The Court of Oryx is a big part of Destiny: The Taken King. We gathered all of the information you need to help you find the location of the Court, detail the Reciprocal, Stolen and Antiquated Runes you need, and cover boss battle strategies. The Court of Oryx is not for the light-hearted, so make sure you have the best Fire team with you, because you’ll need all the help you can get.
If you’re looking for more information on The Taken King, head over to our Destiny: The Taken King Walkthrough and Guide.
Court of Oryx Tips
- Complete the Dread Patrol quest, then choose the Level 35 Patrol option from the Dreadnaught in order to access the Court of Oryx.
- There are three statues in the hallway leading into the Court of Oryx that represent varying difficulty levels. The easiest of the three recommends 190 Light.
- Organize a Fire team of three people to accompany you, with communication being key so you can coordinate your attack on your road to victory.
- Talk to your Fire team and coordinate the damage types for each member so you’re ready for any elemental shields you come across.
- The Fire team member who presents the Rune receives the best reward. The reward is located on top of the platform by the portal once the boss fight is completed.
Court of Oryx Location
You can find the Court of Oryx is by spawning into the Level 35 Patrol option of the Dreadnaught, which sends you to the Hull Breach region. Head forward and hug the right wall until you hit a door broken up by several pillars. The inside portion of the door is lit up, and the floor is raised upon entering.
Continue through the door and to the right as you head through a second door. Follow the hallway to the left as it winds back to the right, heading into the Hall of Souls. This takes you back outside where you must climb up the stairs and to the right. Look for the cavern doorway near the top of those stairs and head through there to climb two more sets of stairs on the left.
When the road forks take the right path and head up nearby ramp. When you reach the top, continue through the door and to the right, then move down the hallway and to the left to reach another room with more stairs to the left. Head left at the top to reach the Court of Oryx.
Court of Oryx Tiers
At present the Court of Oryx has three tiers, with the likelihood that more will be revealed as Guardians continue to increase their Light levels. As you head into the hallway just before the Court of Oryx, there are statues on both sides. On the left wall are three statues with an arena just beyond. This is where you’ll do your fighting.
The statue closest to the arena triggers the lowest tier of the Court of Oryx, while the one to the left of it triggers the second tier, and the third and more challenging tier is triggered by the statue that’s positioned the furthest away from the arena.
Each tier has a recommended Light level and requires a specific type or Summoning Rune to be sacrificed in order begin your session in the Court of Oryx.
- Tier 1 – Light 190 – Reciprocal Rune
- Tier 2 – Light 240 – Stolen Rune
- Tier 3 – Light Unknown – Antiquated Rune
How to Get Runes
Reciprocal Runes are fairly easy to find compared to some of the other Runes. You only need to complete quests and explore the Dreadnaught to obtain these Runes. We landed almost half a dozen in a few hours of playing on launch day.
Stolen Runes are a bit more difficult to come by. For one, we don’t have exact details on all of the activities that drop them. However, you should be able to find these Runes by completing tasks on the Dreadnaught. It’s also likely there’s a Tier 2 Summoning Rune dropped from Strikes, although don’t have confirmation of that at this time. Once you have obtained a Tier 2 Rune, charge it by completing three Tier 1 events in the Court of Oryx.
Antiquated Runes are considerably harder to obtain compared to the other Runes. While full details on obtaining these Runes are not yet available, information points toward the Runes dropping in the King’s Fall Raid. We’ve also heard rumblings that there’s a chance these Runes drop in Nightfall activities, as well as possibly by completing the Tier 2 event in the Court of Oryx.
Fighting in the Court of Oryx
Now that you know how to find the Court of Oryx and begin one of the challenges, it’s time to move on to more general info about what to expect when the fighting begins. It’s important to keep track of several things concerning the arena where the Court of Oryx is located. Look inside before placing a Summoning Rune in one of the statues to see a mist on the floor. Be warned that this is poisonous. Unless you have activated the Court of Oryx, stay out of it.
There’s a platform with a portal on the opposite side where the player who places the Rune must go to initiate the boss fight. This is also the location where you pick up loot once the fight has concluded. When the boss battle begins, keep a close eye on the on-screen instructions that pop up as the boss enters. These generally provide hints concerning how you must complete the battle.
Tier 1 Court of Oryx Guide
The first tier of the Court of Oryx has six possible boss battle that occur in the arena, and they’re all Level 36 enemies so you should have at least 190 Light. This is an ideal battle for a three-person Fire team that’s completed The Taken King story and are looking to see what the Court of Oryx offers.
Bracus Horu’usk
As a member of the Cabal, Bracus Horu’usk isn’t all that difficult to defeat, but you still need a solid Fire team by your side. His shield is only active when his lower level friends are around, so focus your attention on killing all of the lesser enemies first, then shift focus to dealing damage to Bracus Horu’usk for several seconds. In our experience, having two people destroy adds, while the third tracks and prepares to take down the boss, was the best strategy. We even used the sword.
Krughor
One of the big keys to the battle against Krughor is focusing on the Cursed Thralls that spawn around the boss. We’ve all seen Cursed Thralls in Destiny, but this fight actually features them working to your advantage. The only way to lower Krughor’s shield is to shoot the Curse Thralls near him. When his shield goes down, focus your attacks on the boss until the shield comes back up. Repeat this process until Krughor goes down.
Lokaar
As the saddest boss in the Court of Oryx, Lokaar has a special ability that allows him to teleport. However, doing so causes Lokaar to become tired, which makes him easy to take down. There aren’t any tricks or gimmicks here, just use a weapon that matches his elemental shield, then lay waste to the boss. It’s important to note that Lokaar will occasionally teleport into the hallway with the statues where you won’t be able to hit him.
Vorlog
Vorlog is almost identical to the Prison of Elders boss that switches up his elemental shield every time you lower it. The Hive Knight will use either an Arc, Solar or Void shield. Lower it and do inflict as much damage as you can, then prepare for Vorlog to replenish the shield in a few seconds. When the shield comes back, it can be any of the three damage types, chosen at random. Each member of your Fire team should be equipped with a different elemental damage type.
Alzok Dal, Gornuk Dal and Zyrok Dal
These three Wizards don’t necessarily do anything special, but you have to kill them all within seconds of each other or they’ll simply respawn and the battle will continue. The strategy here is fairly straightforward, drop each Wizard’s health bars to roughly 10 percent, then your Fire team should take them down in rapid succession. Tracking Rocket launchers can be very useful for this battle.
Cra’adug and Mengoor
Cra’adug and Mengor are both Knights, with one being Hive and the other Taken. Their shields will only lower when they’re close to one another, so the Hunter – Nightstalker is very helpful here. Get them close together, tie them up, then your Fire team should focus on bringing one of the Knights down. When the first is down, the shield on the second one drops completely.
