Destiny 2 Into the Light: How it Works

Into the Light, the big mid-season April update for Destiny 2, has finally arrived. As we wait for word from Crow, who is currently exploring the realm inside the Traveler, the Witness’ forces aren’t willing to take a backseat and just let us relax until The Final Shape launches. No, instead, they’ve begun a malicious assault on Earth, attacking several key locations, including the Last City itself. As such, Shaxx has been given unrestricted authorisation to gift Guardians weapons from his banned arsenal of weapons to help stave off the impending Darkness.

While Into the Light is merely intended as a stop-gap between Season of the Wish and The Final Shape (which copped a meaty 3-month delay late last year), it is much more than most players were expecting. Between a brand new PvE horde mode which Guardians have been begging for for Destiny’s entire lifespan to the return of some truly iconic, and infamous, weapons from the past, to exciting new additions for both endgame PvE and PvP, this update has a lot for Guardians to sink their teeth into. 

Here’s everything you need to know about the Into the Light update in Destiny 2, including how to start it, what Onslaught is, how to get the new BRAVE Arsenal and more.

If you want more Destiny 2 content and articles, including several from Season of the Wish, then you can find them here on KeenGamer:

1. Destiny 2 Warlord’s Ruin Dungeon Guide | All Encounters Explained
2. Destiny 2 | All Warlord’s Ruin Secret Bonus Chest Locations
3. Destiny 2 | All Bones of Hefnd Locations in Warord’s Ruin (Ahamkara Bones)
4. Destiny 2 | All Season of the Wish Starcat Locations
5. Destiny 2 | How (and When) to Get All Wish-Keeper Catalysts

Send Them Forth

How to Start Into the Light

Unlike actual Seasons in Destiny 2, Into the Light is a completely free offering for all players, meaning that every Guardian can experience it, no matter if they’ve bought everything before The Final Shape or if they are a fresh blueberry picked straight up from the Cosmodrome. 

Once you log into Destiny 2 for the first time after downloading the Into the Light update, you’ll get a flashy cutscene going over some of our exploits before being dropped into the game’s new social space, The Hall of Champions. As the main hub for Into the Light, you’ll be popping back into this location frequently.

After you’ve soaked in the nostalgia and entered the hall proper, you’ll talk to the one and only Lord Shaxx. Usually, he manages the Crucible but, for Into the Light, he’ll be your main reputation vendor alongside ARCITE 90-44, one of his trusty Red Jacks. Shaxx will give you your introductory Into the Light questline, one which walks you through a lot of the basics including Onslaught, BRAVE Arsenal quests, and the like. 

The Hall of Champions

Into the Light Activity Overview

Onslaught (PvE Horde Mode)

Destiny 2 Into the Light’s main selling point is Onslaught, a brand new permanent PvE mode which is hoping to please those who enjoy tower defence with this wave-based horde mode. In this 3 player activity, you and your fireteam must bunker down inside of a familiar Earth location and defend it from an ever-increasing horde of Fallen, Hive, or Taken, all of whom wish to overwhelm and destroy you.

Your main point of defence will be the ADU, a special fortification device that you must protect at all costs. Enemies will attempt to destroy the ADU with everything they have, causing Onslaught to end prematurely if you allow them to do so. Fortunately, certain powerful enemies will drop ADU batteries which, when thrown at the ADU, will restore its health and award you with some bonus Scrap. 

What’s Scrap? Well, instead of accruing points from defeating enemies and defending objectives, Onslaught will award each player their own pool of Scrap that they will use to fortify and purchase defences around the ADU. These defences include turrets, Sweeper Bot decoys, and trip mines. These defences will prove invaluable, especially when enemy waves get denser the higher you climb in terms of waves, and you can even upgrade them with more Scrap to make them stronger and more resilient. 

Lead the Onslaught

There are three maps in Onslaught – Midtown, Vostok, and the Mothyards – that have all undergone meaningful changes thanks to the addition of some invasive Pyramid architecture. On top of that, there are several versions of Onslaught to choose from depending on your preferences and skill level. The first is the Onslaught Playlist, which you’ll find above The Hall of Champions. This matchmade version of Onslaught is at Normal difficulty and capped at 10 waves.

Meanwhile, parallel to the Onslaught Playlist is the actual Onslaught Activity node. Here, you can choose which map as well as which difficulty – Normal or Legend – you wish to play on, with Legend being much harder but with far more loot to earn. In comparison to Playlist, both Normal and Legend Onslaught activities go up 50 waves, with difficulty increasing dramatically every 10 waves. Additionally, Normal Onslaught is matchmade whereas Legend isn’t so come prepared with a fireteam if you wish to challenge these modes. 

As for loot, you’ll get a special Vanguard chest every 10 successful waves. So, in Playlist, you’re guaranteed one chest per run but, in Normal or Legend, you can potentially earn over six chests for a full 50-wave run. These chests will award you with Trophies, a special resource used to open chests back at The Hall of Champions, as well as one of twelve BRAVE weapons, the main draw for Into the Light. 

Hold Them Back

BRAVE Arsenal and Limited Edition Holofoil

The BRAVE Arsenal is said to be a series of banned weapons Lord Shaxx has been keeping under lock and key due to their destructive potential. Now that the Witness is knocking on the door and the end of the universe is nigh, the Vanguard has authorised these dangerous weapons for use, returning some of Destiny’s strongest and most iconic weapons back to us. 

There are a total of twelve BRAVE arsenal weapons, all of which return from a previous release or season. Whether they were a demonic plague on the Crucible or were a power creep nightmare in endgame Raids, these weapons have all earned their place on the podium and now, with Into the Light, they’re back with new rolls and a fresh lick of paint. These twelve illustrious weapons are: 

• Succession (Deep Stone Crypt Sniper Rifle)
• Midnight Coup (Leviathan Hand Cannon)
• The Mountaintop (Crucible Micro-Rocket Grenade Launcher)
• Hung Jury SR4 (Dead Orbit Scout Rifle)
• Blast Furnace (Black Armory Pulse Rifle)
• The Recluse (Crucible Submachine Gun)
• Luna’s Howl (Crucible Hand Cannon)
• Elsie’s Rifle (Stranger’s Rifle from D1)
• Forbearance (Vow of the Disciple Grenade Launcher)
• Falling Guillotine (Season of Arrivals Sword)
• Hammerhead (Black Armory Machine Gun)
• Edge Transit (Forsaken Grenade Launcher)

What’s even more exciting is that, once The Final Shape launches, you’ll be able to take any of the BRAVE weapons you’ve earned to the Enclave on Mars to Enhance them. This will allow you to make the perks on the weapon more powerful, just like you can on a crafted weapon. 

BRAVE Arsenal

However, there is a caveat. To make sure that we have something to farm for over the next few weeks, only six weapons from the BRAVE Arsenal will be available when Into the Light launches on April 9th. Those weapons are The Recluse, Hung Jury SR4, Succession, Edge Transit, Elsie’s Rifle and Falling Guillotine. As for the other six, they’ll release two at a time each week for three weeks. Based on the weapon locations from The Hall of Champions, we expect the remaining weapons to be released at the following times:

• Week 2 (April 16th): The Mountaintop and Midnight Coup
• Week 3 (April 23rd): Forebarance and Hammerhead
• Week 4 (April 30th): Luna’s Howl and Blast Furnace

Additionally, the BRAVE Arsenal have something special about them that we’ve not yet seen in Destiny 2. Whenever a BRAVE Arsenal weapon drops, it has a very slim chance of dropping with a special Holofoil Ornament which makes the weapon shine gold. These Limited Edition variants also come with two perks in each trait column but, aside from the new look and the extra perks, they aren’t any different to the normal variants. In essence, they’re Destiny’s version of Shiny Pokemon. 

However, these Limited Edition BRAVE weapons won’t be available forever. While the BRAVE Arsenal and Onslaught will continue to exist post The Final Shape, these Shiny weapons will no longer be available. As such, getting a Limited Edition weapon during Into the Light will serve as a memento going forward, go make sure you grind out as much as you can to get them. 

Limited Edition Weapons

The Hall of Champions

Shaxx, Hype Vendor

Within The Hall of Champions, you’ll find Shaxx posted at the back. As we previously mentioned, he’s the main vendor and reputation source for Into the Light. You will build up Hype – Onslaught’s reputation – like any other reputation from Strikes, Crucible, or seasonal activities.

Additionally, just like other vendors, Shaxx will give you a free BRAVE Weapon Engram every rank up, allowing you to earn even more chances at those Limited Edition variants. Other rewards from Shaxx include Armor Access Keys (we’ll explain those in a moment), tons of Trophies of Bravery, an Exotic Engram, an Ascendant Shard, an Ascendant Alloy, and a special reward for reaching maximum rank. 

Shaxx, the Hype Vendor

ARCITE 99-40 and Weapon Quests

The other major vendor for Into the Light is ARCITE 99-40, Shaxx’s right hand and a familiar face for any Destiny veteran. ARCITE offers several important things but, arguably the most vital are the BRAVE Arsenal Weapon quests. These are special quests themed around one of the twelve BRAVE weapons and they are the main deterministic grind for players during Destiny 2 Into the Light. 

Completing these quests will give you two things. Firstly, it will allow you to choose the weapon associated with the quest as an augmentation for Onslaught, which greatly boosts the drop chance of that specific weapon. So, for example, after completing the quest for Elsie’s Rifle, I can select it as my weapon augment, meaning that 50% of my BRAVE Arsenal drops will be that weapon.

Secondly, all of the weapons Shaxx gives you from completing these quests will be Limited-Edition variants, guaranteeing that all players can get at least one shiny version of each BRAVE weapon before The Final Shape hits. Since the weapon rolls for the quests are fixed, if you want a better Holofoil roll, you must grind out authentic ones from Onslaught or the Hall of Champion’s chest.

ARCITE’S BRAVE Quests

Aside from BRAVE Arsenal quests, ARCITE will also give out special weekly bounties which act similarly to the Starhorse’s bounties from Dares of Eternity. There are a total of five weekly bounties available per week and you can only pick up one at a time. One-star bounties are the easiest and three-star are the most difficult. For example, the first three-star bounty asks you to get precision kills within Dungeons or Raids and complete an encounter from any Dungeon or Raid on Master difficulty. 

Like the BRAVE quests, though, these bounties are well worth the effort. No matter the rating, they all drop bountiful amounts of Hype to quickly slingshot you through Shaxx’s reputation rewards. In addition, the three-star bounties will also award you a free BRAVE weapon drop, making them even more worthwhile. 

ARCITE 99-40 Returns With More Quests

Parade Armour and BRAVE Weapon Chests

As you wander The Hall of Champions, it’s hard to miss the massive number of chests piled up in the middle of the room. Well, Into the Light isn’t just bringing new weapons to Destiny 2 but it’s also bought one new set of armour for each class. Titans, Hunters, and Warlocks can all don the new Parade Armour sets, which are remixed versions of the class armour from Destiny 2 Year 1.

However, upon first entering The Hall of Champions, all of these chests will be unavailable to you. To earn the right to open them, you’ll need to level up Shaxx’s reputation to set ranks. Upon reaching the required rank, Shaxx will award you a permit which will let you open the corresponding series of chests, allowing you to pick up the Parade sets piece-by-piece.

Parade Armour Sets

There are a total of 15 armour chests in The Hall of Champions, which totals pieces for each class. The chests are grouped up in batches of five, with the drops inside correlating to the statues in The Hall of Champions. For example, the chests next to the Hunter statue contain the full set of the Hunter’s Parade Armour. 

If, instead of armour, you’re looking to pick up more drops from the BRAVE Arsenal, then wander up to Shaxx and look to the left. There, you’ll find another chest similar to the ones which drop at the end of Onslaught where you can spend 10 Trophies to earn one random BRAVE weapon. Your current Augmentation does affect these drops and they can come with the Limited-Edition Holofoil, making it a great source of additional loot drops while you play. 

Parade Armour Chests

How to Get the Superblack Shader

If you’re a Destiny veteran, the name Superblack probably means something to you. Whether it’s the desire to go back to the good old days or a want to dress in all black in the here and now, Into the Light has one more surprise up its sleeve and it’s the return of this iconic Shader. As the name suggests, Superblack is a Shader which makes your armour completely pitch black, making it a favourite of edgy Hunters the world over.

However, getting your hands on Superblack is going to take some graft. There are two halves to the Superblack Key: Shaxx has the Superblack Key Alpha whereas ARCITE has the Superblack Key Omega. To unleash Superblack on the Tower, you will need both halves of the key. 

Shaxx’s key is a lot simpler to obtain as you simply need to reach the maximum Hype reputation rank with him. His maximum rank is 20 so, while it will take a lot of bounties and Onslaught, you can complete this objective at your own pace. Meanwhile, ARCITE’s key requires you to complete all 12 BRAVE Arsenal quests. Because only six weapons are available right now, this step will be unbeatable until at least the 30th of April, so you’ll need to wait a while longer if you want Superblack for yourself.

Superblack Shader

Destiny 2 Into the Light Gameplay Loop

So, now that you know the base components of Into the Light, what does the gameplay loop for Destiny 2 look like for the foreseeable future?

1. Visit The Hall of Champions to pick up Bounties from both Shaxx and ARCITE 99-40. If they’re available, you will also pick up BRAVE Arsenal quests from ARCITE.
2. Hop into Onslaught to earn BRAVE Weapons, complete your bounties, and earn Hype. 
3. Return to The Hall of Champions to turn in your Hype, Trophies, and BRAVE Arsenal quests. 
4. Rinse and repeat each week for more rewards. 

Of course, as you’re doing all this, you’ll also be hunting for Limited Edition Rolls and experiencing everything else that Into the Light has to offer. That includes the reprised Whisper of the Worm and Outbreak Perfect Exotic Missions (with the former available right now and the latter available in May), the Pantheon Raid Boss Gauntlet (which launches on April 30th), the three new Crucible maps launching in May and so much more. 

If you’d like to see a deeper dive into all of those additional parts of Into the Light, then check out this article on KeenGamer for more information on the future of Destiny 2 Into the Light.

Step Into the Light

That was everything you needed to know about the Into the Light update in Destiny 2.