This guide will teach you how to get Forerunner, the latest Exotic sidearm in Destiny 2. It was introduced in December 7th, 2022 as part of Bungie’s 30th Anniversary Event. The Forerunner quest is not locked behind the 30th Anniversary Pack DLC, which means all players can acquire it for free.
Complete the Dares of Eternity activity
Your first task is to do a full run of Dares of Eternity. Here is the full walkthrough of the new seasonal activity released as part of Bungie’s 30th Anniversary.
Complete the Magnum Opus quest
Return to Xur once you complete the Dares of Eternity for the first time and he will give you a quest called Magnum Opus.
This quest has six steps that you must finish before you can get the Forerunner.
Step 1: Collect 7 Strange Coins
You can farm Strange Coins by completing Dares of Eternity, ritual playlist activities, bounties, and Heroic public events.
Step 2: Complete 3 Starhorse bounties
Starhorse can be found in the lower level of Xur’s Treasure Hoard. You need Strange Coins to buy his bounties.
Unlike other bounties, Starhorse bounties can only be taken one at a time. The requirements must be fulfilled in a single Dares of Eternity run, or else they will reset.
This quest step requires either three daily bounties or one weekly bounty. The weekly bounty is has more demanding requirements, but if you have a fireteam it can easily be completed in a Legend mode (level 1320). On the other hand, daily Starhorse bounties can easily be done in Normal mode (level 1150).
Step 3: Get the Strange Key from Xur
After a lengthy talk with Xur, you can now buy the Strange Key from his shop. However, you need to reach Strange Favor Rank 4 with him before he gives you this artifact. Completing a few more Dares of Eternity runs should do the trick.
Step 5: Find the Anomalous Object.
This is quest step may take a while. Once you have the Strange Key, exit Xur’s treasure hoard—but do not return to orbit— and enter the opposite room. Stand in the purple smoke and you will be teleported to Valley, which is basically the Dares of Eternity arena.
Next, you must find the proper place to use the Strange Key. It’s on a rock to the right of the arena, with a small rectangular object protruding from it. Follow this video to find the exact location:
A quest marker will appear after you use the key. Follow it until you reach a gap in the cliffs beyond the Dares of Eternity arena.
Proceed into the cave until you reach the area with floating bronze balls. Climb up the cliff while avoiding these balls until you reach the top.
You will then come across a chasm with several tubes. Find the small platforms as you climb up until you can almost reach the ceiling. Your next destination is a small gap to the left, if you’re facing in this direction:
Jump into the small gap until you reach another chasm. This time, there will be platforms that slide in and out of the walls. Learn the pattern and keep jumping upward until you reach the top.
Head inside the next area to find a Cryo Pod on the ground. Interact with the pod to receive the Anomalous Object. The most difficult part of the quest is now finished!
Go back to Orbit or exit the cave by dropping into a small hole in the ground. Your final stop for this quest is back the Tower.
Step 6: Talk to Banshee-44
Give the Anomalous Object to Banshee-44 the Gunsmith and he will reward you with the Forerunner. If you read Banshee’s lines, you can find a few Halo references. Guess which ones they are!
Forerunner Exotic Features
The Forerunner in Destiny 2 was modeled after the iconic M6-D Magnum from Halo: Combat Evolved. This weapon takes up a Kinetic slot, uses Special Ammo, and comes with two default perks:
- Pace Yourself is an intrinsic perk that gives this weapon weapon more accuracy and less recoil every time you tap the trigger.
- Full Stop grants extra range and higher damage. This sidearm can be fired in full auto and deals additional precision damage to unshielded enemies.
The third perk, The Rock, lets you spend the Forerunner’s reserve ammo after a kill to transform your next grenade into a Halo-style frag grenade. You can unlock this final perk by acquiring the Forerunner’s Exotic Catalyst.
How to Unlock the Forerunner Exotic Catalyst
The Forerunner has an Exotic Catalyst quest. Go to Xur and find the Anomalous Access Card in his reward list, which requires Strange Favor Rank 16. The process may take a while—you need a total of 9000 reputation points. That’s roughly equivalent to opening 78 Treasure Chests.
The Anomalous Access Card is a quest that requires you to score 225,000 points in a single Dares of Eternity run. This can be done in normal mode if you’re lucky enough to qualify for the Lightning Round. You can also get it in Legend mode if you have a dedicated fireteam.
Complete this quest to acquire the weapon’s Exotic Catalyst. Finally, all you need is to get 700 kills—from any PvE or PvP mode—using the Forerunner to unlock the kill tracker and The Rock perk.
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