Destiny’s Challenge of the Elders: How to beat Noru’usk, Servant of Oryx

The Grimoire reads: “He is a soldier. A general. A maker of war.” You can add to that “a bit of a pushover”. This Taken Cabal boss does keep Guardians on their toes, however.

Destiny: How to beat Noru’usk, Servant of Oryx

This page is part of our guide to Challenge of the Elders, the Prison of Elders end-game activity included as part of Destiny’s April update. It’s updated every Tuesday and includes all the information you need on the weekly reset, modifiers and bosses.

Long-term experience in the Prison of Elders does help a great deal while dodging the Axiom Darts that Noru’usk constantly hurls your way. It’s best to move as a team, circling the arena while shooting down the Axiom Darts. Taken minions are straightforward to mow down, though the Phalanx can bounce you around if they’re not dropped fast with precision shots. If you’re familiar with the layout, the escape routes behind the tower (far right from airlock) and around the back of the barricaded area (far left from airlock) are good places to defend. However, attempting to hold firm in the corridor outside the airlock is asking for trouble.

This is the exact opposite strategy to the Val Aru’un encounter, in which, despite the clever Psion Flayers mechanic, it’s possible to remain in one place. Noru’usk’s Darts bounce off the walls and overhead, making them near impossible to shoot down. It only takes a couple of hits to deplete shields and reduce health, leaving you at the mercy of opportunist adds.

The best strategy, if you’d prefer to work on the high score and prevent deaths, is to assign one Guardian to small adds and Axiom Dart duty while the other two maintain DPS on Noru’usk and the heavier Taken Cabal. Weaken Noru’usk to a whisker of health then just keep working the arena floor to boost the Sigil score requirements for the week.

Noru’usk does possess an almighty jump, closing the distance surprisingly fast. The only reason this is a problem is to avoid accidentally landing an Energy Drain effect grenade at his feet, or wayward rocket strike, when his energy is low. Manage things well, and the Ultra Kill can easily be the required melee, super, grenade, or whichever for the bonus points.