Guardians seeking a truly explosive addition to their arsenal should look no further than the Eyes of Tomorrow. This exotic rocket launcher isn't just for show; it's a room-clearing powerhouse designed for spectacular enemy encounters. Imagine pointing this weapon, achieving a lock on up to four separate targets, and then unleashing a volley of six rockets that scream towards their objectives with incredible tracking capabilities. Even the notorious Truth exotic rocket launcher would admire such homing prowess.
The power of Eyes of Tomorrow has been significantly amplified by a crucial update to its intrinsic perk, Adaptive Ordnance. Previously, this perk offered a damage bonus after a multi-kill. Now, it's far more potent: eliminating four or more enemies with a single volley not only grants a substantial damage buff to the next volley but also refunds one rocket directly to the magazine. This transformation means that with skillful use, Guardians can achieve a near-infinite stream of rockets, making Eyes of Tomorrow exceptionally effective for clearing waves of combatants in challenging activities. Before this enhancement, the perk was often seen as impractical, requiring an ammo expenditure for a temporary buff. Now, it's one of the strongest changes any exotic has received, turning it from a collector's item into a viable endgame tool.
This specialization is important to recognize; it's not the universal solution for every damage scenario, but in its designated role, it performs exceptionally. Many players may recall its pre-buff state where it was largely "unnoticed" or considered merely for collection, but its current iteration is a force to be reckoned with for any Guardian needing to control large groups of enemies.
Deep Stone Crypt Raid
The path to acquiring Eyes of Tomorrow leads Guardians to the icy moon of Europa, home to the Deep Stone Crypt raid. Access to this raid, and thus a chance at the exotic, requires ownership of the Beyond Light expansion. This is a fundamental prerequisite before embarking on this loot quest.
The coveted rocket launcher is a potential drop from the raid's final antagonist: Taniks, the Abomination. Conquering Taniks means successfully navigating the entirety of the Deep Stone Crypt, a feat that demands teamwork. Obtaining Eyes of Tomorrow solo is an impossibility; a coordinated fireteam, ideally composed of five to six Guardians, is necessary to overcome the raid's challenges and defeat its final boss.
The Deep Stone Crypt, a Year 4 raid, has maintained its relevance within Destiny 2's endgame. The introduction of weapon crafting for its legendary drops and periodic updates to its loot, such as the aforementioned buff to Eyes of Tomorrow, ensure that it remains a worthwhile endeavor for Guardians seeking powerful gear.
Drop Rates & Bad Luck Protection
Acquiring Eyes of Tomorrow is an endeavor governed by chance, but understanding the mechanics behind its drop rate can help set expectations and inform farming strategies. Initially, the probability of Taniks dropping this exotic rocket launcher is approximately 5% per eligible clear. This baseline figure is typical for many raid exotics in Destiny 2.
The design intent is that, over time, a player's chance to receive the exotic will gradually increase, eventually approaching a 100% likelihood if they have been particularly unlucky. This fix, which also applied retroactively to past clears, is a considerable boon, as the previous system incorrectly tied accumulation to individual characters and only counted the first character run per week, potentially tripling the time needed to see BLP benefits for multi-character players.
Beyond this account-wide weekly accumulation, there's an additional, smaller increase to the drop chance. Each time Taniks is defeated on a specific character (up to three times a week when the raid is not the weekly featured activity – once per Titan, Hunter, and Warlock), the drop chance for Eyes of Tomorrow on that particular run for that character receives a minor boost, estimated to be around 1%.
Guardians can further proactively influence their odds by completing specific Triumphs within the Deep Stone Crypt. Several of these Triumphs explicitly state that they "Increase initial Eyes of Tomorrow drop rate". These Triumphs likely elevate the base 5% chance before other BLP mechanisms take effect, making their completion a valuable pursuit for dedicated farmers.
Deep Stone Crypt Triumphs That Boost Drop Rate
| Triumph Name | Brief Description of Task |
|---|---|
| Resource Contention | Shut down Crypt security while only using 2 of the 3 augmentation terminals. |
| Copies of Copies | Complete the "Copies of Copies" challenge (Atraks-1: don't send debuffs to space). |
| 5 Seconds to Paradise | Defeat Atraks-1 while destroying all Servitors within 5 seconds of each other. |
| Of All Trades | Complete the "Of All Trades" challenge (Taniks, Reborn: all players do all 3 roles). |
| Short Circuit | Confront Taniks while allowing only one player from the fireteam to deposit nuclear cores. |
| The Core Four | Complete "The Core Four" challenge (Taniks, Abomination: dunk all 4 cores at once). |
Completing these Triumphs serves as a legitimate way to enhance drop chances, effectively acting as one of the "loot-pool tricks" to optimize the farming process. The combination of the fixed account-wide BLP, per-character clear boosts, and Triumph enhancements creates a multi-layered system that rewards consistent play and dedicated effort.
Smart Farming Strategy
Efficiency is paramount when farming for rare exotics, and the single most impactful strategy for acquiring Eyes of Tomorrow revolves around timing: Guardians should prioritize farming Taniks when the Deep Stone Crypt is the featured weekly raid.
This means a fireteam can defeat Taniks repeatedly on the same character within that week, and each successful clear presents a new opportunity for the exotic to drop, bypassing the usual weekly lockout per character. The sheer volume of attempts possible during a featured week dramatically outweighs the limited chances available otherwise.
If Deep Stone Crypt is not the featured raid, the opportunity to obtain Eyes of Tomorrow is restricted. Guardians can defeat Taniks once per character class (Titan, Hunter, Warlock) each week, yielding a maximum of three chances at the exotic across their account. While the account-wide Bad Luck Protection still accrues from the first clear of the week, the number of direct chances is limited.
To further optimize farming efforts, especially during a featured week, acquiring a Taniks checkpoint (CP) is highly recommended. This allows the fireteam to load directly into the final boss encounter, skipping the preceding stages of the raid. Looking-For-Group (LFG) platforms and community Discords are excellent resources for finding shared boss checkpoints, a common practice among players focused on farming specific loot.
Therefore, the primary advantage of farming during a featured week is the sheer quantity of attempts, rather than a rapidly escalating drop chance with each consecutive kill in a single session.
Taniks Boss Encounter Guide
Taniks, the Abomination, may appear formidable, but the encounter is a structured sequence of mechanics. Understanding the roles and the flow of the fight is key to victory. The core of this encounter revolves around three unique buffs, known as "augments," which players will need to manage effectively. Think of these augments as special job assignments that grant unique abilities.
The Three Augment Roles
Primary Job: When holding the Scanner buff, a player gains the ability to see which of the large, cylindrical deposit bins in the arena are glowing yellow. These highlighted bins are the only valid locations for depositing Nuclear Cores. The Scanner is, in essence, the team's guide for this crucial step.
Pro-Tip: Effective communication is vital. The Scanner must clearly and quickly call out the location of the active bins (typically designated as Spawn/White, Blue/Left, or Orange/Right sections of the arena) and the specific bin within that section (e.g., "Blue Right, Orange Left!"). Some experienced Scanners also note that by observing which bins aren't lit, they can predict Taniks's next position even before he moves.
Primary Job: The Operator is responsible for interacting with specific mechanics by shooting red, glowing panels. This can trigger events like spawning Nuclear Cores. Most critically, the Operator is the only player who can shoot and destroy the purple detainment bubbles that Taniks periodically traps core-carrying teammates in.
Pro-Tip: A cardinal rule for Operators: Never carry a Nuclear Core. If the Operator is detained while holding a core, no one else can use the Operator buff to free them, often leading to a wipe. The Operator must remain mobile and ready to free teammates.
Primary Job: To enable the deposit of Nuclear Cores, Taniks must be stunned. The Suppressor achieves this by positioning themselves under three specific floating drones located in the area Taniks currently occupies. These drones will glow when ready. The Suppressor must shoot Taniks from beneath each of the three drones in sequence to successfully stun him.
Pro-Tip: Timing the stun is crucial. It's generally advisable for the Suppressor to wait until Nuclear Core carriers are in position, or even until after the second core carrier has been detained and freed, before completing the third shot to stun Taniks. Stunning prematurely can lead to complications if the Operator's buff is deactivated at an inconvenient moment.
The Encounter Steps
- Get Your Roles & Make Cores Appear: At the start, players defeat specific Vandal enemies to acquire the Scanner, Operator, and Suppressor augments. Once roles are assigned, the team must shoot two of Taniks's four glowing thrusters located on his lower shank body. Each destroyed thruster will drop one Nuclear Core.
- The Hot Potato Game (Nuclear Cores): Four players (ideally not the Operator, and often not the Suppressor if they are focused on positioning for the stun) will pick up these Nuclear Cores. Carrying a core inflicts a debuff called "Radiation," which stacks. Reaching 10 stacks of Radiation is lethal. Players must pass the core to a teammate if their stacks approach dangerous levels (typically around 7 or 8). During this phase, Taniks will randomly trap two core carriers in purple detainment bubbles. The Operator must quickly shoot these bubbles to free the trapped players.
- Dunk Time! The Scanner identifies and calls out which two of the six deposit bins are active (glowing). Simultaneously, the Suppressor executes the stun mechanic by shooting Taniks from under the three designated drones. Once Taniks is successfully stunned, the bins will come online, allowing the core carriers to run to the glowing bins and deposit their Nuclear Cores. A total of four cores must be deposited to initiate the damage phase against Taniks. This usually involves two "rounds" of collecting and dunking two cores each.
- Augment Swap! After the Nuclear Cores are deposited, a random player's augment will become "disabled." This player must immediately go to one of the augment terminals (the devices where buffs are initially picked up or swapped) and deposit their disabled buff. Another teammate can then pick up this role, ensuring all three augments remain active in the fireteam.
- Damage Phase! With four cores successfully dunked, Taniks will move to the center of the arena and create a large shield of swirling debris. To damage Taniks, players must position themselves between the inner and outer rings of this debris field. Standing too close to the inner core or outside the protective aura will result in damage or death. Deploying a Well of Radiance or a Ward of Dawn in this damage zone is highly beneficial. Taniks will periodically knock players out of the damage ring; they must quickly jump back in to continue dealing damage.
- Rinse and Repeat: The fireteam will repeat steps 1 through 5 until Taniks's health is critically low. Upon reaching his final stand phase, Taniks will begin teleporting erratically around the arena. At this point, the team must continuously damage him until he is defeated.
Pro Tips for Success
Beyond understanding the core mechanics, several strategies and tips can significantly improve the efficiency and success rate of Taniks encounters, especially when farming for Eyes of Tomorrow.
Gear Recommendations
While god-tier weaponry isn't mandatory, selecting appropriate tools for each task is crucial.
- For damaging Taniks's thrusters and for the main damage phase against Taniks himself, slug shotguns (such as Heritage, which drops within the Deep Stone Crypt itself), sniper rifles, or reliable high-damage rocket launchers are excellent choices.
- Having one fireteam member equipped with the Divinity trace rifle is immensely beneficial. Divinity creates a large critical hit bubble on Taniks, making it significantly easier for the entire team to land precision shots and maximize damage output. Given Taniks's sometimes awkward natural crit spot, Divinity simplifies this aspect considerably.
- For managing the regular Fallen enemies that spawn between mechanic phases, effective ad-clear weapons like Submachine Guns or Auto Rifles are recommended to keep the arena under control.
Communication is Key
Communication cannot be overstated in the Deep Stone Crypt. Clear and concise callouts regarding buff status, requests for assistance, readiness of Nuclear Cores, active deposit bins, and disabled augments are fundamental. A fireteam that communicates effectively is far more likely to succeed than one that remains silent.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Several common mistakes can lead to wipes. Awareness is the first step to avoidance:
- Operator with a Core: A frequent and fatal error. The Operator's primary function is to free others; if they are detained with a core, the run is often over.
- Suppressor Stunning Timing: Stunning Taniks too early (before core runners are ready or an Operator can free a detained player) or too late can disrupt the flow and potentially cause a wipe if the Operator's buff is deactivated.
- Radiation Negligence: Attempting to carry a Nuclear Core with high (9+) stacks of Radiation is a recipe for disaster. Players must be diligent about passing the core to a teammate before succumbing to the radiation.
- Ignoring Disabled Augments: When an augment is disabled, the player holding it must promptly announce it and head to an augment terminal to allow a teammate to pick up the role.
- DPS Zone Danger: The swirling debris field during Taniks's damage phase is lethal. Players must navigate carefully to enter the safe zone between the inner and outer rings.
Advanced Strategy: The Four-Core Method
Once a team gains familiarity with the encounter, a more aggressive and efficient strategy known as the "four-core" or "four-bomb" method can be employed. This involves destroying all four of Taniks's thrusters simultaneously, causing four Nuclear Cores to drop. Four designated players then pick up these cores. The team identifies which of the three main arena sections Taniks is not located in. The four cores are then deposited in the bins within those two unoccupied sections (two cores per section).
This strategy, when executed correctly, allows the team to deposit all four required cores in a single cycle, bypassing an entire round of mechanics and proceeding directly to the damage phase much faster. The Scanner's role in calling out specific bins becomes less critical if this "opposite side" deposit rule is followed. This approach trades increased initial coordination for a significantly quicker overall encounter, ideal for farming.
When utilizing a Taniks checkpoint for farming, an established community practice for reloading it efficiently involves one fireteam member holding the checkpoint on an alternate character. The rest of the team joins this character. The checkpoint holder then switches to their primary farming character and rejoins the fireteam, allowing for consistent and rapid restarts of the final encounter.
Managing RNG Expectations
The pursuit of raid exotics like Eyes of Tomorrow is, at its heart, a dance with Random Number Generation (RNG). This means that the number of clears required to obtain the weapon can vary wildly from one Guardian to another. Some fortunate players might see Eyes of Tomorrow drop on their very first Taniks defeat, while for others, it may take dozens—even 30, 40, 50, or more—completions. Player anecdotes are filled with stories of quick acquisitions and lengthy, frustrating grinds, even after the improvements to Bad Luck Protection.
The nature of RNG in Destiny 2 often evokes strong reactions. The frustration of repeated unsuccessful attempts is a common sentiment within the community. However, the eventual acquisition of a long-sought rare item is also a source of significant satisfaction and is considered by many to be a core part of the Destiny experience. While much of Destiny 2's loot ecosystem has shifted towards more deterministic paths like weapon crafting and engram focusing, raid exotics often remain one of the last bastions of this pure, sometimes exhilarating, sometimes maddening, RNG.
This can make the grind feel particularly acute when it's the one item a player desires that can't be directly earned through a guaranteed quest or currency after a certain point (outside of the eventual BLP cap).
To navigate this, it can be helpful to focus on aspects beyond just the drop. The shared experience of tackling a challenging raid with friends, the camaraderie, the memorable moments (both triumphant and comical), and the gradual mastery of the encounter are all valuable parts of the journey. Sharing stories of the grind, both good and bad, is a common way players cope and find solidarity.
If the process becomes overly frustrating, taking a break is always a sound strategy. Burnout can diminish the enjoyment of the game, and Taniks and the Deep Stone Crypt will still be there upon return. Managing expectations, celebrating small victories, and remembering that many others share the same RNG rollercoaster can make the quest for Eyes of Tomorrow a more endurable, and ultimately rewarding, adventure.
Quick Reference Summary
For Guardians eager to add Eyes of Tomorrow to their collection, here is the super-condensed checklist for the most effective approach:
- Ensure ownership of the Beyond Light expansion is secured.
- The golden opportunity: Wait for Deep Stone Crypt to be the featured weekly raid. This allows for unlimited farming of Taniks for the exotic.
- If DSC is not featured, defeat Taniks once per character class (Titan, Hunter, Warlock) each week for a total of three chances.
- Actively complete the Deep Stone Crypt Triumphs that specifically state they boost the Eyes of Tomorrow drop rate.
- Utilize a Taniks Checkpoint (CP) if available through LFG or friends to bypass earlier raid encounters and farm the boss directly.
- Communication with the fireteam is critical for smooth execution of mechanics.
- Maintain patience. RNG plays a significant role, but the Bad Luck Protection system is in place to eventually aid in acquisition.
Master the Taniks Encounter
- Scanner identifies the correct deposit bins.
- Operator frees detained teammates and interacts with panels.
- Suppressor stuns Taniks to allow core deposits.
- The team deposits four Nuclear Cores, then damages Taniks.
With these strategies and a bit of perseverance, Eyes of Tomorrow and its formidable rocket salvos can be a prized possession. Good luck, and may the explosions be ever in your favor!