History of Nightmare

Overview

Nightmares are phantom copies of past enemies from Shadowkeep, on The Moon; they drop Nightmare Essence.

They are Darkness-made apparitions that take the shape of figures from a Guardian's past, often foes or loved ones, and use them to exploit trauma and fear. The Lunar Pyramid recreated them with Darkness power. Eris Morn and Micah-10 suspect they may be an untapped power of the Darkness. Calus once used them through a psychic link between the Pyramid and his ship, the Leviathan.

Where to find them

Most Nightmares appear in Lost Sectors and in endgame activities on the Moon, including Nightmare Hunts and Altars of Sorrow. Defeated enemies drop orbs that give other Nightmares an "Unstable Essence" damage buff.

Tiers

Nightmares come in tiers, including Elite, Major and Ultra. Ultra Greater Nightmares become intangible and summon more Nightmares, which must be cleared before the boss can take damage again.

Greater Nightmares

The named bosses are the Greater Nightmares. Notable ones include Nightmare of Crota (Despair), Nightmare of Omnigul (Anguish), Nightmare of Taniks (Isolation), Nightmare of Zydron (Servitude), Ghaul (Rage), Skolas (Pride), Phogoth (Fear), Caiatl (Regret) and Fikrul (Insanity).

Dreambane

Defeating Nightmares supplies the materials for Dreambane armor, which reduces damage taken from Nightmares. See Nightmare Essence for how the Essences are cleansed.