Destiny 2's Haunted Forest: How To Escape The Pit And Grab Your Loot At The End

When your 15-minute run through the Haunted Forest event comes to an end during Destiny 2's Halloween-themed Festival of the Lost, you're greeted by as many as six loot chests that hold all their hard-earned winnings. But in addition to new rules with this Festival of the Lost that determine how you earn loot by completing the event, there's one last spooky scare up the Haunted Forest's sleeve. The stone bridge you cross to reach the chest gives out beneath your feet almost as soon as you touch it, tossing the Guardians into a frightening, blood-red pit below. Inside: an unkillable Hive Knight.

It's a frightening twist to the horror-themed activity. Instead of getting your loot, you get stuck with a huge, axe-wielding monster, like that moment in every slasher movie when the killer inevitably isn't actually dead, and gets in one final scare. The trouble with the pit, though, is that at first blush, it seems to rob you of everything you fought for in the Haunted Forest, and makes it seem like there's no way to reach the reward chests.

The good news is, even if you don't open the chest at the end of the Haunted Forest, you still get your winnings of Candy and Chocolate Strange Coins for the activity. They're automatically sent to the Postmaster, just like the stuff from chests in just about any other activity. Once you've earned rewards in the Haunted Forest, they're yours, no matter what condition you're left in by the Invincible Nightmare.

However, with the new Cipher Decoder system, you have to earn keys to open the other chests you see at the end--as many as five of them, depending on how many Haunted Forest branches you managed to clear. That means you actually need to choose to open the chests if you want the rewards inside, which include legendary gear drops and possible random roll versions of previous Festival of the Lost weapon rewards, Horror Story and Braytech Werewolf. So if you fall into the pit, you might think you're out of luck when trying to open the Cipher Decoder chests.

Just because you fall into the Nightmare's pit doesn't mean you're stuck there, though. There's actually a secret escape out of the pit on one of the walls. Look up about midway to one side of the pit and you'll see a small indentation that marks a hole you players can leap through. It takes you out of the pit and onto the side of the bridge under which it hides. Following the narrow pathway from there allows you to climb back up onto the far side of the bridge and claim your loot chest, while also giving you a second to let your heart stop pounding.

It's also possible to avoid falling into the pit altogether, if you're quick. When the stones of the walkway give out beneath Guardians as they cross, they're pulled down thanks to a sort of suction, but it's possible to jump free with the right timing (or, at least, with the triple jump of the Hunter class). You can also stick to the side edges of the bridge and potentially avoid any tricky cobblestones altogether. Using a sword lunge while in the air can help you cross the bridge more quickly with less time risking a fall, as well.

But if you do fall into the pit, the easiest way to get out is to die. You'll respawn back on the bridge, giving you a chance to get at those Cipher Decoder chests. Make sure you try to open them whenever possible, as the chests are tied to Triumphs that reward you with this year's Festival of the Lost-themed rewards. You can earn Cipher Decoders by completing Strikes, Crucible matches, and Gambit matches while wearing a Festival mask. Make sure you complete Eva's quest at the start of the Festival to begin collecting Cipher Decoders, though; it's best to makes sure you have five at the start of any Haunted Forest run, in order to make the most of it.