Nezarec, Final God of Pain, is the final boss of the Root of Nightmares raid in Destiny 2. You fight him in the raid's closing encounter aboard the Witness's terraformed Pyramid ship, in Essence, Earth Orbit. The raid released with the Lightfall expansion on March 10, 2023.
Who Nezarec is
Nezarec is described as "the final God of Pain" in pre-Collapse sources, and he possessed potent psionic abilities. Authorities believe those abilities let him access and disrupt CloudArk operations in Neomuna.
In the aftermath of the Traveler's attack on the Witness, a sinister threat haunted the citizens of Neomuna in their dreams. Guardians board the Pyramid ship to confront the ancient enemy growing within, reviving his form with the powers of both Light and Darkness.
Where you fight him
Root of Nightmares takes place in Essence, Earth Orbit, aboard the Witness's terraformed Pyramid ship. The raid's objective is to board that ship and stop a growing, ancient threat from haunting the citizens of Neomuna.
The raid is built for 1-6 players and has a recommended Power Level of 1770. Its enemy factions are the Shadow Legion Dread, with the Cabal as the hostile race.
The Nezarec encounter
Nezarec is the raid's final boss, following Zo'aurc, Explicator of Planets. Fed with both Light and Darkness by the fireteam, he breaks out of his sarcophagus and fights the team. Getting in close proximity to the sarcophagus triggers him to shatter it, slam it to the ground and begin the encounter.
To open Nezarec to damage, the team must link two sequences of Light and Dark seeds on the left and right sides of the arena. While that happens, Colossi, War Beasts and Legionaries spawn in waves, and Nezarec throws Abyssal Cleaves at nearby targets or spawns a floating pool of Void energy that casts the same attack as it travels.
Nezarec inflicts one random player with Nezarec's Hatred, which spawns a Psionic Blast beneath them that launches them upward after a set time. This continues until his chest weak point is broken, after which he jumps down and chases the Guardian who broke it, using Tormentor-like attacks such as the Void suppression dive kick.
The fight's failure timer is Nezarec's Overwhelming Energy cast. You must break his shoulder weak points to reveal whether he will cast Overwhelming Darkness or Overwhelming Light, then create a matching refuge of Light or Darkness. Shooting an inactive seed while holding the opposite paracausal affinity creates a field granting a 14-second buff that protects against the wipe. The refuge buff can be refreshed by getting close to the seed, and the refuge lasts until Nezarec casts the wipe mechanic.
Once both sides have linked their seeds, Nezarec becomes vulnerable. During that phase he can teleport into a slam and slam out large spinning Void projectiles alongside his regular Void slashes. When he becomes immune again, he prepares a suppressing slam, which is the cue to return to your starting positions and repeat the fight.
If his health drops enough to reach Final Stand, Nezarec roars, Resonant energy courses through his body and he turns black. It becomes a race to deplete his health before he prepares another Overwhelming Energy blast that wipes the fireteam.
Nezarec's Sin
Nezarec's Sin is an Exotic Warlock helmet introduced in Destiny 2. It drops from Exotic Engrams and is sold by Xûr, Agent of the Nine.
Its intrinsic perk, Abyssal Extractors, makes Void-damage kills increase ability energy recharge rate. Combatants affected by Soul Siphon are suppressed, defeating suppressed targets grants more time to Abyssal Extractors, and rapid kills extend the timer to a maximum of 20 seconds.
The helmet's lore quotes Of Hated Nezarec, a pre-Golden Age text that calls him "the final god of pain" and says he shall rise again. With the release of Lightfall, holding Nezarec's Whisper alongside Nezarec's Sin lets you hear hidden Nezarec dialogue throughout Neomuna, the Terminal Overload Public Event and the Partition activity.
If you would rather have the closing encounter handled for you, the Destiny 2 Nezarec Kill Boost covers the Root of Nightmares clear.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many players can run Root of Nightmares?
The raid supports 1-6 players and recommends a Power Level of 1770.
What is Nezarec’s title?
He is titled Nezarec, Final God of Pain.
