The Dreaming City is a location introduced with the Forsaken expansion in 2018 and hosts the Last Wish Raid and the Blind Well horde mode activity, as well as the topic of this conversation, Ascendant Challenges.
The Dreaming City is encapsulated within a curse cast upon it by the last known Ahamkara, Riven. The curse begins in the weakest phase, eventually reaching max strength over three weeks, before finally beginning again. Each cycle of the Dreaming City curse will provide new loot to chase for those brave enough to face its Ascendant Challenge.
Ascendant Challenge This Week: April 23, 2024
This week’s Ascendant Challenge is “Ouroborea” in Aphelion’s Rest.
| Week | Challenge | Area | Curse Strength |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 April 2024 | Ouroborea | Aphelion's Rest | Strong |
Ascendant Challenge rotation
Season of the Wish (S23) schedule
| Week | Challenge | Area | Curse Strength | Week # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 November 2023 | Keep of Honed Edges | Harbingers Seclude | Strong | Week 1 |
| 5 December 2023 | Argonach Abyss | Bay of Drowned Wishes | Weak | Week 2 |
| 12 December 2023 | Cimmerian Garrison | Chamber of Starlight | Medium | Week 3 |
| 19 December 2023 | Ouroborea | Aphelion's Rest | Strong | Week 4 |
| 26 December 2023 | Forfeit Shrine | Gardens of Esila | Weak | Week 5 |
| 2 January 2024 | Shattered Ruins | Spine of Keres | Medium | Week 6 |
| 9 January 2024 | Keep of Honed Edges | Harbingers Seclude | Strong | Week 7 |
| 16 January 2024 | Argonach Abyss | Bay of Drowned Wishes | Weak | Week 8 |
| 23 January 2024 | Cimmerian Garrison | Chamber of Starlight | Medium | Week 9 |
| 30 January 2024 | Ouroborea | Aphelion's Rest | Strong | Week 10 |
| 6 February 2024 | Forfeit Shrine | Gardens of Esila | Weak | Week 11 |
| 13 February 2024 | Shattered Ruins | Spine of Keres | Medium | Week 12 |
| 20 February 2024 | Keep of Honed Edges | Harbingers Seclude | Strong | Week 13 |
| 27 February 2024 | Argonach Abyss | Bay of Drowned Wishes | Weak | Week 14 |
| 5 March 2024 | Cimmerian Garrison | Chamber of Starlight | Medium | Week 15 |
| 12 March 2024 | Ouroborea | Aphelion's Rest | Strong | Week 16 |
| 19 March 2024 | Forfeit Shrine | Gardens of Esila | Weak | Week 17 |
| 26 March 2024 | Shattered Ruins | Spine of Keres | Medium | Week 18 |
| 2 April 2024 | Keep of Honed Edges | Harbingers Seclude | Strong | Week 19 |
| 9 April 2024 | Argonach Abyss | Bay of Drowned Wishes | Weak | Week 20 |
| 16 April 2024 | Cimmerian Garrison | Chamber of Starlight | Medium | Week 21 |
| 23 April 2024 | Ouroborea | Aphelion's Rest | Strong | Week 22 |
| 30 April 2024 | Forfeit Shrine | Gardens of Esila | Weak | Week 23 |
| 7 May 2024 | Shattered Ruins | Spine of Keres | Medium | Week 24 |
| 14 May 2024 | Keep of Honed Edges | Harbingers Seclude | Strong | Week 25 |
| 21 May 2024 | Argonach Abyss | Bay of Drowned Wishes | Weak | Week 26 |
| 28 May 2024 | Cimmerian Garrison | Chamber of Starlight | Medium | Week 27 |
What is an Ascendent Challenge?
Ascendant Challenges are bounties handed out by Petra Venj in the Dreaming City that will reward you with a handful of Gear and Dark Fragments. To participate in an Ascendant Challenge, you will need a Tincture of Queensfoil. These drop from multiple locations around The Dreaming City; Public Events, Chests, Patrols, and The Blind Well.
Tincture of Queensfoil allows you to peer into the Ascendent Plane hidden in The Dreaming City, where a portal to these challenges is located. You will need to complete a small platforming challenge to reach the Portal. Should you die within the Ascendant Challenge, you will be returned to The Dreaming City and have to complete the platforming again.
Are they still worth completing?
You may be asking yourself why this content still matters in Destiny 2 today, with the rewards now being four years old. However, a lot of this loot will still find use in the meta today. The Dreaming City has one of the most striking aesthetics in Destiny, so it’s worth collecting for your fashion game now that transmog is available through Ada-1.
Do you have the itch for shiny exotic engrams, or maybe you still need to fill out your collection of some specific pieces? Ascendant Chests also have a higher drop rate for exotics!
Ascendant Challenges Rewards & Bounties
Finishing Ascendent Challenges rewards Legendary Gear from the Dreaming City loot pool, with extra rewards available for those with the Petra Venj weekly bounty. It would be silly to complete an Ascendent Challenge without first picking up the Petra Venj bounty, so make sure to do so before following this guide!
Within the Ascendent Challenges also lies another secret, Corrupted Eggs, and Ahamkara Bones used to unlock Corrupted Omelette and Marasenna Lore Triumphs.
We will unfortunately not be listing the locations of all 40 Eggs and 16 Ahamkara Bones here, but we have found some fantastic guides from other users that may help you!
Dreaming City’s Ascendant Challenges: How to complete them
What do I need to complete an Ascendent Challenge?
To complete an Ascendent Challenge, you will need to make sure you have the following:
- Access to the Dreaming City
- Know the location of this week’s Ascendant Challenge (see guides below)
- Tincture of Queensfoil (Purchasable from Petra Venj in the Dreaming City)
- Weekly Ascendent Challenge bounty from Petra Venj (Not required, but heavily advised)
1. Cimmerian Ascendant Challenge
- Location: Chamber of Starlight Lost Sector
- Objective: Kill an Ascendent Knight
The Cimmerian Garrison Ascendant Challenge is in the Lost Sector Chamber of Starlight. You will need to clear the lost sector, preferably of all enemies, before starting this challenge to make your life a little easier. Once you have cleared the Lost Sector, pop your Tincture of Queensfoil, you should see the Taken portal behind the chest containing your Lost Sector loot.
Tip: For this Ascendent Challenge, we recommend a long-range weapon, such as a bow or scout rifle. You may also prefer to bring a sword for later sections.
This particular lost sector acts more like an obstacle course – one that is easy to get lost in should you lose track of your surroundings. Once you begin the challenge, you will notice there are three Abyssal Knights somewhere behind you that will follow you throughout the challenge. Ignore those, and move forward. Ahead of you will be a few basic enemies and a Shrieker; destroy those as soon as possible and take a right turn. From this point, you shall see another shrieker and a group of thrall, take them out and again take a right turn. At this point, you should find yourself on a platform with a couple of Taken Phalanx. If not, then you have taken a wrong turn somewhere.
Once you eliminate these Taken Phalanx, you should notice the Abyssal Knights spawn again, this time charging towards you at pace, so we must hurry. There should be some stairs ahead of you. Head up them and destroy the Acolyte’s eyes, following the path. Now we must tackle a short jumping puzzle before reaching the end of this challenge. It’s simple enough, but keep in mind that the platforms rotate and move, so try not to stay in one spot for too long.
Upon completing the jumping puzzle, a few adds, and a boss should spawn. Make short work of them using your super and heavy ammo to complete the Ascendant Challenge, exiting via the newly spawned Taken portal. Congratulations, you have completed the Cimmerian Garrison!
2. Ouroborea Ascendant Challenge
- Location: Aphelions Rest Lost Sector
- Objective: Destroy Taken Blight’s shielding a crystal
The Ouroborea Ascendant Challenge is simple and found in the Aphelion’s Rest Lost Sector in The Strand.
Tip: A strong exotic heavy weapon to make short work of the blights is advised and will make this Ascendent Challenge a breeze! Ascendant Knights will enrage when the final blight is destroyed; keep your distance
As with the other Ascendent Challenges, you will need to reach the end of the Lost Sector, preferably killing all the mobs in the final room, before popping your Tincture of Queensfoil.
Once inside the Ascendant Challenge, you will notice a Crystal in the center of the room with an immune shield protecting it. The aim of the game here is to destroy four blights found around the room to clear the shield and destroy the crystal while avoiding the one-shot slam attacks from the knights. It is best to ignore them and focus on the blights. When the final blight is destroyed, a message stating “An opportunity” will appear on your screen, varied mobs and abyssal champions will spawn, defeat them and destroy the crystals. The challenge is complete!
3. Forfeit Shrine Ascendant Challenge
- Location: Gardens of Esila, The Strand
- Objective: Deposit three orbs, then kill Ascendent Knights
You will want to first spawn at the Divalian Mists and head to The Strand; you may refer to the image below. You should find the entrance portal around that location (make sure you have used a Tincture of Queensfoil)
Thankfully the challenge itself is not a difficult one. Three orbs will spawn randomly around the arena. Grab them and deposit them within the center. You will, of course, have taken blights and an assortment of enemies to contend with. It is best to ignore them and focus on the task at hand. You can melee with the orbs should you wish to move faster, if the enemy draws too close.
Tip: Consider changing your subclass should you be struggling with the Ascendant Knights; since you have unlimited super energy, you may wish to try: Golden Gun, Thundercrash, Chaos Reach. Anything that can deal incredible amounts of damage in a short period!
Once you have deposited all three orbs, you will be granted unlimited super energy and the abyssal champion will spawn. Now the fun begins! When all enemies are defeated, the lost chest will spawn. You have completed this Ascendant Challenge!
4. Shattered Ruins Ascendant Challenge
- Location: Spine of Keres, Divalian Mists
- Objective: Complete a jumping puzzle, then defeat a boss
The Shattered Ruins will be the easiest or the most difficult Ascendent Challenge you’ve completed. Jumping puzzles. We know how the mysteries of three-dimensional platforming will elude many a Destiny player.
You can find the Shattered Ruins challenge by spawning in at the Divalian Mists and heading to the location shown on the map below, remembering to use your Tincture of Queensfoil
Our objective here is to complete a relatively short jumping and platforming puzzle to reach the top of the castle while avoiding sniping Hobgoblins, Grenades, and of course, the dreaded Taken Phalanx. We know it may be quite difficult to explain a jumping puzzle in words, so we’ve taken the liberty of providing a video for you to watch before attempting the challenge!
Tip: Take your time here; there is no need to rush and risk falling into a trap and losing your progress. The enemy spawns do not change, so keep note of them should you need to restart.
Take note, once you complete the jumping puzzle and reach the top of the castle, you will need to Bal Elarus, The Obedient, before collecting your loot!
Don’t worry if you don’t complete this challenge the first time; keep practicing, and you’ll be a platforming master in no time. Kings Fall will have nothing on you.
5. Keep of Honed Edges Ascendant Challenge
- Location: Harbingers Seclude, Rheasilvia
- Objective: Use a Hive sword relic to defeat Ascendent Knights
Keep of Honed Edges may be one of the harder Ascendent Challenges. Essentially combining the other challenges into one, with plenty of enemies, mini-bosses, and jumping puzzles!
First, you should spawn at Divalian Mists and make your way to the Monastery found in Rheasilvia and use the map below as a reference on where to find the portal; you will find it around the end of the Dark Monastery mission, by a statue. Remember to use your Tincture of Queensfoil to see the portal.
As with most Ascendent Challenges, you will be required to defeat a small group of enemies. Take them out. A sword relic will appear for you to pick up, and you will now need to defeat three knights with the sword.
Tip: You will have ten minutes to complete this section, which should be plenty of time. Make sure to use both heavy and light attacks with your sword.
When you have successfully taken down the knights, you will once again be able to follow Toland to a short jumping puzzle. Simple enough. There will be a few enemies littered along your path; feel free to drop the relic and use your guns to dispatch them from a distance. Pick up your loot and head out of the portal to complete this challenge.
6. Agonarch Abyss Ascendant Challenge
- Location: Bay of Drowned Wishes Lost Sector
- Objective: Defeat two Taken Wizards
You may be relieved to hear that Agonarch Abyss is probably the easiest Ascendent Challenge to complete, and requires no real effort. Found within the Bay of Drowned Wishes lost sector in Divalian Mists. Spawn in at the Divalian Mists and turn around, the entrance will be directly behind you.
Head inside and start working your way to the boss room as normal. Once you reach the barrier door, pop your Tincture of Queensfoil and take a look to your right for the portal.
The challenge here is to fall. Without dying of course. Just begin to work your way down the series of cliffs, rocks, and platforms until you reach the Arena at the bottom, where you will need to fight 2 Taken Wizards and Taken Blights which you need to defeat to complete the challenge. Toland will light your way as always, should you get lost.
Tip: Just focus on the Taken Wizards here; once they have fallen, all enemies will disappear, and the challenge will be complete.
bad guide on Keep of Honed Edges!!
it’s not obvious at all but you *must* keep the sword with you to the end.
yes you can put it down to use other weapons but the game does not tell you and this guide doesn’t make it clear that you actually have to get to the end of the jumping area with the sword in hand!!