The Desert Perpetual — Epic Raid Guide

This guide assumes the fireteam already understands the Normal version of The Desert Perpetual. It restates the base mechanic only where Epic changes its timing, assignments, or failure condition. Mechanics come first. Loadouts are recommendations, never requirements.

Each encounter follows the same order:

1. Objective — the result the fireteam is building toward.
2. Epic changes — what differs from Normal.
3. Assignments — six jobs that can be called before the pull.
4. Arena orientation — the fixed observer frame and named landmarks used by every position call.
5. Execution — the mechanic in strict chronological order.
6. Damage — how to preserve or extend the damage window.
7. Recovery — the fastest correction for common failures.

All required mechanics, room orientation, and callout translation appear in prose and tables. Each arena establishes a fixed observer position before using left, right, near, or far. No map or diagram is required to execute an encounter.

Fast orientation

• The first three bosses remain nonlinear.
• The first branch boss receives the Epic overhead targeting laser.
• After that, only the mechanic from the immediately preceding boss transfers into the next branch encounter. Branch mechanics do not accumulate.
• The three-boss order is recorded for Koregos. It determines the side-room sequence and the order in which earlier mechanics return.
• This guide uses Epoptes → Iatros → Agraios → Koregos as its teaching route.

The pressure relay

The relay is not a stack. For a route A → B → C:

• A receives the first-boss targeting laser.
• B inherits A's listed mechanic.
• C inherits B's listed mechanic.
• C does not also inherit A's mechanic.

For this guide's route, Epoptes receives the first-boss laser, Iatros receives Detain Seekers, and Agraios receives Diastole.

Standardized callouts

Color is never the only identifier in this guide. Every color is paired with a height, portal number, sequence position, or action.

Assign six permanent seat numbers before entering the raid. The person keeps the seat number even when the job changes.

The table is a teaching default. At Koregos, assign room pairs from the route and each player's comfort with Constant, Absolute, and Cyclical mechanics.

General preparation

• Confirm the route before launching the first branch.
• Record the route in fireteam chat; Koregos uses it later.
• Bring precise primary fire for panels, eyes, capsules, Seekers, and Locus cores.
• Bring sustained ranged damage for Epoptes and Agraios.
• Keep a close-range burst option available for Koregos's final platform, but do not sacrifice safe mechanics for a swap.
• Use one caller for Diastole counts and one recorder for Agraios portal colors.
• Treat inherited pressure as part of the assignment, not as incidental add clear.

Predestination is the central hub. The three branch bosses may be cleared in any order. Koregos unlocks after all three are dead.

Use the arrival and rally view as the fixed frame for all hub calls. The four podium names do not change when a player turns around:

Choose the route deliberately

There is no universal best route. The practical question is which inherited mechanic the team wants during the next boss and which room order it wants at Koregos.

This guide's Epoptes → Iatros → Agraios route has these consequences:

1. Epoptes receives the first-boss targeting laser.
2. Iatros receives Epoptes's Detain Seekers.
3. Agraios receives Iatros's Diastole suspension.
4. Koregos room order is Epoptes, Iatros, Agraios.

If the team changes the route, update the pressure calls and Koregos room assignments before the next pull.

Optional prerequisite: Map and Territory

Complete the Normal raid's Map and Territory quest to unlock the vendor attunement path used by Atlas and Almanac. Bungie fixed the earlier sequence bug that could block this progression. The complete ten-puzzle route appears later in this guide.

Objective

Use an inside/outside relay on both sides to determine each Lens eye, control Detain Seekers, resolve Function Collapse, and then break three damage shields with three random pairs.

Memory line: Inside calls two. Outside returns one. Opposite Inside shoots it.

Epic changes

• Two players take each side plate: one enters and one remains outside.
• Each Inside player sees two glowing positions instead of one.
• Each Outside player shoots those two positions on the same-side entrance panel; one position re-glows.
• The final re-glowing call crosses to the opposite Inside player.
• Every completed left/right eye pair spawns three Detain Seekers above the Lens Hydra.
• Cyclopes can spawn inside the side rooms.
• During damage, three random pairs are teleported into the side rooms and must break local shields before returning to the main boss.

Assignments

Arena and fixed facing

Use the rally and entrance as the fixed observer position and face the center of the arena:

• Left Lens: the southwest, diamond-shaped side room. P1 enters and P2 works outside its entrance.
• Right Lens: the east, rectangular side room. P3 enters and P4 works outside its entrance.
• Middle: the central arena and the two plates used during Function Collapse. P5 and P6 keep this route clear.
• Near-center landmarks: the damage plate and pillar plate sit between the rally side and Epoptes.

Every left/right call in this encounter uses this rally-facing frame, not the caller's current camera direction.

Entrance panel and Lens numbering

Use one six-position key for both entrance panels and both Lens shields. Face the panel or circular Lens directly, then number clockwise from the top:

The entrance panel is the six-node panel above the doorway on the Outside player's side. The circular Lens is inside the side room. The number identifies the same relative position on both surfaces, but shooting one does not mean shooting the other.

Function Collapse reference

Function Collapse creates a separate set of three round, eye-like nodes floating above each Lens Hydra. One is at the top, one at the lower-left, and one at the lower-right while facing that Hydra. The three nodes form a triangle arrangement; the nodes themselves are not triangles. They are not attached to the Lens shield and never use the 1–6 outer-eye numbers. Call them top, left, or right.

Execution

1. Open both sides

Kill the opening Cyclopes and Time's Magistrates. P1 and P2 take the left plate together; P3 and P4 take the right plate together.

• P1 enters Left Lens. P2 stays outside.
• P3 enters Right Lens. P4 stays outside.
• Both Outside players remain in their rotating projected light so their timer does not expire.

P5 and P6 clear the middle and watch for inherited pressure.

2. Read the two inside positions

P1 and P3 stand in the light inside their rooms. Each sees two glowing positions on the room panel and calls them to the Outside player on the same side.

Example: “Left Inside: two and five.”

3. Reduce the call to one

The same-side Outside player shoots both called positions on the entrance panel. One of those positions glows again.

The Outside player calls only that final position.

Example: “Left Outside returns two.”

4. Cross the final call

The final call crosses the arena:

• P1, Left Inside, shoots the eye called by P4, Right Outside.
• P3, Right Inside, shoots the eye called by P2, Left Outside.

The two Inside players do not need to fire at the exact same instant. Accuracy matters more than artificial synchronization.

5. Kill the Detain Seekers

After the left and right eyes are completed, three Detain Seekers appear above each Lens Hydra. Kill them before beginning the next relay.

A detained Inside player cannot free themselves. Outside players and clear players own the breakout. If a Seeker reaches an Inside player, stop the relay and free them immediately.

6. Repeat until Function Collapse

Repeat the two-call relay. After the fourth Lens eye, Function Collapse begins. Cyclopes may also spawn inside; kill them before they force an Inside player out of the light.

7. Resolve Function Collapse

Use the Normal Function Collapse process:

1. P5 and P6 take the two middle plates and enter the central projection.
2. Each middle reader examines the three-position display for their side and calls its single unlit position—top, left, or right—to the Inside player in that same-side Lens room.
3. The same-side Inside player destroys the matching round node above their Hydra.
4. Each middle reader listens to the other middle reader's unlit-position call. On the obelisk face this player can damage, destroy the other two positions and leave the called position intact.
5. Keep the Inside and Outside pairs in their projected light until both side-room nodes and both two-node middle sets are complete.

If Iatros immediately preceded Epoptes, jump on the fourth Diastole pulse while resolving this step. If Agraios immediately preceded Epoptes, break line of sight for Variable Elimination before resuming calls.

8. Finish both Lenses

Resume the Epic relay for the remaining outer eyes. After all six outer eyes are gone, destroy each Lens center eye.

Return to middle and break Epoptes's two central shield eyes to begin damage.

Damage phase

Epoptes can be damaged while four rotating shields remain active.

Three non-repeating pairs are selected during the phase:

1. The selected pair is teleported into one side room.
2. Both players follow the local projected light.
3. Break all six small local shield eyes, then the center eye.
4. The pair returns to the main arena.
5. The same pair destroys the two highlighted shield eyes on the main boss.
6. The next pair is selected.

The four unselected players continue boss damage but immediately clear Detain Seekers and protect the returning pair. Every player should expect to be selected once.

Encounter Challenges Feat

The Feat adds a second Lens-eye shooter to each side. Use the normal assignments as the base, then apply this overlay:

• Left: P1 and P5 enter Left Lens as the two eye shooters; P2 remains the Outside panel operator.
• Right: P3 and P6 enter Right Lens as the two eye shooters; P4 remains the Outside panel operator.
• Put all three players assigned to a side on that side's plate when the Temporality is distributed. The Outside operator follows the projected light and continues the two-call panel reduction exactly as normal.

On each Lens, the two Inside shooters alternate final blows on consecutive outer eyes. Track Left Lens and Right Lens separately. If shooter A destroys one outer eye, shooter B must destroy the next outer eye on that same Lens, then A, then B, continuing across every buff refresh and Function Collapse.

When Function Collapse begins, P5 and P6 leave their Lens rooms and resume the two middle-reader jobs. After the collapse, they reacquire their side buff, return to the Lens, and continue from the stored last-shooter state.

Collapse nodes, each Lens center eye, and all damage-phase shield eyes are exempt. The player who destroys the sixth outer eye may also destroy that Lens's center eye. Two consecutive outer-eye final blows by the same player on one Lens fail the Feat and wipe the fireteam.

Inherited pressure

Recovery and common errors

Objective

Record a three-color Chronon sequence, assign each color call to one of three shooters, move those shooters to the towers determined by their current Temporality, and build three staircase tiers while a separate pair repeats the Chronon sequence.

Memory line: Record three. Calls stay with shooters. Buffs choose towers.

Epic changes

• The hourglass uses a repeating three-color sequence.
• Each of the three shooters receives a Temporality that points to a box tower.
• The climber does not take a Temporality plate in Epic.
• Capsule colors determine box height: red bottom, white middle, blue top.
• After a successful volley, shooter Temporalities may stay, swap as a pair, or rotate among all three players.
• Diastole suspends grounded players at the fourth pulse.
• If Epoptes immediately preceded Iatros, Detain Seekers can interrupt ring runs and volleys.

Assignments

Arena and fixed calls

Use rally as the near side and face into the room. The hourglass ring sits near the middle between offset platforms, and the bright white activation diamond is directly below it.

The three starting plates are separate from the three box spires. Call the plates Entrance, Center, and Far, from nearest to farthest relative to rally. Common community equivalents are Spawn, Middle, and Hell.

The three box spires are offset around the room rather than arranged in a straight left-to-right row. Use a fixed Vaexil position first and the familiar architecture second:

• Far-side spire beside Far: Made Constant; also called Left, Cave, or boss-spawn.
• Right-side spire across from Center: Made Absolute; also called Middle, Spawn, or entrance.
• Entrance-side spire beside Entrance: Made Cyclical; also called Right or Stairs.

Before the pull, physically point out all three spires. At every spire, bottom, middle, and top describe the three vertical box heights; they never describe the spire's position in the room.

Callout translation

Temporality to tower

Capsule color to box height

The first capsule call always belongs to Shooter 1, the second to Shooter 2, and the third to Shooter 3. Temporality determines where that shooter fires; it does not change who owns the call.

Execution

1. Reveal the ring color

One of the three zones contains a Vex pool or Temporal Oculus that reveals the required hourglass-ring color. P5 and P6 collect that color from the corresponding Minotaurs.

The pool is a one-use read. Confirm the full color name before both runners deposit.

2. Deposit as a pair and record the order

P5 and P6 cross the hourglass ring together with matching Chronons. Repeat for three reads, using two Chronons per color.

The result is a three-color sequence such as Blue → White → Red. Record it in chat. Six total Chronons start the staircase mechanic.

The same order is used for every extension during the encounter. After damage ends, the sequence restarts at color one.

3. Give only the shooters Temporality

P1, P2, and P3 take the three plates. Each should hold one unique Temporality.

P4, the climber, stays off every plate. P5 and P6 also stay clear while the buffs are distributed. A fourth buffed player can corrupt later swaps and create duplicate Temporalities.

Each shooter reads their HUD and moves to the matching tower.

4. Start the climb and bind the calls

Shoot the central Vex diamond when the Chronon sequence is ready.

P4 faces the capsule bank from the climb path, reads it left-to-right, and keeps that observer frame for all three tiers. Call the colors as a three-item string. Example: “Blue, blue, white.”

• P1 owns the first blue and shoots a top box on P1's current tower.
• P2 owns the second blue and shoots a top box on P2's current tower.
• P3 owns the white and shoots a middle box on P3's current tower.

5. Fire on Diastole four

One caller counts the Diastole rhythm. All three shooters fire as the fourth charge lights.

The three required boxes must break in the same volley. Everyone jumps at the pulse so the suspension does not interrupt the shots or the climb.

6. Climb, reread, and reassign towers

The correct volley creates the first platform tier. P4 climbs, reads the next three capsule colors, and calls them in the same shooter order.

At the same time, every shooter rereads their Temporality. It may remain unchanged, swap with another shooter, or rotate. Move to the newly matching tower before translating the next color into a height.

Repeat for all three tiers.

7. Maintain the Chronon sequence

While the shooters and climber build, P5 and P6 continue collecting and depositing the recorded sequence as pairs. Do not improvise a different color because it is nearby.

If the sequence is Blue → White → Red, every extension remains Blue pair, White pair, Red pair, then back to Blue.

Clear Detain Seekers before each pair deposit when Epoptes immediately preceded Iatros.

Damage phase

Iatros moves to the plate or tower location established by the final climb. Stage only after P4 confirms the last interaction.

• P5 and P6 continue the recorded Chronon sequence to extend the phase.
• Shooters and climber can damage between required mechanics.
• Jump on the fourth Diastole pulse throughout damage.
• Kill Detain Seekers before they reach the Chronon runners.
• After damage ends, restart the sequence from its first color.

Encounter Challenges Feat

Use three different unbuffed climbers during every staircase build. P4, P5, and P6 remain off the Temporality plates and preassign the first, second, and third staircase interactions.

After each successful shooter volley, only the climber assigned to that tier interacts with its capsule node. No climber may complete a second node during the same build. P1, P2, and P3 remain the only Temporality holders and box shooters.

P5 and P6 return to Chronon duty immediately after their assigned interactions. Reuse the same three-person order after every damage phase unless the team explicitly reassigns all three tiers.

Recovery and common errors

Objective

Discover the fixed 2–2–1 portal-color pattern, charge all five portals with their recorded colors, recharge the four portals called during Alignment, reflect Variable Elimination, and defeat the unnamed damage copy before the final three-copy test.

Memory line: Read two colors. Record five portals. Recharge only the four called.

Epic changes

• Each of five portals has a fixed color requirement for the phase.
• Carrying a color through the center hoop reveals every portal canister that requires that color.
• The five requirements always split 2–2–1 across red, white, and blue.
• The portal solution and the pillar Minotaur-drop colors are separate systems.
• All five portals must be initially charged with their recorded colors.
• Charging all five spawns three Wyverns.
• Four Agraios copies appear; the unnamed copy is the damage target.
• Final stand uses three headless named copies before the center boss becomes vulnerable.

Assignments

Arena and fixed calls

Use rally as the near side and face the inner floor. Five outer portals and five matching pylon positions form an arc around the room:

Numbering runs clockwise from the lower-left portal to the lower-right portal. Keep these calls fixed after the team moves. The three Temporality plates sit inside the arc. During damage setup, four Agraios copies occupy four of the five pylon positions—three named copies and one unnamed target—so one pylon may be empty.

Keep the two capsule systems separate

Execution

1. Number the portals and assign coverage

Number portals 1–5 clockwise from the lower-left portal. P6 opens a five-character record in chat, such as X X X X X.

Every player watches one portal canister. The recorder collects calls; the recorder does not need to personally see every portal.

2. Reveal the first color

Carry one colored Chronon through the center hoop. The Chronon is consumed. Everyone can briefly see which portal canisters require that color.

Call only portal number plus color. Example: “Two white. Five white.”

The hoop also rotates the pillar canisters, changing which colors the five Minotaurs will drop.

3. Wait for the hoop, then reveal a second color

Do not immediately carry the next Chronon through while the hoop is still glowing. It cannot be reactivated during that state.

After the glow clears, use a second color and record its portal numbers. The remaining unassigned portal or portals are the third color by elimination.

Example final record: Blue, White, Red, Blue, White.

4. Charge all five portals correctly

Carry the recorded color through each numbered portal. A wrong color is lethal and does not count.

When all five portals are charged, kill the three Wyverns that spawn. Preserve extra Chronons when safe; the same portal-color requirements are used again during Alignment.

5. Take the three plates and identify the active copy

P1, P2, and P3 take the three center plates and receive Constant, Absolute, and Cyclical.

When a named Agraios copy begins Variable Elimination, the matching Temporality holder aligns at that copy's pylon. The other two Temporality holders identify the four portals that must be recharged.

6. Recharge the four called portals

P4, P5, P6, and the free holder carry the correct recorded color through each called portal. The uncalled fifth portal remains charged.

Use closed-loop calls:

1. Holder calls portal number.
2. Recorder answers with its color.
3. Carrier repeats both.
4. Recorder marks it complete.

7. Reflect Variable Elimination

Once the four portals are stable, P4 crosses all five portals to fill Alignment and convert the grenade into a detain.

Group near the end of the route by portals 4 and 5. P4 throws the detain at the final countdown so the lethal shot reflects into the attacking copy.

If Iatros immediately preceded Agraios, everyone jumps on Diastole four throughout this run. A suspension can remove P4's route or delay the detain beyond the lethal pulse.

8. Damage the unnamed copy

Four copies are present: three named and one unnamed. The unnamed copy is the real damage target.

After the opening ground segment, the target remains on the upper perches and teleports among them. Track the orange teleport effect and reacquire the unnamed health bar before firing.

Damage extensions

Alignment returns during damage. Repeat the five-portal run and reflected detain when called. The boss does not reliably return to the floor after the first segment, so keep a ranged damage plan.

The portal requirements do not change during the phase. Reuse the recorded five-color string.

Final stand

Three headless named copies appear around the arena.

1. Split into three pairs.
2. Each pair takes the plates needed to identify or match its Temporality name.
3. Find and kill the headless copy matching that name.
4. When all three copies are dead, the center Agraios activates.
5. Collapse to center and use saved burst damage immediately.

Encounter Challenges Feat

Track every player's total Chronon pickups for the entire encounter. No player may collect pickup n + 1 until all six players have collected pickup n.

Every player must collect one Chronon before anyone collects a second. Every player must then collect a second before anyone collects a third, and the same ladder continues through later Alignment cycles and damage extensions. Depositing or consuming a Chronon does not reset the count.

Keep the six personal totals visible in fireteam chat. The highest and lowest totals may never differ by more than one; a player who is already ahead leaves the next Chronon for someone behind.

Recovery and common errors

Objective

Clear Banishment, align four Chronons to a saved color, complete the next route-ordered side room, open its Temporal Locus, and repeat while earlier echoes and Loci return. Finish with plate damage, a six-player ascent, and repeated crystal-core breaks.

Memory line: Banish. Align four. Clear the room. Open every due Locus.

Route conversion

Write the actual branch order before the pull. The room and Temporality pairing never changes:

For this guide's route, the room order is Epoptes → Iatros → Agraios.

Assignments

Every loop can randomly select Banishment players, so all six must understand the portal entry and center-cube recovery.

Arena and Temporal Locus reference

Use spawn and rally as the near side and face Koregos at the center. The triangular portals surround the outer arena, the four one-use Banishment cubes sit around the central structure, and the raised plate-damage area is on the far-right side from this fixed view.

A Temporal Locus has two distinct layers. The outer shell is an interaction target, not a damage target: the player holding the matching Temporality aims at it and uses Destroy Temporal Locus. That interaction exposes the inner core, which must be shot by a player holding no Temporality. Recheck the HUD after every core break because the interaction can remove or reassign Temporality.

Phase zero: orientation loop

The opening loop teaches Banishment and reveals the first saved Chronon color. Do not force a side-room clear during this loop.

1. Clear the first Banishment pair through a portal

Two players receive Banishment. They enter the same open triangular portal together and kill the Cyclops inside.

The outside team kills the Cyclops at that portal's entrance. Entering separately can close the route on the second player, so count the pair through together.

2. Clear the remaining four Banishments with cubes

The next four selected players each interact with one unused central Banishment cube. One cube clears one player.

Before the pull, assign four cube claims by having the four likely cube users physically point to a different visible cube and attach their player name to it. During the loop, call that player-name claim before interacting so two players do not consume the same position. The portal pair never uses a central cube.

3. Read the first loop color

After all six Banishments are cleared, read the active canister on the central structure. Record its Chronon color for loop one.

4. Force the reset

One player takes the available plate Temporality, exits through the laser-marked portal, and interacts with the crystal to complete the orientation loop. Koregos resets the timeline and begins the first real loop.

Real loop structure

Every real loop uses the same outside sequence, then adds one route-ordered room and every Locus now due.

1. Repeat Banishment

The first selected pair uses the portal together and kills the inside Cyclops. The outside team kills the entrance Cyclops. The remaining four selected players use separate center cubes.

2. Send the assigned room pair

The laser-marked portal identifies the next room in the recorded route. The assigned pair enters together and immediately kills the Imp inside.

The pair waits at the room mechanic while the outside team completes alignment.

3. Create four matching Chronons

Outside, align the central canister to the color saved from the prior loop. Kill the spawned Wyvern or miniboss and collect the four matching Chronons it drops.

Deposit all four. The Epic hourglass fills with four deposits.

4. Open the room

Shoot the Vex prism beneath the hoop and kill the outside Cyclops. The room pair completes its boss-specific minigame, kills the echo, and exits.

The room kill grants that boss's Undoing to the pair.

5. Open the current Locus

The matching Temporality holder aims at the outer crystal and uses Destroy Temporal Locus. The interaction has generous range but requires correct aim.

As soon as the shell opens, a player with no Temporality shoots the inner core. Koregos becomes damageable for a short window.

6. Read the next color and leave before reset

During damage, read the canister color for the next loop and record it. Move away from Koregos before the timeline reset blast.

Side-room mechanics

Epoptes room — Made Constant

1. Kill the Imp immediately.
2. The Constant player takes the plate and remains in the projected light.
3. Constant sees and calls two blue routes or portals.
4. The partner sees one route shared by those two calls, climbs it, and interacts with the white node.
5. Constant destroys the center eye from the light.
6. Kill the Epoptes echo and exit.

Leaving the light can reset the route display. Constant stays planted until the interaction is confirmed.

Iatros room — Made Cyclical

1. Kill the Imp immediately.
2. Both room players take Made Cyclical as required by the room.
3. From the doorway, face Iatros and call the three left/right box pairs near, middle, and far as they recede into the room.
4. Break both boxes in the active pair together as Diastole four lights.
5. Clear the three Detain Seekers spawned by each completed pair.
6. Repeat for all three pairs, kill the Iatros echo, and exit.

Agraios room — Made Absolute

1. Kill the Imp immediately.
2. One player takes Made Absolute; the partner remains unbuffed.
3. Both players stand beneath the boss and face the three-eye ledge. The Absolute reader reads the displayed three-eye sequence and calls each entry left, center, or right.
4. The unbuffed partner shoots those eyes one at a time in the called order.
5. Kill the Agraios echo and the room Cyclops, then exit.

Loops two and three: reopen history

Earlier room echoes revive near Koregos at the start of later loops.

• Only players with the matching Undoing can damage that echo.
• The player who gets the final blow receives the Temporality needed to reopen that earlier Locus.
• Different players should own different final blows when more than one echo is active.
• Call every Undoing and Temporality before taking a new effect; an overwrite can remove a Locus job the team still needs.

Loop one

• Complete room one.
• Open room one's Locus.
• Take the short damage window.

Loop two

• Kill the returning room-one echo with room-one Undoing.
• Final-blow holder opens the earlier Locus.
• Complete room two and open room two's Locus.
• Take the short damage window.

Loop three

• Kill both returning earlier echoes with their matching Undoing holders.
• Use separate final-blow owners to obtain both required Temporalities.
• Reopen both earlier Loci.
• Complete room three and open room three's Locus.
• Leave the center as soon as the final room resolves; the plate-damage area is about to open.

Plate damage

Move to the raised damage area on the far-right side when viewed from spawn.

1. Put buffed players on the available plates before the phase auto-starts.
2. Keep at least one player unbuffed to break inner cores.
3. When a crystal marks a Temporality holder, that player interacts with the outer shell.
4. The unbuffed core breaker shoots the exposed center.
5. Resume damage immediately.

Opening a crystal can remove or reassign Temporality. Recheck the HUD after every core and update the plate and core-breaker calls.

The phase advances after the timer, sufficient damage, or the required crystal sequence.

Final ascent

1. Stage without killing the Harpy

Use the new rally point, move around the sides, and gather at the final portal. Leave the lone center Harpy alive until the cube order is confirmed.

2. Assign a six-player cube order

Killing the Harpy gives all six players Banishment and opens the route. Enter in roster order and use one cube per player in that same order.

Each cube replaces the current platform with the next. The lead player counts before interacting so the group can move together.

If a player who already used a cube falls, their job is complete. Do not delay the climb for a risky recovery. Once one player reaches the top, launchers or the elevator route become available to the group.

Final damage and final stand

At the top, random players receive Temporality.

1. Matching Temporality holders interact with outer crystals.
2. Unbuffed players destroy the exposed inner cores.
3. Damage Koregos until immunity returns.
4. Recheck Temporalities; new players may own the next crystals.
5. Resolve returning route mechanics in the same boss order recorded at the start of the raid.
6. Repeat crystal and core breaks until final stand.

Final stand uses the same outer-interact / inner-shoot rule on a shorter timer. Save immediate burst damage, but do not ignore the crystal sequence.

After Koregos reaches zero, leave the collapsing platform or jump away before the final timeline effect.

Encounter Challenges Feat

Epic Koregos uses a different Challenge from Normal Koregos. Across the three real loops, the fireteam defeats six qualifying echoes in a 1 + 2 + 3 pattern. Each of those six final blows must belong to a different Guardian.

Assign the six echo final blows

Use a 3-2-1 room-attendance plan so six players qualify for the correct Undoing and own one final blow each:

1. Room one: Send three players. Assign one to the original room-one echo, one to its loop-two return, and one to its loop-three return.
2. Room two: Send two players who do not yet own a final blow. Assign one to the original room-two echo and one to its loop-three return.
3. Room three: Send the last unassigned player with an experienced helper. The unassigned player takes the room-three echo final blow; the helper stops damage before finishing health.

A Guardian qualifies for a room's Undoing by touching that room's matching Temporality plate or by taking the original room echo's final blow. Before each original room echo dies, make every player assigned to a later return touch the matching plate. If the room mechanic needs an unbuffed solver, keep that player off the plate until the solve is complete, then have them touch it before the echo is killed.

Every returning echo is damaged only by players with its matching Undoing. Stop fire before finishing health, name the assigned owner, and let only that player take the final blow. No Guardian may own a second qualifying echo final blow.

Recovery and common errors

Loadout guidance

• Use reliable add clear for Imps, Cyclopes, Seekers, Wyverns, and revived echoes.
• Keep a precision weapon for eye orders and Locus cores.
• Choose damage tools that work in both the short center windows and the longer upper-platform phase.
• Movement safety and role continuity are more valuable than a fragile mid-encounter swap.

Each branch return route contains one optional hidden chest. The four required interaction positions are reported as static across runs, but community symbol-number keys have contained corrections. Use landmarks and test each symbol directly.

Touch symbols; do not shoot them. A required symbol remains lit after you step away. A decoy turns off. After all four required symbols remain lit, wait for the confirmation message and enter the moving sphere.

Epoptes return route

Start at the Epoptes reward area and follow the forced return route toward Predestination. Left and right follow your direction of travel unless a step names a different facing. Touch each candidate symbol and proceed only when it remains lit.

1. Low left wall: Crouch beside the circular wall projections and face back toward Epoptes.
2. Left wall chamber: Check the rectangular chamber along the left side of the return route.
3. Upper-right ceiling: Look up inside the right-side structure while facing the way you came.
4. Right wall by the large sphere: Drop to the opposite wall near the large green sphere and face the wall.

Iatros return route

Start at the Iatros reward area and follow the forced return route toward Predestination. Left and right follow your direction of travel unless a step names a different facing. Touch each candidate symbol and proceed only when it remains lit.

1. Exit-side ledge: Leaving Iatros, hug the left edge before committing to the moving route.
2. Lower-left half-sphere: Find the half-sphere with a smaller sphere mounted on it.
3. Blue sphere structure: Climb the structure around the large blue sphere and inspect its columns.
4. Upper-right gold half-sphere: Near the far side, check the smaller sphere nested in the gold half-shell.

Agraios return route

Start at the Agraios reward area and follow the forced return route toward Predestination. Left and right follow your direction of travel unless a step names a different facing. Touch each candidate symbol and proceed only when it remains lit.

1. Entrance-side lower wall: Backtrack toward the entrance and sweep the lower-left outer wall.
2. Upper-left side room: Enter the upper-left chamber and check deep inside.
3. Upper-right hallway: Take the large high opening on the right wall and follow it to the end.
4. Small hole above: Drop to the mid-right wall and look inside the small untrimmed opening overhead.

Prerequisites and reward path

1. Complete the Normal raid's Map and Territory quest.
2. Complete The Desert Perpetual on Epic.
3. Collect Atlas and Almanac from the Maya statue / Simulant Ansible.
4. Solve all ten anchor puzzles.
5. Complete the required Epic clear and return to the statue.

The quest unlocks raid-vendor attunement. After selecting the Whirling Ovation catalyst, the next The Desert Perpetual encounter clear guarantees the drop.

Standard odd-shape puzzle

Scanning an anchor creates three ground lines pointing toward a cube, pyramid, or diamond.

1. Find all three shapes before shooting.
2. If two match and one differs, shoot the odd shape first.
3. One remaining shape transforms into the shape just destroyed; shoot that transformed shape.
4. Shoot the last shape.
5. If all three begin identical, shoot them in any order.

Success displays “Simulations Bound.” A wrong shot or expired timer can be retried by rescanning the anchor.

Plate-puzzle variation

Puzzles 3, 6, and 9 require three players on three plates. Each Temporality can see and damage only its assigned shape.

Use the same odd-one-out sequence, but route each shot to the player who can see it. If the puzzle fails, retake the plates and rescan.

Ten-puzzle route

The table groups the route by branch landmark. If the fireteam uses a different boss order, visit the matching approach, arena, and return anchors as that branch is cleared.

Puzzle ten

Puzzle ten appears in the Normal Koregos Nursery after the first nine are complete.

1. Activate the plate that opens the Epic route, but do not enter its portal.
2. Stand on the three plates used by Normal Koregos.
3. The left and right buff holders scan the larger field for the shapes that differ from the majority.
4. Only the middle buff holder destroys the identified odd shapes.
5. Continue through each transformation sequence for both sides within the timer.

Use short calls: “Left odd, cube, high.” The caller identifies side, shape, and position; the middle shooter repeats it before firing.

Current Feat reward model

Epic encounter completions use the current farmable Feat reward-grade system.

Feat names and operations

The launch screen retains the original Feat names, while Update 9.7.0 uses revised labels in its reward-grade table. The names below refer to the same five selections.

Older Triumph text may call Phase Limit Phase Race. On Epic Koregos, the timer continues through the post-kill completion delay, so leave enough time for the encounter to register the clear.

The Simulant Ansible can sell gear at the highest tier available from the current Feat selection after the fireteam completes an encounter.

Epic-exclusive gear

Loadouts in this guide are not tied to any of these drops.

Before the raid

• Route written in chat.
• Pressure relay for boss two and boss three named.
• Six permanent seat numbers assigned.
• One Diastole caller and one Agraios recorder assigned.
• Atlas and Almanac holders confirm quest step and prerequisite.

Epoptes

• Left Inside / Outside and Right Inside / Outside named.
• Entrance panels numbered 1–6.
• Final call crosses to the opposite Inside player.
• Seekers cleared after every completed pair.
• Collapse nodes called Top / Left / Right.
• Damage pairs know local six-plus-center, then two main highlights.
• If Challenges is active: second eye shooter per Lens named and last-shooter state tracked separately for Left and Right.

Iatros

• Only three shooters take Temporality.
• Climber never takes a plate buff.
• Capsule call 1/2/3 stays with Shooter 1/2/3.
• Made Constant uses the far-side spire beside Far.
• Made Absolute uses the right-side spire across from Center.
• Made Cyclical uses the entrance-side spire beside Entrance.
• Red bottom, white middle, blue top.
• Three-color Chronon sequence recorded and restarted from color one after damage.
• If Challenges is active: P4/P5/P6 assigned first, second, and third unbuffed climb interactions.

Agraios

• Portals numbered 1–5 clockwise from lower left.
• Portal requirements and pillar drops kept separate.
• Wait for the center hoop to stop glowing before the second read.
• Five-color record confirmed before charging.
• Expect three Wyverns.
• Four called portals recharged with recorded colors.
• Unnamed copy is the damage target.
• If Challenges is active: six personal Chronon-pickup totals tracked for the full encounter.

Koregos

• Actual branch order converted into room order.
• First Banished pair enters one portal together.
• Remaining four players claim separate cubes.
• Next-loop Chronon color recorded during every damage window.
• Undoing owners and echo final blows assigned by boss name.
• Matching Temporality interacts outer Locus; unbuffed player shoots inner core.
• Final ascent cube order fixed before killing the Harpy.
• If Challenges is active: six unique echo final-blow owners, 3-2-1 room attendance, and every later-return owner qualified through the matching room plate.

Route and state record

Mechanics were compared against the supplied Epic guide, the supplied encounter-map references, a detailed independent written guide, current community corrections, and Bungie's current reward notes. When sources conflicted, the guide used the interpretation supported by multiple unrelated reports or by a later correction.

Official and current-state sources

Read the source on bungie.net

Read the source on bungie.net

Read the source on bungie.net

Read the source on bungie.net

Read the source on bungie.net

Independent mechanic sources

Read the source on reddit.com

Read the source on reddit.com

Read the source on docs.google.com

Read the source on totalapexentertainment.com

Read the source on reddit.com

Read the source on reddit.com

Read the source on reddit.com

Read the source on destinypedia.com

Read the source on totalapexentertainment.com

Read the source on reddit.com

Read the source on youtube.com

Read the source on youtube.com

Read the source on youtube.com

Read the source on youtube.com

Item references

Read the source on light.gg

Read the source on light.gg

Read the source on light.gg

Conflict resolutions applied

• Inherited branch mechanics: The source draft said mechanics accumulate. Later encounter write-ups and direct route examples agree that only the immediately preceding boss's mechanic transfers to the next branch boss.
• Epoptes call geometry: The collapse mechanic uses three round nodes floating above the Hydra in a triangle arrangement. They are not triangle nodes on the Lens eyes.
• Agraios Wyverns: Older drafts and early guides listed four or five. Later corrections and independent reports identify three.
• Iatros duplicate buffs: Three shooters should retain three unique Temporalities. A fourth player touching a plate, commonly the climber following Normal habits, can create duplicate towers after the reshuffle.
• Iatros climber: The Epic climber does not need Temporality to interact with the staircase capsules.
• Atlas and Almanac catalyst: The quest unlocks catalyst attunement. Update 9.1.5.1 changed the attuned catalyst to a guaranteed drop on the next raid encounter clear.
• Rewards: The older three-Feat armor-lock model was replaced with the current reward-grade table from Update 9.7.0.
• Feat labels: The live selector still uses Cutthroat Combat, Encounter Challenges, and Battalions. Update 9.7.0 calls their reward contributions Cutthroat Combatants, Challenges, and Shocktroopers.
• Epic Koregos Challenge: Normal Koregos's six-player Chronon-deposit rule does not carry into the replacement Epic encounter. Epic-specific reports and recorded five-Feat clears support six unique echo final blows. Three players can enter room one; any player assigned a later return qualifies for that room's Undoing by touching its matching Temporality plate before the original echo dies.