If you haven’t played the game in a while, you might be wondering, what is Destiny 2 Heist Battleground and how do I unlock it? Heist Battleground is the game’s seasonal activity, and it involves preventing Xivu Arath’s forces from stealing Rasputin’s subminds from deep within underground bunkers. Destiny 2 season 19’s activity is much more challenging than some of the previous season’s activities, and there are some special mechanics that players should know so they can through it quickly and effectively. It will be helpful for all Guardians to understand how to unlock and progress the activity before they start.
Here’s everything you want to know about Destiny 2 season 19 Heist Battleground, including a breakdown of the quest steps needed to unlock it and tips on completing the activity in one of the best free PC games.
How to unlock Heist Battleground
To access Heist Battleground, players must own the Destiny 2 season 19 pass. Players who own The Witch Queen Deluxe Edition already own this, while others will have to purchase the season 19 pass separately for about $10 or £8.14.
Loading into the game takes you through several cut scenes that outline the seasonal story. You’ll then embark on the seasonal intro mission, heading to Europa to meet Clovis Bray I. After completing the mission, head to the H.E.L.M., where you’ll find the Exo Frame Prototype by BrayTech Hardware. Accept the seasonal artefact, Seraph Cipher, and the quest More Than a Weapon. You’ll also need to accept the Resonance Amp.
You’ll then have access to the seasonal upgrades chart, but you won’t be able to unlock anything until you have an Exo frame module. After listening to the message from Mara Sov, the game will direct you to the Heist Battleground on the Moon. Completing the activity grants Resonant Stems, Seraph Key Cards, and a Makahayati Data Core.
Complete the following quest step by collecting more Seraph Key Codes. You can gain these from activities such as strikes, Crucible matches, or Gambit. You’ll then need to spend Seraph Key Codes to unlock a Seraph Chest at the end of the Heist Battlegrounds activity. You’ll now be able to access the activity through the Heist Battlegrounds Arena playlist, which you’ll find in the H.E.L.M. submap of the Director.
Note that your fireteam must have at least one weapon capable of stunning unstoppable champions for the playlist version of the activity. Pay close attention to your artefact mods, and be sure to equip the proper ones and carry the right weapons when playing the activity.
You can expect the playlist version to be notably more challenging than the one you played previously. Enemies in the activity are at least five points over your current power level, regardless of your level. You’ll also want to pay close attention to the additional modifiers as they may indicate that you’ll be facing Barrier or other challenging Champions. You may need the proper weapons and mods to combat them.
After opening the chest, you’ll have access to the story mission Operation: Archimedes, accessible from the H.E.L.M. map area of the Director.
Upon completing the mission, you can also visit Clovis for a reward and, after finishing the exquisite quest steps, use your earned Exo Frame Module to select your first upgrade.
Heist Battleground tips
Heist battleground involves gaining access to a bunker, traversing the bunker and taking on the bunker’s final boss. There are presently Heist Battlegrounds activities on the Moon and Europa. Once the boss is down to half health, it will gain a shield, so you will have to deposit charges for the shield to come down so you can start damaging the boss again.
Throughout these activities, be aware of Deathtongue Choristers, specialised Major Acolytes of Xivu Arath’s Horde. These enemies have a lot of health, so you should take them down as quickly as possible.
You will also encounter security doors during the activity. Unlock these by picking up items called PDT refraction cores, which will destroy the hive ruins that keep the door locked. In-game hints will direct you to these items, so follow the instructions and kill the enemies hoarding them so you can carry them back to the doorways and use them.
That’s everything there is to know about unlocking Destiny 2 Heist Battleground. For more insight on what’s to come in our favourite space game, see our Destiny 2 Lightfall release date and our Destiny 2 Strand subclass guide for the latest information.