Scourge of the Past
Destiny 2 · Legacy Raid · The Last City

Scourge of
the Past

A retrospective visual field guide to Black Armory's six-player raid — the map-reader motif's origin story. Route batteries through Botza District, escape Ablazed Glory through the underground, then crack Insurrection Prime open joint-by-joint. This raid is currently vaulted — you cannot launch it unless Bungie restores it; read this as history and motif study.

Status
LegacyVaulted with Beyond Light
Fireteam
6Non-matchmade · comms-heavy
Era
Black Armory2018 · The Last City
Complexity
LegacyMap-reader signature
Exotic Chase
AnarchyExotic Grenade Launcher
Read the full lore of Scourge →
00 · Before You Read On

Read this first

Scourge invented the role that Destiny keeps reusing: one player reads hidden information and the team acts on the call. Know that it's not live, know what the map reader actually does, and treat any old loot or exploit claim as suspect.

Status, checked 2026-09-25: on 2026-09-21 Bungie announced it is working to bring vaulted campaigns, destinations and raids back into Destiny 2, with details “in the coming months” and no dates. Nothing has been restored yet, so Scourge of the Past still can't be launched and this page stays a retrospective until it returns. Bungie — The Next Chapter

It is not launchable right now

Scourge of the Past was vaulted with Beyond Light (2020), alongside the other pre-Garden raids except Last Wish. You cannot start it from the Director today unless Bungie reprises it — this page is a retrospective.

What survives is the map-reader motif: it's why later activities have a "Read" role at all. Learn the pattern here, then recognise it in Spire of the Watcher wires, Sundered Doctrine wheels, and Desert Perpetual lenses.

The truths that still hold

  • The whole raid is a read-and-call loop: one player sees a map/marker the rest can't, and names where to go.
  • Bosses and gates almost always open a damage window with a mechanic first — you rarely just shoot.
  • Berserkers must be stunned by shooting the two orange weak points that open at once — one on the chest, one on the back — before they're burst down; a recurring Black Armory enemy.
  • The final boss is a limb-by-limb tear-down, not a single health bar dump — positioning beats raw DPS.
  • Loot and the Anarchy drop describe the raid as it was; it is vaulted, so none of it is farmable today.
What stale guides get wrong: old videos lean on launch-era "just rush Botza" framing and on Anarchy farming. The first only worked with a tuned team; the second assumes a live drop table. Because the raid is vaulted, treat every "do this for guaranteed Anarchy" note as historical, not actionable.
The Fiction

Why you're here

This isn't an ancient tomb — it's a heist gone very wrong beneath your own city. Here's the story the descent is telling while you chase the stolen war-machine down.

The stolen war-frame beneath the City

The Black Armory hires a fireteam to hunt the Kell's Scourge — an anarchist Fallen warband that plundered the Armory's lost vaults and forged their stolen tech into the colossal Servitor-powered war machine Insurrection Prime, now turned against the Last City itself. You go down to reclaim what was stolen and put the machine down.

The descent runs through Botza and the old City ruins into the Armory's own Underground foundry — its filing systems, its power grid, its failing infrastructure. This raid is vaulted — you can't launch it today — so read it as history and as the origin of the "map-reader" motif.

Follow the thieves' trail down, reclaim the Armory's stolen secrets, and tear Insurrection Prime apart before it turns their forge-tech against the City.

Core Mechanic

The read-call-act triad

Three repeating verbs run the whole raid. One player reads hidden info, the team collects & dunks a charged resource, and someone stuns the gatekeeper enemy so the dunk lands. Name them and the encounters stop feeling random.

Hidden Information

Read

› Map reader calls
One Guardian holds the Map Reader buff and sees a marker (a destination or a glowing target) the others can't. They call it out; everyone else moves on the call. This is the motif's seed.
Charged Resource

Charge & Dunk

› Batteries → generators
Pick up radiant batteries dropped by enemies and deposit them at generators to power the next step. Standard dunk economy — the carrier is vulnerable, so the team escorts and clears.
Gatekeeper Enemy

Stun

› Berserker front + back
Black Armory Berserkers raise a suppression field and are immune while it's up. Two weak points open at once — one on the chest, one on the back, both glowing orange — and both must be shot (players on either side) before the field closes. Then burst it down. They guard chokepoints and the boss — stun discipline keeps dunks alive.
Callout language: agree on short names before the run — "Reader has it", a clock/colour for destinations, "battery up" when a carrier is moving, "stun the zerk" on a Berserker. Call position before description when a battery is in the air. (See the City & vault maps for where each verb lives.)
Mechanic Checkpoints

What moves the encounter

Scourge is a map-reader raid. Progress comes from a reader calling hidden information and the team escorting carriers to the right place.

Low-man / speedrun read: historical Scourge speed is a reader-and-escort problem. The reader living, Berserkers being stunned, and batteries moving through pre-cleared lanes are progress mechanics; outrunning the lane is slower than a controlled dunk.

Botza District

Progress: stun Berserkers, take their numbered radiant batteries, and dunk each at its matching energy station (four outer + the center map station) called by the rooftop map reader.

Fail/wipe: wrong-station dunks detonate and kill the carrier; dead carriers or unstunned Berserkers stall the phase and flood the district.

Botza Underground

Progress: start the Ablazed Glory chase, ride sparrows through the tunnel, and hit the end switches to open the vault path.

Fail/wipe: slow riders, missed end switches, or stopping mid-chase for detours let the flaming Servitor catch the team.

Insurrection Prime

Progress: use batteries/generators to expose the called limb, focus that limb, then collapse damage onto the opened core.

Fail/wipe: its charged cannon shot one-shots at lower Power, and a tracking missile volley rains on whoever it targets. Break for cover when it winds up — or shoot the stagger tank on its back to cancel the attack.

Boss Add Gates

Progress: kill Servitors and stun Berserkers on schedule so each limb/core window actually opens.

Fail/wipe: an active Berserker in the DPS lane eats the window and forces rezzes. Add control is part of the damage mechanic.

Field Maps

The raid at a glance

Scourge is a sprint, not a dungeon crawl: a Botza District map-reader battery encounter, a sparrow escape through Botza Underground, then a single arena boss. Here's the whole route; each encounter below carries its own schematic next to the walkthrough.

Full raid routeThe Last City → Black Armory Vault
Scourge of the Past full raid route A three-stage route. 1: Botza District, where a rooftop map reader calls generator locations while teams stun Berserkers by shooting their two orange chest and back weak points, carry radiant batteries, and dunk them at the right generators. 2: Botza Underground, a sparrow escape from Ablazed Glory through switch gates, with secret chest switches as an optional detour. 3: the Insurrection Prime boss arena, a limb-by-limb damage fight. Berserkers gate stages 1 and 3; the final boss is a lethal-add arena. ▼ onward 1 Encounter · The Last City Botza District — Map Reader Reader calls generators · batteries from Berserkers map reader 2 Encounter · Botza Underground Ablazed Glory Escape Ride sparrows · hit end switches · optional chest detour sparrow chase 3 Boss · The Vault Arena Insurrection Prime Drop the shields · break limbs · open the chest core · dodge the cannon cannon = lethal Recurring across all three: Berserker · shoot front + back weak points Servitor · chase / phase pressure
Route · map-read Battery / dunk Lethal hazard
Hidden Loot & Hard Traversal

The Botza Underground sparrow run and its secret chest

Scourge has one real traversal section and one secret chest, and they are the same place: the Escape! stretch of Botza Underground, where you race sparrows down the tunnels ahead of the burning Servitor Ablazed Glory. Botza District and the boss arena are fights, not mazes.

Escape! · the intended route

Where: Botza Underground, after the Berserker encounter. Reach: there is only one path. It has high routes, low routes and forks, and they all lead back to the same track. Stay ahead of Ablazed Glory and dodge the Fallen fire.

Route choice: pick any branch, but keep at least two riders alive to the end: they hit the exit switches that close the gates and stop the Servitor.

Secret chest · the eight sensors

Where: the Escape! track in Botza Underground. Reach: red sensors hidden along the track turn green when touched. Touch all eight and an alternate path opens past the safe room. Leave your sparrow there, climb a few jumps, and the cave-like chest room is at the top.

Route choice: the sensors sit on both the high and low branches, so riders split the branches and call each sensor as it turns green. Only one Guardian needs to reach the chest, but two must still make the exit switches.

Assign before launch: pick two exit riders and your sensor riders for each branch before Ablazed Glory starts. The alternate path stays shut until all eight sensors are green. This is the only secret chest the period guides document for Scourge.
The Run

Three encounters, start to finish

Scourge moves fast. The map reader sets the pace in Botza District; Botza Underground is a sparrow escape; the boss is one big arena. Mechanic names below match the read-call-act triad.

1
Encounter · Botza District

Botza District (Map Reader)

"Read the map, stun the Berserker, and dunk the battery."
Lore lens · why it works

The Map Reader follows the Kell's Scourge's own keyed vault-map — you're reading the thieves' filing system to find the way down. The arc-batteries you dunk overload Prime's Servitor-adjacent power grid, and the stuns exploit the shield cycles of a machine rebuilt on that same Fallen tech.

The loop
  1. One player takes the rooftop map reader position and calls which of the five energy stations are active (four outer — north/Schnell, east, south, west — plus the center map station).
  2. The ground team finds a Berserker, shoots both front and back weak points to stun it, then kills it for two numbered radiant batteries.
  3. Each battery's dot-count names its station — carriers dunk at the matching one before the charge expires while the rest clear lanes. A wrong-station dunk detonates and kills the carrier.
  4. Repeat the read / stun / dunk cycle until the district route opens and the team drops into Botza Underground.
RolesAssign the Map Reader to your clearest comms voice. They call generator first, then route. Everyone else moves batteries or clears lanes.
BerserkerBerserkers are immune while their suppression field is up — two orange weak points open at once, one on the chest and one on the back, and both must be shot (players on either side) to stun before the field closes. Then focus them. Letting one reach the team scatters the escort.
PaceThis is the launch-era "speedrun" stage. Old guides treat it as a race; without a tuned team, over-pushing outruns your add-clear and gets carriers killed. Move at the speed your weakest lane can hold.
Map · Botza DistrictEncounter 1 · Map reader + batteries
Botza District map reader route A city district with a rooftop map reader, four outer numbered energy stations (1 north/Schnell, 2 east, 3 south, 4 west) plus a fifth center map-holding station, and Berserkers that drop radiant batteries. When a Berserker is killed two batteries spawn: each carries a number whose dot-count points to its correct station. Ground teams stun Berserkers by shooting front and back weak points, take the batteries, read the number, and dunk each at its matching station before the charge expires — a wrong-station dunk detonates and kills the carrier. Map Reader 1 · North 2 · East 3 · South 4 · West 5 · Map Berserker → 2 numbered batteries Each battery's dot-count names its station — dunk at the matching one; a wrong dunk explodes
Reader / 5 energy stations Battery / dunk route Berserker
2
Encounter · Botza Underground

Ablazed Glory Escape

"Ride fast, hit the switches, and outrun the fire."
Lore lens · why it works

The Underground foundry is collapsing around you — the fire you outrun is the Armory's own failing infrastructure, tripped when the Fallen's defenses went off. The sparrow escape is you racing the death of a facility that was never meant to be breached like this.

The loop
  1. Enter Botza Underground and start the Ablazed Glory flaming Servitor chase.
  2. Ride sparrows through the tunnel, dodging gates, gaps, mines, and Fallen fire while the Servitor closes from behind.
  3. At the end, players must hit the left and right switches to open the exit and let the team escape.
  4. Optional secret chest routing asks the team to hit hidden switches during the ride; miss the route and just finish the escape cleanly.
RolesSplit into left switch, right switch, and safe finishers. The switch riders call success so nobody doubles back into the Servitor.
RouteOne path only: high routes, low routes and forks all rejoin. At least two riders must reach the end to seal the exit. The eight chest sensors are spread along it. Chest guide.
Secret chestThe optional chest uses hidden switches along the chase. Assign those riders before launch; improvising chest switches mid-run is how people miss the exit.
Ablazed GloryThe flaming Servitor is the timer. If it reaches you, the run collapses. Stay on route and recover from small bumps instead of stopping.
Map · Botza Underground escapeEncounter 2 · Sparrow chase
Botza Underground sparrow escape map A long underground tunnel starts on the left and exits on the right. Ablazed Glory, a flaming Servitor, chases the team from behind. Riders on sparrows dodge gates, gaps, and hazards, optionally hit hidden chest switches along the route, then press left and right end switches to open the exit before the Servitor catches them. Ablazed Glory optional secret switches L switch R switch ⚠ hit both end switches before Ablazed Glory reaches the team
Sparrow route Switches Ablazed Glory
3
Boss · The Vault Arena

Insurrection Prime

"Tear the Fallen war-machine apart, joint by joint."
Lore lens · why it works

Insurrection Prime is a Fallen war machine built from stolen Black Armory tech, its shield-generating eyes fed by the add waves the Kell's Scourge throws to protect it. Overloading each eye in sequence strips that protection joint by joint until the core is exposed — you're dismantling the very machine the Fallen forged to break the City.

The loop — read, charge, stun, then break a limb
  1. Insurrection Prime is a giant Servitor-walker with shielded limbs and a deadly charged cannon.
  2. The team uses the same kit — batteries to generators / radiant charges — to drop the shield on a glowing limb.
  3. Use the Map-Reader-style call to confirm which limb is exposed, then focus fire to break that limb.
  4. When his chest opens, dump damage into the exposed core — that's your real DPS window.
  5. When he winds up the charged cannon shot, break line of sight / get behind cover — a direct hit is a one-shot at lower Power. Shoot the orange stagger tank on his back to cancel a wind-up — that's how you stop the airborne missile volley.
  6. Repeat: clear adds, stun Berserkers, expose the next limb, break it, then nuke the core until he falls.
Cannon = deathThe boss's charged cannon shot is lethal. The moment it winds up, get behind a pillar — or break the stagger tank on his back to cancel it. This kills more teams than his limbs do.
OrderDon't spread damage across limbs randomly — the Reader calls one exposed limb, the team focuses it, then everyone collapses onto the open core together. Coordinated bursts beat scattered DPS.
AddsKill the Berserkers and Servitors that gate each phase — an un-stunned Berserker in your DPS lane wipes the window. Survivability/healing keeps the core team in the open.
RewardAnarchy (exotic Grenade Launcher) dropped from the final chest. The raid is vaulted, so treat this as history.
Map · Insurrection Prime ArenaEncounter 3 · Boss
Insurrection Prime boss arena map A circular arena facing the giant Insurrection Prime walker. It has four shielded limbs and a charged cannon that fires a lethal blast, plus a tracking missile volley. Charge generators to drop a limb's shield, have the reader call the exposed limb, focus fire to break it, then damage the opened chest core. Use the cover pillars to block the cannon shot, and shoot the stagger tank on its back to cancel wind-ups. Berserkers and Servitors gate the phases. Insurrection Prime ⚠ cannon shot — one-shot limb · L-arm limb · R-arm limb · L-leg limb · R-leg open core= DPS window covercover Berserkers gate the window — stun, then DPS
Limb / core / DPS Cover / battery Cannon shot — one-shot
Loadouts

Loadout jobs

Because the raid is vaulted you can't actually equip into it today — so think in archetype jobs, not god rolls. If Bungie ever reprises Scourge, build around one boss-DPS option + one add-clear + a survivable subclass. Named guns below are illustrative, not prescriptions.

Boss DPS

For the open-core window
Heavy precision job
A Linear Fusion or Heavy sniper archetype melts the exposed core and breaks limbs from cover. Stable, range-safe damage.
Burst rocket job
A high-burst rocket archetype dumps a limb fast when the window is short. Pair with a reload/swap perk for a second salvo.
Anarchy Exotic
Fittingly, the raid's own chase GL stuck arc traps and ticked free damage on the core.
Debuff before DPS
A weaken/suppress tool (e.g. Tractor-archetype) on the core multiplies the whole team's window. The debuff slot matters more than the exact gun.

Add Clear

City waves, Vault lanes, boss adds
Chain-explosion primary job
A Solar/Arc explosive-rounds primary archetype shreds Dreg/Vandal packs and keeps carrier lanes clean.
Wave-clear special job
A Wave-frame GL or Trace Rifle archetype clears chokes so riders and battery carriers keep moving.
Anti-Berserker burst
Keep a precise, fast-TTK weapon to delete a Berserker the instant both its weak points are shot and the field drops.

Survivability

Keep the carrier and core team alive
Healing / overshield job
Restoration, woven mail, or an overshield keeps a battery carrier upright across an open lane.
Crowd-control job
Suspend, freeze, or blind to lock down adds around a generator or the DPS pillar.
Cover discipline
No exotic beats standing behind a pillar when the cannon charges. Survivability is positioning first, gear second.
Warlock
Well / Restoration anchor

A healing Super or restoration loop holds the open-core team in place and covers the battery carrier. The safest team anchor.

Titan
Barricade + burst Super

A barricade makes instant cover from the cannon; a burst-damage Super (Thundercrash-style) chunks a limb or the core on command.

Hunter
Invis + precision Super

Invisibility carries batteries past adds and revives safely; a single-shot precision Super (Golden Gun-style) nukes the exposed core.

Vaulted-loadout note: This raid hasn't been launchable since Beyond Light vaulted it in 2020. Read these as archetype jobs for the Renegades / Monument-era sandbox — a boss-DPS slot, an add-clear slot, and a survivable subclass.
Rewards

What it dropped

The chase: Anarchy

Scourge's signature pull was Anarchy, an exotic Arc Grenade Launcher that sticks chaining traps — a long-running PvE favourite. It dropped from the final boss chest. This raid is vaulted, so there is no current in-raid source.

Gear & status

The rest of the loot was a Black Armory weapon and armour set in the 2018 sandbox — long since power-creeped and not farmable while vaulted. If Bungie ever reprises Scourge, expect it to slot into whatever the current reward model is (tiered loot, set bonuses, featured rotations) rather than its original table. Until then, treat the loot section as history — the lasting value is the map-reader motif, not the gear.

Vaulted-loot disclaimer: Every reward, drop rate, and exotic source on this page describes the raid as it was before Beyond Light vaulted it. None of it is farmable today. If you see a current video claiming "easy Anarchy from Scourge," it predates the vaulting or is mislabeled.
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