Oh, the Destiny 2 Ascendant Challenge. Even with the recent release of Destiny 2’s new expansion, the Black Armory, this weekly event remains one of the best ways to level up. In fact, the Ascendant Challenge is more important than ever. That Black Armory level cap isn’t going to reach itself. So it’s time once again to find this week’s mission and learn how to beat it.
Each new Ascendant Challenge shows off some of the most interesting new content in Forsaken, too. So you might as well head to the Dreaming City. As usual, the area is home to all sorts of secret portals and desperate Awoken soldiers. There’s more loot to earn than ever and, of course, a horrible case of Taken corruption.
This is just one Ascendant Challenge out of six, of course. Completing it will earn you Powerful Gear and exclusive Dreaming City cosmetics. You’ll want to enter the Ascendant Realm each week to make sure you get these potent rewards. Just make sure to find and speak with Petra Venj, first. She has the weekly Ascendant Challenge bounty you need for the better loot.
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Before You Start…
Before you can access any Ascendant Challenge, you need to drink a Tincture of Queensfoil. These items are rewarded randomly for a variety of activities in the Dreaming City: like completing public events, bounties, opening chests, and participating in the Blind Well.
Speaking of bounties, be sure to check where Petra Venj is this week. The weekly rewards from the challenges themselves are pretty paltry. You need to get the weekly “complete an Ascendant Challenge” bounty from Petra to get the good stuff.
Anyway, drinking a Tincture will make you Ascendant for a short time and provide access to secrets hidden throughout the city—most notably portals that transport you to the Ascendant realm, where the challenges are held.
It’s easy to tell when you’re close to a portal. A message will pop up on the bottom-left of the screen, notifying you that “the seam between realities grows weaker.” This is how you know you’re in the right location.
There are six Ascendant Challenges in total. Although only one is available at a time. They’re on a weekly rotation and, on the Tuesday of every seventh week, the challenges start over from the beginning.
Forfeit Shrine
To find this week’s challenge, head to Garden of Esila. You can find the area by heading from the initial Dreaming City spawn location and towards The Strand. Once in The Strand, turn right and follow the only pathway available until you enter the Garden. The portal is on top of the second rocky peak to your left.
This challenge is similar to Ouroborea—the first-ever Ascendant Challenge in Destiny 2. Except this time you get to destroy the knights trying to kill you, instead of just running away from them. It’s way more fun.
To kick off the challenge, you first need to find three orbs scattered around the outskirts of the central area. Pick up the orbs, bring them to the center of the main platform, and dunk them like only a Guardian can.
Dunking all three orbs creates a well of light in the center of the area that will almost instantly charge your super. That should allow you to take down the approaching knights with ease. You’ll want a ranged super—Dawnblade for Warlocks, Sunbreaker for Titan, Blade Barrage for Hunter—to melt them from a safe distance so they can’t hack at you. Once all of the knights are dead, collect the loot from the chest and bail.
And that’s all for this week! Check back next week for our guide to the newest challenge. In the meantime, you can read our Destiny 2: Forsaken review for more thoughts on the expansion. Take care!
