Destiny 2's Season of the Splicer has reached its fifth week. A third Expunge mission has released, Iron Banner is active once again, and a new set of Seasonal Challenges are here for Guardians that need a surge of XP or Bright Dust.
This week only has eight challenges instead of the usual ten, although two of these challenges grant 8x as much XP as normal and 300 Bright Dust when completed. We'll go over how to complete every challenge this week, providing some tips on how you can complete them as fast as possible. Be warned: one of them requires a flawless Nightfall completion.
Changing Views
Changing Views: Speak to the Splicer Servitor and complete Path of the Splicer V, and defeat powerful Hive anywhere in the system. Bonus progress for Hive defeated in Override or Expunge.
Rewards
- Double XP
- Ignition Code – Grenade Launcher
- +150 Decrypted Data
This week's Path of the Splicer quest takes you through the Expunge: Tartarus mission. Clear the mission, listen to Saint-14 battle his identity with the Fallen, and then defeat major or boss Hive to finish this challenge.
You'll need to defeat 150 powerful Hive to complete the second part of Changing Views. Since the Hive seldom spawn in Override, you'll want to farm Altars of Sorrow or the Pit of Heresy dungeon. Altars of Sorrow is best if you don't have a fireteam to run dungeons with. If you don't own the Shadowkeep DLC, farming strikes is your best option.
Expedited Expunge: Tartarus
Expedited Expunge: Tartarus: Complete Expunge: Tartarus in 6 minutes or less.
Rewards
- Double XP
- +150 Decrypted Data
Expunge: Tartarus is the third Expunge mission in Destiny 2, tasking players with destroying Vex Cubes scattered throughout the level before fighting a Hydra boss. The mission itself is quite short, although completing it in six minutes or less can be tricky.
If you've never completed this Expunge mission before, our Expunge: Tartarus guide should get you up to speed.
As for general speedrunning tips:
- Purchase Wirewalker from the Splicer Servitor: This lets you bypass the start of every Expunge mission, taking you straight to the hallway that leads to the Expunge portal. This saves about a minute.
- Memorize the cube locations: Practice running this mission to memorize where the cubes spawn.
- Bring a Scout Rifle: Scouts can destroy the cubes and most Vex in a few shots. They also have Anti-Barrier Rounds this season, allowing them to destroy the Barrier Hobgoblins found throughout the Expunge mission.
- Use a burst-damage Super: Golden Gun, Thundercrash, and Chaos Reach are good options for the final boss.
Crack And Decrypt II
Crack and Decrypt II: Unlock Conflux Chests by completing Override missions. Decrypt Season of the Splicer Engrams at the Prismatic Recaster using Decrypted Data.
Rewards
- Double XP
This challenge is retroactive.
Open 30 Conflux Chests and decrypt 30 Season of the Splicer Engrams to finish this challenge. You'll find one Conflux Chest at the end of every Override mission. As for the Engrams, they must have been focused with an option that costs Decrypted Data. Engrams given by the Splicer Servitor and weekly Expunge clears do count for this challenge.
Grenade Launcher Splicer
Grenade Launcher Splicer: In Override of Expunge, defeat combatants with Grenade Launchers. Earn bonus progress by rapidly defeating them.
Rewards
- Double XP
Defeat 150 enemies with Grenade Launchers in Override or Expunge to complete this challenge. The best farm for this is Expunge: Styx. Reach the end of the mission, remove the laser grid during the second phase, then repeatedly kill the endless waves of Goblins until you've landed 150 final blows.
Apex Armorer
Apex Armorer: Masterwork a piece of armor.
Rewards
- Double XP
- 75 Bright Dust
Sadly, this challenge isn't retroactive. You'll need to Masterwork one piece of armor for Apex Armorer, something that's rather expensive if you don't frequently farm Nightfalls.
Masterworking an armor piece requires the following materials:
- 16,000 Glimmer
- 25 Legendary Shards
- 3 Enhancement Cores
- 3 Enhancement Prisms
- 1 Ascendant Shard
If you can't farm Nightfalls, remember that the Season Pass does give out three Ascendant Shards in the paid track and enough Enhancement Prisms to Masterwork an armor piece. Should you not own this season, you can obtain enough Masterwork materials by reaching Legend rank in Valor or Infamy. Speak to Shaxx or Drifter when you've reached the Legend rank for their respective ranking systems. This will let you reset your rank back to Guardian I, granting one Ascendant Shard the first time you do this in a given season.
Serenity Of The Void
Serenity of the Void: Acquire the seasonal ritual weapon.
Rewards
- Quadruple XP
- 150 Bright Dust
This challenge is retroactive.
Season of the Splicer's ritual weapon is Null Composure, a Fusion Rifle that has Reservior Burst as one of its perks. Speak to Banshee-44 in the Tower to pick up the ritual quest tied to this gun. Check out our Null Composure guide if you need tips on how to obtain this Fusion Rifle and its three ornaments.
Beyond Legendary
Beyond Legendary: Earn Valor Ranks.
Rewards
- x8 XP
- 300 Bright Dust
You need 16 Valor ranks for this challenge. That's not a typo. Fortunately, unlike last season, subdivision ranks count for this challenge. Valor, which is the main ranking system for the Crucible, has 16 ranks in total. If you haven't played PvP at all this season, you'll need to reach the Legend rank before you can reset your Valor.
As of writing this, triple Valor is currently active. We highly recommend that you attempt to complete this challenge this week or during the final Iron Banner event. For tips on leveling your Valor quickly, consult out Valor and Glory ranking guide.
The Undying
The Undying: Complete any Nightfall strike on Legend or higher without dying.
Rewards
- x8 XP
- 300 Bright Dust
This challenge is rough. You'll need to complete a 1,310 Nightfall or harder without dying. If you've never played a Legend Nightfall before, you can expect:
- No matchmaking
- Two types of Champions
- Match Game
- Locked Equipment (you can't switch your loadout once the mission starts)
- Two additional modifiers
Get a fireteam together before tackling this challenge. There are a few subclasses that we recommend you bring:
- Hunter – Way of the Pathfinder: Use the Sixth Coyote and Gambler's Dodge. This will let you throw a Smoke Bomb at your feet after dodging, giving you invisibility and the Heart of the Pack buff. Mobius Quiver, your Super, is also fantastic at killing Champions and weakening bosses.
- Warlock – Attunement of Grace: If you're in a team, use middle tree Dawnblade. You have healing grenades, a Super that keeps your team safe, and Benevolent Dawn makes it easy to keep your abilities off cooldown.
- Warlock – Attunement of Chaos: If you're a solo player, pair this with Contraverse Hold. Stay at the back of the map when possible, throwing overcharged grenades that'll do most of the work for you.
- Titan – Code of the Protector: Arguably the safest, most defensive subclass a Titan can bring.
- Titan – Code of the Siegebreaker: Use this with Warmind Cell mods to speed clear Nightfalls with a well-made team. We cover this build more in-depth in our Titan builds guide.
For some general tips:
- Bring a Grenade Launcher with Blinding Grenades: Blinding Grenades disable non-boss AI for a few seconds. If you're attempting this challenge solo, this is nigh-mandatory.
- Use Concussive Dampener: This one-point chest mod makes AoE damage deal 25% less damage to you. This includes Taken Knight fire pools, explosive weapons, and Hobgoblin sniper shots. Use two of them to increase the damage resistance to 40%.