Winter's Run is a Strike in Destiny and takes place in Ishtar Sink, Venus.
Objectives
The fireteam begin at the spawn point for Patrol and must travel to Winter's Lair. Soon upon entering, you will find the Fallen fighting off Vex enemies in the tunnels. Kill all of the enemies as you press through the tunnels. The fireteam will then arrive at a large chasm, where more fighting between the Vex and Fallen is taking place. Eliminating the enemies in this area triggers the next objective.
To proceed, the squad need to hack the generator, and defend your Ghost as it cracks the code. Three waves of Vex will spawn. The first wave consists of mostly Goblins and Axis Minotaurs. The second wave spawns a number of Axis Hobogoblins both on the ledge above where most enemies spawn, and in the pit itself. It is possible to take out the cliff Axis Hobogoblins as they spawn by running into the tunnel in which they spawn, preferrably taking them out with a Super attack. The third wave of enemies spawns two Axis Hydras and a number of Harpies. After this wave is completed, the mission can proceed.
As the team walk outside, the Fallen have left four Pikes lying here. Taking them is a good idea to quickly traverse the landscape, especially if you are playing with the Arc Burn Modifier. Hobogoblins, Goblins, Harpies, and Minotaurs are in the first clearing, but none of them are Majors or Ultras. The second clearing poses a tougher threat in two Axis Hydras and a number of Goblins and Hobogoblins somewhat hidden above on a cliff. The fireteam must abandon their Pikes here, as they cannot traverse the ledge with them.
In the large clearing, the last few Vex enemies are here, fighting Fallen as well. Fallen enemies largely consist of Reaver Captains, Dregs, and Vandal snipers. When you kill the enemies, both Fallen and Vex, that are initially fighting, a few waves consisting of Vandal Snipers, Captains, and Shock Dagger Dregs, the team can proceed to kill Aksor, the main target. To begin the fight, a Guardian must stand in front of the prison.
Aksor is a much larger Captain, and sports a large Shrapnel Launcher. What's more, standing close to him will make him execute a ground pound melee attack, which can easily kill any Guardians too close. Endless waves of enemies will spawn. Throughout the fight, Shanks accompanied by a High Servitor will spawn, and will respawn if all enemies in that waver are killed. As you damage Aksor, after reducing his health to about 50% (Needs Verification), Stealth Vandals and Vandal Snipers will spawn. Focusing on Aksor is the best plan of action, but killing any Fallen that interfere is essential. It is possible, if two players have sniper rifles and enough ammo, to "stagger-lock" Aksor with continuous alternative headshots while a third player keeps the snipers from harm from the Fallen swarm. When the Archon Priest finally falls, the Strike will be complete.
Tactics
- Aksor can be stun-locked if the player has a high impact weapon, such as The Supremacy or the Ice Breaker and hits Aksor in his head every few seconds after his stun animation is done. Use this to allow teammates to put in as much damage as possible while he is stunned.
- If you can get to a high spot that doesn't spawn many enemies then his long and short range attacks won't be able to hit you. If you used a sniper rifle or a fusion rifle, you will be able to cause the most damage.