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An astronaut hand in Destiny 2 The Final Shape.
Screenshot by Pro Game Guides

Destiny 2 The Final Shape Exegesis Puzzles & Boss Guide

Motally crazy! [EXTREMELY LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER SOUND]

Having some trouble with the fonts and motes puzzles in the Exegesis mission of The Final Shape? For long-time players, this one might seem a breeze, but for anyone who hasn't played the Prophecy dungeon, not a whole lot gets explained.

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Here we'll go through the basics of what you need to do to beat the puzzles, and the mechanic for the boss fight too.

How to do the Mote puzzle in The Final Shape

The basic principles of mote puzzles involve two forms of motes and two forms of fonts. There are dark and light motes, and then there are dark and light fonts. As you might expect, your aim is to get the matching motes into the matching fonts, but as you might expect, there's a bit more to it than that.

In order to get motes to drop, you'll need to kill an 'Eater of Light and Darkness', which are Hive Knights that will be scattered around any area in which you need motes. Don't worry about running out by the way, as they respawn infinitely until the puzzle is completed.

1A - Light Font

1B - Dark Font

  • An Eater of Light and Dark in Destiny 2 The Final Shape.
  • Dark and Light fonts in Destiny 2 The Final Shape.

Killing these guys will cause them to drop dark motes, which you'll of course take to the darkness fonts. How do you get 'em to drop light motes then? Well, that involves the use of a Relic Shield, which can be wielded as both a tool of defense and a weapon.

A relic shield in Destiny 2.
Screenshot by Pro Game Guides

Killing an Eater of Light and Dark with one of these (you can use your standard melee button to attack whilst wielding it, (R1 on Controller and C on K+M) will cause them to drop light motes instead of dark ones, but this shield will have another use before too long that we'll discuss later. Eventually, you'll come across a room with four fonts, with two of each type. This puzzle has a little bit more to it than any others before it, and it certainly caught me off guard as I mashed my way through the mission on autopilot.

You'll of course need motes, but the relic shield won't be available as soon as you go in, meaning you've got to find it first. In order to do so, head left as you head in. You'll see a light mote on the ground and a path ahead. You're looking for a small, brightly lit hole in the wall which you'll want to jump up to, and grab the crystalline key. You'll need to take that key back the way you came, and over to a door that will be locked for you. Inside that locked room is the shield you'll need to complete the puzzle.

  • Directions to the Crystal Key in Destiny 2.
  • More directions to the Crystal Key in Destiny 2.
  • Directions to both the keyhole and the shield in Destiny 2.

Now with the shield in hand, you can go about solving the puzzle. As mentioned earlier, there are four total fonts to sort out here, with two light and two dark. One of each is on a wall, and one of each is on the floor, and this time we have to make sure we're doing it in the correct order.

The order is as follows -

Light Wall

Dark Floor

Light Floor

Dark Wall

  • One of four fonts for the puzzle in Destiny 2.
  • One of four fonts for the puzzle in Destiny 2.
  • One of four fonts for the puzzle in Destiny 2.
  • One of four fonts for the puzzle in Destiny 2.

After completing this puzzle and moving on through, you'll be confronted with a boss who has a special mechanic too. We're mentioning it here because it has more to do with that shield of yours, but this one is even less complicated.

How to Defeat Pillar of Silence in The Final Shape

The Pillar of Silence, much like any Hive Ogre, is a major annoyance. Be careful not to get caught in his crosshairs for too long, and don't get swamped by mobs. Other than that, dealing with him your first time won't even be the full fight, it's just an introduction to his vulnerability mechanic.

The Pillar of Silence in Destiny 2.
Screenshot by Pro Game Guides

What you'll want to do is, whilst holding the shield, go and melee a bunch of enemies. Killing enemies whilst holding the shield will allow it to (very quickly) charge up a Super. When it's charged, run up to the big nasty git, and activate that shield Super. (Same as your regular super, L1+R1 on Controller, F on K+M.)This will cause him to drop his shield, and allow you to do damage. Don't waste all of your big stuff on him in this first encounter though, as he'll retreat before long and reset his health later on anyway.

Second Ogre fight in Destiny 2.
Screenshot by Pro Game Guides

In that second encounter, the boss fight proper, you'll have to deal with both the big guy, and some more fonts. Thankfully again, it's simple, as all you need to do is activate both the single light and single dark fonts, which will summon the ogre, and then it's a simple case of using the shield super to drop his shield again. You'll have access to a shield to get light motes, so just take a quick whiz around when you enter the arena.

And with him dealt with, the rest of the mission should be a nice breeze into a bit of a nostalgic area for any Veteran players out there, and a nice paracausal jaunt for those that aren't. If you've enjoyed this guide or found it helpful, check out our other Destiny content here at Pro Game Guides, like our breakdown of all the upcoming Exotic Class Item Perks, or if you're one unlucky player, we've got a Fix for the 3D Audio Bug.


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