Destiny 2 Imbaru Engine Guide

Destiny 2 Season 22 has delivered all sorts of surprises to players, including the Imbaru Engine. After a lackluster reveal for The Final Shape expansion, a tantalizing story centered on long-time ally Eris Morn and the return of the Crota’s End Raid offered some wins for Guardians. As the season has gone on, the new Imbaru Engine challenge appeared alongside the two existing seasonal activities. This mission takes players deeper into Savathûn’s machinations than they’ve ever been before. To a place where secrets appear at every corner, and even gravity seems to have a mind of its own. While completing this puzzle won’t immediately yield any wild revelations, Imbaru has far-reaching lore implications, and the activity is just plain fun. That said, there’s very little instruction on how players can conquer the Imbaru Engine.

Season 22, Season of the Witch, sees Eris Morn engage in Hive rituals to take on Xivu Arath. The only way Eris can go toe to toe with the Hive god of war is by becoming a Hive god herself. To that end, Eris utilizes Savathûn’s mysticism to empower herself quickly. Guardians have been ascending Savathûn’s Spire and tithing scores of kills via the Altars of Summoning. Week five sprinkled some doubt on players’ actions, however. Between Savathûn’s Ghost declaring that we’re playing right into the Witch Queen’s plans and the appearance of the Imbaru engine, it’s tough to know if Guardians are in the right. And that ties right back to the troubling concept of Imbaru.

What is Destiny 2’s Imbaru?

While “The Imbaru Engine” is the locale players can visit via the H.E.L.M, the concept of Imbaru has come up before. It refers to Savathûn’s reinterpretation of the Sword Logic. Traditionally, Sword Logic dictates that the strongest will survive. That is, anything that can kill another proves its existence worthy. Taking that viewpoint to the extreme, the Hive scours the galaxy, practicing Sword Logic and tithing power through violent acts. Savathûn’s Imbaru swaps this display of strength for cunning.

Savathûn figured out a way to redirect the source of her tithes away from violence and toward her wheelhouse: being mysterious. Everything Guardians half understand, get wrong, or don’t comprehend tithe to Savathûn. In that way, even the enigmatic and understandably relatively obscure concept feeds Imbaru unto itself. Though the term came up in the game before Season 22, it was only through Lore pages, some with unreliable narrators. It was a perfect way to generate initial doubt, skepticism, and more of that juicy Imbaru. And just like that first mention, “The Imbaru Engine” presents players with a mystery and an experience that defies expectations. Of course, that sounds like the type of thing that could have been Savathûn’s plan all along.

How to complete Destiny 2 The Imbaru Engine

After players work through week five’s opening stages, a new node will appear in the H.E.L.M. called “The Imbaru Engine.” Launching into the activity drops players into a familiar locale: the Altars of Summoning. Going up the first lift brings players to a green ritual circle. Once interacted with, it’ll reveal yet another lift into The Imbaru Engine proper. Guardians can initially head up the platforms and either left or right up some stairs to enter the main chamber. 

Another ritual circle awaits players opposite the entrance, and interacting with this will “Begin the test.” Each test asks players to open the “right” chests in a room full of trapped options. The correct choice will allow Guardians to move on to the next challenge, and the wrong one slaps players on the wrist with a killing debuff. The trick to figuring out the correct chest, and the whole activity, is to look for the right symbol. That said, memorizing locations alone won’t cut it, as the chests and symbols randomize with each run.

The chests throughout Destiny 2‘s Imbaru Engine will be accompanied by arrow markers showcasing Hive symbols. Players will always be looking for chests marked by the Hive symbol that looks like an “X” with a stake through it. As Guardians prove their cunning, more chests will spawn higher up in the area, making symbols more challenging to find. Sometimes, the symbols will be on the opposite side of a wall or at a different elevation than the chest. Still, there is little penalty if an incorrect guess is made. Once players have opened a total of six chests, they’ll complete the activity.