Crota's End is Destiny 2's Moon raid — a Destiny 1 classic reprised inside the Hellmouth, and one of the most farmable pieces of endgame content still standing in the game's Monument of Triumph final update. It hands out six craftable Legendary weapons, a fan-favorite armor set, and the Necrochasm exotic auto rifle. This guide walks all four encounters, both secret chests, the complete loot table, and exactly how to unlock Necrochasm — verified against Bungie's own patch notes.
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Quick answer: Crota's End at a glance
Crota's End is a free 6-player raid on the Moon built around one shared mechanic — the Chalice of Light and the Enlightened buff. You clear four encounters (The Abyss → The Bridge → Ir Yût, the Deathsinger → Crota, Son of Oryx), banking the buff to light lamps, cross bridges, and break Crota's shield with a Hive sword. The raid drops 6 Legendary weapons + the Necrochasm exotic, plus 2 hidden secret chests. Since the June 2026 Monument of Triumph update, every raid weapon is craftable and armor now drops in Tiers 3–5, making Crota's End one of the best sources of enhanced gear in the game.
- Players: 6 · Location: The Hellmouth, the Moon · Cost: Free to all players
- Encounters: 4 (+ Thrallway pre-encounter) · Secret chests: 2
- Raid exotic: Necrochasm (via the Bottomless Pit quest — not a random drop)
- New in 2026: craftable raid weapons, Gear Tier 5 armor & Adept weapons on Master
If you want the loot without the wipe screens, a fireteam-assisted run is the fastest route — jump to Destiny 2 raid carries below.
What changed in Crota's End for 2026?
Crota's End is playable exactly as it has been since it returned to Destiny 2, but the loot pool got a major overhaul in Update 9.7.0 "Monument of Triumph" (released June 9, 2026), Destiny 2's last major content update before the game moved to maintenance mode. All raid weapons now support enhanced weapon crafting, and armor rolls in the new tiered system — standard clears reward Tier 3 gear, while Master rewards Tier 5 armor and Adept weapons.
One thing to ignore: any old guide quoting a 1955 Power requirement for Master Crota's End is out of date. The power system was squished long before this final patch, and Bungie confirmed the ceiling is frozen. As the official @DestinyTheGame account put it: "There is no Power Level increase for Monument of Triumph. The maximum Power cap will remain at 550." Chase gear tiers and set bonuses now, not Power numbers.
The core mechanic: Chalice of Light & Enlightened
Every encounter in Crota's End revolves around one object — the Chalice of Light. When you hold it, a meter charges automatically. The moment it fills, a teammate must take it from you to be granted the Enlightened buff (if they grab it before the meter is full, no buff). Whoever passes the Chalice is locked out from re-claiming it for 45 seconds.
Only an Enlightened Guardian can deposit at lamps and plates, pick up Hive swords, cross green barriers, and break Crota's shield. Learn to rotate the Chalice cleanly between two players and the entire raid becomes trivial. Fumble the hand-off and you wipe. That's Crota's End in one sentence.
Encounter 1 — How do you complete The Abyss?
The Abyss is a dark, foggy corridor where the objective is simply survive and move forward. A debuff called Weight of Darkness stacks the longer you're away from light, slowing your Guardian to a crawl and eventually killing you. Scattered lamps cleanse the debuff and light the path.
Claim the Chalice to start, charge to Enlightened, and dunk it into deactivated lamps to reactivate them — each deposit refreshes the "Engulfed in Darkness" timer and wakes the next lamp so the team can push safely. The deposit plates move each run, so scout ahead. At the end, clear the Hive and Unstoppable Champions, dunk the Enlightened buff into the big plate to form the bridge, then cross.
First secret chest: it hides in the Abyss behind one of seven large doorways — the correct door has a small white light above the frame. Unlike Destiny 1, the location doesn't reset on a wipe, so it's worth a quick check.
Master tip: the "Conservation of Energy" challenge forces you to light only one lantern per Chalice deposit. Eager Edge swords or a Strand grapple make the timing manageable.
Encounter 2 — How does The Bridge work?
Waves of Thralls, Acolytes, and Barrier Knights pour in. Yellow-bar Swordbearer Knights spawn — kill one, and an Enlightened player can pick up its Hive sword. In the center is a bridge plate that acts like an Annihilation Totem (familiar from Pit of Heresy and King's Fall): standing on it builds the bridge, but only while occupied.
The loop: one Guardian holds the plate to form the bridge, the sword-holder crosses and kills the Gatekeeper on the far side (only the relic sword damages it). Every Guardian who crosses spawns a fresh Gatekeeper. You need to bank five swords and clear the final wave of Gatekeepers to finish. Once the far team can hold the totems, the remaining players run the sword-bridge-Gatekeeper cycle over.
Thrallway pre-encounter: the tunnel after the bridge is packed with Thralls and two Shriekers. Kill the Shriekers to drop the barriers (Enlightened players pass first). Clear it fast enough and the second secret chest appears near the drop-down to Crota.
Encounter 3 — How do you beat Ir Yût, the Deathsinger?
The Crystal Room is a three-tier arena. Ir Yût begins her Liturgy of Ruin — a wipe timer. First, split into two teams of three and destroy the Shriekers flanking the Chalice podium to drop the forcefields around the central chamber.
Then comes the puzzle: seven rooms sit behind green barriers, and only some hide Wizards. On the first damage phase you hunt three Wizards, on the second phase four, and if you need a third phase, five. Use your radar (or Wish-Ender to see through walls) to call out the real Wizards — the other rooms are baits. Kill the Wizards simultaneously to buy maximum time, then burn Ir Yût before the song completes. Regroup and clear the room to finish.
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Encounter 4 — How do you kill Crota, Son of Oryx?
The finale opens like Atheon in Vault of Glass — crowd the Chalice chamber to summon Crota, then the forcefields seal you in. The Chalice can only be exchanged inside a glowing white aura that rotates between six spots on the ground floor, so two players constantly relocate to keep the Enlightened buff alive.
A Swordbearer Knight spawns on your floor. Kill it, grab the sword with the Enlightened buff, and use it to break Crota's shield — no weapon damage lands until the shield is down. Crucially, the sword times out once you start hitting Crota, so you can't solo his shield and DPS; you need at least two swordbearers to fully drop it. When the shield breaks, everyone unloads.
The wipe mechanic is the Oversoul — a giant green orb in the background with its own timer. One Guardian must break away and shoot the Oversoul to end the phase before it wipes the fireteam. Stack Tractor Cannon for +30% damage, keep a Well of Radiance up for survivability (Crota can destroy a badly placed Well), cleanse, and repeat until he falls.
Crota's End full loot table
Six Legendary weapons plus the Necrochasm exotic drop across the raid, all sharing the Cursed Thrall origin trait: "After defeating a target with a melee attack, final blows with this weapon cause targets to explode for an improved duration."
| Weapon | Type | Ammo | Element | PvE god roll |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Necrochasm | Auto Rifle (Exotic) | Primary | Kinetic | Bottomless Pit quest |
| Abyss Defiant | Auto Rifle | Primary | Solar | Reconstruction + Incandescent |
| Word of Crota | Hand Cannon | Primary | Void | Dragonfly + Destabilizing Rounds |
| Fang of Ir Yût | Scout Rifle | Primary | Strand | Rewind Rounds + Precision Instrument |
| Oversoul Edict | Pulse Rifle | Primary | Arc | Enlightened Action + Voltshot |
| Song of Ir Yût | Machine Gun | Heavy | Arc | Reconstruction + Bait and Switch |
| Swordbreaker | Shotgun | Special | Strand | Pugilist + One-Two Punch |
Armor drops as one class-specific set: Titans earn the Willbreaker's set + Mark of the Pit, Hunters the Relentless/Unyielding set + Shroud of Flies cloak, and Warlocks the Deathsinger's set + Bone Circlet bond. Under the 2026 tiered system these roll up to Tier 5 on Master.
How do you get Necrochasm in Destiny 2?
Unlike most raid exotics, Necrochasm does not drop randomly from the final boss. You earn it through the Bottomless Pit exotic quest:
- Farm the Husk of the Pit (a white/basic auto rifle) from Crota's End encounters.
- Upgrade it into Eidolon Ally (the Legendary version).
- Complete the questline to transform Eidolon Ally into Necrochasm.
Its exotic perks are Cursebringer (precision final blows trigger a Cursed Thrall explosion; those explosions refill the magazine) and Desperation (reloading after a precision or explosion kill boosts fire rate, stability, and aim assist). For the full step-by-step, see our how to get Necrochasm guide.
Recommended loadout
Bring add-clear plus a heavy-hitting damage setup:
- Debuff: Tractor Cannon (+30% damage on Crota) or Divinity for a crit bubble
- Damage: Izanagi's Burden, Outbreak Perfected, or a top heavy like a rocket/Linear Fusion
- Survivability: Well of Radiance (place it where Crota can't cleave it)
- Champions: Anti-Barrier for the Knights, and blinding/stuns for Unstoppables on Master
Is Crota's End worth farming in 2026?
Yes — arguably more than ever. With crafting and enhanced perks on every raid weapon and Tier 5 gear on Master, Crota's End is a top-tier farm in a game that no longer adds new seasons. It's also a fixed encounter in the permanent Pantheon boss-rush activity, so mastering Crota pays off twice. Bank Spoils of Conquest to buy red-border patterns and finish your crafting faster.
If you're chasing the full raid set, a day-one clear, or the Swordbearer title, our pros run it daily.
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Prefer a full raid marathon? Pair this with our King's Fall, Vault of Glass, and Deep Stone Crypt guides.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Crota's End free in Destiny 2? Yes. Crota's End is available to all players at no cost — you do not need to own a specific expansion to run it, which makes it one of the most accessible raids in the game.
Can you solo Crota's End? A full solo clear is extremely difficult because several mechanics (the Chalice hand-off, banking swords on the Bridge, and breaking Crota's shield with two swordbearers) are built around multiple players. Solo and low-man runs of individual encounters exist for veterans, but the intended experience is a 6-player fireteam.
How long does Crota's End take? An experienced fireteam clears it in roughly 20–35 minutes. First-timers learning the Chalice rotation and the Deathsinger Wizard callouts should budget an hour or more.
What is the best weapon from Crota's End? For general PvE, Abyss Defiant with Reconstruction + Incandescent and Song of Ir Yût with Reconstruction + Bait and Switch are standouts, while Necrochasm is the exotic chase. All six Legendaries are craftable, so you can roll the exact god roll you want.
Do I need to beat Master to get Necrochasm? No. Necrochasm comes from the Bottomless Pit quest, which you progress on Normal difficulty. Master is for Tier 5 gear, Adept weapons, and the Swordbearer title, not the exotic itself.
Where are the Crota's End secret chests? There are two — the first behind one of seven doors in the Abyss (look for the white light above the correct frame), and the second at the end of the Thrallway if you clear it fast enough. Both add extra loot rolls per week.
