A Moon Hive strike climbed back up in modern Grandmaster Vanguard Alert language. Break the spells over Sorrow's Harbor, cross the bridge into the keep, capture the altars, and ascend the spire to face Hashladûn, Daughter of Crota — a shielded Wizard-type boss who locks herself behind immunity until you clear her arena and slay the Ogres she summons. This route is taught in the same shape as the rest of the set.
Faction
HiveHidden Swarm · the Scarlet Keep
Combat range
MidOpen courtyards into a tower spire
Champions
Weekly setTypes follow the weekly modifier set
Boss
HashladûnShielded tower-top arena
Wipe risk
No cover + addsNot her bar — your exposure
00 · Read This First
What this run really is
The Scarlet Keep is a vertical Hive strike on the Moon — a courtyard, a bridge, an altar room, and a spire climb to Hashladûn. In a Grandmaster Alert the danger isn't the mechanic, it's the lack of cover: enemies attack from high ground and long sightlines the whole way up. Treat every room as a positioning problem and the boss as an immunity puzzle, not a DPS race.
The one-sentence identity
Break the spells to lower the bridge, fight across into the keep, capture three altars, ride the spire up under Acolyte fire, then burn Hashladûn between her two immunity phases — drop the first shield by clearing the arena, the second by killing both Ogres she spawns.
Everything you bring serves three jobs: survive the exposed climb, cover the champion types present, and break Hashladûn's immunity fast so her Arc fire and slam never catch you stalled. 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 say you cleanse an Arc charge to drop Hashladûn's shield. That's wrong — the charge-carry mechanic belongs to the bridge room (Void Charges), not the boss. Her immunity drops from clearing adds, then killing two Ogres.
They name a specific Adept reward. The chase is the weekly Tier 5 weapon, and it changes every reset.
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
Hive Barrier Knights wall up behind a shield and pour out Boomer fire. Bring a Barrier-intrinsic frame to strip the shield, then finish. Don't waste a Super into an unbroken shield.
Per weekly modifier set
Overload
› Disrupt to stop the heal
If the weekly set lists Overload, an Overload frame interrupts the heal/teleport.
Per weekly modifier set
Unstoppable
› Stagger before it closes
Unstoppable Ogres stomp toward you and torch your cover with their eye beam. An Unstoppable frame staggers them at range — stun, then delete before that beam tracks onto your position.
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
Sorrow's Harbor, up the spire
Five beats: break the spells, cross the bridge, capture three altars, ascend the spire, and fight Hashladûn at the summit. The strike climbs the whole way — the skill is when to push and when to hold cover on lanes that never let you stop moving. Here's the route at a glance; each beat below carries its own notes.
Full routeSorrow's Harbor → the Scarlet Keep spire
Route · climb lineChampion spawnCoverBoss
1
Beat · Break the Spells
The Courtyard Spells
"Two Wizards, two charges, one lowered bridge."
The loop
Drop into the keep's exterior courtyard over Sorrow's Harbor and kill the two Wizards holding the side towers.
Each Wizard drops a Void Charge — pick it up and carry it to the central pedestals.
Deposit both charges on the pedestals to break the spell and lower the bridge forward.
CarryThis is the strike's only charge-carry mechanic — Void Charges in the courtyard, not at the boss. Carrying slows you and blocks your weapons, so clear threats before you grab a charge.
PaceMove as a group and split the two towers. A blind solo rush onto a Wizard tower in GM burns a revive token you'll want at the summit.
2
Beat · Cross the Bridge
The Bridge
"A long exposed span, an Ogre, and a Shrieker on the far side."
The loop
Push across the lowered bridge through Knights, Thralls and hovering Wizards — peek and cover, don't sprint the open span.
A Fissure Ogre spawns partway across. Stagger it (or kill it) before it pins the whole team on the bridge.
A Shrieker guards the far tower entrance — break its eye from behind the side cover plates, then clear the doorway.
ExposureThe bridge has no real cover in the middle. Use the side plates, advance in bounds, and never stop moving where a Wizard's bolt and the Ogre's beam can both reach you.
ChampionIf an Unstoppable Ogre is the weekly champion, it can show here. Call the type, stagger with the right frame, and collapse on it together before it cooks the bridge.
3
Beat · Capture Three Altars
The Altar Chamber
"Stand and hold while the room tries to push you off."
The loop
Enter the next chamber and stand on the three Altars to begin capturing them.
Hold each plate while clearing waves of Knights, Acolytes and Wizards — staying on the plate is what banks progress.
Capture all three to open the path up to the spire. Don't leave a plate to chase a kill if it stalls the capture.
ChampionThis room is a likely Barrier Knight spawn. A Barrier left alive near a plate walls off your team's line and stalls the capture — strip it first.
HoldPlate captures reward area control, not aggression. Anchor one player on the plate with a healing/overshield tool while the rest clear the waves around it.
4
Beat · Ascend the Tower
The Spire Climb
"The elevator stops; the Acolytes don't."
The loop
Ride the keep's elevator / spire upward toward the summit.
It stops on floors where you must find and kill Wizards to continue climbing.
Survive Acolyte fire from cover on each stop — use the pillars, don't stand in the open while you hunt the Wizard.
SnipersAcolyte sniper fire on the ascent is a top killer here. Hug the pillars, peek to kill the Wizard, and drop back — never cross the open floor without checking the angles.
AmmoThe spire is the last stretch before Hashladûn. Top up Special and Heavy on the way up and agree who grabs bricks — don't reach the summit dry.
5
Boss · The Tower Summit
Hashladûn, behind the shield
"Her health bar waits — break the immunity first."
The loop
Hashladûn, Daughter of Crota is a Hive Wizard-type boss. Open damage immediately — you burn her health between immunity phases.
At the first shield(~2/3 health) she shields and goes immune. The shield drops when you clear out the adds she's summoned across the arena.
Keep burning her health. At the second shield(~1/3 health) she re-shields; this time the immunity drops only when you kill the two Ogres she spawns.
Throughout, she fires Arc projectile streams and slams a delayed AoE ground attack that launches Guardians into the air — keep moving and don't bunch up.
Finish her between phases. Bank a revive token in reserve for the final immunity window.
ImmunityDamage is wasted while she's shielded. Phase 1: clear the adds. Phase 2: kill both Ogres. There is no Arc charge to cleanse — that's the bridge room, not here. Failing to break immunity in time is the classic wipe.
SlamHer delayed AoE slam launches you airborne and off your footing. Watch for the wind-up, spread out, and don't be mid-air when an Arc stream tracks onto you.
BurstThe damage windows are short, so burst beats sustained DPS. A heavy burst Super or a fire-and-reposition Heavy lands clean damage before she re-shields.
Map · Hashladûn's ArenaBoss · Tower Summit
Immunity / Arc fireCover pillarAdds / OgresBoss
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 classguides 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 the altar holds and 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 only if the week lists one.
See the weapon guide for which archetypes carry each stun.
Boss Burst
Damage between immunity phases
Burst windows beat sustained DPS — she re-shields fast.
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 on the exposed climb.
Hunter — Void invis (Gyrfalcon / Omnioculus) for safe rezzes.
A healing or overshield tool for the altar holds and summit.
A debuff (Tractor / Div) to speed the Hashladûn 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. Deadly on the exposed bridge and spire — shorten sightlines, peek-and-cover, and never hard-scope a Wizard you can't disengage from.
No Radar / Blackout
You lose your spawn warnings and melees hit harder — punishing in close-quarters Thrall and Knight rushes. Clear corners before committing, hold the altar-room and pillar cover, and call positions by voice.
Focused Fire
Heightened incoming damage. With so little cover here, tighten discipline everywhere and shorten your exposure windows — peek, fire, drop back. Hashladûn's Arc streams are 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 Hashladûn. A mismatched surge can double your phase count against her immunity timers.
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 her health bar. The Scarlet Keep wipes groups in four predictable ways — kill these habits and the run is yours.
1
Standing still in the open
The strike gives you little usable cover; enemies attack from high ground and long sightlines and punish Guardians who stop moving. Keep repositioning — peek, fire, slide back to a wall.
2
Overwhelmed in the immunity phase
During Hashladûn's shields, close-quarters Knights and Ogres swarm the summit. Get pinned and you eat her Arc fire and slam. Clear adds as a team and keep an exit lane to cover.
3
Eating Acolyte fire on the ascent
The spire climb has Acolyte snipers on every floor. Crossing the open without pillar cover is a fast death. Use the pillars, peek to kill the Wizard, and drop back between shots.
4
Failing to break immunity in time
Not clearing the adds, or not killing both spawned Ogres, leaves her shielded while her Arc fire and launching slam grind you down. Commit the team to the break the instant she shields.
Weekly reward: when the Scarlet Keep 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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