Destiny 2 Season of the Witch: Seasonal activities explained
Season 22 introduces a range of new seasonal activites for Guardians to grind through and earn unique rewards from. Here’s everything you need to know about Destiny 2 Season of the Witch, including how it works and what you can gain from it.
Coming off of the back of Season of the Deep, Season of the Witch is a big deal. It’s the first season to implement Bungie’s reworked progression model that sees Destiny 2 move away from the previous vendor upgrade paradigm.
In its place comes a variety of diverse seasonal activites and a more complex progression system that encourages players to explore and complete all kinds of quests and objectives.
However, this change can be overwhelming so we’re here to make it all easier to understand. This is our breakdown of Destiny 2 Season of the Witch and everything you need to know about it.
Contents
- What is Savathun’s Spire
- What is Altars of Summoning
- How does Lectern of Divination work
- How to get Opaque Cards
- What does ‘Requires Arc/Solar/Void Attunement’ mean
- Season of the Witch seasonal weapons
What is Savathun’s Spire in Destiny 2 Season of the Witch?
Savathun’s Spire is a three-man seasonal activity in Season of the Witch that requires players to clear three different encounters with short platforming segments in between where secret chests can be found.
The mechanics of each encounter are randomly selected from one or two of the following:
Capture Plates
Start out by clearing adds until you are prompted to capture a highlighted plate. Run over the plate and stand in it until the capture is complete and defeat the remaining enemies to clear the encounter.
Sometimes successfully capturing a plate will spawn Relics such as a scythe that can be used to defeat enemies faster although this will not always be the case.
An active Capture Plate from Savathun’s Spire in Destiny 2.Elemental Crystals
There are three different crystal types that you need to destroy: Arc, Solar, and Void. After destroying these crystals a boss will spawn which can be defeated to clear the encounter.
Each crystal can be destroyed by doing the following:
- Arc Crystals: Melee one to receive the Crystalline Charge buff. Run around and melee the other highlighted crystals with the buff active to pass this charge on and repeat for all crystals.
- Solar Crystals: Pick the crystal up and deposit it in the highlighted location. Be aware that you will be taking constant damage while carrying these crystals so you may need to juggle them.
- Void Crystals: Get up close and destroy the crystal using any suitable weapon. You cannot damage these from a distance as they are protected by an outer shield.
The activity has a recommended Power Level of 1760, but the active Hero Modifier ensures that enemies will always be at least 5 points over your current Power Cap.
A proptected Void Crystal from Savathun’s Spire in Destiny 2.Elemental Spheres
A large elemental sphere will be located in the middle of the encounter. It will either be Arc, Solar, or Void with each having a unique effect. The sphere will periodically activate triggering the relevant effect and hindering you in the process.
The unique effect of each sphere is as follows:
- Arc Sphere: Deals substantial damage over time in one-quarter of the room. Avoid that section for the duration of the effect as the inflicted damage adds up quickly.
- Solar Sphere: Burning rays are released from the sphere across the entirety of the room. This inflicts massive damage but can be avoided by using natural cover and Titan barriers.
- Void Sphere: Tethers you in place making it impossible to move around and easier for enemies to swarm and defeat you. Stay away from the center of the room to avoid being tethered.
Arc Sphere from Savathun’s Spire in Destiny 2.What is Altars of Summoning in Destiny 2 Season of the Witch?
Altars of Summoning is a three-man seasonal activity in Season of the Witch that requires players to clear four encounters of varying difficulty.
Once in the activity, begin the Ritual of Induction by interacting with any Hive Rune. Having all three Fireteam members activate matching runes grants additional Armor Charge, weapon damage boosts, and Lucent Blessing.
Once at an encounter you will be given the chance to offer a Feeble Offering (Tier 1), Robust Offering (Tier 2), or Powerful Offering (Tier 3). The difficulty of each encounter is dictated by which offering you make with higher tiers resulting in harder encounters, but better rewards.
Encounters are reused from Savanthun’s Spire but there are a few unique to Altars of Summoning too. These unique encounters are as follows:
- A Vex encounter where players are required to prevent Vex from sacrificing themselves by defeating them and then taking down three Minotaur bosses.
- A Lucent Hicent encounter defeated Tribute Bearers will drop Burdens of Tribute that must then be deposited in a Hive Altar.
- Boss encounters where the boss is protected until nearby Elemental Crystals are destroyed.
Once all encounters have been cleared you can claim your rewards from the chest. Interestingly, you don’t need to return to orbit afterward and can instead head back to the Hive Runes to start over.
Vex Encounter from Altars of Summoning seasonal activity in Destiny 2.How does Lectern of Divination work in Destiny 2?
The Lectern of Divination is an occult archive where players can unlock unique abilities, rewards, and passive effects by completing each card entry.
For each of the Major Cards available players are required to do the following:
- Acquire an Opaque Card.
- Go to the Lectern of Divination to receive a quest specific to that card.
- Complete the given quest which can be viewed in the ‘Seasonal’ tab of the quest interface.
- Go back to the Lectern of Divination to hand in the quest and receive your reward.
Rewards vary from items like Enhancement Prisms to powerful Arcana Cards that can be used in the Deck of Whispers to unlock passive effects in seasonal activities. These effects include increased ammo drops, faster ability cooldowns, extra damage, and much more.
The Deck of Whispers can be found in the same hub area where the Lectern of Divination is located. Players can place up to eight cards at a time but the cards will only trigger in seasonal activities once at least five are placed
A big limitation is that only one Arcana Card is randomly activated at the beginning of each seasonal encounter. This restricts build crafting potential as any of your 5-8 placed cards can be chosen.
The Lectern of Divination in Destiny 2.How to get Opaque Cards in Destiny 2
Opaque Cards can be acquired from any of the following sources or activites in Destiny 2:
- Looting chests found within and at the end of seasonal activities.
- As rewards for leveling up the Ritual Table vendor.
- Found hidden floating on certain destinations.
- Completing ritual activities (Crucible, Gambit, and Vanguard)
What does ‘Requires Arc/Solar/Void Attunement’ mean in Destiny 2?
Arc, Solar, and Void Attunement is believed to be part of the deckbuilding mechanic new to Season of the Witch. Currently, it is not possible to interact with these attunements with them most likely being time-gated for later on in Season 22.
What are the seasonal weapons for Season of the Witch?
There are seven seasonal weapons unique to Season of the Witch, with one Exotic and six Legendaries. This includes the first-ever Strand Hand Cannon and Rocket Launcher of their respective archetypes.
The seasonal weapons for Season of the Witch are as follows:
| Weapon | Type | Element | Slot | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ex Diris | Grenade Launcher | Arc | Energy | Exotic |
| Brya’s Love | Scout Rifle | Void | Energy | Legendary |
| Eleatic Principle | Machine Gun | Arc | Heavy | Legendary |
| Kept Confidence | Hand Cannon | Strand | Kinetic | Legendary |
| Locus Locutus | Sniper Rifle | Stasis | Kinetic | Legendary |
| Semiotician | Rocket Launcher | Strand | Kinetic | Legendary |
| The Eremite | Fusion Rifle | Solar | Energy | Legendary |
That’s everything you need to know about the seasonal activities for Destiny 2 Season of the Witch. For more useful Destiny tips & tricks check out some of our other content:
Deepsight Harmonizers: How to farm, use, and what weapons to convert | Exotic Mission Rotator: What it is, how to access, schedule, loot table | Best Exotic weapons | Best PvP Weapons | Best PvE Weapons | Destiny 2 Season of the Witch: Release date, raid, power cap, & more | Best Titan Builds | Best Warlock Builds | Best Arc 3.0 Builds | Best Solar 3.0 Builds | Best Void 3.0 Builds | Best Stasis Builds