With Maya Sundaresh being discovered as the face behind The Conductor, you must set out to put a stop to her experiments and create a dent in her plan.
This involves traveling to the core of Nessus, where you will face off against the Compelled Collective as you travel deeper within her facility.
Within this mission, you will discover many secrets and will eventually have to take down the Choral Mind that Maya has created.
- Mission Type: Echoes: Act III
- Mission Location: Planetary Core, Nessus (Unstable Centaur)
How To Get Encore Exotic Mission?
The Encore Exotic Mission becomes available once you start A Rising Chorus: Act III, which requires that you complete the mission in the first quest step.
Through the course of A Rising Chorus: Act III, you will be required to repeat this mission and its other variants to progress through the story and discover more secrets.
Encore Exotic Mission Walkthrough 
The mission places you outside of the facility where Maya is conducting her research and it will be a long way to go for you to get to the Choral Mind.
Once you are deployed, head for the large sphere next to a tree and use the tree to reach the top of the sphere and you will find a hole that will allow you to make your way inside.
Jumping down the hole will set you on what feels like an obstacle course that will lead you further to the core of Nessus.
You will have to cross gaps, jump from surface to surface, and make your way through this path to reach the next area.
The following is a quick walkthrough of the passage:
- Jump down the hole
- Jump across the large gap
- Walk across the ledge
- Jump down to the ledge
- Jump or take the lifts
- Continue making your way to the top using moving platforms and lifts
- Slide down and go through the crawlspace
- Take the huge jump across the chasm
- Take the lifts going up
- Enter the crawlspace
Once you have gone through the crawlspace where there is a red glow, you will eventually be in a room that has a path going to the left but you won’t take this.
Instead, turn to the right and you will find a small crawlspace with a purple glow coming from it and head down to reach the next area.
Once you are in the purple room, you will need to take the path to the right to continue with the objective. (There is a room to the left that activates the hub portal for secret chests)
Taking the right will allow you to continue towards the objective and you will need to clear out the Shadow Legion combatants in the area.
As you push forward, you will reach a room where there are Vex Modules that need to be placed in the correct nodes to open certain paths.
Vex Modules are used to unlock areas that you will need to cross and these need to be picked up and placed in nodes that bear the same color as them.
In this room that you are currently in, you will need to use the Vex Module to unlock the path to another Vex Module so that you may head back to activate a bridge. (Where you fought the Shadow Legion)
There will be 3 different Vex Confluxes that need to be activated before you can open up a path to the other Vex Module. (You will see 3 diamonds that need to be activated)
Each time you use a Vex Module, there will be a path that is unlocked to reach a Vex Conflux, and interacting with these confluxes takes out a diamond. (Passage opens when all 3 are down)
The following is a quick guide to solving this part of the mission:
- Insert Vex Module in nearby node and interact with conflux
- Take out Vex Module and head to the left
- Insert Vex Module in the node in the area and go into the room where Vex barrier is removed
- Interact with the conflux in the room and head back out to take Vex Module
- Jump down and fight your way through Vex enemies
- Cross the gap and insert the Vex Module in the node
- Enter the path opened by the node and defeat the Partition Module Bearer
- Take the Partition Module and insert it in the nearby yellow node (Opens a path nearby)
- Enter through the removed wall and take the Vex Module
- Insert the Vex Module in the previous room to remove Vex Barrier and interact with conflux
- Take Vex Module out and make your way back through the hole (created by partition)
- Make your way back to the first room where you go to the Vex Module in the first node
This will open up a path leading to another Vex Module, which you will use along with the one in the first room to get out and bring one back with you to where you fought the Shadow Legion.
Once you pick up this Vex Module, you will need to rush back while fighting your way through enemies as a large laser wall will “delete” the area.
The laser wall stops once you have reached the first room that you entered in the area and you can now use this to unlock the door to exit. (Grab the other Vex Module on your way out)
Head back to the area where you fought the Shadow Legion and install the Vex Module that you brought out with you to open up a path.
Continue making your way through the area by jumping down to the left and jumping across to the surface where you will find lifts.
Use the lifts to make your way up until you reach a lift that takes you into the next area, which will be swarming with Shadow Legion enemies.
You will need to fight the combatants in the area and eventually defeat an Independent Variable, who will drop the Vex Partition Module.
Make your way to where the Choral Mind appeared (Similar to a Vex Hydra) and you will find a node for the Vex Partition Module, which is used to unlock the path forward.
You can extract Radiolite Samples in this room and also interact with the Planetoid Assimilation Piston to cause more to spawn. (Take the lift going up once you are done)
The next room is considered another puzzle for Guardians to solve as this will allow them to continue making their way to the next area.
You will need to utilize Vex Access Modules (Blue Modules) to open portals that lead you to other areas until you reach the exit.
The following are steps that you can take to get past this area:
- Take the first Access Module by going to the right (found at the end)
- Place the Access Module in the blue node and enter the portal
- Defeat the Root Module Restriction (Hydra) and take the Access Module that it drops
- Head to the right side of the second room and use the Access Module to open a portal
- Go through the portal and take the first Access Module to bring it to the second room
- Use the Access Module on the blue node at the center at the end of the second room
- Take the Vex Connection Module (Green) and use it in the green node after entering the portal
- Head back into the portal to get the other Access Module and bring it through the portal
- Install the Access Module in the Access Node across the bridge created by the Connection Module
- Enter the portal to reach the next area
Going through the portal will take you to the Vex Jungle Construct, which is the start of multiple fights that you need to complete to reach the Choral Mind.
You will be facing off against 2 Tormentors where each of them will have different stages until you fight both of them at the end.
In each stage, you will have to weaken a Tormentor and pick up an Access Module from them to unlock the portal that leads to the next area.
The following are the stages you will need to fight your way through:
- Stasis Tormentor in large area (Easy fight since you have a lot of space to move and hide)
- Tormenter with a scythe in a long corridor (keep distance and utilize gaps and spaces)
- Stasis Tormentor in an arena-like area with a lot of Shadow Legion combatants (use cover to avoid damage)
- Tormentor with a scythe in the portal room (use portals to keep distance)
Entering the portal after the fight with the Tormentor in the portal room will bring you to the last stage, where both of them will be against you.
The good thing is, the damage you dealt to them remains and they will be at one bar of health left after your previous encounters.
You will need to defeat both of them before a reward chest appears and a portal opens, allowing you to make your way to the Choral Mind.
Focusing on a Tormentor that you can take out easily is ideal and this can be taking out the ranged one from afar or focusing on luring the melee one to easily take it out.
There are areas where you can take advantage of the Tormentors such as climbing above the portal in the area and shooting at them or hiding behind pillars or the upper area for cover.
Keep in mind that dying in the final area will cause you to start from the portal room, where you need to fight the melee Tormentor again before entering the final area.
Once you get through the portal, jump up to the right side in the next room and there will be a small tunnel that you can crouch to enter.
Continue making your way to the next large room where there will be an Uplifted Choral Hydra and an Uplifted Choral Cyclops can be found. (You can take them out from afar or at close range)
Continue making your way by going to the left, where you will find platforms that you can climb to reach the next area.
The area will be filled with enemies and this includes more Radiolite Samples (You can use your hammer here too to get more) but the large space makes it easy to take them out.
The other side of this large area will have a path that you can take, which will bring you to what Maya calls her garden, and at the end, you will find a portal.
Head into the portal and you will be brought to another portal, which will bring you to the Ishtar Research Facility where you will have to wait for a transmission to end.
This involves dialogue between Maya Sundaresh and Chioma Esi speaking about their wedding night, which reveals part of what Maya Sundaresh is doing.
It turns out, Maya is creating copies of Chioma Esi, which she finds, interrogates, and discards and this is believed to be one from her simulation as mentioned by Osiris.
After the transmission, head into the next area and this is where you will be fighting the Choral Mind but there are a few steps that you must take during the fight.
Once you jump in, you will find an Independent Variable that must be defeated for you to obtain a Vex Connection Module (Green) before you destroy the Boot Mode Restriction (Cyclops) enemies.
After defeating these combatants, you will need to place the Vex Module into the nearby green node to make a bridge with a conflux appear.
Another Independent Variable will appear and you must defeat them to get another Vex Connection module, which will be used on the platform nearby where they spawned.
Installing the Vex Connection Module in the node on the platform will cause a large platform to appear and you can find a red circle there.
Stand in the circle to create a breach in the Choral Mind’s defenses, which will make a Vex triangle appear, and shooting this will allow you to fight it.
Once you destroy the triangle, the shield protecting the Choral Mind will disappear and it will be vulnerable for a short time.
After a short duration, the Choral Mind will teleport closer and continue to attack you before it goes back to its original location where its shield is restored.
This requires you to repeat the process that you did earlier to breach its defenses, which will need to be repeated until the Choral Mind’s health is low.
Once the Choral Mind’s health is low, you will need to repeat the process of weakening it one more time but it will now be at the center of the area.
The area will be divided by laser walls, which require you to defeat the Independent Variable to obtain Vex Access Modules, which will be used to open portals.
These portals will take you to the other side of the laser wall, allowing you to finally defeat the Choral Mind after you have taken down its shield again.
Once the Choral Mind is destroyed, the mission comes to an end and you will be able to deposit Radiolite nearby as well as open up a chest for more rewards.
Encore Secret Chests
During the Encore Exotic Quest, there will be multiple secret chests that you may find, and accessing them is fairly easy as all you need to do is interact with confluxes that appear.
These chests will unlock various rewards and are a part of the Choir Quests from Banshee-44 that allow you to upgrade the Choir of Ones.
Encore Rewards
Completing Encore for the first time will allow you to obtain the Choir of One Exotic Assault Rifle, which makes repeating this mission even easier.
Repeating the Encore Exotic Mission after obtaining Choir Quests from Banshee-44 will allow you to unlock upgrades for the Choir of One.
The more Radiolite Samples that you collect during the mission, the better the rewards will be when you deposit them. (You can deposit more than once)
The rewards chest that you open will provide you with seasonal gear and the same goes for depositing your radiolite samples nearby. (Chance for Echo Engrams and Exotics possible)
Summary
Delving into the core of Nessus has revealed that Maya Sundaresh is more sinister than anyone thought and what she was doing to the copies of Chioma Esi is undoubtedly vile.
Completing the Encore Exotic Mission is essential for several steps in Echoes Act III as well as A Rising Chorus Act III for those who are attempting to progress through the story.
If you are a fan of the Choir of One, you will want to make sure to complete Specimen Quests to make your runs through Encore easier, allowing you to grind this mission for amazing rewards.
