Part 3 - Where you will want to give up

Otherwise known as the Ogre Boss

This part sucks. Seriously. If it's still Tuesday, then just stop here and have a good nights sleep before coming back.

At this point it's been challenging, but you could always feel it was doable. The problem with this part is while it's decently easy with a fireteam, it is a nightmare for a solo player.

You should expect to die alot, in fact for your first day of this, I recommend not quiting until you've had 30 deaths. Then take a break, and do 30 more. This part can take several days (if you're at my skill level).

But before we get started one side note on...

YouTube videos

If you're going to watch a YouTube video on this section, you need to realize something. It's bullshit. In the videos, the Wizards don't move very much, the enemies line up, and the Ogre stays still in the damage phase. Now I'm not saying they're fake, but a lot of them are from early on and things have changed. Either that or the streamers got REALLY lucky. Things are not going to go that well fo you here.

But here we go.

Loadouts

Void void void void void void void. And one distance weapon. When I first started this I used Malfeasance and Vouchsafe. While it wasn't bad, I needed more distance one hit kills, so I switched to Izanami's Burden, and Inagural Address. I chose Izanami's Burden because it has great handling, and I need that. If you're a better shot you can free up an exotic slot by choosing a different sniper rifle.

My power weapon was Hammerhead. A Whisper can help on the Ogre damage if you're a good shot, and I would recommend that. But the downside is a Whisper isn't going to help you if you need to rush a Wizard. Also a machine gun allows you to hit the Ogre's Axion Bolts while also hitting the Ogre.

As for classes, defense is key. Warlocks having Arc Souls for their rift isn't a bad idea, though a Well can be incredibly helpful. Titans already have their wall, so Hammers are where it's probably at. Hunters, you want Way of the Trapper so you can tether and go invisible.

To be clear, I think Hunters have the worst of it here, but I did do this as a Hunter. So it's possible.

The first 30 seconds

If you decide to do a couple runs before relying on this guide, you're going to notice something really fast. Cover does not exist. There a couple of spots you can live for a couple of seconds, but if you stay there, you're toast.

Your goal in the first 30 seconds is to create a safe(ish) space. To help out, I'm going to refer to this map posted by u/ApproximatelyC on Reddit

The map does have an issue, safe spot #1 is actually to the right of the block.

As soon as you drop down, you'll want to head over to safe spot #2. Face the right wall and wait for the guy to spawn. But don't wait forever, because sometimes he won't.

At this point sprint over to spot #1 and start hitting the Taken that are leaning your way. Now turn around so you're facing north. The picture doesn't do a great job showing it, but there's a small alley between spot #1 and spot #2 going north, which I have termed the Alley of Death. This you need to keep a constant eye on to keep clear.

Taken Goblins are the first priority, since once they make someone invincible, they tend to keep doing it forever, because they're pricks. The Taken Vandals put up shields, but they're temporary, and you can use that time to line up your shots. Titan walls and Warlock rifts are handy here.

Once you've cleared out the Taken from the right that enter the Alley, you should be able to breath easy for a couple of seconds. You've created a safe(ish) space. The East Wizard usually does not drift into the Alley, prefering to stay around the pillars.

Prepping for your run

At this point in time, you'll need to bounce between the two spots, wiping out the rest of the normal Taken. If you're lucky, some of the Taken to the far north will be visible from spot #2, and you can get some nice snipes in.

When the East Wizard pops out in the eastern corridor, you can usually take down the shield from the stairs without getting hit to hard. Take these opportunities to whittle down it's health (do NOT kill).

You should also start looking for opportunities to snipe the Taken on the Western side. However they move all over the place, and the Goblins are obsessed with shielding someone, or something. I seriously think I saw them shield a rock when I eliminated the rest of the Taken in the area. The Vandals pop shields like M&Ms. So when you get a shot, take it quickly. At times you can drive the South Wizard back behind cover and come out a bit to try to get an angle. But basically this is an exercise in patience. You do not want more than one normal Taken on the west side when you start your run.

You're probably not going to get enough shots on the Western Wizard to bring down the shield, so save your ammo.

Time to make your run

Bring down the Southern Wizard, and try to do it when it's as south as possible, you don't want to let the Ogre hit you too much. Pick up it's orb and sprint to the Western side and duck behind one of the blocks to refresh your health.

You might think you can mirror what you did on the Eastern side here, but the Wizard is farther back, has more cover, and frankly is just jerk who will keep retreating when you hit it. This is where the Hammerhead comes in, it takes town the Wizard pretty quick and keeps it from retaliating. If there are other normal Taken left, wipe them out quick.

Sprint to the orb then to cover, any cover. The Ogre has a lot of angles to beat you with here. Take a breath, then go for the Northern Wizard.

The problem is, there's going to be a few normal Taken here as well, shielding and sniping. This is where you will want to use your super. For Hunters, a tether will wipe everyone out quick, especially when the Wizard's shield explodes. For Warlocks, Chaos Reach is dangerous as the Ogre isn't going to just ignore you, so Tickle Fingers or Nova Bomb is probably better. Titans, once again it's Hammer Time.

At this point, the Eastern Wizard is all that's left, and if you paid attention earlier, it's all alone with hardly any health. So you can take your time getting over there, getting behind cover, and finishing it off.

Ogre Time

Ok, to be clear. The Ogre is a dick. There is nothing about this DPS stage that will come easy. Even activating it. In fact you can die activating it. Because this game hates us.

What you'll want to do is try to time it when his rapid boops are about to end, jump up activate it, then make sure you have clear line of sight because the Axion Bolts are about to come. If you make the Axion Bolts go around stuff to find you, you're going to regret it. You want them straight in front of you.

In the videos I see the guy immediately start shooting a Whisper at the Ogre's head, but I have NEVER started DPS phase without at least 2 rapid fire batches of Axion Bolts coming my way.

@#$@ you YouTuber.

This is where a machine gun is helpful, as while you shoot the bolts you can keep damaging the Ogre. The only problem is reloading. If you're a Hunter, a quick dodge can reload your clip and you want to take advantage of it here. For Warlocks, a rift with the Lunafaction Boots will keep you going. For Titans....well, you're kinda screwed here. Which honestly, is something you need. The rest of this game has been so damn easy for you, time for you to suffer.

Hunters can sometimes blind the Ogre with the melee grenade, but it does not seem to be something that consistently works.

Your goal is to get around a 1/3rd of the Ogre's health gone. Once the shield goes back up, sprint back to safe spot #2 and start again.

Sounds straightforward(ish) right?

Why it's not straightforward

Getting Checkmated

While the Eastern Wizard isn't usually too bad. It will sometimes comes into the Alley the same time the Southern Wizard comes to it's eastmost point. You're pretty much checkmated at this point. There is nowhere to run as the Ogre is waiting for you to break cover. Your best bet is to unload into a Wizard and try to get it to duck back into cover while dodging left and right. A Titan wall might save you here though.

The @#$%ing Ogre

His boops can just start pinning you, and push you into a firing lane for the Taken to finish you off. And the Ogre will ALWAYS stay right on top of you. It does not wander off, it does not get peckish and want a snack. It wants to kill you. Now.

If you get hit by the Ogre, your best defense is to jump. The Ogre will continue to shoot below you, then track you up high as you're dropping. You should be able to get back into cover. But you always want to make sure you're hugging it, any daylight and the Ogre will blow you out into the open.

Oh, and in DPS, the Ogre will dance. And it might start with a bopping stream to completely knock you around. And the Axion Bolts explode when you shoot them causing you more damage if they're close.

Getting Checkmated Part 2

The Taken Goblins can fill the Alley with invincible snipers, and there isn't anything you can do about it. You'll need to run from cover to cover and hope the snipers decide to break away.

The Western Taken suck

They will have lots of areas to hide in, and the game cheats and lets them know when you're aiming at them. Causing Vandal shields galore. Oh, and they're not scared of sniping you from behind the Ogre's shield. And BTW, when you see one of the Taken is exposed for a snipe, the Southern Wizard will usually block your shot. So you have a window of 1.5 seconds.

40 seconds is a long time, except when it isn't

You'll feel the timer the most when going after the Western Wizard. You'll take 10-12 seconds just getting to the other side then recovering from the trip. If you don't have a good solution for the shield, you'll be exposed for a bit as the Ogre can blast away. You'll want to keep moving as much as possible while hammering the Wizard.

You're going to have to take hits

To be able to clear out some of the adds, you're going to have to take some hits. You'll need to learn to judge just how many.

Wizards start spawning back in when you're about to activate DPS

If you didn't have enough issues, now more Taken snipers are coming in that will take pot shots at you on the platform.

You're mortal

This is a long, grueling slog. And you can't really make mistakes. And then you have to do it again, and again. And if you're me, one more time to take that last sliver of health off. It will wear at you, so take breaks.

I did it!

Congrats! This was the most frustrating part of the Shattered Throne. At this point if you're a normal person, it's Thursday or Friday, so you have the weekend to finish it off.

After your break, head over to Part 5 - I have to go up now?