Best Loadout for The Scarlet Keep Grandmaster Nightfall

Last Updated on May 17, 2022

Grandmaster Nightfall is the end-game activity in Destiny 2, arguably more challenging than the Raids. Typically nightfalls are forgiving; given you have the right loadout, you can breeze through any content in the game. But Grandmaster Nightfalls require you to have the best loadout, you can’t complete them without having the right synergy, match-game weapons, and character builds. Also, not to forget, you get the best loot available in Destiny 2 in GM nightfalls.

The Scarlet Keep is one of the hardest Grandmaster Nightfall and probably the longest. All the aspects of this nightfall are easy and can be taken care of with proper decision making and load-outs. However, the boss fight is something else, you have to be coordinated with each other, or you’ll be melted due to the active arc acute burn modifier. Also, every time you get wiped you’ll be sent back to the Orbit.


The Scarlet Keep GM Information

  • Shields: Solar and Arc
  • Champions: Overload and Barriers
  • Acute Arc Burn (+25% Arc damage dealt and +50% Arc damage received.)
  • Palindrome as Reward until Season 16 Ends.

The Palindrome is leaving the loot pool in Season 17, so it is recommended that you farm the frick out of this nightfall. If you cannot coordinate with others, you can farm the standard NF and get the weapon. It won’t have the adept mod slot that’s the only issue. Not to worry, the non-adept variant of the weapon is also excellent in PvP.


Recommended Weapon Loadout

  • Primary Weapon: Arbalest or Any Pulse Rifle (for Overload Champions).
  • Energy Weapon: Any Arc Hand Cannon or Arc Weapon to take down Knight Shields.
  • Heavy Weapon: Reed’s Regret or Gjallarhorn Rocket Launcher. Other teammates can use other legendary rockets or any other linear fusion rifle.

At least two of the guardians in your team should have an anti-barrier weapon, or you’ll have a tough time taking down the barrier champions. There are plenty of them in this GM Nightfall.

Also, make sure to have at least two Arc weapons in your team; plenty of Arc knights will give you a tough time.


Best Loadout forThe Scarlet Keep Grandmaster Nightfall

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Loadout for Hunter

  • Super: Shadowshow Moebius Quiver
  • Ability: Gambler’s Dodge
  • Grenade: Supressor Grenade
  • Aspect #1: Trapper’s Ambush
  • Aspect #2: Vanishing Step
  • Exotic Armor: Omniculous or The Sixth Coyote.

Now let’s talk about Fragments:

Fragment #1: Echo of Persistence (Void Buffs applied to you have increased duration). This will come in handy while escaping from death or the invisibility granted from performing finisher on enemies.

Fragment #2: Echo of Obscurity (Finisher Final blows grant invisibility, also gives +10 Recovery). This is a lifesaver for anyone running Lucent Finisher.

Fragment #3: Echo of Remnants (Your lingering grenade effects have increased duration). You can switch this with any fragment of your choice.

Mod Configuration: Lucent Finisher, Utility Kickstart, Reaping Wellmaker, Elemental Ordnance, and Bountiful Wells. Unstoppable Handcannon on Piercing Bow depending on which enemy type you will handle.

Omniculuos is the best exotic right now for Hunter running Void 3.0. Those who don’t have it can use The Sixth Coyote for 2x Vanishing Step. Keep in mind that you can target farm this exotic; read our Lost Sectors Guide for more details.

I am sure most of the Hunters would straight away take Orpheus Rig while running this Nightfall. You will not need the third Quiver Shot as survivability is essential here.

That’s all for the Hunter build; let’s move to the next section.


Loadout for Titan

Update: I tested this build twice while farming for the Palindrome, and it turned out fine. With support from your fellow Hunter/Warlock, you’ll be able to breeze through.

Titans have two options to choose from depending on what they feel comfortable with. They can either go for the new Loreley Helmet Build that we’ve covered below or just go with the Meta Void 3.0 Build.

Survivability is always an issue with Titans, but if you play smart and your teammates offer you support at the right time, you won’t have any problem.

For Titans, the Loreley Splendor Helmet is excellent. The new Titan Exotic introduced with Witch Queen empowers the Solar subclass through Sunspots. Let’s dive into the complete build, including mods.

The exotic perk of the helmet is “Cauterizing Flame“, Your Sunspots heal you. When you are critically wounded with full class ability energy or when you cast Barricade, create a Sunspot are your location.

To make this build work, we only need a few things;

  • Code of the Siegebreaker (Solar Bottom Tree)
  • Armor Stat: 100 Discipline and 100 Resilience. For this build to excel, you need grenades and barricades up.
  • Loreley Splendor Exotic Helmet
  • Solar Weapon for Spawning wells. Ticuu’s Divination is an excellent option for GM Nightfalls. The Scarlet Keep has witches with Solar Shields.

Mod Configuration

  • Well of Life Mod (🔥Solar Element): Picking up a Solar Elemental well grants increased regeneration for a short period. This provides you with healing for 10 seconds.
  • Font of Might (Artifact Mod): Picking up an elemental well that matches your subclass energy type grants a temporary bonus to weapon damage. This mod will synergize with the solar weapon you’ll be using.
  • Ashes to Assets Mod (🔥Solar Element): Gain Bonus Super Energy on grenade kills.
  • Barrier or Champion Mod: Since we’re using Ticuu’s Divination.
  • Elemental Armaments: Combatants’ weapon final blows with a damage type that matches your subclass element have an escalating chance to spawn an elemental well.
  • Elemental Ordnance: Spawns elemental well on defeating enemies matching your subclass.
  • Seeking Wells (🔵Arc Element): Elemental wells will move towards you.
  • Utility Kickstart (❄Stasis Element): You gain ability energy when your class ability energy is fully expended.

If you don’t have a few mods mentioned above, your regen might not work as fast, but the build will still be strong.

What does this build do?

This build spawns a sunspot when you cast your barricade, and other sunspots are created wherever enemies are taken down. Your weapon damage, ability, and grenade regen are buffed whenever you pass through a sunspot. Thanks to Seeking Wells, any elemental wells you have created will move towards you. So you can sit at one spot and keep on mowing down enemies without getting killed.

The most fun thing about his build is you can keep on throwing grenades and lighting other enemies. At one point the whole enemy room was lit up due to the sunspots. This happened while I was testing this build in the Legendary Witch Queen campaign.


Loadout for Warlock

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Warlocks have three options: Void 3.0 Build, Shadebinder Stasis build, or Pheonix Protocol Build. I like the Shadbinder build mostly due to the turret that keeps on freezing the enemies. This comes in handy during the boss fight.

Click here to read about the Void 3.0 Build.

Here’s the details of the Shadebinder Warlock Build

  • Super: Winter’s Wrath
  • Ability: Healing Rift
  • Melee: Penumbral Blast
  • Grenade: Coldsnap Grenade
  • Exotic Armor: Osmiomancy Gloves. Gain additional Coldsnap grenade.
  • Aspect #1: Bleak Watcher (Turns your grenade into a stasis turret, really useful for freezing enemies rushing toward you).
  • Aspect #2: Glacial Harvest (Freezing targets create stasis shards around the frozen targets).

Now let’s talk about Fragments:

Fragment #1: Whisper of Chains (You take reduced damage when you are near frozen targets or a friendly stasis crystal).

Fragment #2: Whisper of Torment (Gain grenade energy each time you take damage from targets)

Fragment #3: Whisper of Conduction (Nearby Stasis Shards will come towards you). It also increases Resilience and Intellect (+10).

Fragment #4: Whisper of Rime (Collecting Stasis Shards will grant overshield. This overshield will increase and refresh as you collect more shards).

Mod Configuration: Elemental Shards, Elemental Charge, 2x Firepower. Unstoppable Handcannon on Piercing Bow depending on which enemy type you will handle.


This GM Nightfall is worth farming just for the Palindrome Hand Cannon. If it weren’t for the reward, I wouldn’t even touch this irritating nightfall, it’s too lengthy, and the level cap of 1575 makes it worse.

What do you guys think about the builds?

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Written by Vikas

Hey, I am Vikas. I've had a longstanding passion for computing and gaming for over a decade now. With a computer science degree under my belt sparking my initial interest in the industry from a young age, you'll often find me immersed for hours in the latest PC titles, especially enjoying multiplayer online games, while also enjoying sharing my insights and reviews. My work has been featured on IGN, Kotaku, MSN and Forbes to name a few. In my spare time, I read books and play with my cats. You can read more about me here. My favorite games are Destiny 2, Warframe, COD Cold War, and Minecraft.

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