How to unlock Thorn in Destiny 2’s Season of the Lost

❘ Published: 2021-11-02T23:29:50

Bungie

Thorn is a fan-favorite PVP weapon in Destiny 2 but the requirements for unlocking it have changed quite a bit over the years since it was introduced back in Forsaken.

Thorn has been a staple in the Guardian armory since it first debuted in Destiny way back in Year One. It’s been through a few changes since then, but players keep coming back to the hand cannon year after year and it’s hard to blame them.

Featuring a high damage output, a sleek design, and one of the most unique backstories in all of Destiny’s lore, this gun has something to appeal to players of all types. Back in Forsaken, you could unlock the gun by completing “A Melted Hunk of Metal” in the EDZ’s Salt Mines, but that’s no longer the case.

Thorn, along with all the other seasonal exotic weapons, can now only be purchased at the Monument to Lost Lights using very specific requirements.

How to unlock Thorn in Destiny 2

The Monument to Lost Lights is the vaulted Exotic hub. This vendor allows you to unlock Exotics from past seasons for a reasonable cost.

In order to unlock Thorn, you’ll need to collect the following pieces:

1x Exotic Cipher
1x Ascendant Shard
125,000 Glimmer
200 Dusklight Shard

While Glimmer can be collected passively, there are a couple of options for Dusklight Shards.

You can either purchase Dusklight from Spider’s rotating planetary material stock on the Tangled Shore or you can head to the EDZ and hunt them down yourself. The shards grow on tall white plants all over the entire region.

If you’re in a rush, you could always pick up some bounties from Devrim Kay to speed up the process, as they each reward you with 10 shards on completion.

How to collect Exotic Ciphers

There are two ways to approach Exotic Ciphers. Either reach rank 55 in the current Season Pass, or turn to Xur, Destiny’s rare-arms dealer for help.

Even if you haven’t bought the Season Pass you will still receive an Exotic Cipher as a reward for your seasonal rank, but be careful when claiming it – you can only hold one of these in your inventory at a time, so claiming this cipher while you already have one could cause you to lose it entirely.

Xur’s location changes with every appearance, but it’s always worth tracking him down and checking out his stock.

For players who’ve already claimed their seasonal cipher, you’ll have to make do with completing Xur’s Xenology quest to earn another. The traveling merchant only sticks around for a few days at a time though, so you’ll have to move fast if you want to get this done.

Xenology asks you to complete 21 Strikes, or win matches in the Crucible or Gambit. While that might sound like a lot, we have a guide that can help you get through it as fast as possible.

How to collect Ascendant Shards

If you own the paid Season Pass, you can earn three Ascendant Shards at season ranks 80, 85, and 94. You can also buy Shards from either Banshee-44 or Ada-1, but the planetary materials they require are random and change depending on the day.

The general cost for each Shard is:

10 Enhancement Prisms
100 planetary materials
50,000 Glimmer

If you’re still on the hunt, you’ll either need to complete platinum runs of Grandmaster Nightfall Strikes, make a flawless run in Trials of Osiris, or reach 10,000 reputation with one of either Zavala, Lord Shaxx, the Drifter, or Saint-14.

Read More: Destiny 2 Weekly Reset: Nightfall guide, Activities

Once you’ve collected all the items you need, venture back to The Monument to Lost Lights to reap your reward.

Thorn from Destiny 2 being wielded by a shadowy figure

Thorn’s long history and status as a Weapon of Sorrow has made it a fan-favorite across the years.

That’s our guide on how to unlock Thorn in Destiny 2. If you found this helpful, check out our other Destiny content and guides.