[b][u]This post only breaks down the fight/mechanic portion of the fight. Loadout suggestions can be found here...[/u][/b]https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/135407966/0/0 Hey guys, so I know a lot of you are still having troubles beating Skolas. This guide is for you, and any new guys who are looking to tackle him for the first time. I've beaten him legit both pre-patch and post patch, and this is the strategy that I've been using, and it works really well for me. I'll break this down into a sections of suggestion perk/weapon loadouts, as well as the different sections of mechanics during the fight. You can skip through whichever sections you like and find the info you need. If anyone has their own strategic options to offer, feel free! This is to help people struggling beat this, so a variety of opinions is welcome. Bumps are also appreciated! First off, this fight is not to be taken lightly. It requires each player to carry their own weight, and constant and thorough communication. It is by far the most difficult fight in the game thus far. Part 1: Servitor section: [spoiler][b]Mechanics overview:[/b] The boss mechanics during this first section are simple. You have to hunt down these invisible servitors that spawn around the map (they're actually easy to spot). You cannot damage Skolas until a servitor is killed. Once you kill a servitor, it weakens the bonds for 20 seconds, and it is during those 20 seconds that he will take full damage. This section will end once you bring his health down by 1/3. Usually this takes between 2-4 servitors. Once you get him past 1/3 health, a message will pop up at the bottom of your screen that says "the servitor bonds are broken". At this point, you no longer have to worry about the servitors, Skolas will take full damage at all times, and you're on to the next mechanic. [b]Strategy:[/b] Straight out the gate, immediately head to left side. You should see a servitor just chillin' there. Take it out with shotguns and grenades. Skolas will follow you over there, so just turn around and nuke him as he's running up to you. Be careful though, he likes to teleport up onto the platform that you defend. Once he starts to get close or if teleports up there with you, bail immediately over to right side, taking the QuickWay. Once you get over to right side, there should be another servitor chillin' over there. Identify location of Skolas, kill that servitor, and then nuke him. If you're all on point and running with good weapons, you should be able to break the servitor bonds (2/3 health left). If not, that's ok. Just regroup at either right or left side, kill off some ads, find another servitor, kill it, and nuke Skolas some more. You'll want to transition between right and left side periodically to avoid being overwhelmed by ads. Just make sure you all stick together, get each other's back, and communicate where and when you're transitioning. Do not lone wolf it at any point. That could cause a wipe. [/spoiler] Part 2: Pass the Poison [spoiler][b]Mechanics overview:[/b] This is where it gets a bit tricky. Once you break the servitor bonds (get him below 2/3 health) Skolas will randomly taint one of the three guardians. Once a guardian is tainted, he has 30 seconds until he dies, unless one of the teammates absorbs the poison. One a teammate absorbs the poison, the 30 seconds will reset. This turns into a constant game of passing the poison around from guardian to guardian to avoid death. If you don't pass it off in time and the tainted guardian dies, Skolas will randomly select one of the 2 left to taint. The Kicker... Once a guardian has the poison absorbed from him, he becomes immune for 40 seconds, and cannot take the poison until he is no longer immune. This means that only the guardian that is not immune is able to take the poison. I call the non-immune guardian the VIP. The VIP must stay alive, because if he dies, then there is no one to take the poison. If the VIP dies, a wipe becomes a very real possibility. [b]Strategy:[/b] Once the bonds are broken, regroup at either left or right side, and kill as many ads as you can. Let Skolas alone for now. Just eliminate all the ads and practice the poison rotation until everyone on your team feels comfortable. Communication from here on out is paramount! This is why I don't let anyone on my team without a mic. As the poison gets passed around, so does the VIP job. Each time the poison is passed, everyone must call out who the new VIP is so that there is no confusion on who will be taking the poison. If you're tainted, watch your timer in the bottom left corner of the screen. Once you reach 10 seconds left, call out "10 seconds!" At this point, the tainted and the VIP should get close together. The tainted should call out again at 5 seconds, at which point the VIP needs to take the poison. Everyone call out the new VIP, and rinse and repeat. [/spoiler] Part 3: The Mines [spoiler][b]Mechanics overview:[/b] This is by far the hardest part of the match. When Skolas is down to 1/2 health, you'll have a critical objective of dismantling mines. This will happen again at 1/4 health. You must dismantle mines while dealing with ads, and passing the poison. This can be extremely difficult without a strategy. [b]Strategy:[/b] Most importantly, prepare for the mines. Do not take him below 1/2 health until you do 3 things. 1) Everyone has super 2) All the ads are killed 3) Pass the poison one last time Once you start the mines, it will trigger a ton of enemy spawns. There are 3 mine spawns: one at left side, one at right side, and one on the middle platform. You should already be at either left or right side. Once you hear Variks voice, send the immune guardian to get the opposite mine that you're on. Tainted and VIP stick together!! If tainted and VIP are on left side, send the immune to right side, if tainted and VIP are on right side, send immune to left side. If you all stick together, the mines may spawn too quickly, and it won't leave you enough time to get to the other mine before t blows up. That's why you should have Immune on the other side of the map. Save a Titan shield or invisibility for the middle mine spawn!! This is extremely important. That middle mine spawn is nearly impossible to handle without a shield or an invis Hunter. Immune will take one mine side, tainted and VIP will take the other side, whoever has shield or invis will take out the middle mine spawn, but the tainted and VIP must stick together so they can pass the poison. If you do it this way, you should be able to disarm the mines quickly enough to only have to pass the poison once. Once mines are disarmed, regroup at either left or right side, and pass the poison as needed. Take care of the ads and damage Skolas, and repeat this section for the final set of mines at 1/4 health. If you're new, don't get discouraged by a wipe. This takes some practice to figure out. By the time you've taken care of the last set of mines, you should all have a heavy ammo synth ready. Regroup, pass the poison, (take out ads if you want), pop a synth, and nuke him. That will finish out the fight, and you've done it!![/spoiler] Cheese ending: [spoiler]For the last set of mines, before you bring him under 1/4 health to start them, make sure everyone has heavy ammo synth ready. It's also a good idea that from there servitor section to here, you damage him mainly with primaries and specials to keep as much heavy as possible. Once you activate the last set of mines, don't worry about the mines. Just nuke him. It's reallyyyy easy with a team of gallys but it can be done without that. You'll be able to kill him quickly and all the enemies will despawn. You'll still have to dismantle the mines, but you'll be able to do it in peace without worry about Skolas and his minions. I don't like doing it this way because to me it feels cheap to despawn the enemies, but this is an option if you're having troubles or him you want a sure win. [/spoiler]