Appearing during the Warpriest encounter - which is the first full boss of the raid - during selected weeks, the optional challenge complicates what can be a difficult encounter in its own right. This page explains the the Devious Theory requirements, as well as some advice on how to complete the King’s Fall challenge - and get some bonus rewards for your trouble. On this page:
What is Devious Thievery in Destiny 2?
The conditions of the Devious Thievery Raid Challenge are simple. Whenever a member of the fireteam collects the Brand Claimer orb, they must steal the Aura of the Initiate within five seconds. It does not matter when the Blightguard holding the Brand Claimer is killed, only when the orb is picked up. This must happen every time the Brand Claimer is picked up, and a single miss means the challenge has been failed. It’s December, which means the return of The Dawning and Moments of Triumph 2022! Elsewhere, the Season of the Seraph is here alongside More than a Weapon, Seraph Key Codes and Resonate Stems and the addition of Rose in Crucible. We’ve also seen a new dungeon, Spire of the Watcher, with has a chance of Hierarchy of Needs dropping upon completion. Earliear this year we had the arrival of King’s Fall and King’s Fall challenges, plus weapons including Doom of Chelchis and Touch of Malice. For The Witch Queen, learn how to get Dead Messenger and Parasite.
Tips for completing Devious Thievery in Destiny 2
The Warpriest encounter in Destiny 2 is primarily a test of your team’s ability to deal damage to the boss. Once the three plates are activated a luminous sphere called the Aura of the Initiate is formed, and your group must fire from inside of this to damage the Warpriest. The Aura has a countdown timer that is reset by a member of your squad killing a Blightguard, picking up the Brand Claimer orb dropped by this knight, and using that to take the Aura of the Initiate. This happens twice on each damage phase. This is where the five second time limit to take the Aura comes into play. The Blightguards will appear near the first two plates that are activated, and the timer for the challenge does not begin until the Brand Claimer is picked up. With this in mind, there are two good strategies to accomplish the fast swap of the aura:
First, you can have the person with the Aura of the Initiate move towards the Brand Claimer orb, bringing the team dealing damage with them. This allows the person picking up the Brand Claimer to wait until the last possible second to pick it up, then immediately steal the Aura. The second option is to always do damage to the boss from the center of the room, and have the players hunting the Blightguards lure them as close to the center as possible before killing them. Then, wait until the person with the aura nears five seconds left on their timer, grab the Brand Claimer, and sprint to take the aura.
Experiment with which approach works best for your team, and completing the challenge - and earning the spoils - should be in reach. If you want help elsewhere in the raid, see our full King’s Fall guide. Additionally we can offer help for the next challenge, Gaze Amaze.
