The Shattered Realm in Destiny 2's Season of the Lost includes a bunch of hidden secrets, and this week saw the introduction of some new ones: Ascendant Mysteries. While Trivial Mysteries are the simplest puzzles to solve in the Shattered Realm missions, and Enigmatic Mysteries take a little more effort, Ascendant Mysteries are full-on special objectives you'll have to uncover.
The Forest of Echoes, modeled after the EDZ's Trostland location, has two such Ascendant Mysteries hidden in it. Finding them can be tough, and you'll want to be prepared for a fight when you finally uncover them. Here's where you can find both Ascendant Mysteries this week and how to complete them.
This week also saw the addition of the new Exotic trace rifle, Ager's Scepter, to Destiny 2. Check out our Ager's Scepter guide for everything you need to know to snag it.
The Dark Ritual
The first Ascendant Mystery is right near the first beacon you need to align, hidden inside the church. Complete the beacon alignment first, then head out of the front of the church. Look for a marker for Truesight and one for Safe Passage, as you'll need both. Activate the two markers near the statues in front of the church and then turn around and face the building. You should see platforms appear that will lead up toward the church's roof. Follow them and jump on, then head to the back of the church and drop down to where another marker is waiting. Be careful not to fall through the floor here.
There's another Truesight marker here that you can use to ascend to the bell tower above you for an Enigmatic Mystery. Instead, look off the back of this balcony, off the side of the island, into the abyss. You'll see another island a little distance away with a big statue and some Taken on it. Down below you, Truesight will reveal a set of platforms leading out to the island. Jump down to get on them and follow the path out to the statue.
Clear the Taken and Mara will call you on the radio, asking you to return an orb you'll find there to its rightful place in a crypt beneath the mausoleum. You've seen this building; it's the small one that you pass on your way to the church. Grab the orb and re-up your Truesight to return to the main island. You can follow the glowing white ball here--that's Toland, for the uninitiated--and he'll lead you straight to the mausoleum and make your path clear.
If you already have Ager's Scepter, there's actually a quicker way. Head to the beacon inside the church. With the beacon behind you, check the left wall for a small hole, blocked by a rock you can destroy with Ager's Scepter (it's in the same place as the entrance to the Lost Sector here in Trostland). Drop down the hole and you'll get a shortcut to the Crypt, your final destination. Don't forget the orb.
Either way you get there, take the orb to the marked statue in the Crypt and dunk it. That'll trigger a fight a Taken boss; this is a close-quarters location, so keep your wits about you. Fast-firing guns that are good for clearing small enemies, such as SMGs, are great here, but if you've got Ager's Scepter, it's even more effective at cleaning up the Taken.
Once you're done, open the chest that appears in front of the statue where you left the orb to complete the Ascendant Mystery.
Born Of Darkness
You'll need to align the second beacon in this mission to unlock the next Ascendant Mystery, so head toward it in the Ruins area. Once you've aligned the beacon, Taken Blights will spawn all over the area. You need to destroy them all to advance; there are several in the Ruins area with the beacon, plus a few more on the path you took to get to the beacon, on the platforms that cross the gap between islands and in the slightly woodier Outer Ruins region.
When Mara calls you on the radio again, you'll know you've cleared the Blights. Head to the Ruins section and look for Toland; he'll be floating over a small well in the corner of the area, which you might have noticed earlier as being filled with caustic Taken goo. With the Blights gone, the goo is gone, so follow Toland and jump down the well to the bottom.
Your goal here is to wipe out the Taken in the area, and most specifically, the big, tough Taken Ogre boss leading them. He's tough to deal with only because he has a huge amount of health, and because he will run after you in an attempt to punch, stomp, and laser you to death. If you've got a Super, this is a good place to use it; otherwise, high-damage guns like linear fusion rifles will clean him up pretty quickly.
Killing the ogre puts an end to this new Taken infection in the Forest of Echoes. Open the chest in the center of the area to complete the Ascendant Mystery.