Published , by Sam Chandler
Published , by Sam Chandler
When it was first added to Destiny 2, Lumina had quite a long questline to unlock it. Fast forward to current day, and new players can pick up the Exotic Hand Cannon with ease, provided they've got he necessary materials. What follows is how to get Lumina, both the modern way as well as a historical look at the entire quest players had to do back in the Season of Opulence / Forsaken era of Destiny 2.
Lumina can be unlocked at the Monument to Lost Lights kiosk in the Tower. This is the hub located between the Vault walls at the main landing area, the Courtyard. You will need to have an Exotic Cipher and 125,000 Glimmer to unlock this gun. Once acquired, you can get on with unlocking its Exotic Catalyst. Take a look at our guide on all Exotic Catalysts in Destiny 2 for more information on every single other weapon's masterwork option too.
While Lumina is strong by itself, it becomes better when paired with the Warlock Exotic boots, Boots of the Assembler. Whenever one of the Noble Seekers from Boots of the Assembler hits an ally, Lumina will receive one charge of Noble Rounds for free. In addition to this, Lumina will receive a “moderate benefit” to its airborne effectiveness stat.
The Lumina catalyst is randomly earned by completing playlist activities like Strikes, Gambit, and Crucible. Once acquired, you must heal 250 allies with Noble Rounds in order to masterwork it. Lumina will then receive the bonus perk, Resonant Virtue, which will spawn two Remnants per kill instead of one.
The following is how Lumina was originally earned during Season of Opulence.
To start the Lumina quest, you must go to an area beyond the Salt Mines in the EDZ. This area is accessed via a teleporter near a lift inside the Salt Mines. For those who have unlocked Thorn, this area will be familiar.
Starting at the Trostland fast travel point, go behind the cathedral where Devrim is located. Follow the path until you reach the Salt Mines area. Go inside and clear out the Fallen. On the left-hand side of the area will be a lift with a Fallen teleporter. Interact with the teleporter to transmat to the next area and then follow the track up the hill.
When you reach the end of the path, walk along the railing on the left and jump up into a cave. Exit the cave to find a ransacked campsite, on the other side is a chest. Open the chest to receive A Fateful Gift and System Positioning Device.
Once you have A Fateful Gift, the real journey to unlocking Lumina begins. The quest for Lumina has multiple steps that span PVE and PVP. There will be a bit of grinding, though listed below are a few strategies to cheese or speed the process along.
This step of the quest requires you to track down the original Thorn using the System Positioning Device. This device points to a chest, though the chest changes position every hour. Make sure you read what the System Positioning Device says, as your chest may appear in one of a dozen locations.
The next step will be to neutralize Thorn’s Darkness by filling the weapon with the strength of your Light. To do this, you must generate 250 Orbs of Light. The easiest way to complete this task is to play the Blind Well as the Harmony buff refills your Super incredibly quickly. Use a Masterwork weapon to spawn extra orbs to help this process along.
Rose, Revealed is the next step, where you receive a Legendary Hand Cannon called Rose as well as three quests. The goal will be to complete each of the quests to restore one perk to Rose. The three quests are:
The Nightfall strike part is self-explanatory, simply pick a Nightfall you like and play through it. If you’re struggling to hit the 50,000 point, use the Five of Swords to increase the score modifier.
For Face the Hordes, each option is equally viable. Escalation Protocol rewards one point per wave, a Heroic Blind Well gives four points, and Forges offer four points for a complete ignition (two of the first two rounds and two for the final round). While Blind Well might offer the most, it could take the longest to complete. Black Armory Forges, especifically Bergusia, is likely going to be the best option.
Look over the Escalation Protocol rotation, as it could be a good idea to farm this up if you’re chasing a specific weapon or trying to complete the Worldline Zero Exotic Catalyst.
The Fireteam Leader step for unlocking Lumina is going to be the most time-consuming. You will need to complete activities with Rose equipped. Thankfully, a Fireteam that is all using Rose is the most efficient. A good idea is to play through the Menagerie, as it rewards 35% per run when everyone is using Rose. Heroic Public Events reward 2% while the Lake of Shadows strike nets 7%.
The Strength in Numbers portion requires players to do a few tasks: generate 50 Orbs of Light in any activity, get Hand Cannon kills in Crucible, and quickly defeat an Invader before they kill anyone on your team. There’s really not a lot to this step, the main problem will be trying to kill an Invader before anyone dies.
The final step to unlock Lumina is Bloom. For this step, you must run through the Will of a Thousands Strike with Rose equipped and destroy 11 crystals. These crystals are all over the strike and easy to spot, as they’re floating ominously in the air. You will need to complete both of these steps in a single run.
Though it might be easy to unlock these days, acquiring Lumina is super important, especially for Warlocks that want to lean into the support playstyle. Couple this Exotic Hand Cannon with Boots of the Assembler, unlock its catalyst, and enjoy buffing your allies with health and a damage boost. Be sure to check out the Shacknews Destiny 2 complete strategy guide for more Exotic weapon walkthroughs!