Lightfall has landed and we’re here to help you out with a How to Unlock Destiny 2 Season 20 Artifact guide! Seasonal artifacts will be familiar to long time Destiny 2 players, but with the Lightfall update Bungie has made some changes to how they effect your character. Mods will no longer need to be equip, but have now become passive perks.
For more information on changes, the new perks, and how to get the new seasonal artifact called Ascendant Scepter, read on below.
How to Get the Ascendant Scepter
Acquiring the Ascendant Scepter is fairly straightforward. All that’s needed is for you to complete the seasonal introductory quest called “Awaken, Queensguard”. This quest is free to all players and does not require that you purchase a seasonal pass, or even Lightfall. After completing the quest all you need to do is claim the Ascendant Scepter from Nimbus on Neomuna.
Once it’s in your inventory, you’ll want to be sure to equip it due to the seasonal mods found on it are mandatory in order to deal with Champions. This is an addition to the extra Power Levels the artifact grants, which is helpful when you’re tackling end game content.
Ascendant Scepter Artifact Perks
Seasonal artifacts will be familiar to long time Destiny 2 players, but with the Lightfall update Bungie has made some changes to how they effect your character. First, artifact mods are now called artifact perks. These are passive and you no longer have to slot them into armor pieces. Once you unlock an artifact perk, it automatically applies to your Guardian.
Each character will have twelve perks to unlock, and you can reset them at no cost however many times you like.
As in previous seasons, the perks are divided into five separate columns – you’ll be required to unlock the perks in the first column before perks to the right become available.
First Column
- Anti-Barrier Sidearms – Your equipped Sidearms fire shield-piercing rounds and stun Barrier Champions. Additionally, Sidearms are always Overcharged when that modifier is active.
- Anti-Barrier Pulse Rifles – Your equipped Pulse Rifles fire shield-piercing rounds and stun Barrier Champions. Additionally, Pulse Rifles are always Overcharged when that modifier is active.
- Overload Bows – Damage by fully drawn arrows from your equipped Bows disrupts combatants, stunning the target, delaying ability energy regeneration, and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against Overload Champions. Additionally, Bows are always Overcharged when that modifier is active.
- Unstoppable Scout Rifles – Aiming down the sights of a Scout Rifle for a short time loads a powerful explosive payload that stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against Unstoppable Champions. Additionally, Scout Rifles are always Overcharged when that modifier is active.
- Automatics Overload – Sustained fire from Auto Rifles and Submachine Guns disrupts combatants, stunning them, delaying ability energy regeneration, and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against Overload Champions. Additionally, Auto Rifles and Submachine Guns are always Overcharged when that modifier is active.
Second Column
- Authorized Mods: Solar – The armor energy costs of all armor mods affecting your Solar weapons are significantly discounted.
- Authorized Mods: Strand – The armor energy costs of all armor mods affecting your Strand weapons are significantly discounted.
- Authorized Mods: Void – The armor energy costs of all armor mods affecting your Void weapons are significantly discounted.
- Authorized Mods: Grenades – The armor energy costs of all armor mods affecting your grenades are significantly discounted.
- Multi-Siphon Mods – Grants access to armor mods in your helmet that combine the effects of the Strand Siphon mod with the Solar Siphon Mod and the Void Siphon mods.
Third Column
- Shatter Orbs – The first time you break a combatant’s shield, you create an Orb of Power if you break the shield with the matching damage type.
- Defiant Armory – Greatly improves the benefits provided by the Noble Deeds, Nanotech Tracer Rockets, Tex Balanced Stock, and Ambush Origin traits.
- Untangler – Destroying a Tangle with a Strand weapon suspends targets damaged by the explosion.
- Solar Surge – Collecting a Firesprite gives you Armor Charge.
- Volatile Flow – Picking up an Orb of Power grants your Void weapons Volatile Rounds.
Fourth Column
- Bricks from Beyond – Defeating a powerful combatant with a Void weapon has a chance to generate Heavy ammo for you and your teammates.
- Flare Up – Firebolt Grenades apply more Scorch stacks. Damaging a combatant with a Firebolt Grenade spawns a Firesprite near them.
- Origin Hones – Weapons with the Noble Deeds, Nanotracing Rockets, Tex Balanced Stock, and Ambush Origin traits are always Overcharged when that modifier is active.
- Allied Unraveling – Rapid final blows with a Strand weapon grant your weapon Unraveling Rounds, with a longer duration near allies.
- Counterweave – When you or a member of your fireteam stuns or defeats a Champion, you gain energy for your least-charged Strand ability.
Fifth Column
- Stranded Reach – Destroying a Tangle with a Strand weapon creates a larger and more damaging explosion.
- Rain of Firebolts – When you have Firebolt Grenades equipped, gain a second grenade charge.
- Void Weapons Channeling – You gain a temporary bonus to Void weapon damage after you defeat a target with a Void weapon while at least one of your Void abilities is fully charged. This damage bonus increases based on the number of fully charged Void abilities you have.
- Medieval Champion – Glaives you wield fire a powerful explosive payload that stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against Unstoppable Champions. Additionally, Glaives are always Overcharged when that modifier is active. Landing consecutive hits with a Sword disrupts combatants, stunning them, delaying ability energy regeneration, and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against Overload Champions. Additionally, Swords are always Overcharged when that modifier is active.
- Prismatic Transfer – When you cast your Super, each member of your fireteam with a subclass damage type different than yours gains a bonus to weapon damage.
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