Destiny 2 Maelstrom quest guide and how to bond with Strand sources

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Completing the Destiny 2 Lightfall Maelstrom quest is quite the grind and requires you to find Strand sources

Destiny 2 Maelstrom quest fixing cloud strider memorial at hall of heroes
(Image credit: Bungie)

To complete Destiny 2 Maelstrom, you'll need to bond with Strand sources and grind a bit to scavenge items in Neomuna's Vex Incursion Zone. Maelstrom is one of four Destiny 2 Lightfall quests that eventually leads you to getting the Winterbite Exotic Glaive - however, you must have completed the campaign and the ‘Welcome to the Hall of Heroes’ quest to begin this Destiny 2 questline. During the Maelstrom quest, you’ll be helping Quinn Laghari repair Maelstrom's memorial to recover the vital data it holds, but annoyingly, it's a bit of slog. Thankfully, this guide will help you get through the Destiny 2 Maelstrom’ quest steps as quickly as possible.

Destiny 2 Lightfall Vex Incursion zone marked on Neomuna map

(Image credit: Bungie)

However, it's important that you know how Vex Incursion Zones work as you must complete the following objectives within this zone. Each week, one of the three main areas of Neomuna will be marked on the map as the current Vex Incursion Zone with a multi-coloured icon and streaks of colored light. While you’re in this zone, Strand Meditation drops are increased, Strand sources are available to collect, and Vex enemies appear in greater numbers.

Destiny 2 Maelstrom quest steps guide

Here are the steps you need to complete to repair Maelstrom’s destroyed memorial:

  1. Defend the current Vex Incursion Zone by completing Public Events, collecting Destiny 2 Cloud Accretions, and opening loot chests: This is the grindiest step of the quest, and I recommend that you equip the Wombo Detector Ghost mod and plunder chests and Cloud Accretions in the incursion zone, dipping into Destiny 2 Heroic Public Events and patrols – especially the gold ones – when possible. Each Cloud Accretion and chest seems to award 2% progress, while patrols award 4%. Terminal Overload can also grant progress, but only when you use a key to open the bonus chest. If you're not sure how to Bond with Strand sources then in the Vex Incursion Zone you can occasionally find green Strand energy sources to interact with and get a temporary boost to Strand ability regeneration. They’re often found on higher ground, and you just need to interact with two while patrolling the zone.

Destiny 2 Lightfall Strand source on Neomuna

(Image credit: Bungie)
  1. Complete the Lost Sector within the current Vex Incursion Zone: Find the appropriate Lost Sector and complete it like normal.
  2. Return to the Hall of Heroes and repair Maelstrom’s memorial: As with Stargazer, go back to the hall and interact with the collapsed memorial to repair it.
  3. Return to Quinn: Wrap up the Destiny 2 Lightfall Maelstrom quest by speak to Quinn.

With Maelstrom’s memorial repaired, you can now move onto fixing the next one for Bluejay. After that, you can work on repairing the final memorial and unlocking the new Winterbite Exotic Glaive – it’s the first Stasis-damage Glaive and it goes in your heavy weapon slot! Make sure you also work through the Destiny 2 Unfinished Business quest to get the Deterministic Chaos Exotic Machine Gun.

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Will Sawyer
Will Sawyer
Guides Editor, GamesRadar+

Will Sawyer is a Guides Editor at GamesRadar+ with over five years of experience in writing online guides, news, and features, and has a BA (Hons) in Journalism. Starting as a freelancer, Will contributed to startmenu and Game Rant before joining the GamesRadar+ team in August 2021. Since then, he has written hundreds of guides about a huge range of games, with shooters and action games being his areas of expertise. Outside of writing about games, Will hops between multiplayer shooters with friends, such as Darktide and Helldivers 2, and delves into whatever has been on his backlog for far too long. He also tries to get through his never-ending Warhammer pile of shame of grey Tyranids, Aeldari, and Chaos Space Marines.