Destiny 2: Forsaken – Festival Of The Lost Event Guide

Festival of the Lost is back! It’s that time of the year when Guardians from all over the world complete activities just so they could collect masks in the spirit of Halloween. Although Festival of the Lost did not make an appearance during the first year of Destiny 2, it does make a splash for its iteration in Forsaken. That’s because players now have a playlist activity that they can keep doing to their heart’s content — The Haunted Forest. For this Destiny 2: Forsaken guide, we’ll be covering all the goodies in store for those who partake in this event.

First off, check out the trailer for the Festival of the Lost event below:

Festival Of The Lost? Or Festival Of The Cost?

What is the Festival of the Lost, exactly? Well in the past, as Destiny‘s own brand of Halloween trick-or-treating, it was just a means for players to grab masks and some candy from NPCs. That was basically it. Because the event had a slew of items sold by Tess Everis via Eververse, it was also considered the “Festival of the Cost.” Again, that was back in Destiny 1.

Since the previous NPC, Eva Levante hasn’t been heard from, Amanda Holliday is your vendor for Destiny 2: Forsaken. Here are some notable changes which you’ll see the moment you log on:

The masks are back, with Destiny 2 themes of course. You can also obtain Ephemeral Engrams everytime you level up along with the usual Bright Engrams. Lastly, there’s the Haunted Forest zone, which we’ll get to in a minute.

Overall, the event has a bigger scope this time around and is actually fitting given the number of named characters that have died in the game.

This game really needs an actual Photo Mode.

Festival Of The Lost: Mini Questline

When you speak to Amanda Holliday, she’ll give you the Cryptarch Mask. Afterward, you can speak to Tess Everis. Destiny‘s most maligned vendor will ask you to complete any challenge with a mask equipped. Doing so nets you an easy Ephemeral Engram. Just do a quick strike or heroic adventure and you’re Gucci.

As per tradition, Eververse has a lot of cosmetics available for the event. Don’t worry, it won’t be too costly due to Ephemeral Engram drops and being able to buy the featured items directly. If you have the bright dust to spare, grab the Okulus Fortitude Shell since it gives an extra 10 percent experience points earned for all activities. If you keep playing to get more Ephemeral Engrams to drop from leveling up, pray that you get the Nine Lives Shell because it’s adorable!

Ahem! Oh, where were we? Right, back to the quest…

Next up is Holliday’s own quest. You’ll have to go through two Lost Sectors on Io. “It’s a standard op, get in, get out,” as Sloane would say. Once you’re done, you’ll have a new activity that can be selected from the Tower — The Haunted Forest.

For your first rodeo, you’ll just need to clear out enemies until you hit 100 percent. You’ll then need to fight a Nightmare. It’s basically just a miniboss: maybe a giant Vex Minotaur, a Hive Ogre, or whatever the game decides to throw your way.

With that done, speak to Amanda again. You’ll get the Fighting Lion exotic grenade launcher and its catalyst. Likewise, she’ll also show you her wares.

Festival Of The Lost: Rewards And Bounties

My, oh my! There’s quite a lot of them. Holliday will have masks, a couple of emblems, and a shader. She’ll also have the Festival of the Lost exclusive — The Horror Story auto rifle. What makes this weapon useful is that it drops at 600 power level (max), has Zen Moment and Rampage, and it’s fully masterworked!

In order to obtain the masks and the Horror Story, you’ll need Fragmented Souls. The masks cost 30-40 Fragmented Souls a pop. Meanwhile, the Horror Story costs a whopping 120.

These are the ways you can obtain Fragmented Souls:

• Amanda’s Daily Bounties – these bounties give one Fragmented Soul each
• Amanda’s Weekly Bounties – this one requires you to complete fifteen daily bounties from Amanda and will reward 40 Fragmented Souls
• Haunted Forest Completion – you get Fragmented Souls depending on how far you’ve progressed
• Haunted Forest Chest – you get Fragmented Souls when you open the chest at the end

The Will of the Thousands Mask – A consolation prize for anyone who still can’t get it to drop from the Last Wish raid.

What Exactly Is The Haunted Forest?

It’s basically a redesigned and darker Infinite Forest from the Curse of Osiris expansion. It’s not as spooky as you might think, although there are a few “surprises.” The first time you went through here, you only needed to hit 100 percent once. After this, you can keep re-doing this activity as much as you’d like. There are two playlists:

• Haunted Forest – has matchmaking
• Firewalled Haunted Forest – does not have matchmaking

Your goal is simply to clear enemies for each “branch” (or round). Once you’ve hit 100 percent, you kill a miniboss and then do the next branch — lather, rinse, repeat — until the timer runs out. There are modifiers that can be detrimental to you for each branch. A Hive Sword Knight known as the Invincible Nightmare also pops up from time to time. As you might’ve guessed, it’s invulnerable so just avoid it.

As for the Nightmare bosses themselves, your best bets for taking them out quickly would be Melting Point (Titan), Blade Barrage (Hunter), and Well of Radiance (Warlock). Having players with the Ikelos Shotgun and Whisper of the Worm can be invaluable.

As mentioned, there’s a 15-minute timer for the entire activity. Respawn time is at five seconds, and enemies get tougher in later branches. Once the timer runs out, it becomes a Darkness Zone. Respawning then takes 30 seconds, and you wipe if all fireteam members die. The timer is fairly generous since it will allow you to finish a certain branch and miniboss even if it runs out.

Once you’re done, there’s a chest you can open at the end with a very nasty “surprise” waiting for you. Completing branch #7, gathering masks, and obtaining the Horror Story will also provide you with Amanda’s emblems.

The Amaranth Atrocity Shader – One of the new cosmetic rewards from Festival of the Lost.

Festival Of The Lost Secrets?

These are the activities and rewards that you can obtain for now. You’re basically grinding the Haunted Forest or the bounties until you can collect the masks that are available. These masks also have their own perks and can be leveled up. Don’t forget that you can also do these on your other characters.

There is, however, one particular secret that’s yet to be revealed. The overall narrative of the Festival of the Lost is that we’re hunting for the killers of Master Ives. He’s the Cryptarch from The Reef in Destiny 1. This quest won’t be available until October 30. Apparently, it also rewards a certain item that’s still “Classified” in the database.

We’ll have more details in the coming weeks. Suffice to say, the Festival of the Lost event in Destiny 2: Forsaken is a step up from previous years. Having an extra activity and double the engram drops when leveling up are welcome additions.

Festival of the Lost runs from today until November 6. You don’t need to own Forsaken to take part in the event. If you do plan on grabbing it, don’t forget that you’ll also get the two DLCs — Curse of Osiris and Warmind — for free.