Destiny 2: Rite Of The Nine - All Dungeon Changes

Quick Links

• General Dungeon Changes

• Spire Of The Watcher Changes
  • Opening Section
  • Spire Ascent
  • Akelous, The Siren's Current
  • Persys, Primordial Ruins

• Ghosts Of The Deep Dungeon Changes
  • Hive Ritual
  • Ecthar, the Shield Of Savathun
  • Simmumah Ur-Nokru

The Rite of the Nine event in Destiny 2 has refreshed three of the game's older raids with new mechanics and rewards, including a new title. Similar to the Pantheon activity from the year of Lightfall, Rite of the Nine makes some major changes to each dungeon it's reprised.

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From new encounter mechanics to elective difficulty options, this event has made dungeon farming accessible to New Lights and veteran Guardians alike. Today, we'll be explaining every notable dungeon change that came with Rite of the Nine, covering some general changes with this event and per-encounter breakdowns for each updated dungeon.

Updated May 20, 2025, by Charles Burgar: Ghosts of the Deep is now available through the Rite of the Nine event. Most of the changes made to this dungeon have made it easier, which should make farming for dungeon loot significantly less draining. We've updated this guide to include every change made to Ghosts of the Deep with this iteration.

Article-In-Progress

As Rite of the Nine's updated dungeons are currently time-gated, not every dungeon change is currently accounted for. We'll be updating this guide as Bungie releases the remaining dungeons for this event over the coming weeks.

General Dungeon Changes

The first major change you'll notice with Rite of the Nine is the addition of elective difficulty options. Every updated dungeon—Spire of the Watcher, Ghosts of the Deep, and Prophecy—includes three difficulty variants:

• Explorer: Turns dungeons into a lengthy Strike. Includes matchmaking, reduces enemy difficulty, and explains mechanics through in-game prompts.
• Eternity: Standard dungeon experience. No matchmaking, and banes are present on some enemies.
• Ultimatum: Contest Mode experience. No matchmaking, Power Level is clamped at -20, and enemies have multiple modifiers that make them tougher.
  • This is the only mode that can drop Adept-quality dungeon loot.

Explorer is tailored for less experienced players who haven't experienced Destiny 2's PvE endgame, while Ultimatum is tailored for players who prefer a challenge. Most Triumphs and the event's currency, Nonary Manifolds, can be obtained on any difficulty. Additionally, weapons that drop from encounters can drop with multiple perks if your team avoids dying. The fewer deaths you achieve, the more perks you'll receive on any guns that drop.

Refreshed Perk Pools

All dungeon weapons from Spire of the Watcher, Ghosts of the Deep, and Prophecy have been refreshed with new perk pools and the Gravity Well origin trait, which will pick up nearby ammo bricks whenever you reload.

You can check out our roll recommendations in our Rite of the Nine god rolls guide.

All dungeons that are tied to Rite of the Nine have been updated with new mechanics or encounter challenges. We cover each encounter change below, but in general, most encounters now include a boss fight and some sort of puzzle. For example, Spire of the Watcher's non-boss encounters now include miniboss units you need to kill.

Boss encounters on Ultimatum difficulty also feature an Enrage mechanic. If you can't defeat the boss in three DPS phases, your team will automatically wipe.

Spire Of The Watcher Changes

Opening Section

• Amphion, Awakened Mind now spawns once all four circuits are complete. This is a boss-tier Hydra with a fairly small health pool. Destroy it to complete the encounter.

Spire Ascent

• Minibosses now spawn after a floor is charged. You must destroy them to unlock the gravity lift to the next floor.
  • Bosses include a Harpy trio, a Hydra, and a Minotaur.
• Ultimatum Only: The encounter has a time limit. You must complete it before the timer expires or else you wipe.

Akelous, The Siren's Current

• Circuits must be charged in a specific order, listed from top to bottom. The order and circuit symbols can be seen from the central platform where you start the encounter.
  • Failing this mechanic will reset a circuit.
• Ultimatum Only: Akelous enrages after three DPS phases.

Persys, Primordial Ruins

• Circuits must be charged in a specific order, as with the last encounter.
• Detain drones now spawn when the control room is unlocked.
• Ultimatum Only: Persys enrages after three DPS phases.

Ghosts Of The Deep Dungeon Changes

Ghosts of the Deep's changes have actually made it easier to clear, not harder. The shields present on Ecthar and Simmumah have been drastically nerfed, and the opening encounter is now slightly shorter. Mechanics for this dungeon remain the same as its launch version.

Hive Ritual

• Symbol requirements have been reduced to three, from four.

Ecthar, the Shield Of Savathun

• Ecthar's shield is significantly weaker.
• Eternity+: This encounter is slightly more hectic due to the presence of Bane modifiers. Be careful.

Simmumah Ur-Nokru

• Summumah's shield is significantly weaker. You no longer need to bring Arbalest to break it quickly.

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