Game-breaking Destiny 2 exploit is allowing players to score free Artifice Armor

It's not the best exploit out there, but it's definitely going to get patched soon.

Ecthar, the Shield of Savathun, in Destiny 2’s Ghosts of the Deep dungeon.
Image via Bungie

Destiny 2’s Ghosts of the Deep dungeon arrived on May 26, and perhaps to no one’s surprise, it appears many players have already discovered and refined an exploit to farm the activity.

Recommended Videos

Unlike previous game-breaking glitches, this farm likely won’t be considered a surefire home run by all players’ standards; it takes about 20 painfully boring minutes to do. But it definitely will be addressed at some point by the developers all the same.

The exploit was found and shared by content creator Cheese Forever. At time of writing, the method still appears to be working even after the weekly reset, so it remains to be seen just when Bungie will decide to disable and fix the related interactions that make this glitch possible.

This can be done on both the regular and Master versions of the Ghosts of the Deep dungeon, so players can abuse this exploit to farm its Hive-themed Taken King armor, new Legendary and Exotic weapons, Triumph challenges, and more.

Related: Here is the Ghosts of the Deep dungeon loot table in Destiny 2

There are several optional tips that players can incorporate into their runs to speed up the process, but the essential parts of the exploit are as follows:

  • Enter the boss encounter against either Ecthar, the Shield of Savathun, or Simmumah ur-Nokru, Lucent Necromancer with at least two players. The second boss is easier to do since you don’t even need to start the encounter.
  • Tag the boss with a shot of the exotic Witherhoard kinetic grenade launcher, then die by shooting a rocket launcher or heavy grenade launcher at the ground. This allows you to deal damage to the boss despite it being “immune.”
  • Get revived and re-apply the Witherhoard damage over time effect to extend the glitched window for damage to be done. The damage can only be done by one Witherhoard at a time and does not stack if players shoot it simultaneously.
  • If the boss stops taking damage, at least one player in the fireteam will need to shoot it with the Witherhoard and then die again.
  • If you are running two special ammo weapons, the game will give you free special ammo every 30 seconds if your reserves are low.

Considering how much time and effort it takes to actually abuse this exploit, as well as the fact that actually pulling a good Artifice Armor piece does seem to be quite rare, many will likely find that this isn’t worth all the buzz it’s getting.

Nevertheless, if Bungie announces that it has disabled the Witherhoard sometime in the near future, you’ll know why.

Author
Image of Ralston Dacanay
Ralston Dacanay
Ralston joined Dot Esports as a freelance writer in February 2023, and covers everything from VALORANT, Call of Duty, and Apex Legends, to NBA 2K and trending releases. His all-time favorite video games include NBA 2K11, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) and Halo 3. A class of 2020 alum of California State University, Long Beach, he graduated with a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in Finance.