Destiny 2 Headlong Lightfall mission guide and Vex puzzle solutions

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The Destiny 2 Lightfall campaign mission, Headlong, can be brutal on Legendary

Destiny 2 Lightfall Headlong campaign mission Vex minotaur boss in training course
(Image credit: Bungie)

The Destiny 2 Headlong mission towards the end of the Lightfall campaign is incredibly tough on Legendary difficulty as you must use Strand to complete a training course and defeat a Vex boss. However, before you even get to the course in Headlong, you need to solve three Vex lock puzzles that get you access to the VexNet. While puzzles like this are a rarity in Destiny 2 campaign missions, it's the brutal boss fight at the end that makes it one of the toughest Destiny 2 Lightfall missions on Legendary. Here’s my guide on getting through the Destiny 2 Lightfall Headlong mission, including solutions for the three Vex barrier puzzles.

Destiny 2 Lightfall Headlong mission walkthrough

Destiny 2 Lightfall Headlong campaign mission vex barrier puzzle with harpies

(Image credit: Bungie)

Headlong is one of the later Destiny 2 Lightfall campaign missions and sees you complete your Strand training. You’ll do this by destroying a lot of Vex with Strand, encountering new lock puzzles along the way that link to barriers blocking your path. To unlock any of these barriers, you need to read the lock code made up of glowing or dim lights above the barrier from left to right, and then kill a matching combination of glowing Cation Harpies and regular Anion Harpies. Killing the Harpies in the wrong order causes them all to respawn, resetting the puzzle lock.

After fighting through the Vex and solving their barrier puzzles, you’ll eventually end up in the VexNet training course which will test your ability to grapple around and use Strand destructively on waves of Vex – a challenging fight awaits at the end, so we have some tips further down.

Destiny 2 Headlong Vex lock puzzle 1

Destiny 2 Lightfall Headlong campaign mission vex puzzle 1 in Liming Harbor

(Image credit: Bungie)

You’ll encounter the first Destiny 2 Headlong Vex lock puzzle shortly after arriving at Liming Harbor. To bring down this barrier, you need to destroy the following Harpies in this order:

  1. Cation Harpy
  2. Anion Harpy
  3. Cation Harpy

Destiny 2 Headlong Vex lock puzzle 2

Destiny 2 Lightfall Headlong campaign mission vex puzzle 2 in Liming Harbor

(Image credit: Bungie)

The second Destiny 2 Headlong Vex lock puzzle lock comes after fighting Vex outside the Radiosonde building. For this barrier, destroy these Harpies in this order:

  • Cation Harpy
  • Cation Harpy
  • Cation Harpy

Destiny 2 Headlong Vex lock puzzle 3

Destiny 2 Lightfall Headlong campaign mission vex puzzle 3 in Radiosonde

(Image credit: Bungie)

You’ll reach the third and final Destiny 2 Headlong Vex lock puzzle lock a little way into the Radiosonde building. To unlock the way into the VexNet for Osiris’s training program, destroy this combination of Harpies:

  • Cation Harpy
  • Anion Harpy
  • Cation Harpy
  • Anion Harpy
  • Cation Harpy

Destiny 2 Headlong Osiris’s Training Program

Destiny 2 Lightfall Headlong campaign mission final encounter in Vex network

(Image credit: Bungie)

For the final part of the Destiny 2 Lightfall Headlong mission, you’ll complete a Strand training course for Osiris’s final test – although be aware that you won’t unlock Destiny 2 Strand until after the campaign. At first, it’s quite easy as you just need to use the Strand grapple to zip across the VexNet and kill some Goblins. Eventually you’ll reach a circular arena with a red, rotating Vex laser grid and lots of Vex to fight over several waves. Here are some tips for getting through this tricky encounter:

  • Make sure your Power Level is close to the recommended level of 1740. If it’s any lower than 1730, you might find this a bit of a struggle, so make sure you’ve got your best gear.
  • There’s no time limit so take your time to minimize deaths. Dying resets you to the beginning of the assault course, so you’ll have to complete the grappling sections every time before you can get back into the arena.
  • Use a ranged weapon to take out the Hobgoblins as soon as they spawn. They’re hard to deal with when other Vex enemies are in the way, so deal with them early.
  • Don’t waste your Super on the first wave of Vex. Later waves feature strong Minotaurs, a Wyvern, and the final boss – a massive Minotaur – so save your Super for tougher Vex.
  • Never forget about the rotating laser grid. It moves surprisingly quickly and will kill you if it catches you out. Your Strand grapple is a great way of quickly getting ahead of it.
Will Sawyer
Will Sawyer
Guides Editor, GamesRadar+

Will Sawyer is a Guides Editor at GamesRadar+ with over five years of experience in writing online guides, news, and features, and has a BA (Hons) in Journalism. Starting as a freelancer, Will contributed to startmenu and Game Rant before joining the GamesRadar+ team in August 2021. Since then, he has written hundreds of guides about a huge range of games, with shooters and action games being his areas of expertise. Outside of writing about games, Will hops between multiplayer shooters with friends, such as Darktide and Helldivers 2, and delves into whatever has been on his backlog for far too long. He also tries to get through his never-ending Warhammer pile of shame of grey Tyranids, Aeldari, and Chaos Space Marines.