Sneaky theory is one of the many King’s Fall Raid Challenges in Destiny 2.
Appearing during the Warpriest encounter – which is the raid’s first full boss – during certain weeks, the optional challenge complicates what can be a tricky encounter on its own.
This page explains the Sneaky Theory Requirementsplus tips on how to complete the challenge – and get bonus rewards for your trouble.
On this page:
What is Sneaky Stealing in Destiny 2?
The conditions of the Devious Thievery Raid Challenge are simple. Whenever a squad member collects the Brand Claimer orb, they must steal the Aura of the Initiate within five seconds.
It doesn’t matter when the Blightguard holding the Brand Claimer is killed, only when the orb is picked up.
This must happen every time the Brand Claimer is picked up, and a single failure means the challenge failed.
The season of plunder has arrived! New additions include the Sails of the Shipstealer quest, Treasure Coordinates and Map Fragments, Cryptic Quatrains, and Quicksilver Storm. Meanwhile, there’s the arrival of King’s Fall and Devious Theory, weapons such as Doom of Chelchis and Touch of Malice, as well as the return of Allied Demand in Iron Banner this season. Familiarize yourself with our leveling guide before tackling the Duality dungeon and learn how to collect Calus Bobblehead locations, Calus Automaton locations, and find all Opulent Key chests. For The Witch Queen, find out how to get Exotics including Dead Messenger and Parasite.
Tips for completing Devious Thievery in Destiny 2
The Warpriest encounter in Destiny 2 is primarily a test of your team’s ability to deal damage to the boss. Once all three plates are activated, a glowing sphere called the Aura of the Initiate forms, and your party must fire from within it to damage the Warpriest.
The Aura has a countdown timer which is reset by a member of your squad killing a Blightguard, picking up the Brand Claimer orb dropped by that Knight, and using it to take the Initiate’s Aura.
This happens twice in each damage phase. This is where the five-second time limit to take the Aura comes into play.
Blightguards will spawn near the first two activated plates, and the challenge timer will not start until the Brand Claimer is collected.
With this in mind, there are two good strategies for accomplishing rapid aura swapping:
- First, you can make the person with the Initiate Aura move to the Brand Claimer orb, bringing the damage-dealing team with them. This allows the person picking up the Brand Claimer to wait until the last possible second to pick it up, and then immediately steal the Aura.
- The second option is to always deal damage to the boss from the center of the room and have players chasing Blightguards lure them as close to the center as possible before killing them. Then, wait for the person with the aura to approach five seconds remaining on their timer, grab the Brand Claimer, and sprint to pick up the aura.
Experiment with which approach works best for your team, and rising to the challenge – and earning the loot – should be within reach.
If you need help elsewhere in the raid, check out our complete King’s Fall guide.
