TL;DR
- Cunning is Strength requires finding a Drake Tank during the escape in The Cunning mission and eliminating all Abominations with it.
- The mission takes place in Savathûn’s Throne World as part of The Witch Queen campaign.
- The Drake Tank spawns on the right side of the path just before the main bridge during the Suffocating Haze escape.
- There are 5 Abominations total — 3 before the bridge and 2 past the small doorway at the end.
- The Drake Tank can fit through the doorway with careful maneuvering — do not abandon it early.
- You have 3 minutes to escape once the Suffocating Haze timer starts.
What Is the Cunning is Strength Triumph?
The Cunning is Strength triumph requires you to find the Drake Tank during the escape section of the mission “The Cunning” in the Throne World, and eliminate all Abominations. It was added to the game with Monument of Triumph on June 8, 2026 as part of the Stories: Campaigns triumph category.
This triumph is part of the Stories: Campaigns category in Monument of Triumph. Completing it earns you Legendary Marks, which you spend at the four Tenet vendors in the Tower Courtyard. See our full Monument of Triumph guide for a breakdown of how Legendary Marks work.
How to Start The Cunning Mission
The Cunning is a story mission from The Witch Queen campaign set in Savathûn’s Throne World. To access it, you need The Witch Queen expansion. You can launch it directly from the Savathûn’s Throne World node in the Director.
The mission sends you into the Temple of the Wrathful to retrieve Sathona’s Worm Familiar. The path involves a series of Deepsight Orb puzzles where you shoot glowing runes to open doors, followed by a boss fight against an Ahamkara Illusion.
Before starting, keep one thing in mind. Landing the final blow on the Ahamkara causes it to scream, blinding you temporarily. The arena will be covered in a green haze shortly afterward, and you will be given a debuff called Suffocating Haze. You have three minutes to escape or the mission fails. The Drake Tank and all Abominations are in this escape section. You cannot attempt this triumph before the boss fight.
The Cunning Mission: Brief Walkthrough
If you are unfamiliar with the mission, here is the path to the escape section where the triumph takes place.
Getting to the Temple
Start from Quagmire in the Throne World and follow the waypoint toward Sathona’s Temple. You will pass through a dark cave — shoot the orange glowing objects on the walls to light your path. Keep moving through enemy encounters and follow the green corridor until you reach the Temple of the Wrathful.
On the path toward the temple you will encounter multiple Abominations guarding bridges and doorways. The end of the path houses an Abomination guarding a bridge. Your Heavy weapon should make short work of them. Adds will begin spawning on the bridge shortly thereafter, including another Abomination. These Abominations are part of the normal path — they do not count toward the triumph. Only the ones during the escape phase matter.
The Deepsight Puzzles
Inside the temple you will encounter a series of Deepsight Orb puzzles. Each puzzle is activated by a Deepsight Orb. Players are required to shoot five glowing targets in order to advance. Most of these are simple, as all of the targets will be right in front of you as you activate the Deepsight Orb, however there are a few that require looking around a bit more. Shoot all five runes to open each door. The path is linear so just keep moving forward.
The Boss Fight
The Ahamkara Illusion fight involves three DPS phases separated by add-clear waves. Between each DPS phase, a swarm of Scorn spawns near the Ahamkara. Grenades and Supers are your friends here. There are a plethora of Chieftains, Abominations, and Screebs that spawn during these phases. Remove all three health chunks from the Ahamkara to finish the fight. Save your Super and Heavy ammo for the boss DPS phases rather than burning them on adds. You will want them for the escape section.
Where to Find the Drake Tank
The Drake Tank spawns during the Suffocating Haze escape. The moment the boss dies and the timer appears, activate the Deepsight Orb immediately to conjure a bridge out of the relic room. Follow the waypoint through the exit corridor.
During the escape section, the Drake Tank is found on the right side before the bridge. As you exit the underground tunnels and reach the open area leading to the main bridge, check the right side of the path before stepping onto the bridge. The Drake Tank will be parked there waiting for you. There is a map marker on your first run pointing you toward it.
Hop into the Drake Tank immediately. Do not run past it toward the exit — every Abomination you kill on foot instead of in the tank will void the triumph.
How to Eliminate All Abominations With the Drake Tank
Once you are in the Drake Tank, here is how to handle the five Abominations across the escape route.
First Three Abominations (Before the Bridge)
The first group of Abominations is spread along the open path before the main bridge. Stay in the tank, drive forward, and use the tank’s cannon to eliminate each one. The Drake Tank is powerful enough to delete Abominations quickly so do not panic about wasting time. Prioritize finding and killing each Abomination before pushing further along the path.
Final Two Abominations (Past the Doorway)
This is where most players run into trouble. The final two Abominations spawn beyond the small doorway at the end of the bridge, and the Drake Tank cannot physically fit through that doorway at first approach. However, the tank can get through with careful maneuvering. It can be a bit awkward to get the tank through, but you can bring it all the way to the lift.
The trick is to approach the doorway at a slight angle rather than straight on. Slow down and nudge the tank through. It is tight but it fits. Do not abandon the tank and switch to weapons — killing even one Abomination on foot will fail the triumph. Take the extra few seconds to push the tank through the doorway, then destroy both remaining Abominations with the cannon.
Managing the Suffocating Haze Timer
Time management is the biggest challenge here. You have three minutes from the moment the Suffocating Haze starts. Here is how to use that time well:
- Activate the Deepsight Orb immediately after the boss dies to conjure the exit bridge. Every second counts.
- Do not stop to loot the chest in the relic room on this run. A loot chest will open up nearby — you can grab it before making your escape, but if you are tight on time, skip it and come back on a separate run.
- Kill Abominations fast with the tank. The Drake Tank’s cannon kills Abominations in one or two shots. Do not try to soften them with weapons first — just aim and fire.
- Ignore all other Scorn enemies. Raiders, Chieftains, and Screebs do not need to be killed for the triumph. Drive through or past them and focus only on Abominations.
- Push through the doorway slowly. Rushing the doorway at speed will cause you to bounce off the frame. Slow approach at an angle gets the tank through in a few seconds.
If the timer expires before you reach the final two Abominations, the mission fails and you will need to restart from the beginning. The triumph progress does not carry over between attempts — you must kill all five in a single escape run.
What Difficulty Should You Run?
You can complete the Cunning is Strength triumph on any difficulty. Normal difficulty is strongly recommended for your triumph run.
On Legendary or Master, Abominations become Unstoppable Champions. They take longer to kill, which eats into your Suffocating Haze timer and makes the tank mechanic more stressful. On Normal, Abominations have standard health bars and the Drake Tank cannon kills them very quickly. There is no triumph requirement tied to difficulty, so run Normal for the cleanest experience.
Cunning is Strength: Common Mistakes
- Killing Abominations on foot before entering the tank. If you accidentally kill any Abomination with your weapons before or after finding the Drake Tank, the triumph fails. The moment the escape starts, put your weapons away and go straight to the tank.
- Missing the tank entirely. The Drake Tank is on the right side of the path before the bridge. If you have been sprinting straight toward the exit on your normal runs, you have probably never noticed it. Slow down and look right as soon as you exit the underground tunnels.
- Abandoning the tank at the doorway. Many players give up on the tank when they see the small doorway and switch to weapons. This fails the triumph. The tank does fit — it just takes a careful approach.
- Running Legendary or Master on the first attempt. Higher difficulty makes the encounter harder and Abominations tankier. Always test your triumph run on Normal first.
Other Stories: Campaigns Triumphs to Pair With This
While you are grinding through campaign missions for Monument of Triumph, several other Stories: Campaigns triumphs can be knocked out in the same sessions. The Nine-Touched triumph locations guide covers the Lost Sector triumphs tied to campaign destinations, and the Immortal Title guide gives you the full picture of which triumph categories count toward the seal.
If you are also working through the Throne World destination more broadly, the Praxic Blade Dark Matter Crystals guide and the Imbaru chest location guide are worth checking out for more Throne World content to complete in the same session.
For the best weapons to bring into The Cunning mission on any difficulty, see our best PvP weapons guide for primary picks, and our best PvE weapons tier list for heavy weapon options to burn down Abominations during the boss fight.
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