Hey Guardians! Even though Season of the Witch dropped way back in 2023, I still find myself queuing up for Altars of Summoning in 2026 whenever I need to farm high‑stat gear or just want that adrenaline‑fueled, wave‑based chaos. The activity’s core design has aged like a fine Tincture of Queensfoil—challenging, fast‑paced, and ridiculously rewarding if you know what you’re doing. Let me walk you through everything, from firing up that first ritual to scooping up the Eleatic Principle. Grab your best fireteam, stack some Deck of Whispers cards, and let’s make Eris Morn proud.

First things first—you can’t just stroll into the Altars. You need to have wrapped up the opening quests of the Season of the Witch storyline, beginning with “Toil and Trouble.” The real hand‑holding happens during “The Bladed Path” quest, which literally shows you the ropes. You’ll step onto a massive Savathûn Emblem, activate the Ritual of Induction, and get a taste of what’s coming. After that introductory dance, three distinct Altar locations unlock on the map: Altar of Flesh, Altar of Feracity, and Altar of Devotion. Oh, and don’t even think about joining if your Power Level is below 1760—the ads will swat you out of the air faster than a screeb on a bad day.

Now, the twist: you can’t just walk up and start blasting. Every Altar activation requires an Offering, and the type of Offering you spend dictates how hard the encounter hits. Feeble Offerings give you a relatively chill experience—perfect for testing builds or carrying a newer friend. Robust Offerings dial up the enemy aggression, while Powerful Offerings turn the arena into an absolute sweatfest that demands proper teamwork and meta setups. You earn these Offerings from playlist activities, Savathûn’s Spire runs, and even from completing Altars themselves. It’s a beautiful feedback loop, really. Before you drop that Offering, I strongly recommend visiting the Athenaeum to tweak your Deck of Whispers loadout. Those five cards you bring into battle can grant everything from ability energy refunds to massive damage buffs, and they often make the difference between a clean clear and a wipe.

With that out of the way, let’s talk about what you’re actually going to be shooting at. As of 2026—yes, even after all the sandbox updates—the Altars still rotate through seven core encounters (with a couple more that pop up when you hear the telltale message, “Something strains the boundaries of the ritual…”). I’ve faced them all more times than I can count, so here’s the quickfire breakdown:

🎯 Taken: Axsaeniia – A beefy Tormentor with a shield that just won’t break. Don’t waste your ammo. Instead, hunt down the marked Taken Cabal anomalies and collect the Taken Essence they drop. A well‑aimed shot of that essence strips the shield instantly, opening a damage window. Rinse and repeat.

👑 Lucent Hive: Alak’nar – Wizards spawn, Wizards die, and they drop Tributes. You need to ferry those Tributes to the glowing Totem of Annihilation in the center while dodging the boss’s attacks. Enough deposits shatter the shield. The rhythm here is everything.

⚡ Lucent Hive: Ei Haaruz – Another Wizard‑heavy fight, but now Arc Crystals protect them. Melee the central crystal to grab the Crystalline Charge buff, then punch the smaller crystals around the arena. This removes immunities and eventually leaves the boss naked for damage.

🤖 Vex: Ternary Minds – Three Prevailing Mind Minotaurs spawn as bosses. Sounds simple, but watch out for Hobgoblins trying to sacrifice themselves to grant immunity shields. You either kill them before they succeed or quickly destroy the Lenses that appear if you’re a second too late. Multitasking is a must.

💜 Scorn: Void Keepers – Abominant enemies hide inside protective bubbles anchored by Void Crystals. Step into those bubbles (yes, face‑first into danger) to destroy the crystals, then melt the Abominations. A bigger, meaner version then shows up as the final boss.

🐗 Wrathborn: Talons of Xivu Arath – A duo of bosses, Ir Kaza and Ir Dollox. Only one is vulnerable at a time. Chip its health down until immunity kicks in, then stand on the green hive‑magic circle to invoke a shield swap. It keeps you on your toes and forces constant repositioning.

🔥 Wrathborn: Xivu’s Blood – Exclusive to the Altar of the Sword, this encounter throws Arok’tha at you. After a quick initial damage phase, the boss goes immune. Your job: carry Solar Crystals across the arena to marked spots while everything tries to murder you. Once the shields drop, unload everything you’ve got.

Each encounter tests different skills, so I love mixing up my loadout. A blinding grenade launcher works wonders for the Scorn and Wrathborn fights, while a solid Well of Radiance makes the Vex and Taken encounters almost trivial.

Let’s get to the part everyone really cares about—the loot. Completing an Altar spawns a chest whose quality scales with the difficulty tier you chose. Even Feeble completions feel worthwhile when you’re chasing roll after roll. Here’s what you can expect to rain from that chest:

• Opaque Cards – Fuel for your Deck of Whispers.

• Witch’s Engrams – Focus them at the Ritual Table for targeted gear drops.

• More Offerings – Feeble, Robust, or Powerful, ready to keep the cycle going.

• Ritual Table Reputation – Roughly 250 points per pop, speeding up those seasonal vendor resets.

• Veiled Tithes Gear – Armor pieces and weapons from the seasonal set, often dropping with high stat totals.

• Eleatic Principle Weapon – An absolute unit of a weapon from the seasonal arsenal, still relevant in many PvE builds even today.

If you’re going for the Haruspex Title, you’ll need to complete every Altar encounter at least once. The Tithebringer Triumph tracks your progress, and it’s still one of my proudest seals.

So whether you’re a returning veteran or a fresh Guardian wondering why everyone’s buzzing about Eris Morn’s ritual playground, trust me—Altars of Summoning remains a top‑tier activity in 2026. Farm those Powerful Offerings with a coordinated team, stack your Whisper cards wisely, and enjoy the shower of engrams. See you in the Altars!