It’s safe to say that, despite all of the other amazing content and improvements that came with Destiny 2’s latest expansion, I was not the biggest fan of the Lightfall campaign. If you want the proof, here’s my Destiny 2 Lightfall review. There were some really underwhelming moments, but in a bizarre turn of events, my least favourite mission of the entire campaign is now provides one of the most entertaining things to do or watch in the game right now.
During my playthrough of the campaign, I really hated the end of the Headlong mission. While it mainly served to enhance the 80’s action movie feel Bungie went for with Lightfall, the lunacy of Osiris whipping up a quick Ninja Warrior-style training area for you inside the Vex network so you can practice your Strand grapples didn’t sit right with me. The rest of the mission is ok, but I really disliked this final section with Coach Osiris. At the time, I found it all pretty forgettable.
Yet here I am, roughly two weeks into the expansion, completely hooked on watching people play the end of that mission over and over again. Forget obliterating Nezarec with some of the best Destiny 2 weapons in the new Root of Nightmares raid, speedrunning Osiris’ gauntlet is where it’s at.
Through a combination of mastering the new Strand subclasses and some clever strategies with their loadouts, guardians have been trying to beat each other’s completion times. Over the last week or so, times have tumbled to the point where completions are being done in under a minute. At the time of writing, 50 seconds is the current record.
These speedrun attempts are super satisfying to watch (many of them have also been dubbed with epic music, like this one) and it’s been amazing watching players put as much thought into strategy for this sub one minute challenge as they do for a high-level activity like a raid.
The current loadout of choice sees Dead Man’s Tale used as the initial Vex clearer, with its super accurate hip fire shots giving you just what you need while swinging around with Strand. Then a fusion rifle offers super speedy clearing of the groups of Vex that spawn in the final room. And finally, a pre-fired round from the Parasite exotic grenade launcher pretty much obliterates the boss in a blink.
So, here I am howling with glee as I watch another guardian swing and shoot their way to another 50-second run. With that, I’m also feeling rather foolish for initially labelling the end of the Headlong mission as some tone-deaf filler. Maybe in the context of the campaign itself, it still is that. But right now, it’s one of the most entertaining parts of Destiny 2.