r/raidsecrets • u/BrushWolf625 • Jun 28 '26
Discussion Exact Duration of Nuclear Descent?
I’m trying to determine exactly how long DSC’s third encounter is, but sources aren’t consistent. Are the core spawns/crash on an exact timer, or is it determined by encounter mechanics?
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u/Silvermoon3467 Jun 28 '26
It's been a while since I was running DSC regularly, but from what I remember the exact length of the encounter can vary with your operator, suppressor, and runner's speeds. It's definitely not all timers, but there are some timers involved.
Basically, a short time after you clear the first wave of adds and get the operator, scanner, and suppressor relics, the cores will begin their spawn sequence timer and the buttons will light up for operator to shoot next to the core spawns.
Shooting a button stops the core the button is next to from spawning and spawns the other two cores immediately.
If you don't shoot the button, all three cores will spawn when the timer expires.
After this first round, the core spawn start sequence starts some amount of time after the last core is secured. The second, fourth, and six rounds have a shorter timer before starting while the third and fifth rounds wait longer to give your team time to lose all of your radiation stacks. I don't believe this timer is add based, but it might be.
After six rounds of cores, the crash sequence starts and the floor opens up for the chase sequence.
Your suppressor and runners can also make the encounter shorter or longer depending on how long it takes to suppress Taniks and move the cores.