Good day! It’s Librarian Husky. Act two of Episodes Eeko has begun. We’ve got new content in the form of EO’s Battlegrounds. We’ve got new story missions diving deeper into the Vex‘s mysteries in same 14, as well as new weapons to chase, including the first-ever solar rocket arm. It is sure to be meta for a long, long time, right there alongside its Strand and Arc brothers. Now, because a new chapter in this episodic seasonal model has hit, we put together another guide going over everything you need to know about act two.

New Weapons and Content

We’re talking the best way to farm the two new Vex-themed weapons since the ability to focus them for red borders is unfortunately time-gated. We’ve got a quest guide for you, optimization strats, and more, so let’s dive in.

Completing Act One

Now, first off, it’s very important that you have Echo’s Act One completed because you cannot access act two or even begin the act two quest until you finish all of act one. Now, if you have not caught up or done any of that, feel free to check out our original guide on Eeko’s Act One. But if you have, then as soon as you load into the game, you can then head to the tower to speak with Iora to obtain the Act Two Quest: A Rising Course. You’ll also have a new cut scene that you can watch.

Delve Battleground Activity

Now, the first step of this quest asks you to complete the brand new Delve Battleground activity, which is match-made and can be found within the Director on Nessus. This version of the Battleground has no Champions. However, when you do normally launch this in the Eko Battleground playlist, there will be Champions present in both the standard and the expert versions.

Challenges and Strategy

Now keep in mind, these Battlegrounds are like a mini strike. The ad density on them is pretty insane, and it’s not something you really notice in the quest version of these Battlegrounds. But if you attempt to do the expert version, this activity is challenging. So much so that I think that whenever they do make this into a Grandmaster Nightfall, it’s going to be one of the most challenging Grand Masters in the game. Even on Expert, our team was getting pressed, and this is with me using some of my best loadouts.

Seamless Battlegrounds

I also really like how all three of these Battlegrounds, of which only two are present this week, seamlessly run together. It’s literally us diving into the depths of Nessus. It’s why the third Battleground will be named Core. But back to the Delve Battleground, once you complete this Battleground, you get a super long quest step that basically just boils down to collecting more samples from Echo activities.

Locating Pistons

In the Battlegrounds themselves, those Pistons are actually located in between the areas where you are going to be fighting, and they’re pretty noticeable. I feel like Bungie’s done a pretty good job of making them much more visible. Now, as you collect these samples, you’ll sometimes obtain Vex code munitions. Once you have enough, the quest step will complete.

Upgrading Your Sampler

Now, once you gather all the munitions, you’ll be able to head back to Felsite to install a brand new upgrade. Then you can speak with her. She’ll give you a tuned radio L sampler. This is essentially an upgrade to the sampler we got at the beginning of Act One. Now, with this sampler, you’ll be able to find a greater variety of sample types as well as store a larger amount at once.

Specimen Quest Overview

You receive a new Specimen Quest, which we’re going to go over here in just a second. Now, as for the next story quest step, you’ll need to complete the new Conduit Battleground, which can once again be found on Nessus. After this, it’s super straightforward: return to the helm and speak with Saint at the hollow projector, and then you’ll have a radio message to listen to, which really adds to the story here. But that’s it narratively for this week.

Completing the Specimen Quest

With that being said, we still have the Specimen Quest. The first step of this task involves opening chests at the end of the Echo’s activity. You’ve got multiple options here. You’re looking at having to run around five Echo Battlegrounds, either standard or expert, or you can run the expert Breach executable. If you have a competent enough team, you can do this because, at the very end, you have multiple chests to open instead of just one, essentially meaning you’ll be gaining more progress per run.

Maximizing Progress

With a good enough squad, you can pretty much do this in about 15 minutes. Just make sure you hit those Pistons and always try to go for platinum, that way you can open up all the chests at the end. At the same time, if you’re looting primarily the two new weapons that are dropping with Act Two, which are the Aberrant Action and the Kian Pulse Rifle, this method will be efficient.

Increased Drop Chances

I actually found their drop chances to be higher in the Battleground activity, so something to just keep in mind. Originally, I was really rushing to do the Specimen Quest because I thought that this quest was going to allow me to focus these weapons, but that’s not the case. However, if you are just looking to get done with the Specimen Quest fast, then multiple chests from Breach Executable is the way to go.

Focusing Echo Engrams

Now, once you finish this step, you’ll have to focus five Echo Engrams into Echo gear at Failsafe. If you are Engram-deprived, you can actually just focus it on your armor. I know the weapon ones cost two a piece, and that’s fine too if you’ve got enough Engrams, but the random armor Engrams only cost one. You can just do five of those if you want, and that will knock out the step.

Weapon Engram Focusing

That being said, if you actually randomly focus your weapon Engrams, that will cost you two Engrams, but at the same time, there’s a chance that you’re going to get a red border Aberrant Action or even a red border Creasion. After doing this, you’ll have one step left, which is to extract data in Breach Executable and then defeat powerful commands in the Echo’s Battleground.

Final Quest Step

For some reason, you can actually complete this step in just a single Battleground run, so you don’t even need to do both activities. Not really sure why this is, but it only took us a single Echo’s Battleground, and we knocked this all out. After that, all you have to do is speak to FFE for your reward, which will be the mirrored encrypted Hydra Tail Specimen.

Adding to Your Collection

You’ll be able to add this to your collection, and this will give you an armor reputation booster. The booster provides 100% additional reputation earned through the seasonal armor perk, which is really nice. Personally, I think getting reputation gains here is pretty quick as it is, but that buff from the Hydra Tail is no joke.

Aberrant Action and RNG

Now, this takes us to Aberrant Action in Coras. Unfortunately, even after finishing this Specimen Quest, you are not able to focus these weapons like our other Echo weapons. You could spend four Engrams and focus a weapon individually, thereby giving you a higher chance of getting not only that weapon with the god roll but also the red border version of that weapon to then allow you to craft it once you obtain five red borders.

RNG and Weapon Drops

Really, what it’s going to come down to if you’re trying to get these weapons this week is RNG. With that being said, I do think that the Battleground activity, especially on Expert, has a higher chance of dropping these two weapons. I know Breach Executable has those extra chests at the end and the weapon that’s over the chest that allows you to pull those weapons directly. However, it’s RNG on which weapon you get at the end for those chests.

Choosing Your Loot

I found that multiple times I ran Breach Executable, I just didn’t have those weapons over those chests. Now, Battlegrounds don’t give you the ability to choose your loot at the end, but for some reason, they seem to have better drop rates for these specific weapons.

Optimizing Battleground Activity

I felt like I was getting a red border just about every single time I was running it, and it would make sense that the new activity would have a higher chance of dropping the new weapons. So let’s go over how to fully optimize this Battleground activity to get through it most effectively, especially on Expert, and to get the most loot at the end.

Focusing on Delve

The first thing I did want to mention is that we’re only going to be breaking down Delve here. For some reason, when loading into the playlist activity, this is the only Battleground that we can get this week despite playing Conduit during our Act 2 quest line. I’m not sure if this is on a weekly rotation or if this is just something bugging out for me.

Starting the Delve Battleground

You load right onto the surface of Nessus, an area that I think many of you are familiar with, but of course, this version has been altered. You’ll be tasked with recovering nine Fallen data to lower the barrier ahead. You’ll be fighting Fallen Drags, Arc-shielded enemies, and let me just say, everything here is tough, especially on Expert. These enemies will be periodically dropped off from Fallen catches, so make sure you take out the guns on those ships.

Dealing with CX Baron

You also have a huge yellow bar named CX, Baron of House Dust, to deal with. This guy’s got significant firepower and resilience, making him a formidable opponent. Be prepared to face a tough battle, especially when playing on Expert difficulty.

Facing CX Baron

A big Scorch cannon that will light you up, so watch out for it. Now, eventually, when you do enough damage, they’ll spawn out, and you’ll see this guy in every part of the Battleground until you defeat him at the very end. As you slay out, eventually a catch will appear that will drop off two Shanks and a yellow bar servitor called Dana Safeguard. You kill all three of these enemies, and they’ll each drop a Fallen data.

Dealing with Champions

Sometimes these enemies will be accompanied by a second servitor that’s a Barrier Champion. For Delve, definitely have something available to deal with Barrier and Overload Champions. Also, the catches spawn around the area, not just in one spot, so you’ll be moving around a bit to locate them. The data Shanks and servitors have diamonds over them, making them easy to spot from anywhere. Keep slaying out until you’ve collected all nine Fallen data, then the barrier will lower, and you can follow the diamond forward into the tower.

Entering the Well of Flame

Once you hit the first big drop-down area into the Well of Flame, be on the lookout for samples. This is why having your detector mod on your ghost is really important. There should be at least one sample before you go to the first portal. Then, on the other side of the portal, there will immediately be a piston, which is very easy to miss if you and your teammates are racing through. Activate this piston with your Hammer, which will unearth other samples around this area.

Maximizing Rewards

These pistons are where the bulk of your samples will come from, so you need to hit these to get the maximum amount of rewards when you bank them at the end. The next combat room has a bunch of Vex imprisoned by the Fallen. Taking out the yellow bar, Unrelenting Servitor, will lower the shields, letting the Vex out.

Encounter with Vex Goblins

Now, you’ll have mostly Vex goblins here and a couple of Void-shielded Minotaurs, as well as our good old Baron friend from the last encounter. Once Failsafe announces that the Vex are moving in on your position, all the Vex enemies come out to play. Most enemies will spawn around the outer edges of the room near the wall. You’ll face goblins, minotaurs, exploders, yellow bar wyverns, which teleport and do all kinds of crazy stuff, cyclopses, and high pedestals.

Preparing for Battle

Fellas, you absolutely need to have a concussive dampener mod on, max resilience, and at least one Void resist mod on. Throughout this, Overload Minotaurs will also be spawning in, but the entire encounter is just you slaying out. There are no real mechanics; there will be some samples you can pick up in the room, though, so make sure you pick those up.

Optimal Builds for Combat

Outside of that, just have your best builds. I’m rocking one of my favorite Titan builds in the game, and the goal for your build in this encounter is just to slay out. Not just something that can handle normal ads, but something that can melt high health targets. We’ll probably end up collecting somewhere between five and six builds that really pop off inside these Battlegrounds. You can also look at any of our previous build battle articles and utilize any of those builds.

Exploring the Caverns

Even though that’s GM-level content, Battlegrounds here will still offer a lot of difficulty simply because of the ad density. Once everything is dead, the center plate will activate and open up for you to drop down and begin exploring the caverns here.

Encountering the Baron Again

You’ll immediately see the Baron again with the servitor and more Vex trapped in a cage. The Baron will eventually spawn out, and once the servitor and Vex are taken care of, the next barrier blocking your way will lower. Through here, be on the lookout for more samples and another piston to slam. These show up as diamonds, so you won’t miss them.

Progressing Through the Caverns

Keep making your way through the caverns, watching out for trip mines and samples. As you move, you’ll eventually get to a rally banner and the final encounter. Here, you’ll drop down to begin the real fight, this being with Callx, Baron of House Dusk.

The Final Encounter

At the beginning of this encounter, Callx will be standing on top of an imprisoned Vex, with some Fallen nearby as well. Callx will become immune once the first small segment of his health bar is depleted. You’ll then need to eliminate the siphon servitors that spawn in off the catches. There will be a total of three: one left, one right, and one in the middle.

Dealing with the Servitors and Vex

You can split your team up, but in the expert version, you may want to consolidate and just take out one side at a time. These servitors will also be accompanied by other Fallen enemies. Once all three are slain, the three Vex portals in the room will activate, allowing Vex to pour in and lowering Callx’s shield, allowing you to deal damage to him.

Barrier hobgoblins will also spawn in, so be prepared to pop some shields. Honestly, you may want to kill them before dealing with Callx. Once Callx is defeated, a new boss will then spawn on the opposite side of the arena. There will also be an Overload Champion, some other Vex, and a yellow bar compelled aggressor wyvern.

Eliminating the Vex

You’ll need to eliminate them, and they will come at you pretty aggressively. Upon getting this Vex mine to half health, it’ll teleport, and then more Vex will start pouring in again. Here, you have to deal with the same enemies as before, including another compelled aggressive wyvern. If you’re right up against the portal, it’ll be a much more confined space. Just deal with these enemies and then finish off the boss’s health bar, and that’s it. That’s the Battleground.

Reward Chest

You’ll then get a chest with a bunch of drops on top of all the rewards you’ll get when depositing those samples that you’ve been collecting throughout the Battleground. This will net you a bunch of different drops, and in my opinion, it’s the best way to farm for the new Kian Pulse Rifle and the new Aberrant Action Sidearm.

Perfect Paradox

Now, the last note I want to make for this Act 2 guide is that Perfect Paradox is currently time-gated. Nobody seems to have acquired it yet. We’ve run Echo activities with no luck, and I’m pretty sure this is probably going to be tied to Saint-14 himself. When we think about how we first obtained Perfect Paradox, it’s probably going to be something along those lines. Since Saint-14 himself is such a prominent focus in this episode, we’re probably going to go down a similar path.

Farming Engrams

For those trying to get the crafted version of Aberrant Action or even Kian, your best bet is to farm a bunch of Engrams. Even though you can’t focus them directly for a single individual weapon, this method will still give you a good chance at obtaining the desired drops.

Maximizing Reputation with Echo’s Armor

You can focus it on the weapon selection. A great way to get reputation very quickly with Failsafe is to wear the Echo’s Armor. The Echo’s Armor has the perk Echo of Glory, which grants 10% additional Failsafe vendor reputation from all sources. For each piece of armor equipped with this perk, the bonus increases to a maximum of 30% from three pieces. The class item from the set contributes as though you were wearing three pieces, which is a huge benefit if you don’t want to change your loadout too much.

Additional Reputation Gains

Considering NES 004, the Hydra Specimen Tail that we brought up earlier, adds even more reputation gains. This is an excellent way to accumulate tons of rep gain, and you’ll be swimming in Engrams. Another way to get Engrams is by going through your season pass. There are tons of Echo Engrams that, if you haven’t picked up, you can collect right there.

Using Deep Sight Harmonizers

If you have any Deep Sight Harmonizers, you can pull those and consume them on any of these weapon drops, converting them into a red border weapon. Keep in mind you can’t do it to a weapon that was already originally a red border drop. Deep Sight Harmonizers are pretty rare, so use them wisely.

Accessing Old Season Passes

You can always access old season passes. Download an extension from Mozilla Firefox, then go to the season pass and access previous seasons of Destiny. You can pull everything, including Deep Sight Harmonizers, from there. Other than that, that’s pretty much the only way you’re going to get red borders for either of these weapons until next week, when we’ll have the opportunity to individually focus on these weapons.

In the meantime, enjoy Battlegrounds. It’s a ton of fun and challenging, which many of you will enjoy. Thank you all for reading, and as always, stay engaged and keep exploring!

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