Destiny 2 Ascendant Challenge Week 4 Guide (Aug 27-Sept 3)

We’re quickly nearing the end of Destiny 2’s second year, and the arrival of Shadowkeep. The Solstice of Heroes event has come to a close, but while there’s still time to do Moments of Triumph, the next month or so of Destiny 2 is likely to be a bit slower than the rest of the Season of Opulence. Now is a good time to clear out your Vault and chase the game’s best armor and weapons–like the armor pieces from the Dreaming City, which often carry Enhanced perks that will be useful even after Armor 2.0 drops with Shadowkeep. And a great way to get them quickly is with weekly Ascendant Challenges.

As always, we’ve continued to rotate through the available Ascendant Challenges; the specifics of what you have to do are the same, but it’s not immediately obvious where you need to go or what’s going to happen inside. Below, you’ll find a guide to help you out.

Before you try to tackle the Ascendant Challenge, the same requirements as always hold true; most notably, you need a Tincture of Queensfoil. This is a consumable item that you’ll happen upon while playing in the Dreaming City, although you can also buy them. Using a Tincture gives you the Ascendance buff, which allows you to see a Taken portal. It’s this portal you must go through to complete the Ascendant Challenge. Along with a Tincture, you have to grab the Ascendant Challenge bounty from Petra in the Dreaming City; it’s through this that you actually get your Powerful gear.

For the current challenge, the portal is located in Rheasilvia. In the northeast corner, head inside a building and go straight as far as you can. Turn right, and then go left in the next area to reach Harbinger’s Seclude. Go up a set of stairs and out the doorway on the right. Head straight through this area, through another doorway, and continue straight in the next zone. At the end of a bridge you’ll see a statue covered in Taken Blight balls; look for hidden Ascendant platforms to appear in the big open area in front of the statue starting on the right side of the room that will take you to the top, or jump up the blights themselves to reach the portal on top of the statue’s head. Check out the video above for a walkthrough. If you struggle to get up, take out your ghost and you’ll see some invisible platforms just off the slide of the area that can help you get up.

Going through the portal transports you to the Keep of Honed Edges in the Ascendant Plane. Platform your way across a series of rocks and you’ll find an area with three knights who are immune to damage. Kill all of the other enemies and the barrier protecting a sword will go away, allowing you to pick up the relic.

At this point, more enemies spawn in and one knight will begin attacking you. Kill the knight, and the other two will join the fray along with additional enemies. Take them all out, and you’ll again have to platform across a series of rocks, now with enemies to make things more challenging. There is debris moving through the area, and at least certain things you step on will disappear after a short period of time, so make sure not to linger. Make your way toward a platform with a large blue object on it to complete the challenge.

As in previous weeks, the chest you receive at the end of the Ascendant Challenge isn’t anything special. But the bounty you get from Petra offers Powerful gear for completing it; this can help to boost your Power level, so ensuring you have the bounty is essential.

Meanwhile, the quest for Thorn should keep players busy for a bit. It also represents another step forward in one of the biggest, most interesting running stories in all of Destiny lore–check out our lore catch-up guide for everything you need to know about the famous gun, its famous wielder, and what’s going on with the Drifter as the Season of the Drifter continues.