Destiny 2 How to Get Cull’s Shadow: Oblation Bloodline Guide

TL;DR

• Cull’s Shadow is a Kinetic Exotic Fusion Rifle and Weapon of Sorrow — the final Exotic added to Destiny 2.
• It is hidden behind a secret unlock sequence on the Moon with no quest marker or announcement.
• You need a Weapon of Sorrow equipped before starting. Thorn from the Exotic Kiosk is the easiest option.
• Step 1: Run the Scarlet Keep Strike and shoot Hive symbols in the final boss room to open a hidden door.
• Step 2: Find and investigate four Hive objects across the Moon, then enter the hidden tunnel in Sorrow’s Harbor.
• Step 3: Complete Oblation: Bloodline to defeat Valus Tau’Rig and claim Cull’s Shadow.
• Do NOT leave after the boss — stay to unlock Oblation: Soulfed and Oblation: Immolation for all four catalysts.
• The full chain spans three missions and rewards four Catalysts plus an Exotic Sparrow.

Destiny 2 Cull’s Shadow is the most hidden Exotic weapon in Monument of Triumph. Bungie dropped it into Update 9.7.0 (June 9, 2026) with no announcement — no quest marker, no NPC pointing you toward it, nothing in the Director to indicate it exists. The community found it by exploring the Moon the same way The Whisper and Zero Hour were discovered years ago. The reward is Cull’s Shadow, a Kinetic Exotic Fusion Rifle that doubles as a Weapon of Sorrow and deals Poison damage — the last Exotic ever added to Destiny 2. Getting it requires a three-mission chain called the Oblation series. This guide covers every step of the full unlock sequence and all three missions in order. Get Destiny 2 free on Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, or the Bungie website.

What Is Cull’s Shadow?

Cull’s Shadow is a Kinetic Exotic Fusion Rifle and Weapon of Sorrow. It was originally the legendary weapon of Dredgen Call, a Guardian who fell to the Darkness, and was lost somewhere beneath the Moon for years. Its Exotic perk fires bolts that apply Poison stacks on hit. Targets near a Poisoned enemy take splash Poison damage, and multiple nearby targets sharing Poison amplify the total damage significantly. The four Catalysts — Soulfire Succor, Soulfire Zeal, Soulfire Skewer, and Soulfed Skewer — each add distinct mechanics that improve Soulfire charge generation, Poison spreading, healing loops, and damage scaling.

As a Weapon of Sorrow, Cull’s Shadow interacts with the Weapons of Sorrow quest line and related lore content. It also counts for any Triumph or challenge that requires a Weapon of Sorrow. For the full list of all Weapons of Sorrow in the game, see the Destiny 2 Weapons of Sorrow guide.

What You Need Before Starting

There is one hard requirement before you can unlock the Oblation: Bloodline mission:

• A Weapon of Sorrow equipped. This is non-negotiable. You must have one in your loadout and actively equipped to interact with Hive symbols, locked doors, and mission triggers throughout the unlock sequence. The four available Weapons of Sorrow are Thorn, Osteo Striga, Necrochasm, and Duskfield.

Thorn is the easiest option — purchase it directly from the Exotic Kiosk (Monument to Lost Lights) in the Tower for Exotic Ciphers and Ascendant Shards. You do not need to use the Weapon of Sorrow to deal damage throughout the mission. You just need it equipped for the specific symbol-shooting and interaction steps. Any weapon can handle combat.

Step 1 — Unlock the Mission: Scarlet Keep Strike

The Oblation: Bloodline mission does not appear on the Moon map until you unlock it through a hidden sequence. The first step happens inside the Scarlet Keep Strike.

1. Load into the Scarlet Keep Strike from the Moon destination screen. You can run this solo.
2. Play through the Strike normally until you reach the final boss encounter area with Hashladun, Daughter of Crota. Do not engage Hashladun.
3. Look around the boss room for Hive symbols glowing on the walls. Switch to your Weapon of Sorrow.
4. Shoot the Hive symbols around the room in the correct order. The symbols are arranged in a sequence — shoot them from top to bottom on each wall grouping.
5. After shooting the correct symbols, the locked gate behind Hashladun opens.
6. Enter the gate and turn right. You will find a glowing Hive crystal on the wall. Interact with it.

This interaction begins the Moon investigation sequence. You now need to find four Hive objects scattered across the Moon’s destinations before the mission entrance unlocks.

Step 2 — Investigate Four Hive Objects Across the Moon

After interacting with the Hive crystal in the Scarlet Keep, you need to find and investigate four hidden Hive objects across the Moon’s patrol zone. These are scattered across different areas and do not appear on the map. Here are the locations:

Hive Object 1 — Temple of Crota

Enter the Temple of Crota from the Anchor of Light. Head into the main chamber and look for a small alcove on the left side of the room before the stairs leading up toward the Shrine of Oryx. Inside the alcove is a locked door covered in Hive runes. Equip your Weapon of Sorrow and shoot the runes in the order they illuminate. The door opens to reveal a room with the first Hive object. Interact with it.

Hive Object 2 — Hellmouth

Drop into the Hellmouth from the northern edge of the patrol zone. Follow the tunnels downward into the Gatehouse area below. Look along the right wall as you head deeper — there is a cracked section of wall you can pass through. Inside the passage behind it is a small chamber with the second Hive object sitting on a stone platform. Interact with it to progress.

Hive Object 3 — Archer’s Line

Head to Archer’s Line in the northern section of the Moon. Look for the large ruined structure near the eastern edge of the area. There is a collapsed section of roof you can drop through to reach a lower level of the building. The third Hive object is inside this lower room on a raised altar. Interact with it.

Hive Object 4 — Sorrow’s Harbor

Head to Sorrow’s Harbor and look for the largest Hive structure at the center of the area near the Altars of Sorrow. The fourth Hive object is inside a small room beneath the stairs on the east side of this structure. The door is sealed with Hive runes — shoot them in order with your Weapon of Sorrow to open it, then interact with the object inside.

Step 3 — Enter the Hidden Tunnel in Sorrow’s Harbor

After interacting with all four Hive objects, return to Sorrow’s Harbor. Head to the entrance of the Scarlet Keep — the large gate structure at the far end of Sorrow’s Harbor. Do not enter through the main door.

Instead, drop down to the path on the right side of the structure and go underneath it. Follow the path beneath the bridge until you find a hidden tunnel entrance in the rock face. There is a door here with an interact prompt. Press it to launch the Oblation: Bloodline Exotic Mission.

Once unlocked, Oblation: Bloodline also appears as a launchable node on the Moon destination map under the Exotic Missions section. You do not need to re-enter through the tunnel for future runs.

Oblation: Bloodline — Full Mission Walkthrough

The mission opens underground, in an area that visually resembles the Pit of Heresy starting area because it shares the same location beneath the Moon. Do not panic — the mission diverges quickly.

Opening — Meeting Aunor and Sabotaging the Drill

Walk forward and speak to Aunor Mahal. She departs and gives you the objective: sabotage the Syndicate Drilling Operation. Drop down the cliffside and find the red building at the bottom with a lever console. Interact with it to trigger the Override Safety Protocols prompt. Three fuses appear in the pipes near the console — shoot all three to cut power to the nearby Cooling Pillar. With the power disabled, shoot all four ventilation points on the Cooling Pillar to destroy it. Use the cannon jump pad to reach the next area and repeat this process. There are three Cooling Pillars total across two sections. The second section has two Pillars together but the method is identical.

After destroying all Cooling Pillars, find the drill overload console and interact with it. A cannon fires you deeper underground into the next section of the mission.

Soulfire Barrier Mechanic — How It Works

The Soulfire barrier is the core mechanic of all three Oblation missions. Here is exactly how it works — understanding this removes almost all confusion from the encounters:

1. A glowing Soulfire barrier blocks the path forward.
2. Nearby there is a Pyre Matron — a shielded Wizard. Kill her to drop the shields on the Soulfire Vessel she guards.
3. Kill the Soulfire Vessel with a melee strike or Finisher — ranged damage does not work. The Vessel dies and drops a Soulfire Charge.
4. Pick up the Soulfire Charge and carry it to the nearest unlit brazier or pyre. Deposit it to ignite the brazier.
5. Repeat this process for each brazier in the area. Once all braziers are lit, the Soulfire barrier drops and the path forward opens.

The left room with its Soulfire Vessel is accessed via rock platforms on the left wall rather than through a conventional door. Look for the platforms and climb rather than searching for a doorway. Dead Cabal bodies and a faint greenish glow mark the correct path throughout — if you see nothing and feel lost, turn around and look for the glow.

First Boss Encounter — Valus Tau’Rig Phase 1

Complete two full Soulfire sequences across the left and right side rooms to light all the braziers. The final barrier drops and you enter the boss arena to face Valus Tau’Rig — a Cabal commander who stole Cull’s Shadow before you could claim it.

Phase 1 is simple. Deplete Tau’Rig’s health bar using any DPS strategy. Rockets, linear fusion rifles, and heavy swords all work well. His health in Phase 1 is modest — a few rockets clears it quickly. Once his health hits zero, Phase 2 begins.

First Boss Encounter — Valus Tau’Rig Phase 2

Tau’Rig becomes immune and summons three Wizards called Pyre Cantors who fly to three separate sealed Thrall rooms around the arena. Follow whichever Wizard reappears first:

1. Enter the room the Pyre Cantor flies to.
2. Kill the Pyre Cantor to break the immunity on the Soulfire Vessel inside.
3. Melee or Finisher the Vessel to get the Soulfire Charge.
4. Return to the main arena. Watch which brazier Tau’Rig is absorbing power from — the indicator is a beam of light connecting him to the brazier.
5. Deposit the Soulfire Charge into the same brazier Tau’Rig is feeding from. Depositing in the wrong brazier does nothing.
6. Tau’Rig loses his immunity briefly. Deal damage.
7. Repeat the sequence a second time with the remaining Pyre Cantors.
8. After the second Soulfire Charge deposit, Tau’Rig becomes fully vulnerable. Finish him.

After Tau’Rig dies, Cull’s Shadow drops for the entire fireteam. Walk to the center of the arena to collect it.

How to Unlock Oblation: Soulfed (Do NOT Leave After the Boss)

This is the most important instruction in this guide. Do not leave the mission after defeating Tau’Rig. Doing so locks you out of unlocking the second mission and the first two Catalysts until you replay Oblation: Bloodline and stay after the boss again.

After collecting Cull’s Shadow, equip it immediately. Then follow these steps:

1. Return to the room where you completed the final Soulfire sequence before the boss fight — the last brazier room you cleared.
2. Look to the right side of the room. Climb up the red towers on the right wall.
3. On the upper platform on the other side, you will find a floating Hive Grimoire (described in game as a Tome). Interact with it. A message flashes: “The Weapon of Sorrow craves profane wisdom.”
4. Return to the boss room. On the right wall you will now see a locked door covered in Hive symbols.
5. Equip your Weapon of Sorrow and shoot the symbols in the correct order shown on the door, from top to bottom.
6. The door opens. Step through. You will find a terminal that launches Oblation: Soulfed.

Completing this sequence also unlocks the Soulfire Succor Catalyst (Catalyst 1) for Cull’s Shadow. The Soulfire Succor Catalyst grants partial reload and additional Soulfire charges when the weapon Poisons targets.

Oblation: Soulfed — How to Unlock Oblation: Immolation

Oblation: Soulfed is the second mission in the chain. It uses the same Soulfire barrier mechanic as Bloodline but with more complex routing and additional enemy density. Follow the same pattern — Pyre Matron, Soulfire Vessel, melee kill, deposit charge — through each barrier section.

At the end of Soulfed, another boss fight waits. After defeating the boss, do the same thing you did at the end of Bloodline — stay in the mission. With Cull’s Shadow equipped, head to the back of the boss room. You will find lanterns on the left and right sides. From the lanterns, you can see three Hive symbols on nearby statues — six symbols total across both sides. Look at the side of Cull’s Shadow itself in your hands — the symbols engraved on the weapon show you the order they must be shot. Shoot all six symbols in the order displayed on the weapon to unlock Soulfire Zeal (Catalyst 2) and the terminal for Oblation: Immolation.

Soulfire Zeal adds a melee-heal loop — meleeing Poisoned enemies heals you. In aggressive builds where you are consistently Poisoning groups and following up with melee, this makes Cull’s Shadow a meaningful survivability tool in endgame content.

Oblation: Immolation — How to Get the Final Two Catalysts

Oblation: Immolation is the third and final mission in the chain. It is set deep in the Moon’s forge and introduces a new Soulfire Worm mechanic alongside the existing Soulfire barrier gameplay.

Two hidden interactables must be activated before the final boss room for the last two Catalysts to unlock:

• First interactable: Shortly after loading into Immolation, jump onto the swinging lanterns and platform over to the path on the right. Drop down through a hole partway along the right-side path. At the bottom you will find an artifact — interact with it. This is required for Catalyst 3.
• Second interactable: Later in the mission, you reach a pit with lethal water and dead Cabal. Drop into the pit and immediately turn around and look up — there is a hidden room above you accessible by climbing. Inside is the second interactable for Catalyst 4. Activate it before proceeding to the final encounter.

The Soulfire Worm mechanic appears in this mission. Pick up Soulfire Worms from glowing nodes and carry them to crystals marked with a pale glow on the walls. Throw the worm at the crystal to destroy it and clear the path forward. Avoid the fire hazards while carrying worms — contact with fire destroys the worm and forces you to retrieve another.

The final boss is Ir Gohl, Forger of Sorrow. The fight uses a variant of the Soulfire charge mechanic from Bloodline. Follow the same sequence — locate the Pyre Cantors, kill the Vessels, and deposit Soulfire Charges into the correct brazier to remove Ir Gohl’s immunity — and repeat until he is defeated.

After Ir Gohl dies, interact with the Dredgen Lightbearer in the center of the forge room. She disappears and a chest spawns. Opening it rewards Soulfire Skewer (Catalyst 3) and Soulfed Skewer (Catalyst 4), plus the Exotic Sparrow tied to completing the full Oblation chain.

All Four Cull’s Shadow Catalysts — What They Do

• Soulfire Succor (Catalyst 1 — End of Bloodline): Grants partial reload and more Soulfire charges when Poison is applied to targets. Keeps the weapon’s magazine topped off and Poison spreading more consistently during sustained fire.
• Soulfire Zeal (Catalyst 2 — End of Soulfed): Meleeing Poisoned enemies heals you. In aggressive builds where you follow up Cull’s Shadow bolts with melee strikes on Poisoned groups, this generates a constant stream of health regeneration.
• Soulfire Skewer (Catalyst 3 — End of Immolation, interactable required): Poison kills create a Soulfire explosion that spreads Poison to nearby enemies. Turns Cull’s Shadow into an add-clear chain reaction weapon in dense encounters — each kill feeds the next.
• Soulfed Skewer (Catalyst 4 — End of Immolation, chest reward): Dealing sustained Poison damage to a single target builds a Soulfire Skewer charge. When fully charged, your next bolt fires a supercharged Soulfire round that deals significantly more damage and applies a stronger Poison burst. Best against Champions, mini-bosses, and elite enemies where sustained Poison pressure is achievable.

For the full Catalyst breakdown including god roll recommendations and activity pairings, see the Destiny 2 Cull’s Shadow catalysts guide.

Can You Complete the Oblation Chain with a Fireteam?

Yes. All three Oblation missions support solo play and fireteams of up to three players. If one player in the fireteam has already completed all the Hive object steps and unlocked the mission, the other players in the same fireteam may be able to access it without completing the prerequisites themselves — though this is not confirmed for all scenarios. The safest approach is to complete the prerequisite steps yourself before attempting the missions with others.

The missions are tuned for solo play at their base difficulty. With a fireteam the combat sections become easier, though the Soulfire mechanic steps and symbol-shooting sequences remain individual activities that each player needs to complete within the mission regardless of fireteam size.

Can You Replay Oblation: Bloodline for Another Cull’s Shadow?

Yes — once unlocked, all three Oblation missions are replayable from the Moon destination map under the Exotic Missions tab. Replaying Bloodline drops Cull’s Shadow again from the Tau’Rig encounter, allowing you to farm for a different roll or collect it on alternate characters. There is no weekly lockout on replaying the missions. The Catalyst unlock steps only need to be completed once per account — replaying the missions for weapon drops does not require repeating the symbol sequences.

Is Cull’s Shadow Worth Getting?

Yes. Beyond being the last Exotic ever added to Destiny 2, Cull’s Shadow is a genuinely useful weapon in the Monument of Triumph sandbox. Its Poison damage type, which saw limited use in previous eras, benefits significantly from the Monument of Triumph sandbox changes. The Soulfire Skewer Catalyst turns every kill into a room-clearing chain reaction in dense enemy encounters. The Soulfed Skewer Catalyst gives it a sustained boss damage tool against single targets that builds passively during normal Poison application.

For PvP use in particular, the Poison application on hits gives Cull’s Shadow a niche as a corner-firing fusion rifle that continues dealing damage after the initial shot even when opponents take cover. Against Guardians who retreat behind walls after taking a partial hit, Poison frequently secures kills that would otherwise require chasing. For a full ranking of where Cull’s Shadow sits in the overall Exotic meta, see the Destiny 2 best Exotic weapons 2026 complete ranking. For PvP weapon comparisons, see the Destiny 2 best PvP weapons 2026 Crucible meta guide.

The Oblation chain is also one of the most carefully crafted secret mission sequences Bungie has ever designed — comparable in quality to the original Whisper and Zero Hour missions. Even if Cull’s Shadow were a mediocre weapon, the three-mission chain is worth experiencing for the lore, the encounters, and the satisfaction of finding and completing Destiny 2’s final hidden secret.