D2: Shadowkeep campaign

Bungie: Destiny 2 Shadowkeep

It's very likely that the Shadowkeep campaign will consume numerous hours of your leisure time. If you're an average player like me, there will also be times that are a bit confusing in terms of what the next steps should be. That said, with excellent help from Sam Chandler of Shack News, and some minor paraphrasing for brevity, here is the campaign line-up that should get you through the story line without too much hair-pulling.


Note that the recommended character power levels are shown after some mission titles, where relevant.

A Mysterious Disturbance (760) — Travel to the Moon and stave off the Hive resurgence alongside your fellow Guardians.

This is the first mission in Shadowkeep. Upon arrival on the Moon, for those players who remember the layout of the Moon from Destiny 1, you may find the surface a bit more dangerous. And watch out for those new fissures that have opened up since you were last here. The main points of this mission are:

• Fight the Hive
• Drain the Hive sigils by standing below them
• Assault the Scarlet Keep with a Drake tank
• Fight the Nightmare of Crota, Son of Oryx

Fight through the mission until you get to the section with the Eye of the Swarm and the Hive sigils. There are six (6) sigils around the map. Stand below the active sigil to drain it of its power. Once all six are drained, you can attack the Eye of the Swarm.

Use a Drake tank to fight around the entrance to the Scarlet Keep. Obliterate anything that stands in your way. Once you gain access to the labyrinths, fight through the twisting passages until you encounter the Nightmare of Crota, Son of Oryx. This fight is all about surviving and dispatching waves of enemies. Defeat the Hive until Crota's immunity shield drops, then deal damage to Crota to defeat him.

Catching Up — Travel to Sanctuary. Find Eris Morn at the encampment and speak with her. It's at this point you can acquire your Shadowkeep pre-order bonus (the Two-Tailed Fox exotic rocket launcher and the Chasing Kitsune Hive-themed ornament).

In Search of Answers (760) — Travel to the Hellmouth. Investigate the strange Hive behaviour near the Scarlet Keep.

Head to the Scarlet Keep and defeat Nightmares to collect their Phantasmal Particles to better understand their relationship to the Hive. Be careful when fighting the Nightmare Ogres in this section, as they are significantly robust. You only need six (6) Phantasmal Particles, and then you can contact Eris.

The Encroaching Nightmare — Travel back to Sanctuary. A Nightmare of Omnigul has stormed through the lunar encampment.

Return to Eris Morn to receive the next step. This mission has you cleansing the Essence of Despair by completing activities on the Moon. Collect planetary materials, loot chests, complete patrols, and do public events and lost sectors. Get out there and do your thing. Rinse and repeat until the step quest bar fills up.

Essence, Cleansed — Return to Eris Morn at Sanctuary with the cleansed essence.

The Essence of Despair is cleansed. Its true purpose may now be uncovered. This Hive curio will be used to craft a new pice of Dreambane armour. The first piece of gear will be a class item and should drop around 810 power, giving you a nice bump.

Ghosts of Our Past (770) — Eris used a Hive talisman of her own to create the first piece of protective armour. To pass beyond the Pyramid's warding and discover what lies within, you will need to wear a full set of Dreambane armour. Take the first step and hunt the Nightmare of Omnigul.

Fight your way below the surface of the moon and into the chamber where the Nightmare of Omnigul resides. You will need to dispatch all the enemies in the room before you can damage her. She will be immune otherwise. So simply deal with enemy waves, damage Omnigul, rinse and repeat until you defeat her ... after which you will receive the Essence of Anguish.

The Keep Looms — Back at Sanctuary, speak with Eris Morn to learn what she believes lies within the Scarlet Keep. Learn more about the Hive curio. Your next tasks will be to charge the Essence of Anguish by completing three (3) of Eris' bounties, and then to complete the Scarlet Keep strike.

It's at this point some players may encounter a road-block with the Essence of Anguish. The tool tip will read, "Work with Eris to find a solution." This doesn't provide a lot of information. What you will need to do is perform other activities, such as Eris' daily bounties, and completing the Scarlet Keep strike. Refer to the map of the Moon to find the next quest banner.

The Scarlet Keep (790) — Investigate the Scarlet Keep to locate more Hive curios and discover a connection between the Hive and the Pyramid. Launch the Moon strike "The Scarlet Keep" from the Director.

HEADS-UP! — When playing in a fireteam, some members may find that this step does not complete, despite finishing the Scarlet Keep strike. You will need to play through the strike again by alternating team mates into the team leader role. Yes, you guessed it ... only the fireteam leader gets the credit. It's also probable this would apply to other quest steps. Something to keep in mind.

The Scarlet Keep strike tasks players with fighting into and to the top of the new Hive fortress that's been built on the Moon. At the top awaits none other than Hashladun, Daughter of Crota. To reach her, you must pass through various challenging rooms that require teamwork and coordination.

First you must break a spell by collecting two (2) Void energy balls and bringing them to the centre. This grants you access to the outer fortification of the Keep. Once inside, you will need to capture three (3) altars. After reaching a large, circular elevator, ride it to the top. When the elevator stops, hop off and kill the wizard. Damage the crystal to start the elevator again.

The fight with Hashladun can be quite challenging for lower-powered players. You will need to deal damage to her, knocking her health down through three waves of enemies. When she becomes immune, another enemy wave will spawn. Rinse and repeat to remove her immunity shield.

During her last bit of health, she will summon two ogres to fight for her. Dispatch the ogres, and then Hashladun. When the Daughter of Crota perishes, you will receive a tome, which can be fused together with the Essence of Anguish. If you haven't already done so, you should cleanse the Essence of Anguish.

Dread Purification — Cleanse the Essence of Anguish dropped by Omnigul. Cleansing the Essence of anguish is a task that can be completed right after collecting it from Omnigul, or after completing the Scarlet Keep strike step in the Shadowkeep campaign. You will not be able to progress through the campaign until you have cleansed this item.

The Essence of Anguish can be found in the Quests tab. To cleanse it, you must complete three of Eris Morn's daily bounties. At this point in the story, you should have gained access to her bounties.

Another Step Closer — Hasladun's death has yielded information of great value: the existence of the Hive Cryptoglyph, and where to find it.

With the Essence of Anguish cleansed and the Scarlet Keep strike completed, return to Eris Morn to determine the next step.

In the Deep (800) — Travel to Archer's Line on the Moon. Somewhere in the horrific depths of the Hellmouth lies the Hive Cryptoglyph. With it, Eris Morn can craft further Dreambane armour for your quest to find a way inside the Pyramid.

This mission of the Shadowkeep campaign takes you to Archer's Line and then deep into the Hellmouth to claim the Cryptoglyph. Fight past the Hive, steal the Cryptoglyph relic, and fight your way back to the surface. This is a challenging mission, especially if players are lower than the recommended power. During the last section of this mission where you must simply escape, avoid standing and fighting ... just focus on running!

Back From the Dark — Removing the Cryptoglyph from the Hive catacombs has interrupted the dark rituals planned by the Hidden Swarm ... for now. With the Cryptoglyph and Eris' magic, you should be able to craft further Dreambane armor. Take the Cryptoglyph back to Eris.

Lectern of Enchantment — Travel to Sanctuary. Use the Cryptoglyph to empower the Lectern of Enchantment near Eris Morn.

Now that you have the Cryptoglyph and the Essence of Anguish is fully cleansed, you can begin the next step. The Cryptoglyph is used to power the Lectern of Enchantment, and the Essence of Anguish can be used to craft the Dreambane boots. Use the Lectern and claim your new boots. Pick up some bounties while you're there.

At this point you are in possession of two pieces of Dreambane armour: a class item and the boots. Only three more Dreambane armour pieces to go!

An Important Message — Ikora Rey has arrived on the Moon to witness the Pyramid for herself, and to deliver a message. Use the glowing green portal near Eris to meet with Ikora in the Enduring Abyss on the Moon.

The Nightmare Cometh (800, 810, 830 & 850) — The Nightmare Cometh will likely be the longest part of your Shadowkeep campaign. This part has three (3) Nightmares you must track down, culminating with your incursion into the Pyramid. It's probably best to approach these from easiest to hardest. Complete all three to be able to craft the remaining pieces of your Dreambane armour set.

Essence of Pride — This first essence step can begin in the Anchor of Light, and tasks you with hunting down the Nightmare of Skolas in the Traitor's Ketch. Defeat the Nightmares to gain access to the ketch. Dispatching the Nightmare of Skolas will net you the Essence of Pride.

To cleanse this essence, you must defeat Nightmares found in lost sectors in the EDZ, and on Titan, Nessus, and Io. Note that not all lost sectors contain Nightmares ... and the description explicitly says that lost sectors on the Moon don't count. Therefore, here are a few lost sectors that contain Nightmares:

• Widow's Walk, EDZ
• Cargo Bay 3 & Methane Flush, Titan
• The Orrery, Nessus
• Grove of Ulan-Tan, Io

Essence of Isolation — The second essence step is also located in the Anchor of Light, slightly closer to the Scarlet Keep. Search on top of the circular building in the centre of the area. This task has you hunting the Nightmare of Taniks in the Temple of Crota.

To cleanse the Essence of Isolation, you must defeat 100 Fallen on the Moon. It's fodder time!

Essence of Fear — The third and final essence step begins in the Hellmouth. The focus of this Nightmare Hunt is to take down the Nightmare of Phogoth. Descend into the Summoning Pits and dispatch Phogoth once again.

To cleanse the Essence of Fear, you must defeat 100 Hive on the Moon. When done, you will have a full set of Dreambane armour.

The Pyramid Awaits — Travel to Sanctuary and speak with Eris Morn for final preparations before entering the Pyramid. She will give a speech about what awaits, and then will direct you to find a way into the Pyramid.

Beyond (850) — What secrets lie within the Pyramid? It sits in silence, waiting for you. Proceed to the Enduring Abyss, past the Pyramid's warding barrier, and find a way inside.

Use the Sorrow's Harbor fast-travel point and head toward the Scarlet Keep. Activate the banner to begin the last step (Beyond). This mission has you fighting Nightmares from your past, and then pressing into the Pyramid to discover its secrets. In the interest of avoiding spoilers, simply continue fighting and pushing forward.

On the Other Side — After inspecting the artifact and watching the cut-scenes, you will need to speak with Eris Morn. Listen to her and then take your rewards: the Essence of Brutality, and the Memory of Sai Mota.

At this point you can also complete her weekly bounties; Lunar Spelunker and Luna's Recall.

The Vanguard's Take — Share your findings from the Moon with the Vanguard leaders in the Tower.

Travel to the Tower to let Zavala know what you found on the Moon. Your reward for talking to Zavala is an Enhancement Prism. Next, visit with Ikora Rey in the Bazaar. Your reward will be a class-specific exotic armour piece from Shadowkeep.

This brings the Shadowkeep campaign to a close.

Now that you've reached the end of the Shadowkeep campaign, you can begin the grind from 900 to the new maximum power level (soft) cap of 960. However, this max power level can be exceeded with the use of Seasonal Artifacts (e.g. Gate Lord's Eye) and 'tinkered' gear.

Beyond that waits the Garden of Salvation raid, and the end-game chase for better gear. Check out Shack News' Destiny 2 Complete Strategy Guide for more about gear, weapons, classes, quests, raids and more.