How To Get Lumina In Destiny 2

Destiny 2's Season of Opulence is full of Exotics at this point--just recently, we saw Bad Juju pop up, along with a new set of Moments of Triumph. Just before that was another next link in the Thorn-Last Word storyline, and yes, it's another Exotic hand cannon to get your hands on if you own the game's Annual Pass. It's called Lumina, and it has a direct tie to Dredgen Yor, one of the darkest figures in Destiny lore. Here's what you need to know, how to start the quest, and some tips on some of the more time-consuming quest steps, such as an apparent shortcut involving Blind Well completions and where to find the crystals to reclaim light.

Lumina is a hand cannon that, as the trailer below shows, both damages enemies and can be used to heal teammates, which sets it apart from any other weapon in the game. It's possible that, to get it, you'll need to have previously completed the Thorn questline. When you first log in after the latest weekly reset, you'll know you're on the right track if you're presented with a message teasing that you should return to a clifftop in relation to the man with the golden gun; it's referred to as the "same place as before." This won't provide you with a quest step, potentially leaving you in an awkward position if you don't know where to go. Read on for a guide to how to get started.

A Message From Shin Malphur -- Head To EDZ

To get started, you'll want to head to the EDZ and work your way through the Salt Mines, located just north of Trostland. You'll come upon a Fallen transponder that transmats you to the next area. From there, make your way to the end of the path and hug the ledge; you'll see an opening with various abandoned camps. There, you'll find a chest you need to open. Once you've completed that step, you'll need to proceed through a series of additional quest steps to obtain the new Exotic.

Visit The Original Thorn's Location (System Positioning Device)

The Exotic quests step you receive--A Fateful Gift--tells you to "identify the location of the original Thorn using your system positioning device." You'll have an item called a System Positioning Device in your Triumphs; hover over this to see where you need to head. Based on what we've already seen, this location will move, possibly on the hour. One example we were told to visit is Excavation Site 2 on Io.

Head to the designated area and search for a chest. It won't be marked on your radar, but when you're close, your Ghost will notify you in the upper-right corner of the screen, like when you're near an item that can be scanned.

Bearer Of Evils Past -- Generate Orbs Of Light

Next up is a quest step that asks you generate 250 Orbs of Light. That sounds like a lot, but thankfully the Orbs generated by your teammates count toward your progress. That makes an activity like Reckoning ideal; you can potentially complete this objective in a single go. Make sure to use a Masterworked gun to speed things up even further.

Rose Revealed

At this point, you get the Legendary hand cannon Rose, as well as three Legendary quest steps found in your Pursuits. These are all available to you simultaneously. You don't need to use Rose to complete these:

Defend The Light -- Kills Without Reloading

Defend the Light asks you to get 100 "streaks," which are achieved by killing multiple enemies in a row without reloading your weapon.

Face The Hordes -- Blind Well, Black Armory Forge, And Escalation Protocol Completions

One of the other two steps at this point involves completing encounters at the Blind Well (in the Dreaming City), Black Armory Forges (scattered around, including the EDZ and Nessus), or Escalation Protocol (Mars). Any of these will do, so take your pick and knock it out--but based on our experience, your best choice is the Blind Well. Each "bubble" during a run counts as an encounter, comfortably making it your fastest option. It's unclear if this is intended functionality or if Bungie will patch this.

Score 50k In A Nightfall

The last of these tasks sends you to the Nightfall, where you must score at least 50,000, which is actually fairly modest. Moving quickly will help, as will avoiding death. You can use a challenge card from Xur to add modifiers that will increase the multiplier on your score; we used the Solar Singe modifier and a 175 Power level handicap, giving us a 2.15x multiplier.

Fireteam Leader -- Activities Completed With Rose

Another quest step with a fair amount of flexibility, this one asks you to complete activities of your choice, but you must have Rose equipped. You'll receive bonus progress if you're in a fireteam with other people wielding Rose. The best way to do this is to gather six Rose-wielding players into a Menagerie team; three runs will complete the requirement if all six players are carrying the gun. For comparison, three players carrying Rose will need nine Strikes to complete the requirement.

Strength In Numbers -- Orbs, Final Blows, Invasions Denied

Next up is a multi-step objective. You'll need to generate 50 Orbs of Light, rack up kills on other Guardians using hand cannons (with progress shared across a team), and defeat in invading player before they kill anyone on your team in Gambit. Most of this sounds tougher than it is; the hand cannon kills need to be completed in Crucible or Gambit, but the Orbs can be gathered pretty quickly in any team event.

Despite the wording on that last part, what you're really trying to earn is a "Not On My Watch" medal in Gambit, which is earned for killing an Invader who's about to kill your teammate. Thankfully, you only need one, and you can get it with any weapon, or even your Super. Guns like Izanagi's Burden and Truth are handy for this step thanks to their one-hit kill and tracking capabilities.

Bloom -- Light Reclaimed

Once again, you'll need to equip Rose and complete an objective. Specifically, you'll need to boot up the Will of the Thousands Strike and play all the way through it and kill Xol. Along the way, you'll also need to "reclaim lost Light," which involves destroying purple crystals scattered throughout the Strike. You'll need to destroy 11 total, although there are more than that to find; you can watch the video above to see all of their locations. The key is you have to destroy 11 in a single run--your progress doesn't carry over from one Strike to the next.

With that done, congratulations-you've earned yourself Lumina. Be generous and heal your teammates.

In terms of backstory, this gun is the original Thorn, and you're now being tasked with cleaning it of the Hive corruption that caused Dredgen Yor to turn evil. It's tied to a long-running story that's actually quite fascinating, and among the best lore to be found in Destiny.