The Destiny 2 Deathbringer caught a second wind after the release of its Exotic catalyst in the Season of the Splicer, making this once-overlooked Shadowkeep Exotic a mainstay of end-game DPS strategies. This unique rocket fires a void orb that splits into smaller, tracking void orbs when it detonates. The farther these orbs travel before hitting their target, the more damage they deal. This creates an interesting play style best described as purple rain: shoot an orb over a crowd of enemies or a big boss, then watch the destruction rain down. It's a cool, powerful Exotic that everyone should own, so here's everything you need to get the Destiny 2 Deathbringer.
How to unlock the Symphony of Death Exotic quest
Right, onto the quest. Step one: clear the main story of Shadowkeep. This doesn't take too long and it's good fun, so knock it out. Once you're done, you'll receive a new quest from Eris about the memory of Sai Mota. For this, you'll need to clear three Moon Lost Sectors to complete the weekly Lunar Spelunker bounty sold by Eris in order to obtain a Firewall Data Fragment. Bring this Firewall Data Fragment to the K1 Revelation Lost Sector in Sorrow's Harbor on the Moon, and use it to open the system core vault in the back right of the boss room. Next, use the artifact you retrieved in the story to decrypt the core.
The next step can also be completed in Sorrow's Harbor. You need to kill Nightmares with Arc abilities, so put on your favorite Arc subclass and kill the Nightmares that spawn on the plates around Sorrow's Harbor. Use your guns to soften them up, then use your Super, grenades, and melee abilities to finish them off. Once you've killed enough Nightmares, return to Eris via the portal located near her usual location. Talk to her, open the nearby chest, and you'll receive the Faculties of the Skull step in the Symphony of Death Exotic quest.
How to clear the Symphony of Death Exotic Quest
Now that you have the actual quest, it's time to head to the Circle of Bones at the base of the Hellmouth. A new 860 Power mission will appear on your map, so just mark it and follow your waypoint. Queue up the mission, kill the dudes, then head back to the surface of the Hellmouth.
The next step has three objectives which you can complete in any order. Those are:
- Complete a Public Event in the Hellmouth (and loot the chest!)
- Clear the K1 Revelation Lost Sector (and loot the chest!)
- Kill a wandering Bone Collector on the Moon
The Public Event and Lost Sector are straightforward enough, but killing the Bone Collector is a bit weird. This is a yellow-bar Hive Acolyte which randomly spawns in the Anchor of Light on the Moon. It just kind of roams around once it spawns, so keep your eyes peeled. You should see a message in the chat indicating when one spawns. Head to the area pictured below if you're having trouble.
Once that's out of the way, you'll need to do the Scarlet Keep Strike and kill a special enemy that spawns inside: Sulmakta, High Conductor. This yellow-bar Wizard will spawn during the elevator section that leads up to the final boss. When the elevator stops for the second time, look for Sulmakta on the right side of the area where all the enemies spawn.
Almost done. For now, head back to Sorrow's Harbor and get ready for more grinding. You need to kill three types of enemies to complete the next step, and the Nightmares that spawn here - both the main Ogres and the smaller Acolyte and Thrall Nightmares - are a great source of kills. You can also kill the normal red-bar enemies dotted around to progress the first objective, but you'll finish the second and third objectives faster. To polish off the first objective, head to the K1 Revelation Lost Sector nearby and clear out the first room of dudes. Once everything's dead, just run out of the Lost Sector and run back in to reset it. You'll get about 5% progress every run, so this won't take long. If you'd prefer something less repetitive, you can always clear different Lost Sectors and Public Events.
Now it's time for one last mission. This is a 920 Power activity, so be prepared. Head back to the Circle of Bones near the starting point for the previous mission - again, mark it on the map and follow your waypoint. You'll need to run through the Catacombs killing Wizards as you go. These Wizards will start a one-minute timer when they spawn; if the timer reaches zero, you die. To stop the timer, just break the Wizards' shields. This is also true of the Deathsinger final boss, which has a bit more health and many more friends. Kill the Deathsinger to finish the mission.
Finally, head back to Eris to claim Deathbringer. Congratulations on (what is likely) your first quest Exotic of Shadowkeep.
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