Contest Of Elders Tips For Destiny 2

Key Takeaways

• Check the initial modifiers and adapt builds accordingly to ensure a smoother Contest of Elders run.
• Utilize tonics to empower artifact mods and focus on gear drops for better loot chances.
• Keep Warden’s Favor x3 by completing secondary objectives, leading to more loot and faster runs.

Contest of Elders is the latest Episodic addition to Destiny 2, following the release of Onslaught: Salvation earlier in Episode: Revenant. While most players will have been familiar with the gameplay loop of Onslaught before the Episode, Contest of Elders is an entirely new game mode to Destiny 2, adapting a mode familiar only to Destiny veterans.

This list looks at a few tips for completing a run of Contest of Elders and doing so easily while ensuring the best loot possible. While not an endgame activity, there are still elements present in Contest of Elders that can be obstacles for players to climb. Take a look at these tips before the next run, and it should be a little clearer, and might just be a little faster.

1 Check The Initial Modifiers

Elemental Singes Can Make A Huge Difference

Like many activities in Destiny 2, Contest of Elders has several permanently active modifiers, only changing with the weekly reset. These include elemental damage surges, increasing the damage output of certain damage types, as well as increasing incoming damage of certain types.

One modifier that is always active in Contest of Elders is limited revives, meaning that one too many deaths can lead to activity failure. Memorizing these modifiers can help with a number of the other tips on this list, but most importantly, will influence the build a player should run.

2 Go In With A Cohesive Build

The Right Weapons And Abilities Are Crucial

Coming off the back of the previous tip, having a cohesive build is mandatory for any harder content in Destiny 2, and Contest of Elders is no exception. Whether playing Warlock, Titan, or Hunter, having a build that works within itself, but also plays into the active modifiers is a surefire way to make the activity easier.

This should also take into account the Episode: Revenant artifact mods. While there aren’t any champions in Contest of Elders, utilizing weapons that can make use of artifact mods, such as grenade launchers, can be the extra boost needed to make a build work.

3 Pay Attention To The Rotating Modifiers

Each Room Requires A Different Playstyle

Each room in a Contest of Elders run will have a randomized modifier applied to it. From Grounded to Counterfeit, these can make a specific room significantly harder depending on how they affect the playstyles available to a player.

At the beginning of each encounter, a large notification will show up on the screen, making it very clear which modifier is active for the encounter. A player must make note of this, as it can help avoid unnecessary deaths and subsequent frustration.

4 Utilize Tonics

Empower Artifact Mods And Focus Gear Drops

Tonics are an integral part of Episode: Revenant and can be applied in all activities. There are two types of them, one which enhances the abilities of artifact mods, and the other which focuses on specific loot drops while killing combatants and completing activities.

Looking for a specific gun? Remember to activate the tonic that focuses on that weapon, increasing the odds that it’ll drop while completing Contest of Elders runs. A player should also remember to enhance the power of their artifact mods by activating the corresponding tonic, for a practically free boost of power.

5 Prioritize Secondary Objectives

These Are Surprisingly Important

Each encounter of Contest of Elders will, at some point, provide the players with a challenge, a secondary objective that grants Tonic crafting materials upon completion. These range from dismantling Eliksni mines, to getting kills with a specific type of weapon or ability.

While it is easy to forget about these objectives, they are vital for completing the activity in a time-effective manner, and getting the most loot from each run. They don’t take long to do but do have a time limit, and failing the objective will disappoint the warden and decrease the chances of gaining maximum loot at the end of the run.

6 Kill Model Prisoners

Minibosses That Drop Revive Tokens

Model Prisoners will occasionally spawn onto the battlefield, marked with blue text. They are tanky miniboss enemies that take varying forms, depending on the enemies present in the encounter. It is important to make sure these enemies are taken down, as not only can they be difficult to deal with, but killing them rewards the team with extra revive tokens.

While Contest of Elders isn’t a super-difficult activity, having revive tokens is important, especially when running with a matchmade team, as a lack of communication for one moment can lead to three revive tokens being gone in an instant.

7 Complete Objectives While Transitioning

Even Between Encounters, There Are Challenges

Between each main encounter area, players have to parkour their way through a corridor. Each of these transition spaces will provide players with a challenge, not only offering extra tonic materials but also allowing the team to bolster some extra favor with the warden.

These challenges can either ask the players to run through the corridor at record speeds or take their time to clear out some powerful enemies, so it is important the players take the time to ensure they know exactly what they have to do before storming through the area and missing free loot.

8 Keep Warden’s Favor x3

More Favor Means More Loot

This tip is a combination of a few previous tips. Warden’s Favor is simply a description of how successful the team has been at completing both major and secondary objectives. The more objectives the team fails, the lower their Favor will drop until it eventually drops into Warden’s Punishment.

If the team has positive Warden’s Favor when they complete a circuit of Contest of Elders, they will receive the maximum loot, which is three loot chests. Then, at the beginning of the next loop, the opening encounter will be skipped, as a bonus reward for impressing the warden. This greatly decreases the amount of time a full run takes, cutting out three full encounters if the team maintains their favor.

9 Don’t Rush

It May Take Longer, But It’s Worth It

Rushing may be the default state for most Destiny players, wanting to complete every activity at mach-10 speed. Contest of Elders can be a long-time investment, with some runs taking around an hour to complete. However, rushing won’t make this any faster.

To cut down on time, the player has to ensure they complete all the challenge objectives and maintain Warden’s Favor x3, as this will cut out multiple encounters and give the player the most possible loot, making the time spent in Contest of Elders feel worth it.