After a couple of weeks of fishing and diving, the Wicked Implement Exotic Quest is complete. Guardians can now attempt to acquire the new Exotic Stasis Scout Rifle: the Wicked Implement.
In this guide, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about unlocking Season 21’s secret Exotic Quest, as well as some tips that you may find useful as a team or a solo. (Prepare yourselves for one tough Raid-level boss.)
Before we get started, we believe that players should know that the fishing portion of the quest is not a requirement to start the quest. Only one person in the fire team with broken blades is enough to start the quest. As long as that player interacts with the statues, the other two players (who have not done the fishing) are allowed passage into Xivu’s temple and the challenge that awaits within. If you know someone who has the necessary items, feel free to skip to the next step.
How to Start the Wicked Implement Secret Exotic Quest
The Implement Exotic Quest is one of the more challenging quests in Destiny 2. Not because of its difficulty, mind you. But the time and luck involved in starting the quest is daunting for some players. Not to mention the need to run the secret quest through the Deep Dive seasonal activity.
To start the Wicked Implement Quest, you need to catch the following Exotic fish from these locations:
- The Whispering Mothcarp from Mias in the Northern part of Savathun’s Throne World.
- The Vexing Placoderm from the Ciscern on Nessus.
- The Aeonian Alpha-Betta from the Outskirts of the E.D.Z.
It’s going to take a good amount of luck to get all three Exotic fish in one go. From what we can gather, players are reporting to have gotten between a dozen or over 150 tries through multiple world events.
Keep in mind that during Bungie week (July 4th – July 11th, 2023), the drop rates for the Exotic fish have been doubled. You’ll still have to rely on RNG, but it’s a slight relief nonetheless.
Once you have all the fish listed above, head back to the H.E.L.M. and dunk them all into the fish tank. Each of the Exotic fish should net a broken blade item. These items will not show up in your inventory. They will instantly go into your fishing tackle.
Check back to your fishing tackle to confirm that you have all the necessary items needed to start the secret quest.
Now, let’s load into the Deep Dive activity to start the secret Exotic Quest.
How to Complete the Wicked Implement Secret Exotic Quest
The secret quest for the Wicked Implement starts and ends in the Deep Dive Activity. There are two options that you can go with. You can either go into a regular Deep Dive or a Private session solo or with a team of friends. The only difference is that the standard mode has matchmaking, while the private mode does not fill empty slots.
Now that you’ve chosen a preferred mode let’s go over what you need to do to unlock the secret encounter. The objective is to earn an audience with the Hive god of war. To do this we’ll first have to get her attention by placing the broken blades on three hive statues. We will then be asked to battle our way deep into the war god’s temple where the final test awaits.
Where to find all Hive statues in Destiny 2 Deep Dives
The hive statues are hidden in different sections of the Deep Dive activity. They are all required to unlock the encounter. More importantly, players need to repeat the activation process in every single attempt for the Exotic weapon.
The first statue is located in the first descent section before the first encounter. Before going down deeper for the first time, you will find a side passage right of the hole. Follow this passageway until you come across the first Hive statue. Present the broken blade to get Xivu Arath’s attention.
The second statue becomes available after successfully completing the first encounter. If you look at the picture to the left, this door will open leading you to a room where the Hive statue resides. Present your second broken blade for Xivu Arath’s approval. It is important to note that failing the main objectives will instantly teleport you to the boss battle. This will result in you losing your chance at the secret encounter.
The final statue is found in a cubby that’s slightly hidden from the critical path on the way to the second encounter. It’s just a little further after you’ve deactivated the fan and dropped down again. Look for this passageway (the left image above.) and you should see the statue before making your next descent. Present the final broken blade and listen to Xivu’s monologue to confirm that you are indeed worthy to enter the war god’s temple.
Now that you’ve interacted with all the statues, all you have to do is to complete the second encounter. Failure to do any of the objectives will result in instant teleportation to the boss encounter. In other words, you will be locked out of the secret encounter.
How to Unlock the Deep Dive Secret Encounter
After completing all the objectives in the second encounter, the door on the right side of the chamber will open. Inside this side room, players will discover a number of Hive statues corresponding to the number of players in your fire team. All members of the fireteam need to interact with one of the statues to disable the force field denying entry to the Temple.
They will see the prompt: “Carve a Path of Violence.”
Once all the statues have been activated, the force field will disappear, and you can proceed deeper into the Abyss. You will encounter a few Fallen mines en route to the temple’s entrance. Ignore them and keep pushing through. You will encounter a number of Taken at the entrance to the temple.
When you’ve reached the entrance to the temple, you will be greeted by its Guardian – Khull, the Executioner Knight. This encounter serves to introduce players to the mechanics of the secret encounter.
How to Defeat Khull Executioner Knight
Normally, players deal insignificant damage to Khull. The only way to deal any damage to the mini-boss is to gain the Deathly Sharp x3 buff. To acquire the buff, the fireteam will need to defeat 3 Sevile Minotaurs that spawn near the boss. The x3 buff will remain active for 1 minute and 15 seconds. During that time, the fireteam is capable of dealing the maximum amount of damage on Khull.
The mini-boss will retreat once the first threshold has been reached. This is but a taste of what’s to come.
IMPORTANT: Once the temple doors open to you, you and your fireteam will only have 10 minutes to complete the rest of the encounter or else be cast out for their weakness.
With the temple doors opening up to you, the next test will begin in earnest. This one requires the fireteam to locate and shoot Darkness nodes to trigger the next encounter.
The first node is located on top of a pedestal in the middle of the room. Shoot it to trigger the first wave of Taken opponents.
The node that opens the door to the next encounter is located underneath the stairs. (As pictured above.)
The next encounter is the final showdown with Khull. The room is divided into the following elements: Four pillars surrounding a central altar, 2 side areas on either side shielding Honed Minotaurs, and a number of elevated ledges where snipers spawn.
To complete this encounter, you’ll need to shoot the nodes to disable the force fields protecting the Honed Minotaurs. The right side node is located behind the forward right pillar. The same also applies to the left side node.
Killing both Honed Minotaurs, as well as the one that spawns at the start of the encounter, will allow you to deal max damage on Khull. Take this time to dump all your special and heavy onto the Knight as there will be a Rally Flag just before enter’s the final boss’s labyrinth. Congratulations, now the only thing standing in your way is Omen, Blade of the Black Terrace.
How to Defeat Omen Blade of the Black Terrace
Omen is a very powerful Tormentor. Unlike the lieutenants that are relatively restrained at the start of an encounter, Omen is perpetually enranged and will ceaselessly hunt down Guardians who remain in its light of sight.
To defeat Omen, the fireteam must locate three Honed Minotaurs roaming around the labyrinth. They can be found roaming the various passageways but more often than not, they can be found in one of the four corner rooms. Guardians can choose to remain together as a unit or spread out to cover as much ground as possible.
After a certain amount of time, the game will mark the locations of the Minotaurs. Players should do everything they can to get to those targets within the allotted time.
And again, once you have Deathly Sharp x3, you will have 1 minute and 15 seconds to deal as much damage to the boss as possible.
Omen Blade of the Black Terrace Tips
From what we’ve gathered, the easiest way to defeat Omen is with two Retrofit Escapades with Target Lock and Fourth Time’s the Charm and with Divinity. Divinity will significantly increase the boss’s crit zone, allowing for the full potential of Retrofit’s two perks.
The best strategy against Omen involves drawing out the boss away from the central chamber. This move serves a dual purpose: to prevent the boss from unleashing its full set of moves (for some reason, being in corridors confuses boss pathing) and to prevent mobs from swarming your chosen position.
These are the best classes for team play:
- Well of Radiance is by far the best Warlock Super.
- An overcharged Arc Staff through Star Eater Scales for the Hunter.
- Thuntercrash with Cuirass of the Falling Star for the Titan.
Youtuber Esoterickk has shown the way to defeat Omen as a solo Solar Titan.
The last important thing to remember is that you have, at most, 3 damage phases to put the boss down. If the boss hasn’t been defeated in that time, it’ll result in a full team wipe and you’ll be ejected back to Orbit.
Defeating the boss will prove your worth to Xivu Arath. A new passage will upon where a Darkness statue awaits to bestow upon you the Wicked Implement. Proof of your worth in the eyes of the Hive god of war.
And that’s everything we have for this How to Get Wicked Implement guide. We were exaggerating that this was one of the harder quests Bungie has introduced in quite a while, speaking as a solo player. It is rather perplexing that Bungie has decided to incorporate the quest alongside regular Deep Dives.
In our opinion, the Exotic Quest should have been its own separate playlist activity much like Operation: Seraph Shield or the Vox Obscura mission. It shouldn’t have been mixed in with the regular activities where some players have no intention of doing the Wicked Implement secret quest.
But it is what it is. Players can simply back out and queue again if they must. Good luck and have fun out there, Guardians.
Destiny 2 Season of the Deep is out now on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles. The season will run from May 23, 2023, to August 22, 2023.