With a new World’s First team crowned and the Contest Mode rules finalized, Destiny 2: The Root of Lightfall Raid has seen more day one clears than any other raid in Destiny’s history combined. A grand total of 354,388 players participated in the new raid according to Destiny Raid Reportand of all those users, 89,984 players completed high-level PvE activity in their first 24 hours.
This is a huge jump over the numbers posted for last year’s Witch Queen Vow of the Disciple raid, which had 384,441 player attempts with only 5,128 players clearing them. Destiny 2 raids are notoriously challenging, combining difficult combat encounters with unique gameplay mechanics that can take out your entire team, and Root of Nightmares was no different. Like several previous raids, the Contest mode rules added limited power levels and prohibited the use of certain exotics, to add an extra layer of difficulty to the event. That didn’t stop teams from completing the raid and getting new gear, like an exotic shotgun that can fire both solar and stasis rounds.
By comparison, the lowest number on the list comes from the Forsaken raid, Last Wish, in which only 12 players beat it in its first 24 hours.
It’s worth noting that Root of Nightmares had a 48-hour contest mode period, twice as long as the usual first weekend for a raid. With those extra hours, the total number of accounts that attempted the raid rose to 445,866, and 197,762 of them managed to defeat Nezarec, a staggering 44.355% success rate. This raid had some devious mysteries and gameplay mechanics to learn, but with each encounter leaning towards a faster flow of puzzle-solving and a final boss encounter that wasn’t a test of bullet and sponge stamina, it’s clear to see from how many teams were able to complete the Lightfall raid.
The first team to conquer Root of Nightmares, Hard in the Paint (HITP), won not only bragging rights, but also a great team from Bungie, including a championship belt. HITP managed to clinch victory in 2 hours and 24 minutes, and anyone else who completes the raid before March 21 will be able to order an exclusive. Nightmare Root Jacket if you feel like spending $150.
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