Arms Dealer
Grandmaster Vanguard Alert · Cabal · The EDZ

TheArms Dealer

A classic Red Legion strike, re-taught in modern Grandmaster Vanguard Alert language. Push through Firebase Hades' trenches and forge, manage champion frame coverage instead of old Artifact mods, and finish Bracus Zahn by breaking his shield with a Flame Core dunk while dodging his jump-jet fire pools. This is the flagship route guide for the set — every other Nightfall page follows its shape.

Faction
CabalRed Legion · Firebase Hades
Combat range
MidTrenches, then a forge arena
Champions
Weekly setTypes follow the weekly modifier set
Boss
Bracus ZahnFlame Core shield dunk
Wipe risk
Chip + addsFire pools & champion pressure
00 · Read This First

What this run really is

The Arms Dealer is a short, linear Cabal strike — in a Grandmaster Alert its danger isn't the layout, it's the chip damage on the way in and the add pressure during the Flame Core shield phases at the end. Treat the approach as a series of cover-to-cover pushes and the boss room as a shield-break loop, not a DPS race.

The one-sentence identity

Fight Firebase Hades' Cabal trench-to-forge gauntlet, clear the champions the week's modifiers assign, then burn Bracus Zahn — dropping his shield with a Flame Core dunk at each third of his health.

Everything you bring serves three jobs: survive the approach, cover the champion types present, and deal burst on Zahn between shield phases. Build for those, not for the trash.

What old guides get wrong

  • They tell you to slot a seasonal anti-Champion Artifact mod. Stun is frame-intrinsic now — bring the right archetypes (weapon guide).
  • They quote a fixed champion list. GM champion types and counts follow the weekly modifier set.
  • They name a specific Adept reward. The chase is the weekly Tier 5 weapon, and it changes every reset.
  • They treat Zahn as a tank-and-spank. In GM, the Flame Core shield phases and add pressure end far more runs than his health bar.
01 · Champion Coverage

Cover the frames, not the mods

Anti-Champion is built into weapon frames now — there's no Artifact mod to forget. Bring archetypes that cover the types the week assigns. Champion types follow the weekly modifier set.

Most common here

Barrier

› Pierce / break the shield
Cabal Centurions / Phalanxes wear the Barrier tag. Bring a Barrier-intrinsic frame to strip the shield, then finish. Don't waste a Super into an unbroken shield.
Some weeks

Overload

› Disrupt to stop the heal
Overload combatants regenerate and teleport. An Overload frame interrupts them so they stop healing — focus them first or they reset the room.
Per weekly modifier set

Unstoppable

› Stagger before it charges
Unstoppable Incendiors / Gladiators rush and hit hard. An Unstoppable frame staggers them at range — stun, then delete before they close the gap.
The modifier readout, every time: (1) enemy pressure — which champions, shields, and faction units; (2) weekly modifiers — surge, threat, banes, player stakes; (3) the single modifier most likely to wipe a casual team; (4) one build swap that answers it. Run that readout on the launch screen before every GM Alert. Champion types follow the weekly modifier set. The hub's modifier glossary explains Medusa, Focused Fire, and the rest.
02 · The Route

Firebase Hades, top to bottom

Four beats: the outer approach, the trench gauntlet, the forge interior, and Zahn's arena. The whole strike is a straight line — the skill is when to push and when to hold cover. Here's the route at a glance; each beat below carries its own notes.

Full routeEDZ surface → Firebase Hades forge
The Arms Dealer full route A top-to-bottom route through four areas following the orange path: 1 Outer Approach on the EDZ surface, 2 the Trench Gauntlet with champion spawns and long lanes, 3 the Forge Interior with cover pillars, 4 Bracus Zahn's arena where he perches behind a shield on one of two pillars each third of his health and you must dunk a Flame Core to drop it. Champion spawn rooms and the boss shield phase are marked. ▼ deeper 1 Surface · EDZ Outer Approach Push to the firebase gates · thin the first Cabal wave 2 Gauntlet · trenches Trench Gauntlet Long lanes · first champions · cover-to-cover champ spawns 3 Interior · forge Forge Interior Tight cover pillars · funnel adds · don't over-peek cover pillars 4 Boss · forge arena Bracus Zahn Shield each 1/3 HP · dunk a Flame Core to break it fire pools
Route · push line Champion spawn Cover Fire pools
1
Beat · Outer Approach

The Surface Push

"Get to the gates without spending your tokens."
The loop
  1. Drop onto the EDZ surface and push toward the Firebase Hades gates, clearing the opening Cabal wave.
  2. Hold the first piece of hard cover and let the team stack before crossing the open ground.
  3. Thin Psions and War Beasts early — they're the cheap kills that snowball into chip damage if ignored.
PaceThis beat is forgiving on Normal and lethal on GM only if you sprint blind. Move as a group, cover-to-cover; a hero rush here burns a revive token you'll want at Zahn.
ThreatMatch the weekly threat element with a resist mod before the first real fight — GM chip damage adds up fastest in the open.
2
Beat · Trench Gauntlet

The Trenches

"Long lanes, first champions, no radar to save you."
The loop
  1. Enter the trench network. Expect the first champions here — clear them with the matching frame coverage before pushing.
  2. Use the trench walls as cover. Peek one lane at a time; the sightlines are long and Cabal Legionaries punish exposure.
  3. Funnel the team forward only after the lane is clear — don't leave a champion alive behind you.
ChampionThis is the most likely Barrier / Unstoppable spawn zone. Call the type out, strip or stagger with the right frame, then collapse on it together.
SightlinesIf Medusa or No Radar is active, the long trench lanes get dangerous. Shorten sightlines, hold corners, and don't hard-scope a lane you can't disengage from.
ScoreIf a scoring modifier is up, the trenches are where you bank easy points safely — but a wipe costs more than a fast lane. Clean beats quick.
3
Beat · Forge Interior

The Forge Interior

"Tight rooms reward patience and punish greed."
The loop
  1. Move into the forge interior. The space tightens into rooms with cover pillars — use them to break enemy lines of fire.
  2. Funnel adds into a kill lane rather than chasing them; Incendiors love to flank in the close quarters.
  3. Clear each room fully before advancing — a left-behind Centurion in a doorway is a free wipe in GM.
IncendiorsCabal Incendiors throw lingering fire. Don't stand in the flame pools — reposition behind a pillar and let them burn out.
AmmoThis is the last calm stretch before the boss. Top up Special and Heavy, agree who grabs bricks, and don't dump your Heavy on trash here.
4
Boss · The Forge Arena

Bracus Zahn, and the Flame Core dunk

"Shield up at every third — clear adds, grab the core, dunk it."
The loop
  1. Bracus Zahn drops into the forge arena. Pick a piece of cover and open damage — he wields a Cabal Headhunter sniper at range and swaps to a slug shotgun up close.
  2. At each third of his health (roughly 65% and 35%) he flies onto one of two pillars and raises a shield. Damage on him stops until you break it.
  3. Clear the adds so a Cabal Thresher flies in and lifts the Goliath Tank off the Flame Core beneath it.
  4. Grab the revealed Flame Core and dunk it into the receiver across the arena to drop his shield, then resume damage.
  5. Throughout, dodge the fire pools his jump-jet shockwave stomp leaves on the ground and destroy summoned Volcanic Scorpius turrets. Bank a revive token for the final third.
ShieldYou cannot out-damage the shield — it only drops when the Flame Core is dunked. Don't dump a Super into it; clear adds, free the core, then burst.
BurstZahn rewards burst windows between shield phases. A Nighthawk Golden Gun or a heavy burst Super lands clean damage the moment his shield drops.
HazardsStay off the fire pools from his jump-jet stomp and the open flame pits along the arena edges, and kill the Volcanic Scorpius turrets before they zone you out of cover.
Map · Zahn's ArenaBoss · Forge Arena
Bracus Zahn arena map A forge arena. Bracus Zahn opens in the centre and, at every third of his health, perches behind a shield on one of two pillars on the left and right. To drop the shield, clear adds so a Thresher lifts the Goliath Tank off the Flame Core at the bottom, grab the core, and dunk it into the receiver at the top of the arena. Jump-jet shockwave fire pools scatter the floor, Volcanic Scorpius turrets are summoned around the rim, and open flame pits line the edges. pillar / shield pillar / shield Bracus Zahn shield each 1/3 HP dunk receiver Flame Core (under Goliath Tank) fire pools Scorpius Scorpius ⚠ shield only drops when the Flame Core is dunked — clear adds, grab core, dunk
Boss / pillar shield Flame Core Dunk receiver Fire pool Scorpius / add
03 · Loadout by Role

Bring four jobs, not four guns

A GM team is happiest when each player owns a job. Full build cards live in the class guides and the Prismatic deep dive — these are the jobs to fill and the archetypes that fill them. Names rotate with the meta; the jobs don't.

Anchor / Control

Room control + self-sustain

Hold space and keep the team topped through add waves.

  • Warlock — Void Devour or the Prismatic Getaway loop.
  • Titan — Strand Banner of War for team woven mail.
  • A reliable add-clear Primary that respects the surge.

Champion Lock

Frame coverage

Carry the intrinsic stuns the week assigns.

  • Barrier + Unstoppable frames as the baseline here.
  • Add an Overload frame on weeks it appears.
  • See the weapon guide for which archetypes carry each stun.

Boss Burst

Damage between shield phases

Burst windows beat sustained DPS — shield phases break up your damage.

  • Hunter — Nighthawk Golden Gun for a clean single-shot nuke.
  • Titan — Thundercrash as a burst swap.
  • A heavy you can fire-and-reposition (rocket / LFR).

Emergency Support

Safe revive / reset

The insurance that saves a token.

  • Hunter — Void invis (Gyrfalcon / Omnioculus) for safe rezzes.
  • A healing or overshield tool for the boss room.
  • A debuff (Tractor / Div) to speed the Zahn phases.
Loadout note: these are the mid-2026 (Monument-era) jobs and archetypes — match the weekly surge when you pick your elements. For full, current builds, the class pages go deeper than any single route guide.
04 · Modifier Adjustment

What changes when the modifiers do

The route is evergreen, but the week's modifiers decide how you play it. The most common GM swings and the one adjustment each one asks for:

Medusa

Looking at affected enemies stacks Stasis slow toward a freeze. Shorten the trench sightlines, peek-and-cover, and never hard-scope a lane you can't disengage from.

No Radar / Blackout

You lose your spawn warnings and melees hit harder. Clear corners before committing, hold the forge pillars, and call enemy positions by voice.

Focused Fire

Heightened incoming damage. Tighten cover discipline everywhere and shorten your exposure windows — peek, fire, drop back. Carrying the Flame Core in the open is twice as punishing under it.

Harsh threat / surge

Slot the matching resist mod for the threat element and match your DPS element to the surge on Zahn. A mismatched surge can double your phase count.

Champion types follow the weekly modifier set: the exact champions, banes, surge, threat, and player stakes come from the week's GM Alert modifier list, shown on the launch screen.
05 · Common Wipes

Why teams actually lose this

Almost none of it is the boss. The Arms Dealer wipes groups in four predictable ways — kill these habits and the run is yours.

1

Standing in the fire pools

Zahn's jump-jet shockwave leaves fire pools that end more runs than his gun. Step out of them the instant they land, and never trade a burn tick for one more shot.

2

Overextending for revives

A hero rez into the open burns a token and usually a second body. Bank tokens, rez from cover or invis, and let a dead teammate wait two seconds for a safe pickup.

3

Skipping a champion

A live Barrier Centurion or Unstoppable Gladiator left in a doorway collapses on you later. Clear champions before advancing — never leave one behind a push.

4

Trusting stale video tech

Old GM Arms Dealer clips assume a fixed champion list, Artifact mods, and patch-era cheese. Play the week's live modifiers and treat any exploit as disposable.

Weekly reward: when the Arms Dealer is the active Grandmaster Alert, a Grade B or better clear awards the week's featured weapon at Tier 5 (first clear pre-masterworked with its origin trait). The weapon changes weekly — this route is evergreen, the reward is not. See the hub reward ladder.
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