Preparing for Skolas
Destiny‘s latest expansion, House of Wolves, introduces tons of new challenges and enemies for guardians to test their skills against. On the PvE side of things is the Prison of Elders, an arena styled activity that pits players against waves of enemies and special objectives. Within the Prison of Elders lies one of the most vicious beings players of Destiny will ever face. That being none other than Skolas, the Fallen “Kell of Kells”. The fight against Skolas, depending on the modifiers, is arguably one of the hardest in House of Wolves and Destiny as a whole, and will require you to pull out all the stops to survive.
But, like all challenges, Skolas isn’t a boss that is impossible to overcome, provided that you prepare. There are two things you need to consider when entering the fray against the Fallen’s mightiest champion: class and weapons. The battle has several phases that will require players to adapt as individuals, and also together as a fireteam.
In order to make the transitions between phases bearable, class consideration is of the utmost importance. There should be at least one Titan Defender. The Ward of Dawn super ability is invaluable when the fireteam is caught in a tough corner, or when a change of arsenal is needed (nothing like a dressing room made of nearly indestructible void light). The Ward of Dawn will also be useful in the later phases when holding down a specific point is required or if you’re trying to burn him down quickly with Gjallarhorns.
Both Sunsinger Warlocks and Bladedancer Hunters are useful for their offensive capabilities. Both are versatile damage dealers at both long and close range. The Sunsinger’s self resurrection is never not helpful and the Bladedancer has a knack for being able to eliminate pesky additional enemies (adds) quickly. The Hunter’s stealth will also come in handy during the later part of the fight as well.
For weapons you want power, as much of it as you can possibly wield. Thunderlord is a great exotic machine-gun that delivers Arc damage (perfect against the Fallen). Gjallarhorn, as always, is perfect for dealing loads of damage to the boss in small windows of time. Fatebringer is a powerful legendary from the Vault of Glass, that when fully upgraded, can one-shot most of the adds you’ll be up against in the Prison of Elders’ Fallen arena.
Make sure to equip at least one weapon that both shoots and reloads quickly, such as the sidearm rewarded to you for completing the House of Wolves story missions. Last, but not least, make sure to bring a handful of Heavy Ammo Syntheses.
One last thing to note is that you should not attempt to tackle Skolas if you haven’t reached the new Light Level cap of 34. Skolas waits at the end of the level 35 Prison of Elders activity and you’ll already have a damage reduction due to the fact that the activity is one level above your max. Don’t make it any harder for yourself unless you’re a serious pro.
