Harbinger

Harbinger
Information
Season	12
Type	Exotic Mission
World Quest	Bird of Prey
Quest	Harbinger
Starting NPC	Crow
Start	Hidden entrance in Trostland, EDZ
Location	The Reservoir, EDZ
Recommended Power	1270
Description	"Embody the will of the Traveler and hunt those who would serve the Darkness."
Friendly NPCs	Crow, Glint
Enemy Types	Taken (Thrall, Acolyte, Goblin, Vandal, Phalanx, Centurion, Wizard, Knight, Captain), Unstoppable Champion (Taken Phalanx)
Bosses	Emissaries of Savathûn (Taken Wizard, Taken Knight, Taken Centurion), Akorith, Lightdrinker of Savathûn (Week 1) / Ishrasek, Lightbinder of Savathûn (Week 2) / Korusk, Lighteater of Savathûn (Week 3)
Prerequisite	Ownership of Hawkmoon Hand Cannon
Previous	Let Loose Thy Talons
Rewards
Equipment	Hawkmoon
Items	[[[Hawkmoon Catalyst]], [Paracausal Feather]]

Harbinger was an Exotic Mission introduced in Destiny 2 during Season of the Hunt in January 2021. It served as the method for players to acquire the Hawkmoon Catalyst and obtain randomly rolled versions of the Exotic Hand Cannon Hawkmoon, a unique feature for an Exotic weapon at the time. The mission was associated with the Crow and the Bird of Prey questline. Accessing and completing Harbinger involved platforming challenges, difficult combat encounters, including Champion enemies, and unique boss fights.

Harbinger was removed from the game and placed into the Destiny Content Vault with the launch of The Witch Queen expansion. While the mission is no longer accessible, Hawkmoon and its Catalyst can sometimes be acquired through other means, such as from Xûr, Agent of the Nine.

Overview

The Harbinger mission allowed Guardians to delve deeper into the mystery of Hawkmoon and its connection to the Traveler's Light. Set within The Reservoir beneath the EDZ, players navigated treacherous jumping sections and battled hordes of Taken forces serving Savathûn. The primary goal was to hunt down Emissaries of Savathûn and ultimately confront a powerful Taken Knight acting as Savathûn's agent.

Completing the mission for the first time awarded the Hawkmoon Catalyst. Subsequent completions granted a Hawkmoon with randomized perks, allowing players to farm for their preferred roll. Additionally, the mission was tied to the Bird of Prey quest, which involved collecting Paracausal Feathers hidden within the mission each week to eventually earn the Radiant Accipiter Exotic ship.

Accessing the Mission

To begin the Harbinger mission, players first needed to obtain the Hawkmoon hand cannon by completing its associated questline, "Let Loose Thy Talons". Once Hawkmoon was acquired, players had to pick up the "Bird of Prey" quest from the Crow on the Tangled Shore.

The quest directed players to the EDZ but did not provide a specific waypoint. Players needed to travel to the Trostland landing zone. From there, they had to proceed past the church towards a dilapidated building on the eastern side, near the path leading to Maevic Square. Inside this building, on the second floor, was a fireplace blocked by debris or a panel. Crucially, players had to equip Hawkmoon and shoot the fireplace multiple times to break it open, revealing a hidden passage. Inside the passage, interacting with a sparking fusebox initiated the Harbinger mission.

Guide

Harbinger presented a significant challenge, featuring tough enemies, Match Game-like shield mechanics (requiring matching elemental damage), and Unstoppable Champions. Bringing a fireteam and weapons covering Void, Arc, and Solar damage types was highly recommended, especially for higher difficulties or initial clears.

Initial Platforming

After starting the mission inside the fireplace passage, players followed the path until it opened outside near the large dam. A Taken Hobgoblin sniper needed to be dealt with. Players then jumped to the Hobgoblin's perch, looked down for a mossy platform or a large tree branch pointing towards the dam, and used it to jump across to the dam's structure. A jumping puzzle followed, involving traversing narrow ledges and platforms along the dam's face to reach an entrance tunnel higher up.

Hunt the Emissaries

Inside the dam complex, players entered a large turbine room. The objective was to hunt down three Emissaries of Savathûn: a Taken Wizard (Void shield), a Taken Knight (Solar shield), and a Taken Centurion (Arc shield). These enemies initially appeared in the main room. Upon taking significant damage (around half health), each Emissary would retreat into side corridors or rooms. To pursue them, players had to find and destroy Taken Blight orbs blocking doorways along the main hall. Hunting down and defeating all three Emissaries was required to progress. This section also contained hidden Paracausal Feather locations, rotating weekly.

Follow the Hawk & Survive

After defeating the Emissaries, a spectral golden hawk would appear, guiding players forward. Following the hawk often involved destroying another Taken Blight blocking a door. This led to a large arena, familiar as the final boss room from the Lake of Shadows Strike.

Here, players faced a challenging survival encounter against waves of Taken enemies.

• Wave 1: Taken Thrall and Taken Wizards.
• Wave 2: Taken Centurions, Taken Vandals (snipers), and Unstoppable Taken Phalanxes.
• Wave 3: A mix of previous enemies, including two Unstoppable Champions and two powerful Taken Captain Emissaries.

Players needed to survive all waves. Unlike other parts of the mission, restricted respawns or a wipe mechanic were often active here, especially on higher difficulties or when playing solo. Utilizing cover on the upper platforms was a common strategy. Defeating all waves completed the encounter. A chest containing Paracausal Feathers could be looted here.

Second Platforming (Return to the Shard)

Completing the survival encounter opened a portal or path forward, again guided by the hawk. This led into another platforming section, identical to the jumping puzzle encountered in the original quest to obtain Hawkmoon ("The Crow and the Hawk"). Players navigated through the Hallowed Grove, following platforms and pipes towards the Shard of the Traveler. This area also contained weekly rotating Paracausal Feather locations. An Unstoppable Phalanx often guarded the final approach to the boss arena.

Final Boss: Akorith, Lightdrinker (and variants)

The final encounter took place in the large arena surrounding the Shard of the Traveler. The boss was a powerful Taken Knight, with its name and specific mechanics potentially varying slightly week to week (Akorith, Ishrasek, Korusk).

The fight involved several phases:

1. Players damaged the boss until it reached a certain health threshold (roughly 66% or one-third damage dealt).
2. The boss became immune, teleported away, and summoned large waves of challenging Taken enemies, including Acolyte Eyes, Ravenous Acolytes (Void shields), and Solar-shielded Knights. Taking cover near the entrance or on the side cliffs was recommended. Clearing these adds was necessary for the boss to return.
3. The boss reappeared, and players repeated the damage phase.
4. This cycle repeated until the boss was defeated.

Defeating the final boss completed the Harbinger mission.

Rewards

• Hawkmoon Catalyst: Awarded upon the first completion of the Harbinger mission per account. The Catalyst increased magazine size and granted bonuses to handling, reload speed, and range based on stacks of Paracausal Charge.
• Random Rolled Hawkmoon: Each completion after the first awarded a Hawkmoon with randomized perks, allowing players to farm for desired combinations. The first completion often awarded two Hawkmoons.
• Paracausal Feathers: These were needed for the "Bird of Prey" quest. Feathers were awarded for defeating the final boss and could also be found hidden throughout the mission in specific locations that rotated weekly (across a three-week cycle). There were typically five feathers hidden per week (often three in the Emissary section, two in the final platforming section). Feathers were also awarded from the chest after the Survival encounter.
• Radiant Accipiter: Collecting 100 Paracausal Feathers progressed the "Bird of Prey" quest to its final step, "Return to the Hawk of Light". This involved a separate, non-combat exploration back into a specific part of the Reservoir area (accessed via the third floor of the building in Trostland, not the fireplace) to "Commune with the Traveler" and claim the Exotic ship. The ship seen in the mission belonged to Crow; the Radiant Accipiter was manifested from the Light within the collected feathers.
• Triumphs: Various Triumphs were associated with completing the Harbinger mission, including challenges like solo completions, flawless runs, speed runs, and collecting all feathers (Lightseeker Triumph).

Enemies

Guardians faced the Taken exclusively within Harbinger.

• Taken Thrall (including Shadow Thrall)
• Taken Acolyte (including Ravenous variants and Acolyte Eyes)
• Taken Goblin
• Taken Vandal (including Snipers)
• Taken Phalanx
• Taken Centurion (including Ravenous variants)
• Taken Wizard
• Taken Knight
• Taken Captain (as Emissaries in Survival encounter)
• Unstoppable Taken Phalanx

Trivia

• Although intended as a secret mission similar to The Whisper and Zero Hour, players discovered the entrance to Harbinger a week before its official launch.
• Harbinger was added to the Destiny Content Vault alongside the Forsaken campaign and the Tangled Shore destination with the release of The Witch Queen expansion in February 2022.