How to defeat Rhulk in Destiny 2 Vow of the Disciple

Rhulk is the final boss of Destiny 2 Vow of the Disciple Raid. He enters the third week of Pantheon alongside five other bosses. Rhulk's boss design is considered one of the unique ones in the game as he is one of the first encounter bosses that have significant mobility during their mechanic and damage phases. Hence, players must look out for his deadly attacks while trying to crack the mechanics.

This article will guide you through the core mechanics of Rhulk and how to defeat him easily as a fireteam. The Pantheon of May 14 will put players 15 powers below the enemy's level and make minor changes to a few aspects of the encounter. Aside from those, everyone can expect the core mechanics to remain unchanged.

Disclaimer: This article lists the mechanics related to the Rhulk boss only, assuming you are already accustomed to all the signs and callouts related to the Vow of the Disciple Raid. This article will also be updated with the changes in Pantheon.

All Rhulk boss mechanics and how to complete them in Destiny 2

The red arrow represents downstairs, Green arrow represents upstairs (Image via Bungie)

The Rhulk boss in Destiny 2 is split into two parts, one being down in the pillar arena and the other being in the main arena up the stairs. Hence, this article will split both sections into two parts. Note that the pillar arena downstairs requires everyone to follow the mechanics, erase the three orange shields, and lead Rhulk to open a path upstairs.

1) Downstairs

While your fire team is downstairs, look for a huge Crux of Darkness on the stairs. Shooting it will spawn Rhulk. Now, the boss will have one small Crux on top of his, which is the start of the encounter. However, learning about the basic tasks in the encounter is important.

Buffs:

Crux to get the Leeching Force (Image via Bungie)

The encounter revolves around two main buffs, the Leeching Force and the Emanating Force. Leeching Force allows one to split the buff to two other players, converting it into another buff called Emanating Force. Emanating Force enables a Guardian to pass through the shield and deposit the buff in one of the six pillars.

To get Leeching Force, simply shoot the Darkness Crux hanging over Rhulk's head. To split the Leeching Force, stand on the middle glyph at the back side of the arena. This will spawn two Crux on two sides of Rhulk, both of which will grant Leeching Force while taking the same buff away from the first carrier.

To convert Leeching into Emanating, standing in the line of Rhulk's laser attack. If you do not want to convert your Leeching into Emanating, avoid the laser attack at all costs.

Pillars:

Killing two Glyphkeeper enemies in the arena will enable signs on both sides. The left Glyphkeeper will spawn three signs, which can be viewed only by the players with the buffs. The right Glyphkeeper will also spawn three signs, which can be viewed by players who do not have any buffs.

The requirement here is to look for the common sign and then call out the positions of the two pillars that have that particular sign. The player with the Emanating Force will then pass through Rhulk's orange shields and deposit the buff in the called-out pillars.

Repeat this three more times until all shields deplete, allowing your fireteam to enter the upper arena.

2) Upstairs

Rhulk with his Scepter and a sign on the pillar (Image via Bungie)

Your team is now in a direct face-off with Rhulk, who will do dash attacks on anyone who is far from him followed by a kick attack on anyone close to him. The objective here is to shoot Rhulk's Scepter, allowing the shooter to gain Leeching Force. Doing so will lead Rhulk to do a four-side laser attack, which is the queue of the Leeching buff carrier to convert into Emanating.

Anyone without the buff will call out the sign that spawns on the location of the broken Scepter and then the corresponding pillar with the same sign. While the buff carrier is depositing the buff in one of the four pillars, other players must shoot the cracks in Rhulk's body, further leading him to the DPS phase.

Rhulk damage phase in Destiny 2 (Image via Bungie)

Rhulk will move around the arena, with his entire body being vulnerable to damage. Hence, it is recommended to have a Divinity to create a single precision spot for optimal damage. Repeat this several times until Rhulk dies.

3) Changes made in Pantheon

The changes made in the Pantheon version of the Rhulk boss fight are as follows:

A Tormentor spawns after depleting one level of orange shield downstairs. Hence, players can encounter a Tormentor after depositing two Emanating buffs in two pillars.
A second Rhulk spawns in the upstairs boss arena, which walks and follows one player, all while kicking everything in its vicinity. The kick deals more damage than the main boss, so having one player babysit the second one is important. The second Rhulk will not despawn until the main one dies, and cannot be damaged anytime during the fight.

Check out other guides on this game from Sportskeeda:

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Edited by Rachel Syiemlieh