Grasp of Avarice
Destiny 2 · Fallen / Hive Dungeon · The Cosmodrome

Grasp of
Avarice

A full visual field guide to the dungeon beneath the old Loot Cave — with the Burdened by Riches greed-timer broken down, current boss-DPS loadouts, the Gjallarhorn chase, and refreshed reward notes flagged when they depend on a patch. Bank your engrams before greed kills you, then take the most famous rocket launcher in Destiny home.

Fireteam
1–3Solo & solo-flawless viable
Encounters
3+ sparrow descent & secrets
Difficulty
Low–MidPower-floored — easy now
Run Time
~35m~15–25m optimized
Reward Chase
Gjallarhorn+ tiered 30th gear
00 · Before You Drop

Read this first

Grasp of Avarice is a dungeon about greed: every engram you grab starts a death timer, and the only cure is more engrams — banked at the right altar before the clock runs out. Master that one rhythm and the whole dungeon clicks. Old "loot-cave farm" advice is from a different era; ignore it.

Unlocking it

Grasp of Avarice shipped with the Bungie 30th Anniversary Pack (2021). All Dungeon Keys are bundled into Destiny 2: The Collection — so access depends on owning the relevant expansion / Key content rather than a separate quest.

  1. Confirm you own the content (Collection bundle or the 30th Anniversary Pack).
  2. Launch Grasp of Avarice from the Cosmodrome on the Director.
  3. First clears that hold the quest progress toward Gjallarhorn — see the loot section.

The one rule: bank or die

Pick up a Hive engram and you gain Burdened by Riches — a stacking debuff with a countdown that kills you when it expires. Picking up another engram refreshes the timer; banking at an Icon of Excess clears stacks and feeds the objective.

So your loadout isn't really about the engrams — it's about clearing adds fast, surviving the platforming and traps, and melting Avarokk in his short window. Build for those three jobs.

The Fiction

Why you're here

The bank-or-die timer below isn't arbitrary — it is greed itself, made into a mechanic, on the exact spot where the "farm forever" myth was born. Here's the story the dungeon is telling while you solve it.

The old Loot Cave, cursed

You are drawn back to the Cosmodrome's infamous Loot Cave — the D1 farming spot every veteran remembers — following a doomed Guardian whose greed for the perfect roll curdled myth into curse. The House of Dusk has since made a shrine of that avarice, with Captain Avarokk guarding the hoard.

The curse is literal: hoard Engram stacks and they poison you. Only banking — giving up the pile — keeps you alive, and only spending makes the greedy things guarding it vulnerable.

Break the curse with the discipline the doomed never had, and reclaim Gjallarhorn from the shrine avarice built.

Core Mechanic

The greed-timer loop

Burdened by Riches has three faces — the grab, the clock, and the bank. Every encounter is just this loop at a different scale. Learn to read the timer and you stop dying to your own treasure.

Step One

Grab

› Collect engrams
Hive enemies drop cursed engrams. Each one adds a stack of Burdened by Riches and (re)sets your timer to full. Grabbing engrams is mandatory progress, not optional loot.
Step Two

The Clock

› Don't let it hit zero
The countdown kills you when it expires. Watch the debuff timer in the corner; refresh it by grabbing another engram or by banking before it lapses. At 10 stacks your Super instantly recharges — a free nuke.
Step Three

Bank

› Deposit at the Icon of Excess
Dump your stacks into the Icon of Excess crystal. This clears your timer and counts toward the encounter total (50 to open the vault, 40 for Phry'zhia, 60 for Avarokk). Bank in batches — never hold to the wire.
Reading the timer: the safe play is a short rhythm — grab a few engrams, watch the clock, sprint to the Icon of Excess, bank, repeat. Banking resets your own stacks to zero, so the danger is hoarding: a greedy run to squeeze one more pickup is how most deaths happen. The stack counts and totals here are the live, long-standing values. (See the descent & encounter maps.)
Mechanic Checkpoints

What moves the encounter

Brief this before each pull: the progress trigger is what advances the room; the fail/wipe trigger is what must be banked, routed, or handled immediately.

The Loot Cave

Progress: pick up cursed engrams for Burdened by Riches, then bank at the Icon of Excess until the vault opens.

Fail/wipe: the Burdened by Riches timer kills the holder at zero. Hoarding stacks instead of banking is the real wipe mechanic.

Captain Phry'zhia

Progress: cross the Rusted Gangplank on foot, then bank ~40 Burdened by Riches stacks at the Icon to drop Phry'zhia's immunity and DPS the Ogre. The sparrow ride comes afterward.

Fail/wipe: the Burdened timer kills a carrier who banks late, and shooting the immune Ogre before banking does nothing. (Gangplank traps and, later, the sparrow-tunnel mines are the traversal killers.)

Shielded Servitors

Progress: bank engrams to drop each Servitor shield, kill the Servitor, then launch its body into the shield generators.

Fail/wipe: missing the corpse launch wastes the cycle, and add pressure punishes bankers who try to carry too many stacks at once.

Captain Avarokk

Progress: charge the generator with a Scorch Cannon, collect the spawned engrams, bank at the crystal until Avarokk succumbs, then damage in the shield-down window.

Fail/wipe: Burdened by Riches still kills holders, and the shielded lieutenants can shred a sloppy bank route. Dumping damage into the shielded boss wastes ammo and phase time.

Field Maps

The descent at a glance

Grasp drops straight down the old Loot Cave: a banking arena, a mine-strewn sparrow run, a shielded-servitor lair, and a circular Kell arena at the bottom. Here's the whole route top-to-bottom; each encounter below carries its own detailed map next to the walkthrough.

Full descent routeSkywatch → Wilhelm's Hoard
Grasp of Avarice full descent route A top-to-bottom route through four stages: 1 the Loot Cave banking arena in Skywatch, 2 Captain Phry'zhia, an on-foot Ogre boss reached across the Rusted Gangplank, 3 the sparrow descent down a mine tunnel into the Sunken Lair shielded-servitor room, 4 the Captain Avarokk boss arena in Wilhelm's Hoard. Burdened by Riches engrams and Icon of Excess banks recur at each stage; the Gjallarhorn quest reward is at the end. ▼ deeper 1 Encounter · Skywatch The Loot Cave Bank ~50 engrams · clear timer · open the vault engrams 2 Boss · Rusted Gangplank Captain Phry'zhia On foot across the gangplank · bank ~40 to drop the Ogre's immunity · DPS immune Ogre 3 Descent · Sparrow ride & Sunken Lair Shielded Servitors Ride the mine tunnel down · bank to drop a Servitor shield · cannon its corpse at generators servitor 4 Boss · Wilhelm's Hoard Captain Avarokk Cannon the generator · bank ~60 · drop his shield · DPS Gjallarhorn
Route · banking objective Secondary objective / enemy Lethal hazard
The Descent

Down the loot cave, top to bottom

Grasp is a literal dive into the cave that once minted the game's most infamous farm. Every stage reuses the Burdened by Riches loop — only the danger around it changes.

1
Encounter · Skywatch

The Loot Cave

"Greed has a price. Pay it on your terms."
Lore lens · why it works

This is the literal D1 Loot Cave, the birthplace of the "farm forever" myth. The opening bank loop introduces the dungeon's whole thesis in miniature — hoarding poisons, spending saves — turning the shrine of endless loot into a lesson that satirizes the very greed that made this cave famous.

The loop
  1. Clear the Hive in the cavern. Killing them drops cursed engrams on the ground.
  2. Pick up engrams to stack Burdened by Riches — your timer starts ticking down toward death.
  3. Carry your stacks to the Icon of Excess and bank them. This clears your timer and adds to the total.
  4. Bank roughly 50 stacks total as a team to open the vault and proceed down.
  5. Hitting 10 stacks recharges your Super — pop it for fast add-clear, then keep banking.
TimerDon't hoard. The single biggest mistake is grabbing one engram too many and dying mid-sprint. Bank in small, safe batches and let the timer reset.
SpeedStrong AoE add-clear floods the floor with engrams fast. The bottleneck is the run to the Icon, not the kills — position near the bank and pull enemies to you.
SecretA hidden chest sits off the main cave near the start. A Ghost treasure-detector mod makes it obvious; grab it before you drop.
SoloSolo-friendly. You bank every stack yourself, so just slow the rhythm down: grab a small batch, bank, repeat. No teammate means no one to revive you, so never run the timer to the wire.
Stale adviceOld "loot-cave farm" guides predate this dungeon and don't apply — that era's advice is from the original Cosmodrome, not this activity.
Map · The Loot CaveEncounter 1 · Skywatch
Loot Cave banking encounter map A wide cavern where Hive enemies drop cursed engrams. Pick up engrams to gain Burdened by Riches, then bank them at the central Icon of Excess to clear your death timer and progress, aiming for about fifty banked stacks to open the vault exit at the bottom. A secret chest hides off to the side. Hivedrop engrams Hivedrop engrams Icon of Excess bank — clears timer vault ↓ ~50 banked secret chest ⚠ Burdened by Riches timer kills you at zero — bank before it lapses
Engrams / route Icon of Excess Hive / timer
2
Boss · Rusted Gangplank

Captain Phry'zhia

"Cross on foot, bank the greed, break the Ogre."
Lore lens · why it works

Phry'zhia, the Insatiable stays immune while you hoard — you cannot fight avarice with pockets full of it. Banking your stacks before you strike is the fight enforcing its own moral: spend the greed to make greed vulnerable.

The loop
  1. After the Loot Cave, cross the Rusted Gangplank on foot — this is a traversal section, not a sparrow ride — clearing traps and side pockets as you go.
  2. Reach Phry'zhia the Insatiable — a heavy Ogre that is immune until you bank.
  3. Run the greed loop: grab engrams and bank ~40 stacks at the Icon to drop her immunity.
  4. DPS the open window — a Scorch Cannon shreds her — then finish Phry'zhia and the shielded adds.
  5. Killing Phry'zhia opens the way to the sparrow tunnel and the lair below; loot the chest.
ImmunePhry'zhia takes no damage until you bank enough engrams. Burning ammo into the shield does nothing — bank first, then commit DPS in the open window.
CannonThe Scorch Cannon shreds Phry'zhia. Don't waste its ammo on trash — save charges for the Ogre window.
TrapsThe Rusted Gangplank is a foot traversal with swinging traps and pits — take it steady; a fall or trap hit is the main death on the way in.
SoloSolo doable. You bank the full ~40 alone, so pace your pickups and keep the Scorch Cannon for the Ogre window rather than the adds.
Map · Captain Phry'zhiaStage 2 · Rusted Gangplank
Captain Phry'zhia on-foot approach map An on-foot traversal across the Rusted Gangplank — a walkway of swinging traps and pits, with a Scorch Cannon pickup — leading to the Captain Phry'zhia Ogre arena, where banking about forty engrams at an Icon of Excess drops her immunity for a damage phase. The sparrow ride comes later, after Phry'zhia is dead. on foot ↓ gangplank traps Scorch Cannon shielded door Phry'zhia arena Phry'zhia immune Ogre bank ~40 → drop immunity then DPS the window
Gangplank / engrams Cannon / bank / door Traps / Ogre
3
Descent · Sparrow ride & Sunken Lair

The Shielded Servitors

"Ride the cave down, then turn their hoard into a battering ram."
Lore lens · why it works

The Servitors treat Ether as currency, and their shields drop only when you bank. It is the greed theme scaled up to the House of Dusk's economy: wealth has to circulate before anything hoarding it becomes vulnerable — stagnant riches shield, spent riches expose.

The loop
  1. After Phry'zhia dies, mount your sparrow and race the long tunnel down — defuse the explosive proximity mines before they detonate (a mine you fail to clear resets the run) and tag the timer-extender buttons along the route — into the flooded Sunken Lair.
  2. A Servitor sits behind a heavy shield, blocking the way forward.
  3. Run the greed loop: grab engrams and bank ~20 stacks at the Icon to drop the Servitor's shield.
  4. Kill the now-vulnerable Servitor, then use a gravity / Scorch Cannon to launch its corpse.
  5. Fling the corpse into the shield generators to break them and open the route down.
MinesThe sparrow ride down is mine-heavy — ride slow enough to react and dismount the tightest stretches. Ride the intended route.
ShieldShooting a shielded Servitor is wasted ammo — its shield only falls after you bank enough engrams. Bank first, then engage.
AddsFallen pour in while you bank. Keep an add-clear weapon up so your banker isn't overwhelmed mid-run to the Icon.
AimThe corpse-launch is a throw — line up the generator before you fire so you don't waste the body and have to reset the cycle.
SoloManageable solo but fiddly: you bank, kill, and launch the corpse alone, all while Fallen pour in. Thin the adds first, bank in one safe batch, then take your time aiming the body at each generator.
CounterWhatever a stack count you read elsewhere says, trust the on-screen objective — the shield drops exactly when the in-game counter fills, so bank to that, not to a number from a guide.
Map · Sunken LairStage 3 · Shielded Servitors
Sunken Lair shielded servitor map Reached by a sparrow ride down a mine tunnel, a flooded lair where banking about twenty engrams at the central Icon of Excess drops a Servitor's shield. After killing the Servitor, a gravity cannon launches its corpse into shield generators on either side to break them and open the exit. Sunken Lair bank ~20 → drop shield shielded Servitor gen A gen B cannon ⚠ Servitor is immune until you bank — fling the corpse at both generators
Engrams / bank Servitor / cannon Shield generators
4
Boss · Wilhelm's Hoard

Captain Avarokk, the Covetous

"Slay Captain Avarokk and claim the hoard."
Lore lens · why it works

Captain Avarokk, the Covetous is greed given a body — the guardian of the hoard the curse was built around. You beat him with the one thing he never had: discipline. Banking cleanly under pressure while he tries to drown you in loot is the whole dungeon's lesson turned into his execution.

The loop — the greed timer, weaponized
  1. Pick up a Scorch Cannon and feed shots into the central generator to charge it.
  2. The charged generator scatters Burdened by Riches engrams around the arena perimeter.
  3. Grab engrams (mind your timer) and bank ~60 total at the central crystal to drop Avarokk's shield.
  4. When "Avarokk has succumbed to temptation" appears, his shield falls — a ~30-second damage phase opens.
  5. Dump your DPS. Kill shielded adds and lieutenants (Shank R-M80, Vandal Grisprax) that protect him.
  6. Repeat the cycle across phases until he drops. Loot the final chest for the dungeon reward.
ShieldedAvarokk and his crew sit behind shields between phases. Banking ~60 engrams is the only thing that opens the window — don't waste a Super on a shielded boss.
TimerEngrams here still carry the death clock. During the chaos, keep banking your own stacks — players die to their own timer mid-DPS-setup more than to Avarokk.
CatalystIf you're chasing the Gjallarhorn catalyst, plan the three Reaver Vandal + hidden chest checks across the whole dungeon. The final check happens before Avarokk, not as an in-fight progress object.
SoloSolo & solo-flawless viable. Charge the generator, bank your ~60 alone, and only DPS once the shield is down. A self-healing or invis subclass makes the engram runs survivable without a teammate to rez.
CatalystThe ~30s window, bank count, and lieutenant lineup are the standing values.
Map · Avarokk ArenaEncounter 4 · Wilhelm's Hoard
Captain Avarokk boss arena map A circular arena. Feed a Scorch Cannon into the central generator to scatter Burdened by Riches engrams around the perimeter, then bank about sixty at the central crystal to drop Captain Avarokk's shield for a roughly thirty-second damage phase. Kill his shielded lieutenants, and watch the death timer while collecting engrams. cannon → generator + crystal bank ~60 → drop shield engrams scatter the rim Avarokk shielded between phases R-M80 · Grispraxshielded lieutenants Final islandcatalyst chest is before fight ⚠ watch your owndeath timer
Engrams / bank crystal Cannon / Avarokk Lieutenants / timer
Loadouts

Meta loadouts

Grasp is power-floored and easy now, so almost anything clears it. These are the efficient picks: burst hitters for Avarokk's short window, dense add-clear for the engram floods, and survivability for the timer chaos. Build around one DPS option + one add-clear + a survivable subclass.

Boss DPS

For Avarokk & Phry'zhia windows
Still Hunt Exotic
Paired with Hunter's Celestial Nighthawk, the Golden Gun mode chunks a shielded-then-open boss bar fast.
Cataclysmic / Cold Comfort
Bait-and-Switch LFR & rocket — top legendary sustained DPS for a 30s window.
Whisper of the Worm Exotic
Heavy precision sniper — huge ranged burst that suits Avarokk's open phase.
Gjallarhorn Exotic
Thematic, and it buffs every rocket in the fireteam — bring it if teammates run rockets.

Add Clear

Engram floods & ambient
Sunshot / Graviton Lance Exotic
Chain-explosion primaries that delete Hive and Fallen packs and spill engrams fast.
Osteo Striga / Riskrunner Exotic
Poison & chain-lightning — effortless room clear, excellent solo.
Witherhoard Exotic
Passive area damage you can paint a boss with, then swap to Heavy.
Wave-frame GL / good Auto
Any reliable AoE that thins crowds while a teammate sprints engrams to the Icon.

Survivability

Survive the timer scramble
Tractor Cannon Exotic
Debuff the boss for a team-wide damage boost right before a phase.
Healing / restoration tools
Restoration, woven mail, or devour keep your banker alive during sprints.
Mobility & revives
Anything that softens the sparrow run and lets you recover a downed teammate mid-cycle.
Warlock
Well of Radiance / Prismatic

Well anchors the boss phase with healing and a damage buff; Prismatic gives flexible healing + add-clear for the engram chaos.

Titan
Prismatic / Thundercrash

Thundercrash is huge burst on an open Avarokk; Prismatic offers barricades, healing, and ad-clear aspects to taste.

Hunter
Prismatic + Golden Gun

Golden Gun with Celestial Nighthawk is a one-shot nuke for the damage window; invisibility makes safe engram runs trivial.

Loadout note: For a dungeon this forgiving the gap between "meta" and "what you already have" barely matters — bring whatever you're comfortable with. The only real ask is a burst hitter for Avarokk's short open window and dense add-clear for the engram floods.
Speedrun

Speed notes, not gospel

The fastest Grasp runs win on banking discipline and the sparrow line — not on tricks.

1

Bank smart, not greedy

Position your add-clear near the Icon of Excess and pull enemies to you. The clock-management — not the kills — is what gates each room. Short batches keep the timer from ever threatening you.

2

Drive the cave clean

The sparrow descent ends more runs than any boss. Ride at a speed you can react to mines, and dismount for the tightest sections. A clean descent beats a fiery restart.

3

Pre-bank, then burst

Phry'zhia, the Servitor, and Avarokk are all immune until you bank. Have your stacks ready and your Heavy loaded so the moment the shield drops you commit full DPS into the open window.

4

Separate Gjallarhorn goals

A normal clear, the Wilhelm-7 message bottles, and the Gjallarhorn catalyst are three different routes. The catalyst requires Reaver Vandal/catalyst chest checks across the run, so do it deliberately instead of discovering mid-run that nobody is on the right step.

Rewards

What you're farming for

Featured rewards: Two dungeons are featured each week. Featured: Standard and Master drop Tier 5 weapons and armor; the Director challenge and hidden chests drop Tier 5 on a weekly lockout. Not featured: Standard drops Tier 3 weapons and armor; Master still drops Tier 5.

The chase: Gjallarhorn

Gjallarhorn — the iconic Exotic rocket launcher — is the headline reward. It's unlocked via the "And Out Fly the Wolves" quest tied to this dungeon, not a random drop, and its catalyst is a further chase built around three Reaver Vandal / hidden chest checks across the run.

30th Anniversary loot

The legendary pool is the 30th Anniversary set — the Eyasluna hand cannon, Matador 64 shotgun, 1000 Yard Stare sniper, and Hero of Ages Arc sword are the standout chase weapons, alongside the dungeon armor.

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