Destiny 2: Forsaken – Leveling, Secrets, Exotics Guide – Everything you need to know

Secrets and Tips

What makes Destiny quite compelling are the number of secrets that can be found and the ones that make you wonder “Hmm, is there something there?” Forsaken is no different in that regard with more secrets than you can shake a stick at. Here are some of those that we know of so far.

Mindbender Baron hidden chest

The Mindbender Baron adventure is one of the most unique encounters in Destiny 2: Forsaken so far. Finding yourself in the Ascendant Realm is a shocking experience. What’s even more shocking is that there’s actually a hidden chest that you can grab after the end of the fight. Check out the video above from Destiny player Esoterickk.

Scannable Lore fragments

Scattered around various planets are scannable items. These give you a lore card which you can check on your menu. They may also be required for the “Loremaster” title which will be placed under your character’s name once you’ve obtained every piece of the lore. Check out this post, also from Esoterickk, which has all the lore fragments that have been discovered so far.

The Dreaming City’s cats

While completing the campaign, you might’ve ended up with “A Small Gift” which you wouldn’t know what to do with. Well, once you get to The Dreaming City you can actually hand that over to various “cat statues” in the area. This was initially discovered by Reddit user Crambled_Eggs. Later on, players such as AdoreDaniella found out that these cat statues actually gave you hidden legendary weapons or armor pieces.

The Dreaming City exploration and Ascendant chests

The Dreaming City can and will confuse first-time visitors, and the many secrets it has will fill you with both dread and wonder. Certain parts of the map might lead you to a dead end only to realize that there are actually shortcuts and even portals that get you to various areas.

Check out this post from Reddit user Orels21 which details various portals in and around the map.

You can also refer to the video above from Reddit user AnnaMeital/YouTube user The Vikktor. They were able to find all ten Ascendant Chests in The Dreaming City. While the only loot you get are a few blues here and there, you do get a Triumph for your troubles.

The Dreaming City’s hidden vendors

The Dreaming City also has some hidden vendors that sell Charges of Light and Tincture of Queensfoil. They can be found in the Harbinger’s Seclude location. Credits go to Reddit user BC1096 for the discovery.

Corsair Down

You might have also found an item called “Corsair Down” asking you to explore various parts of The Dreaming City based on a signal. You can use the clues to track down the location. For instance, the cave underneath Petra’s spot is one such location. You’ll be able to scan a dead body which spawns a Corsair mob. Killing the mob provides you the “Corsair Badge” item. These can be traded to various Queen’s Guard NPC’s although, sadly, it seems most players have only gotten junk blues as rewards.

Ascendant Challenge

In order to do an Ascendant Challenge, you’ll need a Tincture of Queensfoil which can be obtained from various chests (Lost Sectors, Public Events, High-Value Targets, and Regional Chests). These can also be sold by hidden vendors. Using the Tincture of Queensfoil grants you the ability to see hidden portals leading to the Ascendant Realm. That buff lasts 30 minutes or until the challenge is completed.

An example of an Ascendant Challenge can be found in the Lost Sector just underneath Petra’s location in The Strand zone. You can see this in the video above from YouTuber xHoundishX.

Kill all the Taken enemies inside and then use the Tincture. This will allow you to see a portal that leads to the Ascendant Realm. In this particular area, there are several crystals that are immune to damage. You’ll need to destroy the blights around the map (four in total) before you can damage the crystals.

Knights and thralls will also chase you around so keep running or find a “shadow tree” to perch on while shooting the crystals. Once you’re done you can open a chest that completes the Ascendant Challenge as well as one of Petra’s bounties.

Note: Be forwarned that if you’re in a fireteam and someone dies, you might need to wipe. This is because players will spawn outside and the portal will no longer be visible. If you wipe, you’ll need to re-do the entire process of destroying blights, running from mobs, and shooting crystals. You have 30 minutes for the Ascendant buff anyway so that’s plenty of time. If someone loots the chest while newly-respawned players are outside, they won’t get the credit at all.

Oracle Offering and the Purification Ritual

One mystery that’s been talked about is the Offering to the Oracle bounty from Petra. When you’ve completed roughly five Blind Well events, you’ll get the offering available. You’ll then need to bring it to the Observatory area where you previously met up with her. This will give you the “Purification Ritual” quest which has different variants:

• Kill four knights while Ascendant — This can be done right now. See that Ascendant Challenge above? Once you’ve destroyed all the blights, you’ll just need to hop on a tree and shoot all the knights that surround you. They shouldn’t be able to melee you so don’t worry. Once all four knights are dead, you’ll get your competion done easily.
• Kill any Plague of the Well while Ascendant — This is rumored to be tied to the Blind Well horde mode. Unfortunately, no one has completed this yet as it seems to be for Tier 4 of that activity.
• Complete “The Corrupted” Strike while Ascendant — No one has completed this yet since we’ve yet to discover the Strike.

Completing the Purification Ritual gives you a mod known as “Transcendent Blessing.” Unlike the other unique Dreaming City mod “The Riven,” this one buffs your damage while in The Dreaming City without you taking more damage in return.

More Secrets, More Fun

There are so many secrets in The Dreaming City that you’ll probably spend countless hours looking for them. In a location known as Rheasilva, players have discovered a uniquely-named Saboteur and Ogre mob.  There’s also a location in the are where you can shoot worms to discover a Wormhost Chest seen in the video above from YouTuber Flipshock8.

And yes, for Destiny 1 fans who miss The Taken King days, you can actually get Destiny 2’s version of the Desolate armor set — aka. the one which makes you look like a Taken mob. You just need to equip the Reverie Dawn armors which drop from The Dreaming City. Pop a Tincture of Queensfoil and each Reverie Dawn armor piece you’re wearing will have the corresponding Taken effect.

There are so many hidden nooks and crannies that finding all that remains hidden in The Dreaming City has become a wonderful community effort. You can also check out Destiny’s secret-spelunking community on Reddit at r/Raidsecrets.

These are the secrets that the community has discovered so far. We’ll let you know more as we all search the various dark corners of The Dreaming City. Discovering these and increasing your power level will no doubt be a necessity for the upcoming Raid known as “Last Wish.” If you’d like to know more about it, we’ve got a little page with more info.