The XP grind is one of the most important pillars of the Destiny 2 experience. By earning XP, you earn gear and items through the Season Pass, but more importantly, you can unlock your Seasonal Artifact. On top of granting you extra Power Levels, the seasonal Artifact also allows you to unlock extremely powerful Mods.
In this guide we’ll cover everything there is to know about the Seasonal Artifact (named the Ascendant Scepter), including its Perks, Power level gains, and how to get it.
How to get the Seasonal Artifact: Ascendant Scepter
Obtaining the Ascendant Scepter artifact is easy; all you need to do is complete the “Awaken, Queensguard” introductory seasonal quest and then claim it from Nimbus on Neomuna. This quest is free-to-play and requires neither Lightfall nor the Season 20 Pass.
Ascendant Scepter, Artifact quest
How it works
Every season comes with a new Artifact, which you can find in your Guardian’s inventory. As mentioned before, it plays an important role in Destiny 2. Not only does it grant extra Power Levels, but it also includes several Seasonal Mods. The extra Power Levels are useful for high-end content. The Seasonal Mods, on the other hand, are mandatory, as they include the mods needed to deal with Champions (plus other, meta-breaking mods).
Changes coming with Season 20
The seasonal Artifact is evolving in ways it has never before. Starting with Lightfall and Season 20, the Artifact’s Mods, which you previously had to equip on your Armor, are becoming passive Perks:
Artifact mods are now artifact perks.These are passive and you don’t have to slot them into armor pieces. Once you unlock an artifact perk, it automatically applies to your Guardian.
Season 20 Artifact Perks:
The Season 20 Ascendant Scepter Artifact features twelve perks. Just as in previous seasons, these will be divided into several columns, requiring you to unlock most Perks in the first column before being able to move on to the next column.
Ascendant Scepter, Season 20 Artifact
Column 1 Perks:
- Anti-Barrier Sidearms: Your equipped Sidearms fire shield-piercing rounds and stun Barrier Champions. Additionally, Sidearms are always Overcharged when that modifier is active.
- Anti-Barrier Pulse Rifles: Your equipped Pulse Rifles fire shield-piercing rounds and stun Barrier Champions. Additionally, Pulse Rifles are always Overcharged when that modifier is active.
- Overload Bows: Damage by fully drawn arrows from your equipped Bows disrupts combatants, stunning the target, delaying ability energy regeneration, and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against Overload Champions. Additionally, Bows are always Overcharged when that modifier is active.
- Unstoppable Scout Rifles: Aiming down the sights of a Scout Rifle for a short time loads a powerful explosive payload that stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against Unstoppable Champions. Additionally, Scout Rifles are always Overcharged when that modifier is active.
- Automatics Overload:Â Sustained fire from Auto Rifles and Submachine Guns disrupts combatants, stunning them, delaying ability energy regeneration, and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against Overload Champions. Additionally, Auto Rifles and Submachine Guns are always Overcharged when that modifier is active.
Column 2 Perks:
- Authorized Mods: Solar – The armor energy costs of all armor mods affecting your Solar weapons are significantly discounted.
- Authorized Mods: Strand – The armor energy costs of all armor mods affecting your Strand weapons are significantly discounted.
- Authorized Mods: Void – The armor energy costs of all armor mods affecting your Void weapons are significantly discounted.
- Authorized Mods: Grenades – The armor energy costs of all armor mods affecting your grenades are significantly discounted.
- Multi-Siphon Mods: Grants access to armor mods in your helmet that combine the effects of the Strand Siphon mod with the Solar Siphon Mod and the Void Siphon mods.
Column 3 Perks:
- Shatter Orbs: The first time you break a combatant’s shield, you create an Orb of Power if you break the shield with the matching damage type.
- Defiant Armory: Greatly improves the benefits provided by the Noble Deeds, Nanotech Tracer Rockets, Tex Balanced Stock, and Ambush Origin traits.
- Untangler: Destroying a Tangle with a Strand weapon suspends targets damaged by the explosion.
- Solar Surge: Collecting a Firesprite gives you Armor Charge.
- Volatile Flow: Picking up an Orb of Power grants your Void weapons Volatile Rounds.
Column 4 Perks:
- Bricks from Beyond: Defeating a powerful combatant with a Void weapon has a chance to generate Heavy ammo for you and your teammates.
- Flare Up: Firebolt Grenades apply more Scorch stacks. Damaging a combatant with a Firebolt Grenade spawns a Firesprite near them.
- Origin Hones: Weapons with the Noble Deeds, Nanotracing Rockets, Tex Balanced Stock, and Ambush Origin traits are always Overcharged when that modifier is active.
- Allied Unraveling: Rapid final blows with a Strand weapon grant your weapon Unraveling Rounds, with a longer duration near allies.
- Counterweave: When you or a member of your fireteam stuns or defeats a Champion, you gain energy for your least-charged Strand ability.
Column 5 Perks:
- Stranded Reach: Destroying a Tangle with a Strand weapon creates a larger and more damaging explosion.
- Rain of Firebolts: When you have Firebolt Grenades equipped, gain a second grenade charge.
- Void Weapons Channeling: You gain a temporary bonus to Void weapon damage after you defeat a target with a Void weapon while at least one of your Void abilities is fully charged. This damage bonus increases based on the number of fully charged Void abilities you have.
- Medieval Champion: Glaives you wield fire a powerful explosive payload that stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against Unstoppable Champions. Additionally, Glaives are always Overcharged when that modifier is active. Landing consecutive hits with a Sword disrupts combatants, stunning them, delaying ability energy regeneration, and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against Overload Champions. Additionally, Swords are always Overcharged when that modifier is active.
- Prismatic Transfer: When you cast your Super, each member of your fireteam with a subclass damage type different than yours gains a bonus to weapon damage.
Other changes coming to Artifact Mods/Perks:
- You can reset the artifact at no cost any number of times.
- The anti-Champion weapons featured on the artifact can also be Overcharged in higher-difficulty activities.
To accommodate these changes, Artifice Armor has now has a unique mod slot that grants three additional points to a character stat of your choice.
Before you go
Don’t miss our XP guide, featuring every trick in the book to increase your XP gains during your playtime. Also, don’t neglect Power Levels, the other pillar of the Destiny 2 leveling experience.
Also, these are some of our latest guides featuring many of the exciting new features delivered with Lightfall and Season of Defiance:
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