Destiny guide: Venus Ishtar Sink story mission walkthrough and guide
Destiny Guide: Venus Ishtar Sink story mission walkthrough and guide
Destiny doesn't restrict players to Earth's orbit. Say hello to Venus, the third stop on your tour of the solar system. Our complete walkthrough to all story missions is below.
Venus: A Stranger’s Call Level 10 Story Mission
Venus! Keep an eye out for the Spirit Blooms and chest scattered across its colourful landscape.
Follow the radar to a city choked with the jungle reclaiming it. In the streets you’ll meet Fallen - they’re level 10 now, and worthy foes.
After deploying your Ghost at the outpost, take a good look at the cars right in front of it; one of them has a Dead Ghost in the back seat.
Admire the view as you proceed to your goal, killing a few bands of Fallen. You’ll have to deploy your Ghost at some Vex sensors before you can move on, which ironically involves backtracking a little.
You’ll soon be passing through an underground area, which traces a U shape. Just before you reach the first right hand turn, stop and look back the way you came; you should spot a Gold Chest.
If you can handle breaking the dramatic tension, avoid deploying your Ghost at the Objective and chase down a Dead Ghost instead; it’s on the highest balcony, on the left side of the room as you face inwards from the entrance, and tucked away in a bookshelf.
Once you do deploy, you’ll meet the Vex. Turns out they’re not friendly. There are three kinds of units you’ll meet here, and all of them are pains.
Goblins are the grunt level unit. Their weak spot is in their waist - the white canister of robo-blood - and if you shoot off their heads they start firing wildly and charging you. Unfortunately, when threatened they sometimes lower their head to shield their weak point, so you'll have to be careful.
Hobgoblins are quite similar, but with significantly more powerful weapons, including a cannon variant. They will sometimes crouch and shield themselves, becoming immune to all damage, which is annoying. Both Goblins and Hobgoblins will sometimes kneel and then vanish, either reappearing some distance away - or right on top of you. Be cautious.
The real threat here is the Minotaurs. They're not so bad on an even level but if you're underpowered they'll eat you alive. They have a rapid, multi-use teleport that'll have them in your face in moments, and they take quite a beating even when you have lowered their shields. Their waist is not a weak spot, but again, shooting their heads off will send them into a rage.
The mission ends with the battle, after which you’ll be guided to visit the Reef. Here, you’ll watch a cinematic, after which you’ll be able to access the next few Venus missions.
Venus: Ishtar Collective Level 11 Story Mission
From your starting point, you’re facing a group of three small pools of water. Turn left, away from the objective marker, and travel a short way to another pool, where you’ll find a Dead Ghost
Once that’s done, follow your radar - you’ve been this way before. tTe glorious view, remember? You won’t be taking the tunnel to the Academy, though.
Head on down the twisting path, fighting off the Fallen - and the Vex. Your radar should lead you into a new area: the Ishtar Cliffs.
You can collect a Dead Ghost immediately when the path opens up again at the Ishtar Cliffs. As soon as you’ve got a view out over the area rather than canyon walls, stop and jump climb the rocky wall to your left. The Ghost is nestled up here with a good view of the Fallen below.
An objective stands between you and the next area: you'll have to take down a Cyclops. This is a hell of a thing. You can lob rockets into it if you want a quick verdict, or save your heavy ammo and snipe its eye from a distance. In either case, beware the Goblins that march slowly - but steadily - towards you. Also watch out for the Cyclops's nasty projectiles, which have a large area of effect; thankfully, they’re very slow.
Once the Cyclops is down - well done! - follow your radar through the Waking Ruins. There are lots of Vex here, including a souped-up Minotaur which you should avoid for now.
There's another Dead Ghost in this area. As soon as you enter the Waking Ruins scan the landscape for a ruined gate. It looks like a shattered circle, standing upright; not the big circle on the wall, but a free-standing structure, very rusty. This area is where you’re headed; the Ghost is on the highest cement platform here.
There’s nothing else to find in these two areas, and the spawns are never-ending, so once you’ve got your fill of Spirit Blooms, chests and killing just pass through on your way to Campus 9.
When you cross into Campus 9, stop and eyeball the scene: there’s a yellow-ish building on the far side of the arena from you, with a communications tower in front. Keep it in mind for after the coming fight; there’s a Gold Chest round the back.
This fight is against successive waves of Fallen, which seem almost friendly compared to the Vex forces you just passed. Take out the Dregs and Vandals and head around the arena in an anti-clockwise direction until you reach the Captain. Once he’s down, mop up the remainder; wasn’t that easy?
Deploy your Ghost at the objective marker. Shortly thereafter, the Vex come in force. The first wave is a couple of Harpies, which are easily dispatched by shooting their glowing eyes.
Next you’ll get Goblins in large swarms; snipe them or use attacks with splash damage, like grenades, to clear them quickly.
Save some Supers and heavy weapon ammo, though, because the final wave is three Minotaurs and attendant Harpies. Stay on the move, using the whole arena, and pick them off one at a time. This will be much easier while they’re split up, so be aggressive when the first one spawns, before the others converge on you.
The mission ends when you are victorious.
Next: The Archive and Scourge of Winter.
Venus: The Archive Level 12 Story Mission
You should know your way to the Academy. You’ll have to fight through two groups of Fallen on your way to the tunnel, but things really kick off in the library.
The Vex and Fallen are distracted, so take the time to choose a few prime targets. Vandals sniping from the upper balconies need to go, as does that Minotaur in the middle. The two factions will likely turn their attention to you after that, so choose whether to prioritise HobGoblins and Vandals or concentrate on the swarms of Dregs and Goblins first. It can be difficult switching between the two factions if you’re a precision shooter, because of the variance in weak spots, so be sure you know what you’re shooting at before you pull the trigger.
When the smoke clears, head through the door in the back of the library to the Ishtar Commons. It’s quite nice here, in the rain, although maybe not with Vex and Fallen scrapping outside. As soon as you enter, look for a tarp hanging over an atrium held by the Fallen. There’s a crashed ship nearby. See the circular verandah on this building? There’s a Dead Ghost sitting on it, about halfway along. Another Dead Ghost can be found in a tiny, dark alcove on the opposite side of this area.
When you’re ready to move on (the battle here is ever-spawning) head through the corridors behind the Fallen.
On the approach to the Hall of Whispers, you’ll find a nest of Fallen to clear out. The toughest challenge here is a couple of souped-up Vandals, though, so just go steady and you’ll be fine.
There’s a Dead Ghost in the branches of a tree; facing into the area from the entrance path, it’s to your right, but you’ll have to climb the nearby stairs and travel around the catwalks to get to it.
Once you’re finished, deploy your Ghost to open the doors - you won’t be attacked. In the archive itself, familiarise yourself with the lay of the land before deploying your Ghost again. This time, you will be attacked - of course.
There are two ways to handle this wave, which produces swarms of Shanks and Dregs, plus a few very annoying sniping Vandals. You can try to pick them off quickly with a distance weapon before they cross to you, or get up on the catwalks and take the fight to them with shottie and melee.
Soon, you’ll have to fight a Servitor, guarded by several stealth melee Vandals, and then deploy your Ghost. A second Servitor appears, accompanied by ranged stealth Vandals, and you’ll need to deploy your Ghost again after they’re defeated.
You’ll then face what can be a tricky battle - in addition to loads of Dregs and a few stealth Vandals, there are three beefed-up units - two Vandals and one named Captain. Don’t get trapped in a dead end or leap into the water and you should be right; the catwalks offer plenty of opportunities to escape and ambush your foes. Of course, the reverse is true, too.
Deploy your Ghost to finish the mission and get your first clue to the location of the Vault of Glass - exciting!
Venus: Scourge of Winter Level 12 Story Mission
We’re taking the fight to the Fallen. Follow your radar to Winter’s Lair, off the Caves of Ember. It’s ferociously guarded by rapidly spawning groups of enemies, including sniper Vandals and a souped-up Captain.
You’ll be exposed and flanked no matter which way you approach, but I’ve had the most luck running to the far side (from the entrance to this area), climbing the ramps and picking everything off systematically, rather than trying to jump straight up to the entrance. You’ve got to be quick, though; they really do respawn quickly. Be aggressive, impress us.
Once inside, things get a bit easier. Follow the linear corridor until you reach a mob of Dregs and a Vandal. The last one standing will likely retreat, drawing you down into the central cavern, where you’ll be ambushed by Shanks and more Dregs.
There’s a Dead Ghost to be had in this room, so once you’ve dealt with the initial resistance, turn left from the entrance, and follow a dark path passing to the left of a red spherical object. This twisty cavern terminates in bed of glimmering minerals; the Ghost is resting among them.
Moving along the walkways to the next level, you’ll encounter mostly sniping Vandals and Dregs, but once up there you’ll meet the Kell’s Guard, a group of souped-up Vandals. There are both melee and ranged variants, so be prepared to take the melee ones down quickly before things turn ugly and you end up swarmed.
Once you have defeated the Kell’s Guard, stand on the crates draped with blue cloth and look up. You should be able to see - and hear! - a Gold Chest above you, on a rocky ledge. You can reach it by taking the path to the upper balconies.
Nothing else will challenge you till you reach the Darkness zone, so continue merrily on, following your radar. Look at that view! But mind out for the patrolling Skiff, which may fire on you.
If you’re a distance player, clear out some of the enemies you can see on the path ahead and below; if you’re more an in-your-face type, try not to aggro them so you don’t have to deal with projectiles in the scrum.
The biggest threats are the sniping Vandals - especially the two guarding the entrance to the Ketch - but there’s a Servitor and Captain on the way, too.
Before you climb into the Ketch, pause at the top of the gangway leading up to it. Turn right, and head to the very end of the ship, then drop down a level to find a Gold Chest.
Once inside, watch out for at least two more snipers, and be prepared for the set of melee Vandals that accompany a souped-up Captain. Once they’re down, you’re in the clear - for now.
The door leading out of here is on the upper catwalk, and doesn’t open until you approach - so don’t freak out if you can’t see the exit.
The next combat encounter starts with a group of Shanks and a sniper Vandal, but as soon as you thin the ranks the door opens and tons of Dregs pour out, accompanied by another Vandal. They’re all in a tight knot so lob a grenade at them for shits and giggles when the door opens.
Just through the door you’ll meet a couple of melee Vandals and Dregs, who draw you into another chamber where a bunch of enemies make a spirited bid to ruin your day by distracting you from the flanking foes - a sniping Vandal and a Servitor, among others. Don’t leave yourself exposed on the left side as you go in, and you'll foil their plans.
Penetrate the room to any great degree and two new threats will aggro on you: the Kell’s Guard, and some sort of automated defence system that fires projectiles. It’s slow, so keep on the hop as you clean up the enemies, and its spotlight shouldn’t find you. You can also take shelter in a short enclosed tunnel on one side of the arena.
Follow your radar a short distance to reach the boss. When you approach the door to the throne room, stop as soon as it opens, and take a few free hits on the Kell and friends. If you backpedal a bit, the door may close, and you may be able to repeat this a couple of times before the fight officially shuts and the door seals. I expect Bungie will patch that out.
The Kell is just a beefed-up Archon, and you fought one of those on your second mission. The same tactics work here. Circle the room to keep ahead of the waves of minions, and keep an eye on your radar to ensure you don’t get flanked by Shanks. The Kell’s Guard are probably a tougher enemy than the big’un, because they’re more mobile. That said, watch out - when the Kell’s health gets low, he becomes significantly more aggressive.
Next: Eye of a Gate Lord.
Eye of a Gate Lord Level 13 Story Mission
This is the final Venus mission. Follow your radar and the path until you enter an area called the Ember Caves. There’s a Dead Ghost in one of the many titular caves here, if you want to grab it; check the boxout.
Follow the path, dodging or taking out any Fallen you meet, until you reach the Citadel. There are a lot of Vex here, so if you’re still struggling with the machines, be cautious.
Watch out for souped-up Goblins and Hobgoblins, and as you go inside a structure and approach the objective marker, two normal Minotaurs and a beefier version await you.
There’s no repercussions to deploying your Ghost, so do so and zoom off to the next objective; you’ll meet a few more Goblins and Hobgoblins on the edge of the Waking Ruins.
You’ll soon enter Campus 9, and a Darkness zone. Take out the wave of Goblins that approach you; there’s nothing else lurking in this area.
If you didn’t get it before, this second visit to Campus 9 is a great time to pick up the gold chest mentioned in the last mission, and we can now also grab a Dead Ghost, which is right up on some high concrete-looking platforms leading to the next area.
When you move into the next area you’ll be attacked by Goblins. This group will continue to spawn until you take out the glowing white gate they emerge from. Shoot the white part, not the frame; I generally use my secondary weapon, to conserve ammo for the many fights through this area.
You will need to slaughter loads of Vex and close multiple gates on your way to the goal, or you’ll struggle with an upcoming baddie. Watch out for Minotaurs and especially sniping Hobgoblins, try to take these out first, since the slow moving Goblins aren’t too much to worry about.
After you’ve cleared everything out, you have two threats remaining: a continuously spawning group of three Harpies, and a Hydra.
This large foe uses a rotating shield, and can’t be damaged through it. Retreat until the shield is on the opposite side from you, then pop out and put some rounds through its eye. A rocket will speed things up. Don’t get too close; when it dies, its head drops off and explodes.
Once the Hydra is dealt with, you can proceed into the Endless Steps. Take a good wander around this area and kill off absolutely everything; pick off as many as you can at a distance, because stepping onto the lower level with multiple groups firing down on you is a nightmare.
If you like, you can collect a Dead Ghost in here, but unless you have the highest level of your mobility ability, I’d recommend coming back later.
The boss won’t spawn until you summon him by stepping into the ring in front of the gate, so take your time and be thorough in clearing enemies. When you’re ready, step into the ring.
Once the boss starts spawning in, don’t hang around to watch; get into cover. Once he’s fully materialised, fire off whatever you have into his weak point - the usual spot in the waist. Keep some crowd-clearing grenades and Supers in reserve for when minions spawn in. There’s plenty of room to get away from the slow-moving Vex. You’ve faced much tougher foes than this.
That’s the end of Venus; you'll be treated to a cutscene, and return to orbit over the Reef. Take the Martian Navcore back to the Shipwright on the Tower to receive a new ship. And then: Mars.
Be sure to check the rest of our Destiny guide for more tips and info.