Destiny 2 | How to Get the Wicked Implement Exotic Scout Rifle (Secret Exotic Quest Guide)

The next secret Exotic quest has launched in Destiny 2 Season of the Deep. It’s been a good while since the last one, which was for the Exotic Glaive Vexcalibur, and it’s releasing far later than many expected. Nevertheless, should Guardians be willing to plunge down into the depths of Titan’s methane ocean, they’ll find themselves rewarded with a cruel weapon gifted to us by the Hive God of War: The Wicked Implement Exotic Scout Rifle. Unlocking the mission can be a bit tricky, though, as it involves a lot of fishing followed by some cryptic puzzles and a challenging timed combat encounter to close. 

Here’s how to start and complete the new hidden Exotic quest for the Wicked Implement in Destiny 2 Season of the Deep. 

Want more Destiny 2 and Season of the Deep content and articles? You can find more on KeenGamer:

1. Destiny 2 Season 21 Grandmaster Nightfall Guide | Season of the Deep Grandmasters
2. Destiny 2 | All Aquarium Plant Locations in Deep Dive (Aquarium Vivarium Triumph Guide)
3. Destiny 2 | All Ghosts of the Deep Memory Locations
4. Destiny 2 | Ghosts of the Deep Secret Bonus Chest Locations
5. Root of Nightmares Red Border Chest Guide (Guaranteed Deepsight Raid Weapon) | Destiny 2: Lightfall

How to Start the Secret Exotic Quest

To start your journey to get the secret Exotic, you first need to do a spot of fishing. To be specific, you need to acquire three different species of Exotic fish. These different fish has been rolled out over the last 3 weeks, with each fish being native to a different planet. You must have caught one of each Exotic fish before you can begin the quest, so get your rod ready.

Here are the fish you need to catch and where to get them: 

• Whispering Mothcarp | Savathun’s Throne World (Miasma) 
• Vexing Placoderm | Nessus (The Cistern)
• Aeonian Alpha-Betta | European Dead Zone (Outskirts)

After you’ve caught your Exotic Fish, head back to the H.E.L.M. to add it to your fish tank. Upon banking it, you should be rewarded with one piece of a Broken Blade. Each fish will give you another piece until you have all three, one from each planet: you can check to make sure you have each piece of the Blade by checking the fishing tackle in your inventory.

With all three Blade parts in hand, make for Deep Dive.

Deep Dive Statues

Once you have all three pieces of the Broken Blade, head into Deep Dive. The main thing you’re looking for in Deep Dive is three Hive Thrall Statues, similar to those found in the Ghosts of the Deep Dungeon.

As for where you can find each Statue: 

• Statue 1 can be found at the Twilight Depth. Follow the same path you took to find the first Aquarium Plant (which you can find a guide on here) and the first Statue should be right below it.
• Statue 2 in the first encounter arena once you’ve beaten it. Before leaving for the next underwater section, head to the left side of the map. A door that usually remains shut should be open on the upper levels: the Statue is waiting inside.
• Finally, Statue 3 is located on the Midnight Depth, before you reach the second encounter. After traversing through the Midnight underwater segment, you’ll come across a small drop that takes you to the encounter: instead, hug the left side wall which will take you to a small alcove containing the last Statue.

You need to deposit all 3 Blades on a single run as progress resets when you leave. If you miss a Statue, you’ll need to restart and try again to get another chance at the Exotic.

Carve a Path of Violence

Upon depositing the final Blade, you’ll need to continue as normal until the end of the 2nd encounter. Instead of entering the underwater section, head right towards where the end-of-season quest took place: that door is now open, populated by a few more Hive Statues which ask you to “CARVE A PATH OF VIOLENCE.”

Continue through this path until you arrive at a boss fight against a Taken Knight named Khull, Executioner Knight. The main thing you’ll notice about Knull is that they take very little damage: in fact, they’ll only take 1 damage per shot, no matter what. 

This introduces the main mechanic of this secret Exotic mission. Nearby will be three Ultra (yellow bar) Minotaurs who each give you one stack of the Deathly Sharp buff upon death. Once all three Minotaurs have been slain and you reach Deathly Sharp x3, you have a minute to deal maximum damage to Khull. During this initial window, Knull will disappear and a locked Pyramid door will open, beckoning you within. 

Khull, Executioner Knight

Stepping into the Pyramid will begin the first stage boss encounter. You will have 10 minutes to kill Khull, who is hiding behind an invulnerable Pyramid barrier. The way to close this barricade is to shoot Pyramid Splinters (the same ones from both Vow of the Disicple and Root of Nightmares) hidden around the room: the first two are in the dead centre of the room and underneath the stairs leading to Knull.

Enter the room with the Knight to continue the fight. A bunch of Taken adds will spawn and you need to quickly regain your Deathly Sharp stacks. There are two more Minotaurs locked behind Pyramid barriers in this room: find the Splinter and shoot it, freeing the enemies and allowing you to stack up on the buff needed to kill Knull. Use everything you have here – Supers, Heavy, Special, whatever – as you want this part to go as smoothly and quickly as possible.

Slay Knull and you can proceed to the next part of the Exotic mission.

Pyramid Maze

Tormentor Boss Fight

The next room is a massive Pyramid ship maze, complete with a Tormentor Boss called Omen, Blade of the Black Terrace. Just like Knull, you won’t be able to do any significant damage to Omen until you have 3 stacks of Deathly Sharp. As such, you need to find three more Minotaurs, all the while being chased by a bloodthirsty Tormentor. 

This time, instead of being hidden behind Pyrmaid barriers, the Minoaturs are hidden in specific spots around the maze. In total, there are about 6 or 7 spots where they can spawn, meaning that you and your fireteam will need to run around and find them as soon as possible, especially because you’ll still be on the same timer as you were with Knull. It should also be noted that the most open area on the entire map is the centre, making it the best spot to do damage to the Omen.

Omen, Blade of the Black Terrace

With all this in mind, the goal is simple:

1. Find the Ultra Minotaurs scattered around the maze and kill them to gain Deathly Sharp stacks.
2. Once you’ve got Deathly Sharp x3, return to the middle of the arena to deal damage to the boss.
3. You will have up to a minute to damage Omen so use everything you have while staying alive.
4. After Deathly Sharp runs out, return to the maze and find the Minoaturs again. 
5. Rinse and repeat until time runs out or you kill Omen.

Fail to kill Omen in time and it will immediately kick you back to orbit. Having defensive Supers like Well of Radiance or Bubble is essentially required here as everything hits insanely hard. Debuffs such as Divinity or Tether are just as important as Omen has a ridiculous amount of health, dragging the fight on for far too long if you aren’t efficient. My team beat the Tormentor using Well of Radiance and Divinity alongside Swords and Linear Fusion Rifle.

Once you finally beat Omen, the timer will stop and a door at the back of the room will open up. This room contains a familiar-looking Darkness Statue which, when communed with, will gift you the Wicked Implement Exotic Scout Rifle. 

A Familiar Communion

Wicked Implement Exotic Scout Rifle Overview

As a reward for all your troubles, you’ll net yourself the Wicked Implement Exotic Scout Rifle. The Wicked Implement is a 180 RPM Stasis Scout Rifle with a focus on Slowing and Freezing targets by landing your shots.

The main intrinsic perk is Creeping Attrition. By rapidly landing precision hits you cause targets to become Slowed. This Slow effect is the exact same as the one from the Duskfield Grenades or Bleak Watcher turrets, allowing you to synergise with certain Stasis Fragments or Aspects. 

Meanwhile, the second Exotic perk is Tithing Harvest. While Creeping Attrition is active, precision final blows will create a Stasis Shard that automatically tracks towards you. In addition, collecting Stasis Shards, such as the ones from the Glacial Harvest Aspect, will reload Wicked Implement.

The Wicked Implement has great potential with certain Stasis classes, especially Hunter and Titan who have easier access to Stasis Shards: when supplemented with certain mods, Wicked Implement has great potential as a consistent Slow source that enables other potent parts of the Stasis kit. On the other hand, it doesn’t hold much value if you aren’t hitting precision hits as both perks require either critical hits or final blows to trigger their effects. Additionally, it won’t see much value in the Crucible, perhaps giving you the advantage to clutch close kills but nothing absurd. 

Wicked Implement Exotic Scout Rifle

That was how to unlock the brand new Exotic Scout Rifle, Wicked Implement, in Destiny 2 Season of the Deep. Grab your fishing rod, get those Exotic fish and net yourself a sweet new weapon. Good luck out there, Guardians!