You’re standing on a plate in the Totems encounter. Your Devour is proc'd, your machine gun is chewing through Hive, and all you can think about is that sweet, sweet Zaouli’s Bane roll. Specifically, the one you can craft so you never have to worry about RNG again. Getting a King's Fall red border isn't just about luck anymore; it’s a systematic grind that Bungie actually made somewhat fair, provided you know where the hidden buttons are.
Most people just run the raid and hope for the best. That's a mistake. If you want to stop praying to the Witness for a Deepsight drop, you need to exploit every guaranteed mechanic the Dreadnaught offers.
The Symbols That Change Everything
Every week, you have one shot at a guaranteed red border from the "Puzzle Chest." It’s basically a requirement at this point. When you first spawn into the Hall of Souls, right before the portal, look under the bridge. You'll see three symbols. These are your grocery list for the rest of the run.
There are nine possible symbol locations scattered throughout the raid. You’ve got to find the three that match your list and shoot them until they glow. If you mess up and shoot the wrong one, you have to hit it again to turn it off. It’s finicky. Honestly, the most annoying part is the jumping puzzle symbols because if you miss them, you’re stuck until someone backtracks or you restart the checkpoint.
Once you kill Oryx, a second chest spawns next to the normal loot. This is the Deepsight chest. It drops one random red border weapon that you haven't finished the pattern for yet. It's a knockout system. This is why you don't just "play" King's Fall—you manage it.
Buying Your Way to Perfection
Let’s talk about Spoils of Conquest. You get them from encounter completions and secret chests. Save them. Don't spend them on Sparrow upgrades or random exotic kiosk pulls if you’re still hunting for a crafted Smite of Merain.
The first time you kill Oryx each week (per account, not per character), the final vendor—that big levitating sword at the end—allows you to buy one red border of your choice. It costs 20 Spoils. This is the single most important mechanic for finishing your patterns. If you need five patterns for the Defiance of Yasmin, and you’re at 4/5, just buy the damn thing.
The caveat? You have to have actually dropped the weapon at least once before it shows up in the vendor menu. You can't buy what you haven't earned.
👉 See also: Glamrock Chica in FNAF Security Breach: Why She Is Actually the Scariest Animatronic
The "Secret" Chests Aren't So Secret Anymore
There are three secret chests in King's Fall. They don't guarantee a red border, but they have a chance to drop one. More importantly, they give you Spoils.
- The Tomb Ship puzzle: There’s a hidden room on the left side near the end of the ship jumping section.
- The Trancestors/Golgoroth’s Cellar: This is the maze. Don't just rush to the boss. There are plates to stand on.
- The Wall of Pistons: After Golgoroth, during the "dick wall" jumping puzzle, there's a chest tucked away high up on a ledge.
If you aren't grabbing these every single week, you're leaving progress on the table. It’s that simple.
Which King's Fall Red Border Should You Target First?
Not all King's Fall weapons are created equal. If you're wondering where to dump your Spoils, here’s the reality of the current meta.
Zaouli’s Bane is the king. Period. It is widely considered the best legendary Hand Cannon for PvE in the history of Destiny 2. With Explosive Payload and Incandescent, it’s basically a legendary Sunshot. It clears rooms. It feels chunky. It’s the first thing you should craft.
Doom of Chelchis is a close second. It’s a Void Scout Rifle that can roll with Repulsor Brace and Frenzy, or even Dragonfly and Firefly at the same time. It’s a meme roll that actually puts in work.
Smite of Merain is your go-to for Pulse Rifle fans. Firefly and One for All is a monster combination for high-level content like Grandmaster Nightfalls.
Then there’s Qullim’s Terminus. Stasis Machine Guns are niche, but with Killing Tally, it’s a workhorse. Defiance of Yasmin is a top-tier sniper for PvP, though snipers in PvE are currently in a weird spot. Finally, Midha’s Reckoning is a Fusion Rifle. It’s fine. It’s not a Loaded Question, but it’s fine.
The Master Challenge Shortcut
If you’re feeling brave, Master King's Fall exists. Doing the weekly challenge on Master difficulty used to be the only way to get "Harrowed" versions. While Harrowed weapons aren't craftable, they do come with enhanced stats and can slot Adept mods.
✨ Don't miss: GTA 6 Box Art: What We Actually Know and Why Fans Are Obsessed
However, for most players, the red border grind is the smarter play. A crafted weapon allows you to pick your perks and get that gold border. Plus, enhanced perks on a crafted weapon usually outperform the slight stat bump of a Harrowed version.
Strategy for Maximum Efficiency
If you want to be done with King's Fall in a month or two, follow this sequence:
- Do one full run a week.
- Ensure the Symbol Puzzle is completed every single time.
- Grab all three secret chests for Spoils.
- Kill Oryx and use your 20 Spoils to buy the weapon you have the most progress on.
Don't spread your Spoils thin. If you have 3/5 on the Hand Cannon and 1/5 on the Scout, buy the Hand Cannon. Getting one weapon to the crafting table is better than having six weapons halfway done. Once you craft a weapon, it’s removed from the potential loot pool of the "guaranteed" red border chest, meaning your chances of getting the other weapons increase.
What Most People Get Wrong
A common misconception is that you can farm the red border chest. You cannot. It is once per account, per week. Farming the encounters themselves (when King's Fall is the featured weekly raid) will give you infinite loot, but the drop rate for a natural red border is roughly 5% to 10%. It’s a slog.
Only farm the encounters if you have a dedicated group and a lot of coffee. Otherwise, stick to the weekly lockout.
The biggest mistake is ignoring the symbols. Someone usually forgets, or someone gets "Architected" by a ship and the group decides to just move on. Don't let them. That one chest is worth hours of encounter farming.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Run
- Check the Symbols: Immediately upon entering the raid, screenshot or type the three symbols into team chat.
- Assign a "Mister Finder": Have one person responsible for shooting the symbols so you don't double-trigger them.
- Spoils Management: Check your inventory before the Oryx kill. If you’re at the 250 cap, go to the Tower and spend some or pull them from the Postmaster. You don't want to kill Oryx and realize you can't buy your weekly red border because you're broke.
- Focus Zaouli's: If you don't have the Hand Cannon crafted, every single Spoil you earn should go toward it. Everything else is secondary.
Finish your patterns. Stop relying on the RNG gods. The Dreadnaught is a machine—you just have to know which levers to pull.