Wild Card

Wild Card
Information
Season	23
Type	Exotic Mission
World Quest	Destined Heroes
Quest	Wild Card (Quest
Starting NPC	Cayde-6
Start	Lost City Tower – The Pale Heart
Location	The Landing, The Pale Heart, The Traveler
Recommended Power	1945
Description	Investigate an unknown threat with Cayde and Crow.
Friendly NPCs	Cayde-6, Crow
Enemy Types	Scorn, Taken, Fallen (House of Salvation), Shadow Legion Cabal, The Dread
Bosses	Devourer of Tainted Light, Hoarder of Tainted Light, Lii'liks, Harvester of the Witness
Prerequisite	Complete The Final Shape campaign and the "Queens, Part I" subquest of the Destined Heroes exotic mission
Previous	Queens, Part I
Next	Queens, Part II / Hope
Rewards
Equipment	Still Hunt

Wild Card is an Exotic Mission introduced in The Final Shape expansion of Destiny 2. This mission must be completed to access the Salvation's Edge raid on Contest mode and eventually the Excision activity. The mission can only be completed once per player account and rewards the Guardian with the Still Hunt Exotic Sniper Rifle.

The mission centers around a joint operation between Cayde-6 and Crow to investigate corruption caused by Dark Ether in the heart of the Traveler, ultimately culminating in a confrontation with a powerful Scorn Abomination working for the Witness.

Overview

• Match-made: No – fireteam size 1-3.
• Respawn: Limited (Darkness Zones).
• Power: Fixed at player Power – 5; no contest modifier.
• Checkpoints: Granted after each of the three major encounters (War Beast, Mega Shank, Lii'liks).

Quest Steps

1. Speak to Cayde-6 in the Lost City Tower to receive the Wild Card quest.
2. Launch Wild Card from the banner on the Tower rooftop.
3. Complete the Exotic mission.
4. Return to the Tower radio, then speak to Cayde-6 to collect Still Hunt.

Plot

After the events of The Final Shape campaign, a mysterious threat begins to emerge within The Pale Heart. Cayde-6, the legendary Hunter Vanguard who has been resurrected within the Traveler, recruits the Guardian and Crow to investigate reports of Dark Ether corruption spreading throughout the area.

Upon starting the mission, the Guardian joins Cayde-6 and Crow at a location where they believe the Witness is experimenting with Dark Ether and Screebs. Cayde, with his characteristic humor, suggests naming their operation "Operation Butterscotch Katana" (later amended to "Operation Boom-Pop-Wow"). The team begins their investigation by searching for sources of Dark Ether contamination.

As they explore the area, they discover several dead Screebs and War Beasts that have been corrupted by Dark Ether. The Guardian investigates these remains while Cayde and Crow provide support and commentary. Upon finding a suitable location, the team establishes a camp near a waterfall to serve as their base of operations.

Walkthrough

1. Recon the Landing

Guardians follow Cayde and Crow across The Landing to three investigation sites, then build a base-camp (tent, campfire, Ether collector).

• Objective: Collect 15 units of Tainted Dark Ether from corrupted Screebs and War Beasts.

2. The Devourer of Tainted Light

The Guardian's investigation leads them to a cave housing the "Devourer of Tainted Light," a corrupted War Beast that has been infused with Dark Ether.

Each third of its health triggers an immunity phase behind a Cabal dome shield filled with Taken adds; the shield can be walked through to continue damaging the boss.

3. Camp Defence and Blights

After returning to base camp, the Guardian discovers that Taken forces have established a foothold nearby. Six Taken Blights (4 + 2) spawn around the Landing. The Guardian must destroy each by clearing every surrounding Taken enemy. Subjugators from The Dread join during the second wave.

4. Stake-out and the Mega Shank

Following this encounter, Cayde-6 identifies a lead on a "Megashank" that might be connected to the loss of their Ether tank. Using a portal "shortcut," the fireteam enters *Refraction* – a sniper gallery overlooking a valley. The Guardian takes position in a sniper's nest overlooking a Fallen encampment and engages multiple Shanks, eventually drawing out the "Hoarder of Tainted Light," a Heavy Shank boss that has been corrupted by Dark Ether.

Damage phases alternate with explosive-Shank waves until the boss falls.

5. Lii'liks, Harvester of the Witness

Tracking the stolen Ether barrel leads into a screeb-infested cavern in "Transgression". The final confrontation takes place in this cave, where the Guardian faces Lii'liks, Harvester of the Witness, a massive Scorn Abomination that serves as the primary source of the Dark Ether corruption.

The boss battle has multiple phases:

1. Upon entering the cave, the Guardian must fight through hordes of Screebs to reach the main cavern.
2. Lii'liks appears with an Immunity Shield and accompanied by Taken forces.
3. The Guardian damages Lii'liks until it loses approximately one-third of its health.
4. Lii'liks becomes invulnerable and retreats into the cave tunnels.
5. To lure Lii'liks back, the Guardian must defeat Screebs, collect 10 Dark Ether motes they drop, and deposit them into a barrel in the center of the room.
6. Lii'liks returns, and the process repeats for the second phase.
7. After losing two-thirds of its health, Lii'liks retreats again, requiring another collection of Dark Ether to draw it back out.
8. In the final phase, the Guardian defeats Lii'liks, ending the Witness's Dark Ether operation.

After defeating Lii'liks, a cinematic cutscene plays showing Cayde-6 and Crow working together to finish off the Abomination when it unexpectedly resurrects. The two Hunters demonstrate impressive teamwork, with Cayde ultimately shooting a Screeb that Crow kicks into the air, causing the cave ceiling to collapse on Lii'liks.

6. Epilogue

Back at camp, Cayde hands Crow a new Hunter cloak, symbolically offering him the position of Hunter Vanguard. This touching moment represents Cayde passing the torch to Crow, who has proven himself worthy despite his complicated past as Uldren Sov.

The Guardian then returns to the Lost City Tower where they listen to Micah-10's radio transmission discussing Crow's potential appointment as Hunter Vanguard and Zavala's decision to use Stasis. Finally, speaking with Cayde-6 completes the mission, and he rewards the Guardian with the Still Hunt Exotic Sniper Rifle.

Enemies

Major Hostiles

• Scorn: Screebs (including Corrupted variant), Lii'liks, Harvester of the Witness
• Taken: Thrall, Phalanx, Goblin, Psion, Wizard, Ogre, Blights
• Fallen (House of Salvation): Shank, Tracer Shank, Exploder Shank, Hoarder of Tainted Light
• Cabal (Shadow Legion): War Beast, Scorpius Turret, Devourer of Tainted Light
• The Dread: Subjugator, Grim, Husk, Omen

Reward: Still Hunt

Completing the Wild Card mission rewards the player with the Still Hunt Exotic Sniper Rifle, a powerful Solar weapon that grants any class the ability to use the Hunter's Golden Gun Super. The weapon features the following perks:

• Cayde's Retribution (Intrinsic Trait): Pick up Orbs of Power or land precision hits to charge this weapon's Super bar. Once full, hold reload to fire Golden Gun shots.
• Golden Munitions: This magazine gains bonus ammo whenever a Golden Gun shot is acquired.
• Sharpshooter: This weapon gains passive bonuses to target acquisition, aim down sight speed, and flinch resistance. The bonus increases when this weapon's Super mode is active.

The Still Hunt is particularly powerful when used by Hunters with the Celestial Nighthawk Exotic helmet, as it can inherit the helmet's trait to combine multiple Golden Gun shots into one powerful shot. This allows for extraordinary burst damage in endgame activities.

Requirements

To access the Wild Card mission, players must:

1. Complete The Final Shape campaign.
2. Start the Destined Heroes quest by speaking with Ghost in the Lost City.
3. Complete the "Queens, Part I" subquest of the Destined Heroes mission.
4. Speak with Cayde-6 in the Lost City to receive the Wild Card quest.

The mission is a prerequisite for participating in the Salvation's Edge raid on Contest mode and eventually accessing the Excision activity.

Trivia

• The mission codename "Operation Boom-Pop-Wow" is coined (and later amended) by Cayde-6 during pre-fight banter.
• The Wild Card mission was released with The Final Shape expansion on June 4, 2024.
• Unlike other Exotic missions, Wild Card cannot be replayed once completed, even on alternate characters.
• Some players have reported bugs with the mission, including issues with transferring the quest between characters.
• The mission features one of the most significant character moments between Cayde-6 and Crow in the game's storyline.
• Wild Card is considered more story-focused compared to previous Exotic missions, which often emphasized combat and puzzle-solving.
• Veteran players compare Wild Card favourably to earlier Exotic missions such as Operation: Seraph's Shield and "Presage".
• Completing Wild Card is currently the fastest method to unlock a Golden-Gun damage option for non-Hunter classes.