With each new Season in Destiny 2, a new series of quests come with it. Each week, a new series of steps for the quest unlock that gradually tell the story of that particular Season. Typically, these quests are not as story intensive as Campaign missions that come with each new Expansion, but they help bridge the gap between Expansions.
Season 18 is no exception. Destiny 2 players will find themselves working with Drifter and the House of Light to stop Eramis from gathering mysterious relics on behalf of the Witness. This guide will help players complete the first week of this Season's quest, Sails of the Shipstealer.
Go to the H.E.L.M.
After completing the opening Story Mission of Season of Plunder, players will want to make their way to the H.E.L.M., which is where all seasonal content is located. In the hallway directly ahead of them, players will find a large pile of treasure and some bizarre looking device known as a Star Chart. This is where players will pick up the quest Sails of the Shipstealer, which contains the entire storyline of Season 18. Upon accepting it, the player will get a transmission from Mithrax.
After he is done talking, interact with the Star Chart once again to claim the Captain's Atlas. Once claimed, it can be found in the Quest tab. This item is needed to restore maps for Expeditions. Maps allow players to dig up buried treasure at the end of Expedition activities. In order to restore a map, Destiny 2 players will need to gather Map Fragments and Treasure Coordinates.
Map Fragments can be obtained from completing Ketchcrash, the six player activity that is part of Season of Plunder. Treasure Coordinates can be acquired from completing Core Playlist activities like Strikes, Gambit, and Crucible. Treasure Coordinates can also be acquired from Expeditions. There are upgrades available at the Star Chart that allow players to gather Treasure Coordinates from other sources as well.
Expedition Playlist
Once the player has restored a map, the next step is to complete an Expedition and loot a buried treasure chest at the end. The Expedition playlist can be found on the H.E.L.M. page of the Director. As long as Destiny 2 players are equipped to deal with Unstoppable and Overload Champions, they will have no issue completing Expedition as it is a very low risk activity. Here is a guide for more details about Expedition and how it works.
Pirate Hideout: Val'aug, the Brute
Once the player completes an Expedition and looting a buried treasure chest, a new activity will appear on the H.E.L.M. page called Pirate Hideout: Val'aug, the Brute. This is not a matchmade activity, but it isn't needed since Pirate Hideouts are fairly easy. From a difficulty standpoint, Pirate Hideouts are around the equivalent of a normal Lost Sector activity, but they do have a Respawn Restricted zone at the end which makes them ever so slightly more difficult since death resets the boss.
After clearing the group of enemies outside the hideout, players will need to use their Skeleton Key to open the door. Beyond the door is more enemies, but they should pose little challenge to players. For Destiny 2players who are under 1570 Power, enemies will be more difficult to defeat since they will be doing less damage. Before long, players will come across a door that is locked and can't be opened.
One Cabal enemy will drop an item, which is depicted in the image above. Throwing this item at the door will allow players to proceed onward toward the boss. The Respawn Restricted zone begins where Val'aug is. As players do damage to her, she will retreat into the next room and this process will repeat until she reaches the treasure room where she makes a final stand. She is essentially just a Cabal Colossus with lots of health, so players will need to avoid her machine gun while also clearing out adds (additional enemies) as they spawn. There are no champions, so Destiny 2 players can use whatever weapon they wish.
Loot the Relic, Return to the Eliksni Quarter
Once the boss is dead, players will need to loot the relic at the end. It is sitting on top of a pile of treasure, so it shouldn't be too difficult to spot. At this point the quest will update and players will need to return to the Eliksni Quarter. There, players will need to use the Holoprojector outside the Ether Tank. Eido will discuss the mission with players and once she is done talking, the next step will be to go into the Ether Tank and talk to Spider.
Spider will have a gift for the player, but they will only be able to choose one of the three Engrams. It doesn't matter which Engram players select, as the reward will still be a guaranteed Red Border weapon. After claiming their reward from Spider, that is the end of the quest for Week 1 and players will be able to proceed with the quest for Week 2.
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