Barrow-Dyad is the new exotic for Episode: Heresy inDestiny 2, and it’s a fun one. Not only is it delightfully disc-shaped, it’s a fun Strand exotic to run if you, like myself, still don’t haveSalvation’s Edge’s exotic, Euphony. The quest to get the gun itself can be a little complicated, but is overall pretty fun.
The Barrow-Dyad catalyst, like other Shape-able exotics, has a few different options. You get to choose between Target Lock, Hatchling, One for All, and High-Impact Reserves. High-Impact Reserves is unlocked first, and the other three are unlocked in order of their listing at the Shaping Slab.
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It’s An Intimidating Number Of Steps, But Isn’t Too Bad
Without getting too lost in the weeds of the Barrow-Dyad unlock quest, there are ninesteps to follow to grab Barrow-Dyad. It’s hidden behind an odd interaction in the Nether, but once you grab the quest properly, it’s easy enough to follow along with. Here’s what you need to do:
Once you finish the exotic quest,you’ll pick up Barrow-Dyad as well as the “Dyadic Ascension” exotic quest, which will lead to Barrow-Dyad’s Intrinsic Perk Upgrades.This, like all exotic upgrade quests, will take some grinding and treasure hunting to get done, but it will be worth it to boost your Barrow-Dyad’s power. The first step of this quest is easy enough, but will become more complicated.
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“Dyadic Ascension” Exotic Quest Walkthrough
This Will Net You All Three Currently Available Intrinsic Upgrades
For the first step of Dyadic Ascension, you’ll need to reach reputation rank five with the Shaping Slab, which should be pretty easy, and then step three will ask you to be rank nine. This is a bit harder, but can be done with some solid Nether runs. It’s not the most glamorous, but you can complete story quests at the same time if you’d like.
Steps two and four of the “Dyadic Ascension” quest ask you to collect 12 more Taken Osseus Fragments.These can be found all over the Nether in quite a few locations, and you can use your Ghost to give you some guidance as to where to look. They’re the same as the ones you found in the original “The Taken Path” quest, so keep your eyes peeled for what my fireteam and I called “crunchy Ghosts” as you make your Nether runs.
Also, keep an eye out for anyMetastasized Essentia, which you can turn in for extra awards at the end of a Court of Blades or in Eris' apartment.
After you find enough Taken Osseus Fragments, you’ll unlock Panic Response II and Panic Response III, which are upgrades to Barrow-Dyad’s already-slotted intrinsic trait. You can slot these in at the Shaping Slab in the Enclave on Mars. This will permanently upgrade your Barrow-Dyad, no matter what the status of your catalyst is.
Once you find all the fragments, you’ll get a requirement to grab the “Moment of Clarity” perk from the Slab in Eris' apartment. This requires reputation rank 12. After doing this, you’ll be tasked with collecting six final Taken Osseus Fragments.
There are six Fragments in each load zone of the Nether, so keep an eye out for any you might have missed.
After finding all 18 Taken Osseus Fragments, you’ll have to run the Nether on Expert difficulty. After doing so, or if you’ve already done so, you’ll get quest completion and Panic Response IV — the last intrinsic upgrade for Barrow-Dyad available in Act 2.
Like The Original Quests, Here There Be Secrets
In order to unlock the catalyst quest for Barrow-Dyad,you’ll need to finish an Expert Court of Blades run with the gun equipped.Then, you’ll get a quest called “A Needle’s Path,” which will make you run another Court of Blades using only precision weapons, plus Barrow-Dyad. This means you’ll need:
All you need to do now is complete a Court of Blades run with the right loadout to get the High-Impact Reserves Catalyst for Barrow-Dyad. It seems like the other three—Hatchling, One for All, and Target Lock—are all time-gated until Act 3 of Heresy drops.
To unlock/switch to Barrow-Dyad’s secondary perk, you’ll need to activate the Path of Ambition at the Resonance Slab in Eris' apartment by picking up the worm in the Hall of Souls of the Nether and completing the quest it gives you. This is past the hallway where you grab new upgrades during the Court of Blades.
This is only two weeks away (from the time of writing), so you don’t have to wait too much longer to grab more catalysts for Barrow-Dyad. Whether this new exotic SMG has made its way into yourDestiny 2loadout, completing these catalyst quests is one more step towards finishing out Episode: Heresy.
