Exclusion Zone | Mars - Main Story Destiny Guide
Last update: 11 May 2016
Recommended level: 15 lvl (Normal)/18 lvl (Hard)
Team: 1-3 players
You start the first mission o Mars in the sandy location of The Barrens, which is a Darkness Zone in its entirety. The speeder is unavailable, temporarily, which is why you need to reach the first destination point on foot. Enter the bunker, open the locked door and follow the corridor into the structure. After a short walk, you get into a small hangar. Activate the console here and look at the gate behind the computer. In several moments it opens and you will face a new faction- Cabal.
Repel Cabal assault
The units of the Cabal that you see at the entrance are Legionary and Phalanx. The former are relatively tough and they use automatic rifles. The Phalanx play the role of "tanks", i.e. the units that take on the majority of damage. They have huge shields that cover them completely and short distance machine guns. Additionally, the majority of the Cabal units have jetpacks that allow them to take quite high jumps, around the battlefield. First, eliminate the Legionary and then, focus on the tougher Phalanx. You cannot wound them by firing at the shields, which is when aim at the hand or at the weapon that they stick out from behind the shield. The impact knocks them off balance, for a moment, which gets you time to fire at the head. After you defeat the first group, there appears an enemy ship here, which deploys another group with several Legionaries and a Centurion. The latter is the counterpart of the Captain from The Fallen. It attacks with explosive projectiles, has a regenerating shield and a bit more health.
Find the Gate
After you have dealt with the welcoming committee, summon the speeder and head towards the next destination in the Giant's Pass. This is a Darkness Zone so, keep an eye on your health. Keep fighting your way through the Legionary and Phalanx coming from everywhere, up until you reach the marked console. Reload your weapon, regenerate your health and use the Ghost to activate the computer. This will summon another enemy ship. Hide in the nearby bunker and wait for the turret fire to end. When the ship flies away, resurface and start eliminating the new group of Legionary, Phalanx and a new unit - Psion. To some extent, they resemble Dregs of The Fallen and they are much less resistant to damage, than the other Cabal units. However, there are more agile and faster than the other and, apart from that, they have a special attack that fires a conical shockwave towards you. The range of this attack is short but, it deals quite a lot of damage. That is why it is best to deal with them at an appropriate distance.
Once you clear the area of the regular enemies, turn your attention to the current mission objective - Bracus Tho'ourg. It is a miniboss, has a grenade launcher of high firing rate a regenerating shield and quite a lot of health. However, he does not pose too much of a challenge and, after he dies, you receive the last mission objective. Jump onto the speeder and head towards the next location - the Valley of the Kings.
Approach the fortress gate and deal with the Phalanx at the entrance. Then, ignore the opponents on the walls, climb onto the hill to the left of the gate and run up to the console with the hologram. Have Ghost scan it, which results in ending the mission and returning to the orbit.
Reward: Sparrow Upgrade, +4000 XP (Normal)/+4800 XP (Hard)