Destiny 2 guide: How to unlock Gjallarhorn’s Exotic Catalyst

Like many Exotics in Destiny 2, Gjallarhorn comes with its own Exotic Catalyst, which gives it a new perk and lets it create Orbs of Power. Gjallarhorn’s new perk is very powerful, upping the number of rockets in the magazine and further increasing its damage against groups.

But actually acquiring the Gjallarhorn Catalyst requires a bit of puzzle solving. In this Destiny 2 Gjallarhorn Exotic Catalyst guide, we’ll walk you through the Gjallarhorn chest puzzle in the Grasp of Avarice dungeon so you can unlock your rocket launcher’s true potential.

How the Grasp of Avarice dungeon puzzle works

If you’re hunting the Gjallarhorn Catalyst, grab some buddies and jump into the Grasp of Avarice dungeon on the harder master difficulty or the normal difficulty (you’ll be able to get the Catalyst either way).

There are three special chests hidden inside the Grasp of Avarice dungeon, outside of encounters. To open them, you need the Burdened by Riches debuff that you earn by collecting Engrams from enemies. Each chest has an associated Reaver Vandal nearby — a super high-health enemy that drops Engrams as you damage them.

These chests and their associated Vandal don’t spawn unless you’ve already collected Gjallarhorn (which is why you didn’t see them the first way through).

The goal for each of these puzzles is to find the chest, find the nearby Vandal, pick up an Engram, and race back to the chest before you expire.

The first person in your group to open the chest will cause a message, “you recovered looted fragments,” to appear in the notification center. While the other two players won’t get that message, they still need to open the chest themselves if they want the Catalyst. This is a solo quest, and one player cannot unlock it for everyone.

Grasp of Avarice Chest 1

Image: Bungie via Polygon

The first chest comes almost immediately after dropping into the dungeon from the loot cave outside. Walk across the crystals in the cave until you see a metal grate above you. You’ll see the chest hanging off the side.

In this case, the Vandal is within spitting distance. Look over to your right across the cavern. You’ll see a big Fallen standing in a hollowed out part of the cave, probably shooting at you. It has a giant, yellow health bar so it’s pretty easy to spot. Run over and damage the Vandal until it drops an Engram.

Grab your Burdened by Riches debuff and hoof it back to the chest. This is a pretty short run, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble with the timer.

Grasp of Avarice Chest 2

Image: Bungie via Polygon

Progress through the dungeon until you reach the room with the vent you need to jump in (just after the rolling barrel trap). The Vandal is standing in your way here, so you won’t be able to miss them.

The chest is actually farther ahead this time, so shed an Engram from the Vandal and jump into the vent once you have your debuff.

Boogie your way through the space and into the flooded indoor area, just before you go outside to face the first boss. Instead of jumping to the platform in front of you, turn right and follow the concrete wall. You’ll see an indent here. Jump into the indent and you’ll find the chest. Trade your debuff to open it.

Grasp of Avarice Chest 3

Image: Bungie via Polygon

The third chest is the hardest to unlock and the easiest to miss. Make your way to the lagoon and complete the cannon encounter. But do not launch yourself into the boss room.

Once you finish the cannon encounter, all the cannons lock in place, so they can only send you to the middle platform. This is great, because the chest is sitting on top of the little fortress on the center island. The Vandal, however, is on another platform.

Head to the middle and walk up to the cannon. This is the only post-encounter cannon you can move. Position to the right and launch yourself up to the platform with multiple waterfalls. The Reaver Vandal will spawn here after the encounter, so they should just be wandering around. Shed an Engram from the Vandal, grab it, and book it to the nearby cannon.

This race is a lot easier if you have a buddy to fire the cannon for you, but it’s doable even if you’re firing for yourself. Launch your body back to the middle island and start jumping toward the fortress. Climb up to the chest and insert the debuff before your 25 seconds expires. If you’re having trouble, try planning a route out for yourself first, and make sure you know exactly where the chest is.

When you open the third chest in a single run you’ll automatically pick up the Gjallarhorn Catalyst. It’s now safe for you to leave — you do not need to complete the dungeon to keep the Catalyst.

For a full breakdown of all the Gjallarhorn perks, including the Catalyst one, check out the bottom of our Gjallarhorn Exotic quest guide.