How to be a Zero Hour Expert, explained

In Destiny 2, a “zero-hour expert” refers to a player who has mastered the challenging Zero Hour mission, which is one of the game’s most difficult exotic quests. The mission is timed, requires high-level power, and features intricate puzzles, platforming, and combat against powerful enemies. To succeed, players must understand the mission mechanics, optimize their loadout, and often work with a team to complete the mission within the time limit. Solo completions are particularly challenging and mark the skill of an expert.

The Zero Hour mission is an intense, high-stakes timed quest. It takes place in a sprawling, maze-like environment with industrial settings, tight corridors, and open spaces. Players navigate through the Tower’s underbelly, facing waves of enemies such as Fallen captains, shanks, and servitors. Along the way, they must solve platforming puzzles, deactivate shields, and defeat challenging bosses, all within a strict 20-minute limit. The atmosphere is tense, with a mix of combat and time pressure, making every second count as players push for the coveted Outbreak Perfected exotic weapon.

Mastering the Zero Hour mission in Destiny 2 requires careful preparation, teamwork, and knowledge of the mission’s layout. It’s a timed mission, so efficiency is key. First, ensure your power level is close to the mission’s recommendation, as the difficulty can be intense. For loadouts, focus on weapons and abilities that excel in clearing groups of enemies quickly, as well as those that deal high damage to bosses. Communication is crucial if you’re playing with a team, helping to coordinate abilities, cover areas, and manage the time.

Becoming an expert at completing the Zero Hour mission in Destiny 2 can take a significant amount of time, depending on your skill level and familiarity with the mechanics of the mission. For many players, the process involves not only mastering the fast-paced combat but also learning the platforming and puzzle elements under the pressure of a strict time limit. Players often need several attempts to fully understand the layout of the mission, memorize enemy spawn locations, and develop strategies for dealing with the numerous threats efficiently.

The mission features a mix of combat, intricate jumping puzzles, and a maze-like structure. Additionally, you need to deal with specific challenges like deactivating switches and avoiding powerful enemies like TR3-VR, a sweeper bot in the ventilation maze, all while racing against a 20-minute timer. To truly master the mission, you must also optimize your loadout for add-clear and high-boss damage, and potentially work closely with a fireteam to coordinate abilities and movements.

Depending on how quickly you adapt, it could take anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks to truly master the Zero Hour mission. Players who focus on it regularly can eventually complete it consistently, but soloing it, especially on the heroic difficulty, represents a pinnacle of mastery and can take even longer.

The Destiny video game series, developed by Bungie, is a shared-world, first-person shooter that blends science fiction with mythic storytelling. The series launched in 2014 with Destiny, followed by Destiny 2 in 2017. Set in a future where humanity is on the brink of extinction, players assume the role of Guardians—warriors who harness a mysterious power called the Light to defend Earth’s last city from alien races and cosmic threats.

Destiny introduced a unique blend of player-versus-environment (PvE) and player-versus-player (PvP) modes. Its gameplay revolves around missions, raids, and exploring various planets, with a strong focus on teamwork and cooperation. Bungie’s hallmark of polished mechanics shines through the gunplay and combat systems. The game is structured as a live service, evolving with expansions and seasonal content. Significant expansions like The Taken King, Forsaken, The Witch Queen, and Lightfall have introduced new planets, enemies, and mechanics, while continually deepening the lore.

Destiny 2 built upon the foundation of its predecessor, refining systems like character progression and loot acquisition, and introducing new features such as guided games to help players form teams for difficult activities like raids. Over time, Bungie transitioned Destiny 2 to a free-to-play model, while still offering paid expansions for major content releases.

At its core, Destiny is known for its combination of storytelling, engaging multiplayer activities, and high-quality action gameplay, making it a major player in the looter-shooter genre. The series has garnered a loyal fanbase and remains one of the most popular live-service games today.