What do you get after beating Shadowkeep? Exotic quests, end-game activities, and power gains
After conquering the Shadowkeep campaign, you‘ll immediately gain access to new exotic weapon quests, high-level end game activities, and power leveling rewards to continue your adventure.
The major exotics, content unlocks and progression boosts covered in this guide will take you beyond the Moon and prepare your Guardian for new challenges.
Exotic Weapon Quests
Right away after the credits roll on the Shadowkeep story, you‘ll receive quests for several powerful new exotic weapons:
Deathbringer
This menacing void rocket launcher allows you to remotely detonate projectiles for devastating area damage. The quest has you finding Lunar Essences and defeating Nightmares.
Deathbringer excels at taking down tough bosses and clustered enemies. It‘s also a blast to use with the unique detonation mechanic.
Divinity
Divinity is an exotic trace rifle that creates giant critical damage spots on targets. Obtaining it involves completing the Garden of Salvation raid along with Vex Offensive during Season of the Undying.
This support weapon is highly sought after for endgame PvE activities like Grandmaster Nightfalls thanks to its 30% damage buff.
Assassin‘s Cowl
This creepy Hunter helmet grants invisibility and ability energy on finishing blows, synergizing perfectly with the Nightstalker subclass. It‘s earned by completing the Shadowkeep campaign as a Hunter.
Assassin‘s Cowl excels in solo content, allowing you to easily regain stealth and recharge your smoke bomb to continue chaining Flawless Execution invisibility.
Stormdancer‘s Brace (Warlock)
Warlocks receive this exotic armor piece for finishing Shadowkeep‘s story. Stormdancer‘s Brace enhances the Stormtrance super, increasing its duration and damage the longer you stay in it.
This lets Stormcallers melt tough enemies with extended super uptime. It‘s especially deadly against bosses and in activities with ‘super regen‘ modifiers.
Phoenix Cradle (Titan)
Titans are rewarded with the Phoenix Cradle leg armor. This exotic causes your Sun Warrior buff to grant allies Sun Warrior as well when you cast Sunspots.
Phoenix Cradle amplifies ability regen and damage for your entire fireteam. It‘s extremely potent in hard PvE content like Grandmaster Nightfalls.
Here‘s a quick table summarizing the new exotics available after completing the Shadowkeep campaign:
| Exotic | Type | Perk | How to Get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deathbringer | Rocket Launcher | Remote detonation | Quest |
| Divinity | Trace Rifle | Critical weak spot | Raid puzzles |
| Assassin‘s Cowl | Hunter Helmet | Finishers grant invisibility & energy | Campaign reward |
| Stormdancer‘s Brace | Warlock Arms | Buffed Stormtrance duration | Campaign reward |
| Phoenix Cradle | Titan Leg Armor | Share Sun Warrior buff | Campaign reward |
These powerful weapons and armor represent some of the major rewards waiting for you in the post-game Shadowkeep content.
New Destinations and Activities
Vanquishing nightmares on the Moon is only the beginning. After the story concludes, you‘ll gain access to some of Destiny 2‘s most challenging end-game activities tied to new destinations.
Altars of Sorrow
This 6 player public event arena on the Moon will test your combat abilities against relentless hordes of Hive enemies. With five boss encounters that rotate weekly, it‘s a great source of upgrade materials and high stat armor focusing.
I‘ve forged some of my best builds chasing god roll armor focusing from Altars of Sorrow. It provides some frantic and rewarding action you can easily matchmake into.
Nightmare Hunts
Like mini strikes, these missions have you track down and eliminate powerful Nightmares across the moon and in new areas like the Tunnels of Despair.
With higher difficulties unlocked after the campaign, Nightmare Hunts offer new lore, exclusive weapons like Premonition pulse rifle, and pinnacle gear sources. They are light on mechanics but capture the creepy atmosphere of Crota‘s dark kingdom.
According to DestinyTracker data, over 50% of active players have completed Essence of Rage, one of the post-campaign Nightmare Hunts.
Pit of Heresy
This dungeon sends you into the depths of the Moon to confront mysteries and bosses in eerie underground caverns. Clearing all encounters earns you the Xenophage exotic machine gun.
Xenophage absolutely shreds majors and boss enemies thanks to its explosive rounds and insane range. It‘s a must-have heavy weapon for PvE activities like GMs and raids.
My fireteam always insists on someone running Xenophage for its sheer damage output. Pit of Heresy remains one of my favorite dungeons thanks to the disturbing atmosphere and cool boss arenas.
Garden of Salvation
Shadowkeep‘s signature raid sees players entering the paradoxical time loop that is the Black Garden. The convoluted Divinity exotic quest culminates here.
Garden has great weapons like Sacred Provenance, the only rapid-fire kinetic pulse rifle in Destiny 2, and the apex machine gun Accrued Redemption.
I highly recommend learning the mechanics and trying to earn these guns, especially if you enjoy raiding. Garden has fantastic visuals and music that really pull you into the Vex network.
According to RaidReport, over 750,000 players have cleared Garden of Salvation since Shadowkeep‘s launch. Its weapons and armor are still coveted today.
Here‘s a comparison of the unique loot available in Shadowkeep‘s dungeon and raid:
| Activity | Weapons | Armor | Exotics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pit of Heresy | Blasphemer shotgun, Premonition pulse | – | Xenophage LMG |
| Garden of Salvation | Sacred Provenance pulse, Accrued Redemption LMG | Garden Progeny armor set | Divinity trace rifle |
Gaining access to these aspirational pursuits is a major part of the Shadowkeep post-game experience.
Power Gains for Endgame Progression
Completing the campaign provides you with a hefty infusion of XP towards your seasonal artifact, pass, and power level.
You‘ll immediately be able to pick up several powerful and pinnacle weekly challenges perfect for acquiring new gear. This gives you a solid power base to begin tackling higher difficulty activities.
Having the artifact unlocked is crucial for taking advantage of seasonal mods like Breach and Clear or Particle Deconstruction. These mods have made or broken endgame PvE meta loadouts.
Starting Shadowkeep mid-season lets you power through the story quickly and get right to max level grinding. I‘ve used this technique several times when switching characters or prepping for a new raid release.
Is Shadowkeep Still Worth It in 2022?
As someone who has played Destiny 2 for years, I think Shadowkeep absolutely still holds up in late 2022 for new lights and veterans alike based on:
- Story campaign with cooler lore and cutscenes than recent seasons
- Awesome exotics like Deathbringer you can‘t get elsewhere
- Fun haunted forest event and festival of the lost season
- Legend/Master Lost Sectors for unlocking new exotics
- Altars of Sorrow for target farming armor focusing
- Nightmare Hunts offer solid pinnacle gear sources
- Garden of Salvation weapons still dominate endgame PvE meta
The only downsides are outdated or sunset gear in places like the lectern vendor. But the core exotic quests, activities and loot remain relevant today.
For more casual players or those with limited time, I‘d say Shadowkeep may not be essential thanks to the free Moon destination. But for hardcore raiders and collectors looking to catch up, Shadowkeep provides some of Destiny‘s best guns, missions and coolest aesthetics.
Conclusion
After putting an end to the nightmares plaguing the Moon in Shadowkeep, you‘ll have unlocked extensive exotic quests granting powerful new weapons. Endgame activities like the Garden of Salvation raid and Pit of Heresy dungeon become available with unique loot to earn. You‘ll also get an XP boost towards seasonal progress and power leveling for further progression.
While no longer the latest content drop, Shadowkeep still delivers must-have exotics like Xenophage and introduces one of Destiny‘s most visually impressive raids in Garden of Salvation. The expansion is absolutely still worth playing in late 2022 for new and returning players alike. Just be prepared for creepy moon crypts, creepier enemies, and some of the coolest guns awaiting you after those final credits.