Expunge mission guide - Destiny 2
A complete guide to each of the Expunge mission variants in Destiny 2.
Expunge is a brand new mission in Destiny 2, taking players into the Vex network to do some jumping puzzles, shoot some enemies, and take down another Vex boss. As the Season of the Splicer continues, different versions of the Expunge mission will become available. Below you’ll find our Expunge mission guide, which will be updated as new instances are added.
Last updated on July 5 2021 at 6:00 p.m. PT.
How to start Expunge
Begin by speaking with Mithrax in the H.E.L.M. and complete the Path of the Splicer quest for a given week. After this, the Expunge mission can be launched from its specific destination. Labyrinth is launched from the Tangled Shore, Styx is launched from the Moon, Tartarus is launched from Europa as is the final Expunge mission, Delphi.
Expunge mission guide
As the Season of the Splicer continues, there will be new versions of the Expunge mission to complete. Each mission offers a different twist on the setup of entering the Vex network and taking down a boss. Be sure to complete each one and pay attention to the Season of the Splicer Seasonal Challenges, as some Challenges require certain parameters be met. The start of each Expunge mission is the same, whereby players begin in a green area, "hack" open a door, and work through a series of thin corridors to reach a portal. Once through the portal, the different versions become obvious.
Expunge: Labyrinth
Expunge: Labyrinth is the first version of Expunge, available on May 25, 2021, during Week 3 of Season of the Splicer. This mission's main premise is to work through a maze at the start, defeat Nexus Guardian Harpies, carry their Data Spikes to a block, and then take down a boss at the end.
As you load in, you will need to run straight through a green room and interact with the closed door. Drop down into the next section and crouch to enter a small tunnel behind the “Wirewalker” button. When all players are there, the door will open.
Continue through the winding corridors until you reach a dead end – the floor will disappear, dropping you into a new hallway. Look for the sliding wall with the green light behind it and drop down the chute.
Pass through a triangular hallway and drop down at the end. Keep dropping until you reach another triangular hallway that is bright white.
In this white triangular hallway, look for a moving part of the wall on the left-hand side from where you entered. Drop down into the hole and turn left to find a ramp heading up. Up this ramp are two paths, take the right-hand side to continue.
You will enter another small hallway with a path at the back. Be careful, as a Vex barrier will periodically move along the path, killing you if it touches you. Run along this path and jump out over the gap to a thin ledge below you.
The next corridor is a jumping puzzle where bits of the wall will push you off. Work your way to the far end to find a teleporter behind a bit of moving wall.
This new area follows a pretty linear path that winds you towards the boss, Oppressive Mind. There are places where you need to jump from thin path to thin path, and a couple of routes that wrap behind a wall. Start by jumping across the gap to the thin path below.
Continue to jump around to the right-hand side of the area to reach a corner section. Turn left to spot a Vex diamond, destroy it to create a platform to easily jump around the corner. Use the gravity cannon to launch across to find three red holes in the wall – pick any one to go through. You’ll get blasted across to a new section, just follow the white strip of light on the ground to continue.
You will now need to work your way across a chasm with blocks that appear and disappear. While this happens, Hobgoblins will snipe you from distant platforms. Get to the other side and follow the path around to the right.
As you round the corner, look for the next Vex diamond to destroy. If you have the Splicer Gauntlet upgrade, you can interact with the green button to create more jumping platforms. Jump across the chasm to find an Nexus Guardian Harpy that drops a data spike. Carry it up to the gravity cannon and deposit it. Use the gravity cannon to Ping-Pong to the other side.
Defeat the Champion and follow the path to spot another Vex diamond to destroy. Jump across the gap and watch out for the red box. A small seeker Vex will fly at you, detaining anyone it hits. Jump across the next gap, being sure to avoid the next red box.
The path winds around to the right and then wraps in to the left after you destroy another Vex diamond. Jump across the gap, wrap around the corner, avoid the Hobgoblin on the platform, and be prepared for more jumping towards a distant gravity cannon – there will be another Nexus Guardian for you to destroy. Grab its data spike and carry it to the waypoint. Use the gravity cannons to fly around to the next area.
As you land, you will need to dispatch some Fanatics and Cyclops. Defeat another Nexus Guardian, drop down to the ledge in front of you, wrap around the structure, crouch under a gap and deposit the Data Spike. Jump across the gap to reach the boss arena.
This arena is where you’ll fight the Fantis, Oppressive Mind. There will be Vex diamonds in the area that create blocks for you to hide behind. The fight is extremely straightforward. Deal damage until the Oppressive Mind is immune, which will spawn Nexus Guardians. Defeat these Harpies and carry their Data Spikes to the distant platforms.
When all the Data Spikes are deposited, you can deal damage to the Oppressive Mind again. Defeat it to complete the Expunge: Labyrinth mission and earn your rewards.
Expunge: Styx
The Styx version of Expunge is the second variant to be released. This one was unlocked on June 1st, 2021. The start of the Styx version is the same as the Labyrinth version, where players start out in a green area, work through a maze-like section, and wind up going through a portal at the end of a corridor. Once through the portal, the real version of Styx begins. If you haven’t done last week’s version of Expunge, make sure you do that and check above if you’re struggling to work through the first part. Chances are it will remain the same for each version of Expunge, so learn it now!
Once you’re outside and in the main area of Expunge: Styx, you will be introduced to a new mechanic: Authentication Key. Destroy the Vex diamonds to spawn an Authentication Key orb. When you pick this orb up, a counter will begin counting down, and as it hits zero, the key will disappear. To increase the time, find the small Vex cubes and stand in the circle that appears. The goal will be to take the Authentication Key into the central chamber to unlock the boss. If you run out of time, the key will spawn on the last small Vex cube you touched.
For the first key, pick it up and work around to the other side of the small area and insert it into the wall to “verify” the key. The doorway will open and you’ll be able to get another key. This one must be taken through a corridor that wraps back on itself and into another room with some Hobgoblin snipers. Defeat the enemies or run past them with the key and into the main room.
Insert the key into the socket to remove one of the three locks from the boss’ shield. You will then need to find two more keys in order to fully remove the shield. The first is found by going left.
There’s not a lot to this section. Just work your way to the very back, defeating enemies and taking out Champions that appear. At the back will be a Nexus Guardian, defeat it to lower the shielding around the Vex diamond. Destroy the diamond to spawn your Authentication Key. More enemies will spawn as you double back.
The last Authentication Key you need is through the tunnel with spinning lasers. Work your way through the hallway full of moving laser traps to reach another outside area. Like you did with the last one, defeat the enemies, clear the Nexus Guardian, destroy the Vex diamond, and take the Authentication Key back to the center. Remember to stop on the small white cubes to recharge the key’s timer.
Pop the final key into the socket to unlock Dikast, Oppressive Mind. Deal damage to it using whatever means necessary. It will become invulnerable after half of its health is removed. At this point lasers will spawn, separating the room into small sections. Jump over the laser walls, fetch the Authentication Key from the ledge, and insert it into the socket to make the boss vulnerable again.
When the boss is vulnerable again, continue to damage it with whatever you’ve got. It doesn’t have a whole lot of health, so Power weapons and your Super should be enough to kill it swiftly. After it’s defeated, you’ll earn your rewards.
Expunge: Tartarus
Much like the previous versions of Expunge, Tartarus begins with the normal path through the Vex network, starting in the big green room. Check out the first section above if you’re struggling. Once you make it through the portal, Expunge: Tartarus begins proper.
The main goal of Tartarus is to hack a Vex conflux, stand in its pool to gain a buff called Stabilized Security Access (maximum of 32 seconds), then find and destroy Vex blocks that are hidden around the area. The number of Vex blocks you need to find and destroy are indicated by the diamond lights on the wall.
When you go through the portal, run forwards and activate the gravity cannons and extra platforms if you can. This will help you circumvent the first Vex block and give you more manoeuvrability later on. If not, the first barrier requires two blocks to be destroyed. Hack the Vex conflux on the right and look around for the Vex blocks.
The next section has firewalls sweeping the area. Hack the conflux and then work around the area looking for the three Vex blocks. The first one is floating right in front of the door. Another is on the back side of a floating block, the last is low on the right-hand side.
Five Vex blocks must be destroyed in the next area. The first is right in front of you in the air. There are three on the right-hand side which can be seen by approaching the far side of the room and turning around. The last one is on the left side of the room, down low below a platform – this can also be seen by crossing the room and turning around.
Two diamonds are needed to move through the next room, though both are locked by Quantum Minotaurs. Destroy the Minotaurs to free the Vex blocks. There is a Barrier Champion in this area, so be mindful of it.
Next up is a small room with only one Vex block. Hack the conflux, walk under the wall, and look up to spot the block. There will be a Barrier Champion, so take it out first or afterwards if you can manage.
Run down the ramp to find the final Vex conflux. Hacking this one will summon Dimio, Oppressive Mind and trap you in an detainment field. Shoot the detainment field to free yourself. This fight is different to the others in that the boss actually locks itself down twice, not just once. Each time will require you to find two Vex blocks and destroy them. Use the center pool to gain the Stabilized Security Access and then hunt the blocks.
The two Vex blocks spawn in the same location each time: behind the pillars on the left and right. When you’ve done this twice, Dimio should only have a third of its health remaining. Defeat it to complete Expunge: Tartarus.
Expunge: Delphi
Expunge: Delphi is the final of the four types of Expunge missions. This one is an amalgam of the previous missions, which means if you’ve been playing each one in turn, you should be familiar with the mechanics.
As always, work your way through the start of Expunge, using the Wirewalker shortcut if you’ve got it unlocked. When you go through the teleporter at the end, be careful not to fall immediately to your death.
The first section is a shortened version of Labyrinth. Work your way across the gap, jumping to the Taken orbs to find new platforms. Follow the path around to the right to find another activation point. Remember to shoot the Vex diamond to create additional platforms. Jump across the gap and continue onwards.
On the other side is a Nexus Guardian you must defeat. Take its Data Spike across the next gap and up to the right. Deposit it to activate the gravity cannons. You’ll blast through a portal into the next area.
Now you’ll be in a smaller version of Expunge Styx. You only need to retrieve a single Authentication Key, which is found at the far back of the left-hand area. Go into this area and get to killing Vex and Taken.
At the very back will be a horde of enemies to defeat. Kill them all to spawn a Nexus Guardian, and once it’s defeated, you can break the diamond to retrieve your key. Remember to take it to the small white cubes to recharge it up to 10 seconds. If the timer runs out, it will respawn at the last cube you touched.
You must destroy the Taken Blight at the end to remove the barrier into the main chamber. Take the key in, insert it into the terminal, and go through the portal.
The final area is a smaller version of Tartarus. In the first area, go around and defeat the Ravenous Taken Phalanxes to remove the first barrier from the Vex cubes. Defeat the Barrier Champion if it gets in your way. With the cubes exposed, go back to the start, scan the Conflux if you haven't already, and get the Stabilized Security Access from the circle on the ground (by standing in it). You can now deal damage to the cubes. The buff can be charged up to 32 seconds.
The next area has a Rally Banner point if you need ammo or Super. Now, defeat the Vex and jump through the portal.
You will now be in the Expunge: Delphi area proper, facing down Quria, Blade Transform. This boss fight has three stages, with the first two requiring you to defeat a boss on each side to remove Quria’s immunity. Begin by removing Quria’s first chunk of health.
When Quria becomes immune, head left or right – they both have the same mechanics. In this side bit, you will need to carry an Authentication Key around the perimeter and deposit it. Clear out the enemies in the middle first to make this task easier. A few enemies spawn around the outside, deal with them as you please.
Deposit the key and then defeat the Taken boss in the center platform. As soon as it dies, you can return to the center area and damage Quria again. When you get another chunk of Quria’s health down, go to the other side and repeat the process.
After defeating the second mini Taken boss, return to the center to find Quria performing a new type of attack. Vex walls will come rushing at you, avoid them by jumping over or ducking under each section. Quria will keep doing this attack, so defeat it quickly using Heavy weapons or your Super.
With Quria, Blade Transform defeated, you can claim your reward from the Corrupted Chest and listen to the last bit of dialogue between the characters.
Completing all of the Expunge missions in Destiny 2 is needed for one of the Season of the Splicer Triumphs. Each mission will challenge players in unique ways, so make sure you take your best gear and maybe a Fireteam along with you. Be sure to check out the Shacknews Destiny 2 Guide for more help with the latest content.
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