Bungie's Destiny 2 welcomed its 17th Season last month. In terms of new content, Season of the Haunted introduced some reworks to older events and one of the subclasses with Solar 3.0. Aside from the return of Nightmares and the inevitable Leviathan revisit, Guardians also got to explore a new dungeon named Duality. Within its confines await Legendary equipment, lucrative challenges and Triumphs, but most importantly, one of the two Exotic weapons: the Heart Shadow Sword.
Before Guardians can try their luck at claiming this Season’s new Exotic weapon, they have to obtain The Witch Queen Dungeon Key first, which provides access to the Duality dungeon. While players who have purchased The Witch Queen Deluxe Edition are given The Witch Queen Dungeon Key free of charge, others can acquire the item separately from the Eververse store, the Duality dungeon node, or the game's Hawthorne vendor.
What Is Destiny 2's Heart Shadow Sword?
As an Exotic armament that focuses on heavy attacks, the Heart Shadow Sword is a somewhat rare find. It's known to drop after Guardians finish the final encounter against Caiatl in the Duality dungeon, but only on the first completion of the week. To go with its exclusivity and a meager spawn rate, Heart Shadow has two distinct perks that set it apart from other in-game weapons. The Sword's basic intrinsic trait, Exhumation, turns Guardians invisible while firing explosive Void projectiles whenever they deliver heavy attacks with full Sword energy. Its exotic trait, Shot in the Dark, increases the damage inflicted during active periods of invisibility and weakens any opponents hit by the Sword's projectiles throughout the trait's duration.
Although the Heart Shadow’s main allure lies in the possibility of taking to the shadows and lowering the enemy's health bar without being targeted, its heavy attacks consume four ammo when initiated. Given that the weapon can only carry a batch of 50 ammo, relying on the Sword to gain the upper hand might prove inconvenient for some builds, but Void Hunters in particular should have no issues making the most of its perks. Aside from the fact that Hunters can easily trigger Heart Shadow’s exotic trait, Void subclasses can significantly increase the duration of Exhumation by casting Echo of Persistence.
While the newly introduced Exotic Sword is clearly designed to complement the innate competencies of Void builds, Guardians should consider boosting its efficacy with a respective Catalyst. Upon obtaining the Heart Shadow, players can return to the Duality dungeon to fight three Nightmares and deposit their essences if they wish to procure the weapon's Catalyst. Taking down 400 enemies with the Sword will unlock the Catalyst's Wraithwalk, a skill that boosts the Guardian's movement speed when invisible.
How to Increase Heart Shadow's Drop Rate in Destiny 2
With the right combination of light and heavy attacks and a timely application of boosts that build on the Sword's advantageous traits, Heart Shadow can successfully provide Void subclasses with an edge over their opponents, both in PvE and PvP. Since its appearance after the final encounter in the Duality dungeon is not guaranteed, players can increase the weapon's drop rate through different means.
So far, several Triumphs associated with the new dungeon cater to the Sword’s dedicated RNG. By completing Solo Thoughtstealer, Master Thoughtstealer, or Mind Heist, the likelihood of Heart Shadow gracing the Guardians with its presence will go up by a little. Ideally, completing all three give a significant boost in its spawn rate, but soloing all encounters in Duality or completing it on Master difficulty requires high power levels. For Guardians interested in bumping their chances of acquiring Heart Shadow without resorting to time-consuming runs that might fail, finding 12 Repressed Memories throughout the dungeon will ultimately ensure completion of the Mind Heist Triumph.