Destiny 2 Onslaught guide for Monument of Triumph

Onslaught is tower defense wearing a Guardian costume. You protect the ADU (Automated Defense Unit) through 30 waves of increasingly unpleasant enemies while spending Scrap on turrets, decoys, and tripwires between rounds. The best Onslaught defense strategy has not changed at its core since Into the Light: the Monument of Triumph rebalance just made the consequences of a bad one more permanent.

The Monument of Triumph update, which launched June 9, 2026, stripped revive tokens out of Onslaught entirely. More Scrap drops now compensate, but the activity's difficulty escalation returned with it. You build up defenses or you go back to orbit. That is the full negotiation.

Monument of Triumph change: Revive tokens removed. Scrap drop rate increased. Escalating difficulty restored. A handful of exclusive weapons are locked behind Onslaught only.

How to Survive Onslaught With No Revives

The Destiny 2 no revive Onslaught format is not new: it existed in Legend mode before. Now it is the default for the full run. The rule is simple: your fireteam wipes, your run ends. So stop playing like it is a casual strike.

Stay Alive, Obviously

• Do not overextend. The ADU dying ends the run faster than your death. Someone must always be near it.
• Use cover. Onslaught maps have it. Use it. Dying in the open is a personal failure.
• Batteries heal the ADU. Enemies drop them. Throw them at the unit even when it is at full health: surplus batteries grant a brief bonus Scrap window.
• Darkness zones activate after wave 20. Before that, respawns work. After that, your teammates have to reach you. After a full wipe, no one is reaching anyone.

Encounter Types to Know

• Wave 6 of each set: Spark Encounter: Clear rooms, pick up the Spark buff, sprint to deposit it. One person runs, the rest hold the ADU.
• Wave 10 of each set: Boss Encounter: Endless spawns until the boss dies. Burn it fast. Side objectives in the arena can summon extra turrets if completed.
• Augment Waves: Replace a standard wave with a mini-objective: destroy a shielded Ogre, disarm bombs, or kill Skybombers before they snipe your ADU from across the map.
• Heatwave (Secret Encounter): Appears randomly after a Boss wave. Kill Tormentors before the timer expires. Rewards are worth it. Failing is not fatal to the run, just to your pride.

Best Onslaught Defense Strategy

Three defense types exist. Two matter. The Onslaught ADU defense guide answer is always the same: Turrets first, Decoys second, tripwires never.

Placement Logic

Turrets belong at choke points that cover multiple approach vectors simultaneously. The ADU relocates every ten waves: rebuild your layout when it does, do not leave orphaned turrets staring at a wall. Batteries can now repair both the ADU and your active defenses, so route them to whichever is lower rather than defaulting to the ADU every time.

Spend debate: Three Tier-1 turrets spread wide, or one Tier-3 in the best lane? Monument of Triumph's higher Scrap drop rate leans toward upgrading a single turret to Tier 2 early, then spreading. Do not max a turret to Tier 3 in the first ten waves unless you have Scrap to spare.

Onslaught Scrap Farming in Monument of Triumph

Onslaught scrap farming Destiny 2 is less of a grind now than it was pre-Monument. Bungie increased drop rates across the board when they removed revive tokens, because they are aware that a defense mode with no currency is just a shooting gallery. Kill everything. Kill it fast. Higher kill speed means more Scrap per wave.

• Bonus objectives during Augment waves drop extra Scrap when completed: do not ignore them to stay near the ADU if your team can cover both.
• Throwing batteries at a full-health ADU generates a brief Scrap bonus. Keep that habit.
• Scrap is fireteam-earned but individually spent. Communicate before you both buy a turret in the same spot.
• Boss Encounter side objectives can spawn additional turrets at no Scrap cost: completing them is free defense.

The best weapons for Onslaught Monument of Triumph are the ones that handle ad clear efficiently and contribute meaningful boss damage during wave 10 encounters. Monument of Triumph also added exclusive weapons available only through Onslaught, making Scrap farming and run completion doubly relevant.

Weapon perks that generate heavy ammo on kill or provide Scavenger bonuses keep the Boss Encounters from becoming dry fires. Anything with Demolitionist feeds grenade cooldowns, which feeds ability uptime, which feeds the ad clear that feeds your Scrap income. The whole thing is a cycle. Break it and you notice immediately.

Practical Tips Nobody Will Read Until Wave 28

• The ADU moves after every ten waves. Stop decorating your old position like it still matters.
• Tormentors in Onslaught are designed to make you chase them. Do not chase them. Finish the wave, then deal with them. Unless they are hitting the ADU. Then deal with them immediately.
• Spark Encounter portal runs should be split: one person carries the Spark, two hold the ADU. If your team sends all three into the portal, you deserve what happens next.
• Decoys at max rank become Shaxx holograms. This is not flavor text. They absorb substantial fire and keep enemy attention off the ADU while you reload.
• Monument of Triumph Onslaught wave survival tips: the escalating difficulty curve past wave 20 is steep. Build before you need to, not after you notice the ADU is at 30%.