As with most content drops for Destiny 2, Episode: Heresy adds a new activity in the form of The Nether. While Guardians will largely be slaying out foes and handling mini-objectives in The Nether, the activity throws a twist into the mix: players can’t heal themselves through traditional means.
This no-doubt throws Destiny 2‘s healing-capable Warlocks into disarray, but it also means that players can’t just hang around and wait for health to regenerate on any Class. Instead, if players want the ability to heal themselves and the rest of the Fireteam, they’ll need to make some conscious decisions about their loadout.
Living on the edge
The Nether isn’t the first time Destiny 2 has limited the healing capabilities of our Guardians. Even as recently as the last Episode, a combat modifier called Brawn increased player health while restricting healing. What Guardians encounter in The Nether is much of the same. Within the activity, players’ health increased by 300, and shields increased by 75, but at the cost of regeneration capabilities.
You’ll have to find new ways to stay alive when partaking in The Nether, and that’s the point. During the developer livestream showcasing Heresy before its launch, Bungie explained that it wanted health to become a resource in the activity, encouraging more methodical play. T🉐he idea certainly has some merit, as The Nether seems to have been balanced to make the lack of self-healing very difficult to ignore, especially towards the end of a run.
Healing options in The Nether
Despite The Nether being specifically designed so that the image of the unstoppable, invincible Guardian is shattered, there are still some consistent ways to stay alive. Mostly, that will mean either taking some equipment built to heal other players or scrounging around The Nether looking for scraps of health and ammo. There are also some opportunities to get around The Nether’s curse with buildcrafting.
While one method isn’t necessarily superior to the other, relying on the pickups you find within the activity can be perilous if luck isn’t on your side. Though it might mean sacrificing something else that can help bring some pain to your enemies, opting for healing through either equipment or your build means that the Fireteam will always have a way to regain health, even in dire predicaments.
Support Frame auto rifles
The most obvious way to directly oppose the lack of self-healing in The Nether is by having each member of the Fireteam use a Support Frame auto rifle. These weapons work like normal auto rifles when you aim down the sights, but instead, shoot healing bullets when firing from the hip. Currently, there are two of these weapons in the game, one from The Final Shape’s weapon pool and another arriving for Heresy.
Most Guardians likely have a No Hesitation auto rifle or two lying around if they’ve completed The Final Shape’s campaign. If you’re lucky, you have already unlocked the ability to craft the solar weapon and can customize it to your liking. No Hesitation uniquely can benefit from a damage buff after rapidly healing allies, and it additionally provides Restoration to those healed.
The new Adamantite auto rifle is not craftable, but it works a little differently. Instead of increasing its own damage, Adamantite increases healed allies’ damage and starts creating Unravel projectiles on that person. Depending on the weapon’s roll, you might still even be able to reap similar benefits to No Hesitation. The Circle Of Life Perk also allows Adamantite a damage buff after healing allies.
Alternatively, if players don’t want to use an auto rifle at all, Red Death Reformed, Crimson, and Lumina are also on the table. The Exotic pulse rifle, Red Death Reformed, allows Guardians to heal themselves when they defeat enemies and🐽 nearby allies when reloading after kills. Lumina is an Exotic hand cannon that can shoot healing shots to heal allies, and Crimson is an Exotic hand cannon that can be used to heal the wielder.
Collecting health from pots
Aside from what players are taking into ꦆThe Nether, the activity can provide some respite within its own walls. Throughout the activity, Guardians will come across pots and urns strewn about the Dreadnaught. If players spot one, destroying it can yield some kind of resource, whether it be health, ammo, or even something as odd as a Strand Tangle.
Generally, the pots can help in a pinch, but they’re not to be relied upon. There’s no telling what you’ll find when you break one open, and on the off chance it’s not health, you’ll find yourself still hurting. That said, pots can be handy as a quick in-the-moment way to find additional resources.
Orbs of Power and Recuperation
Though you can’t heal yourself via standard means like a Solar Healing Grenade or a Warlocks Healing Rift, there are some ways to build into healing in The Nether. Specifically, if players incorporate an armor mod on their legs, they’ll be able to reclaim a bit of vitality each time an Orb of Power is collected.
The armor mod powering this interaction is called Recuperation, and it only costs one energy to equip. It’s well worth swapping out an elemental Surge or a Holster mod in favor of a little extra health every time one of those juicy Orbs appears on the field.
Boons
In addition to everything Guardians can do to prepare for The Nether ahead of time, there are some powerful in-activity buffs that exist to help things along further. These buffs are called Boons, and they’re separated into three different categories of power: Minor, Major, and Corrupted.
The Minor Boon Paracausal Health is one to keep an eye out for, as it makes each health pickup found in pots count for that much more. This Boon can also be stacked up ﷽to 10 times, making it something worth grabbing if staying alive 🐻proves an issue.
As for Major Boons, I’ve had some good times with both Finishing Heal and Classical Healing. Finishing Heal provides a bump of healing each time players use a Finisher to defeat an enemy and it can be coupled with other Boons that also function off of Finishers. Classical Healing, on the other hand, rewards a big chunk of health every time Guardians use their Class ability. This Boon can itself be enhanced by another Minor Boon that increases Class ability regeneration.
One option likely won’t cut it
Though the above options all work to heal players in The Nether, it’s probably wise for the vast majority of players to double up on healing possibilities. The Nether is a revive-based activity, so the run is over when the Fireteam runs out of revives. You want to do everything you can to prevent a run of The Nether from being cut short so you can earn as many rewards as possible.
To this end, it’s worth planning ventures into The Nether, especially if you bring a full Fireteam of friends. If possible, I’drecommend at least two players with a weapon with healing capabilities. I’d also suggest everyone in the Fireteam use the Recuperation mod on their leg armor. From there, the Boons and luck of the pots will take players the rest of the way.
Published: Feb 4, 2025 06:34 pm