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Completing the final Destiny 2 Lightfall mission, Desperate Measures, can be extremely difficult, especially on Legendary

Beating the Destiny 2 Lightfall Desperate Measures mission on Legendary can be incredibly tough due to the lengthy battles, including the final boss fight. However, emerge victorious and you will have beaten all the missions in the Destiny 2 Lightfall story, leaving just a few characters to speak to wrap things up. Here are some tips to get your through the three most challenging parts of the Destiny 2 Lightfall mission, Desperate Measures, including the final boss fight. Destiny 2 Lightfall campaign spoilers ahead!

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Desperate Measures is the final mission of the Destiny 2 Lightfall campaign and it’s both long and difficult, especially if you’re playing on Legendary difficulty. Before getting started, I highly recommend that your power level is at least 1740, but ideally you want to be at 1750, which is the recommended level. Desperate Measures kicks off with you fighting your way through Shadow Legion forces starting at Zephyr Concourse to eventually reach the Irkalla Complex, but the difficulty ramps up quickly. If you want help with a particular step, use the list below, but otherwise you can read through the whole guide to walk you through the mission:

There are two AA guns to destroy which are on top of different buildings, so you’ll need to destroy them one at a time, but the method is the same for both. Eliminate the nearby Shadow Legion forces to remove a forcefield surrounding a console, then interact with that console to lower another forcefield protecting the nearby AA gun. Shoot the glowing explosives on top of the gun to disable it. Sounds simple, but patience and caution are key here as dying will reset you right back to the beginning of this section. There are hordes of Cabal waiting for you at these guns but you should also be aware of these two things:

With the AA guns down, you jump across to the Irkalla Complex and prepare for the next big battle.

Learn what you'll get out of overcoming this challenge in our Destiny 2 Lightfall Legendary campaign rewards guide

This massive battle encounter is pretty long but all you really have to worry about is killing Shadow Legion forces and avoiding death. You’ll start by clearing some enemies from defense turrets as you reach the Irkalla Complex and then you’ll need to use a new orbital strike weapon to destroy some tanks. Once the tanks have been destroyed, the proper Shadow Legion assault begins. The defense turrets you set up earlier can deactivate if they get swarmed by Shadow Legion enemies, so you must eliminate them to get the turrets working again. After a few minutes of fighting, Caiatl and her Cabal forces will join the fray to help, but the Shadow Legion will also escalate their assault, bringing in more tanks and Tormentors – use the orbital strike weapons to quickly bring down the tanks and clear out some of the tougher foes. Eventually, Calus will blast a hole into the Irkalla Complex, meaning you’ll have to get inside and stop him from using the Veil directly.

It’s all come down to one final confrontation at the Veil. This Destiny 2 Calus boss fight can be especially tough due to his variety of attacks and little telegraphing. It’s also a two-phase boss fight, so make sure you don’t celebrate too early either. There are some cheese methods you can use to make this fight much easier – namely hiding under and shooting through a flight of stairs – but my tips will help you if you want to beat Calus and the Lightfall campaign sans cheese:

With Calus defeated and the Lightfall campaign pretty much over, you’ll unlock a whole host of endgame quests and activities to complete. If you want to unlock Destiny 2 Strand and all its Fragments, you’ll need to get more Strand Meditations. You can also get the Winterbite Exotic by completing several Hall of Heroes quests, including Destiny 2 Maelstrom and Destiny 2 Bluejay.

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Will Sawyer is a guides writer at GamesRadar+ who works with the rest of the guides team to give readers great information and advice on the best items, how to complete a particular challenge, or where to go in some of the biggest video games. Will joined the GameRadar+ team in August 2021 and has written about service titles, including Fortnite, Destiny 2, and Warzone, as well as some of the biggest releases like Halo Infinite, Elden Ring, and God of War Ragnarok.

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