Destiny 2's Season of the Haunted has brought about the return of the Leviathan, although it is now a derelict vessel for the players to explore. Onboard, players can encounter the new season activity, Nightmare Containment. This activity has a host of different objectives as players make their way through the ship, and navigating what exactly needs doing can be difficult, as the game tends not to hold the gamer's hand, especially for new players.
Nightmare Containment launched alongside Season 17 of Destiny 2 on May 24, 2022. Unlike many seasonal activities that came before it, Nightmare Containment isn't a mission. Players instead enter the Derelict Leviathan as a patrol zone. It then acts as a public event for the players to complete with others in the same instance. Doing so unlocks a myriad of rewards for the players.
When players decide to enter the Derelict Leviathan, they have two choices on how to land. One can either choose Castellum or Containment. Castellum is for players looking to explore the ship, though they can still do Nightmare Containments if they wish. In contrast, Containment is for those looking to specifically complete the Nightmare Containment activity, helping group those players together. Either way, despite the power level being 1580, all Guardians are at 1570 while in either Castellum or Containment.
Upon entering the Leviathan, the activity is begun by going to the position marked in the spawn area. From there, one can place down the Harvester to begin the activity, though it is smart to wait until at least two or three people are in the area, so the activity doesn't fail. The activity has three tiers, each getting progressively harder. The first two are similar in function, each having four phases to them. These two tiers just happen in different areas of the zone and the second is a slightly more difficult version of the first. The final tier sees the players face off against a boss.
The first step of the first two tiers is to bind Shards of Dread. This boils down to defeating hordes of Scorn enemies that drop Shards of Dread. During this phase, Dread Bearers will also spawn. These are tougher enemies that, once defeated, drop a Core of Dread that, when inserted into the Harvester, gives extra shards and spawns the new relic, the Scythe, to use on opponents. In tier two, more Dread Bearers spawn to fight against the player. Once all the required shards are bound, the second phase begins.
In this phase, players must defeat Egregore Activists while fighting off the Cabal. For tier one, there are two Activists and tier two has four. To defeat the Activists, players must first defeat the Activist Illusions that are marked on their screen. The Illusions are yellow-bar Psions. Once one of these Psions is defeated, an Egregore Activist will spawn. These enemies are the red-bar Psions that float in a protective bubble, like the ones in the Vox Obscura mission. Once the players defeat all Egregore Activists, they go on to phase three, which is simply another wave of Scorn dropping Shards of Dread and functions exactly the same as phase one.
The final step of tiers one and two is fighting a mini-boss. A Vessel of Nightmares in the form of a Cabal Colossus or Centurion spawns that players must defeat. Upon dropping this nightmare to half health, it becomes immune. From there, players must destroy the Resonant Splinters floating in the air to break the immunity. After, players can finish off the mini-boss. In tier two, there are four Resonant Splinters instead of two.
Once players complete the first two tiers, they move onto the final tier where a giant nightmare spawns. This boss works similarly to the mini-bosses from the first two tiers, though it requires a few extra steps. First off, the boss goes immune twice -- once when dropped to two-thirds health and once at one-third health. When this happens two immune Emissaries spawn and players must once more destroy the Resonant Splinters, though there are six of them this time. Once the Splinters are gone, players can defeat the two Emissaries and then return their attention to the boss. Repeat this one more time within the time limit to claim victory.
The reward for completing the activity is three-fold. The two main rewards are a chest that spawns with minor rewards such as weapons, armor and Opulent Keys. On top of this, players may spend 500 Vestiges of Dread for extra rewards such as a chance at Bound Presence and Ascendant Alloy. It also can provide seasonal weapons and armor, and is required for some powerful weekly rewards. After the containment is complete, there is also a two-minute window where players can explore the Leviathan. During this time, players can open some doors on the edge of the map to find chests for even more rewards, though not every chest is available after each Containment is completed. These chests are similar to normal patrol chests, so they don't offer the best rewards, giving players peace of mind in case they miss out on some.
