Dive into Destiny 2’s Season of the Wish with the thrilling “Starcrossed” Exotic mission, where Guardians return to the iconic Black Garden to unlock the powerful Wish-Keeper exotic bow. Navigate intricate puzzles, face daunting bosses, and uncover multiple hidden chests packed with rare rewards in this challenging quest that blends parkour, combat, and mystery into one unforgettable adventure.
In “Starcrossed,” you’ll venture into the Black Garden with Riven and Crow to take on an army of Vex. Your reward? The new Strand Exotic bow: Wish-Keeper – which is able to deploy a Suspending trap after getting enough kills or precision hits. It’s also the only weapon capable of tying the stars together in the Constellation quests.
In this Destiny 2 guide, we’ll walk you through how to complete the “Starcrossed” mission and find its secret chests.
How to beat the ’Starcrossed’ Exotic mission in Destiny 2
To beat the “Starcrossed” Exotic mission in Destiny 2, start by unlocking the mission through progressing the Season of the Wish story up to Week 4. Once inside, navigate the Black Garden using parkour and shooting glowing plants to create platforms. Throughout the mission, you will acquire two key buffs: Sire’s Obligation and Dam’s Gift, which allow you to damage shielded enemies and unlock doors by defeating specific Taken enemies. The mission features three main encounters, including puzzles involving symbols and buffs, culminating in a challenging boss fight against Akardon, Pitiless Mind. To succeed in the final fight, eliminate two Obdurate Phalanxes to remove the boss’s rotating shields, and use Rally Flags to replenish ammo and Super energy. The mission can be completed solo and rewards the Wish-Keeper Exotic bow along with its catalysts.
“Starcrossed” is, essentially, just a straight line with a few stops along it, so this guide will focus less on where to go and more on how the mission’s three primary mechanics work: Sire’s Obligation, Dam’s Gift, and Crowned by Dragons. Let’s break it down.
Sire’s Obligation
Your first big mechanic, which you get just before the first major encounter, is a buff called Sire’s Obligation. You can get it from standing in a blue pool that appears in some flowers by a locked gate. It lasts forever while you’re standing in the pool, but only lasts 45 seconds once you leave.
Sire’s Obligation allows you to damage Obdurate enemies and allows you to see the Last Wish symbols. Use the buff to defeat the first Obdurate Phalanx and open the door.
You’ll put Sire’s Obligation to practical use in the first encounter. Get the buff from one of the pools and look to the gate at the end of the arena. You’ll see three symbols in a random order. You’ll need to check the order yourself every time, but for the sake of this guide, let’s use this order as an example: Dragon, Fish, Bird.
Now, with your buff (make sure to renew it if you run out of time), run around the arena and look for Obdurate Phalanx enemies. There are three of them, each residing under one of the three symbols you saw on the door. Defeat them in the order of the combination on the door (Dragon, Fish, Bird, for this example) and you’ll open the way. Defeat them in the wrong order, and they’ll all respawn.
Dam’s Gift
Dam’s Gift is the second mechanic in this mission, and comes from a red puddle that comes from certain flower patches. It lasts for the same amount of time as Sire’s Obligation.
Dam’s Gift allows you to walk into the orange mist, which you’ll encounter for the first time just ahead of the first red flower patch. Without Dam’s Gift, you’ll take damage inside the mist and get the Unwelcome debuff, which will eventually kill you. However, you’re safe in the mist as long as you maintain Dam’s Gift.
After you run through the initial mist, you’ll need to use Dam’s Gift to complete the second encounter. You’ll find a red puddle in a small arena and three passageways covered in orange mist: left, right, and middle. Use Dam’s Gift to walk each of these paths and quickly kill the Gatekeeper Wyvern’s within. Once the Wyvern is dead, a shield will disappear over a Vex node, which you can interact with.
Repeat this process until you’ve killed three Gatekeeper Wyverns and interacted with all three nodes in the arena to complete the challenge.
Crowned by Dragons
At the end of the mission, you’ll need to combine these two buffs together. When you enter the next arena, head to the left to get Sire’s Obligation and to the right to get Dam’s Gift. Once you have them both, the buff will transform into a single buff: Crowned by Dragons.
While you have Crowned by Dragons, you’ll be able to see symbols, damage Obdurate enemies, and traverse the orange mist. Running through either buff will renew Crowned by Dragons back to 45 seconds.
With Crowned by Dragons in hand, look to the big door in the center of the room to get your lock combination. Then, run around the room and kill the Obdurate enemies in the correct order. There’s one Obdurate enemy in the main room, and one in each of the arena’s two wings. In order to get to the wings, you’ll need to traverse orange mist, so make sure you never lose Crowned by Dragons.
How to beat Akardon, Pitiless Mind, in Destiny 2
Once you open the door, proceed down to the final boss, which is a massive Vex Hydra: Akardon, Pitiless Mind. You can damage the boss from the start of the fight as long as you have Crowned by Dragons. However, you will have a much easier time killing the boss if you remove its rotating shield, which tends to block a lot of incoming damage if you don’t time your shots well.
To do this, use Crowned by Dragons to kill both of the Pitiless Attendant Phalanx enemies in the room with the Hydra. Once they’re both dead, the boss will lose its shield and start spawning Taken enemies. Kill it quickly and then proceed into the treasure room to finish the mission.
Destiny 2 ’Starcrossed’ secret chest locations
The “Starcrossed” Exotic mission in Destiny 2’s Season of the Wish features four secret chests scattered throughout the mission. The first chest is found early on in the underground parkour section, hidden on a fauna-covered ledge beneath a tree branch before the first Vex encounter. The second chest is located behind a waterfall in the Overland area, accessible only after picking up the Dam’s Gift buff. The third chest lies hidden in the misty garden area between the first and second encounters, guarded by a Taken Phalanx. The fourth and most concealed chest is tucked away in a scarlet flower-covered alcove during the traversal section between the second and third encounters, accessible by squeezing through a narrow gap protected by red mist. Each chest offers rewards including Undying weapons and upgrades for the Wish-Keeper Exotic Bow, with chests unlocking progressively on a weekly basis.
The “Starcrossed” mission has four secret chests hidden inside its halls in Season of the Wish.
The first chest became available alongside the launch of “Starcrossed” on Dec. 19, 2023, and doesn’t come with a bonus upgrade to the Wish-Keeper bow’s Intrinsic Exotic perk, Snareweaver. The other three chests, however, do provide upgrades for the bow’s Intrinsic Perk, which you can apply at the crafting station to open up additional crafting options, so they’re definitely worth grabbing.
All of these secret chests also drop Season of the Undying weapons, so you should grab them each week for a shot at some Deepsight Resonance guns.
Secret chest 1 (no intrinsic upgrade)
When you first start “Starcrossed,” you’ll be in an area with a big chasm, and will need to jump across some plant leaves. The first part of this area is fairly open, but you’ll eventually need to turn right and walk across a massive tree branch, which will lead you to a narrow opening and the rest of the mission.
Once you turn and hit that big tree branch, stop. Instead of continuing along, look down and around you. You’ll find an edge that leads into a small alcove.
Head down into this small area and you’ll find a Dreaming City chest nuzzled against the wall. Open it for a Season of the Undying weapon.
If you’re struggling with this chest, I recommend putting the Wombo Detector Ghost Shell mod on, which will allow you to detect nearby treasure chests and resources.
Secret chest 2 (Snareweaver II)
The second secret chest is to the left once you reach the first outdoor area in the “Starcrossed” mission. If you defeat your first Obdurate enemy, you’ve gone too far.
When you enter the open area, look to your left and you’ll see a path of red grass with the Dam’s Gift buff resting in it. Run forward and grab it, then quickly jump over the lake of Vex fluid and up by the waterfall. You’ll see a little pocket of orange mist, which you can use Dam’s Gift to traverse. Use your buff to head behind the waterfall and grab the chest. You’ll get a Season of the Undying weapon and, if it’s your first time nabbing this chest, the Snareweaver II upgrade.
Secret chest 3 (Snareweaver III)
The third secret chest is between the first and second encounters, when the mission introduces you to Dam’s Gift as a mechanic (not including the new pool for the second secret chest).
Get Dam’s Gift like you’re supposed to, then run forward, hang a left, and then hang another left instead of going into the orange mist. You’ll find a path of blue grass with the Sire’s Obligation buff. Grab it and then turn around and run into the orange mist right behind you (you should have the Crowned by Dragons buff now). Hang left in the smoke and you’ll find an Obdurate Phalanx. Kill it and then run behind it to grab the chest. You’ll get a Season of the Undying weapon and, if it’s your first time nabbing this chest, the Snareweaver III upgrade.
Secret Chest 4 (Snareweaver IV)
The fourth secret chest in “Starcrossed” is quite a ways into the mission. Finish the second encounter – the one that introduces you to Dam’s Gift – in the Roost and then proceed through the portal at the end. Now, complete the jumping puzzle with the moving rocks. Eventually, you’ll come out the other side to a green area that leads to the final encounter of the mission.
When you emerge into this green space, you’ll instantly notice a chest to your left if you have the Wombo Detector Ghost Mod on (which makes finding all of these chests much easier). Hang a left and then hang another left and you’ll find a dark hallway that leads to some orange smoke and the chest. Now you can just sprint in and grab the chest before it kills you, but it will kill you on the way out.
If you want to get this chest the right way, move into the next area and you’ll find Dam’s Gift sitting on the ground. Walk into it and then backtrack to the chest. With Dam’s Gift you’ll be able to safely traverse the smoke and grab the Snareweaver IV upgrade.
What secrets do the hidden chests in Starcrossed reveal about the Black Garden
The hidden chests in the “Starcrossed” Exotic mission reveal intriguing secrets about the Black Garden’s deeper lore and its connections to the Golden Age research group, the Ishtar Collective. Within these chests, players find Undying weapons linked to Season of the Undying, symbolizing the enduring influence of the Vex and their technology. One notable secret is a metal effigy of the Ishtar Collective’s symbol found beyond a secret portal, hinting at the Collective’s involvement and possible safe haven within the Black Garden, suggesting that this area might have been a refuge from Vex influence and a site of important research during the Golden Age. This discovery opens speculation about future Vex-centered storylines in Destiny 2. The chests also require players to interact with environmental buffs like “Ram’s Gift” and “Dam’s Gift,” emphasizing the mystical and hidden nature of the Black Garden’s ecosystem and its protective mechanisms.
What do the hidden chests suggest about the Vex’s connection to the Black Garden
The hidden chests in the “Starcrossed” mission suggest a complex and symbiotic connection between the Vex and the Black Garden, highlighting the Garden as a unique environment where Vex technology and natural, almost mystical elements coexist. The presence of Vex enemies guarding the chests and the need to interact with environmental buffs like “Dam’s Gift” indicate that the Vex actively manipulate and are intertwined with the Garden’s flora and terrain.
Moreover, lore insights and discoveries from these chests reveal that the Black Garden is a place closely linked to the Darkness, which the Vex worship, blending mechanical and organic elements in a way that defies typical Vex behavior. The chests containing Undying weapons with Deepsight Resonance further emphasize the Vex’s ongoing influence and experimentation within the Garden.
Additionally, the discovery of an Ishtar Collective symbol made from Vex parts deep within the Garden hints at a deeper narrative: the Black Garden may have served as a contested or even semi-protected zone where human researchers and Vex technology intersected, possibly as a refuge or research site during the Golden Age. This suggests the Vex’s connection to the Garden is not merely hostile but also involves complex interactions with human factions and their own paracausal capabilities.
In summary, the hidden chests underscore the Black Garden as a nexus where the Vex’s worship of the Darkness, their technological prowess, and their entanglement with natural and human elements converge, revealing a layered and enigmatic relationship rather than a simple battlefield.
