Are you ready?
— Bungie (@Bungie) January 21, 2015
It really seems like it will start on time. Remember to log out!
In ten minutes, we’ll start clicking buttons to activate Hard Mode for Crota’s End. Sign out of Destiny and await updates to begin the race. — Bungie (@Bungie) January 21, 2015
Ehm… does that mean: It’s starting? (Oh right, they have begun “clicking the important buttons” to start the raid. Well played, well played!
— Bungie (@Bungie) January 21, 2015
At 19:05 there will be something … but still no start signal.
https://t.co/aPKl1FsayN — Bungie (@Bungie) January 21, 2015
19:10: Now the hunt for Crota’s scalp should officially be opened.
What can the Guardians expect in Crota’s End?
It is not yet clear what the Guardians can expect in the Hard Mode of Crota’s End. Whether Bungie only increased the light level (from 30-32, to about 33-35 or 32-34) or if there are more surprises waiting for the Guardians. A mere increase of the light level would already make the raid considerably harder, as Guardians would then inflict only a percentage of the current damage.
The loot is already known: 4 primary weapons, the Necrochasm, a special shader, and a spaceship, and probably also the “normal loot“, but one cannot be completely sure, maybe the guys from Luke Smith have come up with something new.
Live streams for the Hard Mode of Crota’s End
We at mein-mmo.de will monitor and accompany the start of the Hard Mode and will look for a German stream where you feel like you’re sitting “in the front row”.
At the moment, teams are getting ready to rock the raid “Crota’s End”. Many will have already run through the normal raid in preparation and are now taking a little “bio break.”
If successful (so not during the bio break, but during the raid) the evening could turn out to be a lucrative undertaking. Bungie has promised fame and fortune to the first Guardians to defeat Crota. Well, actually just fame.
Here is our little “Aha-this-is-happening” ticker for the raid
19:15: The first mobs start at level 33. That looks like 33-34-35. That means
- A level-32 Guardian does only 68% damage to the 33 mobs.
- To the 34 mobs, they only do 58% damage
- And to the 35 mobs (Crota), they do only 48% damage … half
A light-level-31 Guardian will not deal any damage to Crota at all. And … apparently, respawning is disabled throughout the entire raid.
Update: Ah, apparently it’s not 33-34-35, but level 33 for all… so it might not be that tough, at least not towards the end.
19:30: Oh, it looks like there might be (at least one) primary weapon already before Crota. In German, it’s called “Erlass der Überseele”, that’s the pulse rifle. It dropped to a Guardian right after the lamp phase both in the stream at PRONDC and also with this guy here:
Just picked this up! pic.twitter.com/K6Plje2orl
— Destiny & Halo (@MoreConsole) January 21, 2015
19:35: According to Bungie’s tweet, the first teams are already at Crota.
19:40: Yup, it seems that “Erlass der Überseele” (Oversoul Edict) is a confirmed drop for the lamp encounter.
19:55: The first kill of Crota’s End (Hard Mode) is probably already completed. The first reports mention about 50 minutes. Invigorate was not it; they are still fighting. Bungie is currently looking into the action; it definitely ended extremely quickly.
20:00: It’s said to be TripleWreckTV. The kill was shown on a stream and seems to have been the fastest among the current streamers. Now it’s about whether someone who wasn’t streaming was faster.
20:30: So – the whole raid maximum level is 33. Legendary primary weapons are NOT just from Crota, but there seems to be a chance for one after each section. Pulse rifle after the lamps, auto rifle after the bridge, scout rifle after Ir Yût, and the hand cannon with Crota himself. Nothing has been heard about the Crux of Crota (the Necrochasm thing). The new shader is said to be great. Here we’re struggling with the Crota-First: Destiny: That was quick – Hard Crota softened after about 50 minutes (World-First)
20:50: According to Bungie, the World-First kills are confirmed. However, it wasn’t tripleWreckTV, but “One and Done” who were even a bit faster.
21:20: The loot is apparently not as logical as we thought earlier. Now there are conflicting reports. The lamp drop is the pulse rifle, the bridge drops the pulse rifle and the auto rifle. Ir Yût drops nothing, and Crota then drops hand cannon and scout rifle.
21:30: By the way, it’s said that the Red Death will make a comeback – as a health regenerating weapon. Bad news for the Red Death: Suros Regime will also be used, and armor that regenerates health when orbs are collected will perform well.
22:15 Here is the new shader Glowhooo in a video. The shader can only be obtained from Crota. Code word: After-Eight.
01:55: Many EU players have now headed to bed. In the USA and other parts of the world, things are just getting started. The general consensus so far: Up to Crota, it works, then it doesn’t anymore. Only a few have defeated Crota in Hard Mode. However, a tactic has now emerged that should make the kill significantly easier. We will introduce it to you at the end of this article.
