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Destiny 2: Black Armory - how to unlock the Mysterious Box and get Izanagi's Burden

Black Armory is now available for Annual Pass holders in Destiny 2, and there are a bunch of new activities to be getting stuck into.

One of these new activities involves searching for the aptly named Mysterious Box. As Black Amory’s content is due to be rolled out gradually, we’re not sure what's in the box. For now, let’s take a look at where you can find the Mysterious Box and where two of its keys can be found.

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You’ll need to complete the first few Black Armory quests to the point where the Forge is accessible at Smidur’s Cavern. The Power recommendation for Black Armory missions starts at 600 Power, so if you’re a bit behind you might want to team up to progress through the story.

Head over to the Sunken Isles in the EDZ and you’ll see an activity called Black Armory Machine Gun Frame, which you can track. From the drop zone, head left and make your way through the tunnel. You’ll eventually arrive at Smidur’s Cavern, with the Forge over on your right.

Jump down to the protruding platform below and spin about. You’ll see a cave on the other side, below the platform you just jumped from. At the back of this cave, there is a cache you can open up and you’ll receive the Mysterious Box quest step.

You can check out our guides on how to reignite all the Forges here.

How to unlock the Mysterious Box

There are four locks on the box, each with their own symbol, namely a Fishhook, a Butterfly, a Hand and a Black Armory insignia. Two of the keys, the Fishhook and the Hand can be found after successfully reigniting the Forges.

Fishhook key

After the first round at the Volundr Forge, send one player in your Fireteam over to the cliff side and one to the cave area. There should be two Black Armory drones flying around. Shoot them both down and you’ll get a buff called Maximum Temper.

Defeat the Boss and reignite the Volundr Forge. A large Black Armory chest will spawn close to the Forge. Open it and you’ll receive the Fishhook key. Inspect the item and hold down the action key to insert it into the box

Hand key

You can also open the Hand lock by completing a similar set of actions at the Gofannon Forge.

At the start of the second round, stand with your back to the Forge. The first drone is floating above the wreckage, in an opening near the back. The second drone is to the left of the wreckage, orbiting close to some rocks. Once you’ve shot them both you’ll receive the Maximum Temper buff again.

Successfully ignite the Gofannon Forge and a chest will spawn next to it that will give you the Hand key, which you can insert into the box.

Butterfly key

To obtain the Butterfly key, you'll need to visit the Izanami Forge. The Izanami Forge can be found on Nessus and the area is made up of three islands. Look for the drones near the two smaller, lower islands. Shoot them and loot the black box to get the key.

Black Armory key

Head back to Ada-1 and she'll give you a quest for the Black Armory Key Mold.

From there, you’ll need to begin the Leviathan Raid and harvest parts from every Watcher in the underbelly of Leviathan until you complete the objective of collecting 24 Watcher lenses. Pull the level and put in the passcode 153246 to gain entry. You can farm Watchers in the Engine Room if you wish, as opposed to going through the whole thing.

You’ll then need to find 200 Glimmering Amethyst. You can find this in supply caches, public event chest and Strike chests. I’d recommend Heroic events, as they give you 10 Glimmering Amethyst at a time

Once you’ve reached the Bergusia Forge in the EDZ, you’ll have to charge it and get the Maximum Temper buff and complete the ignition ritual to forge the Black Armory Key.

As per usual, to get the Maximum Temper buff you'll need to shoot down two drones again, one is near the red pipe in the round room, and the other is near the ruins you can see on the left-hand side.

Once you've reignited the Forge, a crate will spawn with the key inside. Interact with the key to open the Mysterious Box and you’ll find a Mysterious Decryption Device and a Mysterious Datapad. Take this device to Ada-1 for inspection, who will decipher instructions for an unidentified frame.

You’ll need to collect an Obsidian Crystal by completing a rare bounty called Macro Field Evaluation. You need to wait for this to drop organically, such as by completing daily Black Armory bounties. Check your inventory to see if you have one saved - chances are it dropped weeks ago and you might have missed it.

Consume the Obsidian Crystal to complete the step, then gear up.

For this next section, you must collect an Ascendant Glass Shard by finishing The Shattered Throne. You’ll also need to complete The Pyramidion Strike and collect Radiant Phaseglass.

You should now have an Unidentified Radiant Frame, so head back to the Bergusia Forge in the EDZ and complete the mission Lock and Key. Defeat Siviks and you'll receive an item called Not a Weapon.

Once you return to the Tower, Ada-1 will reveal that you have a charged Hyperion Core that will enhance a weapon that is special to Ada-1. Your reward for your troubles is the Izanagi's Burden Sniper Rifle. It's an impressive beast and one of the weapons players have been dying to get their hands on.

Last Souvenir quest

You'll remember that you also collected a Mysterious Datapad earlier, and this is where it comes in handy. It contains a riddle, so here's how to solve it. You should definitely get Izanagi's Burden before you attempt this next section.

For this section, head to Niobe Labs and head towards the lower platform and find the lever reads Start Mission. Interact with this to begin Lost Souvenir.

You'll be transported to the room in Niobe Labs where you'd find all the symbols.

  • Shoot the Missive (Papers) symbol with the Bow
  • Shoot the Storm symbol with the LMG
  • Shoot the Pagoda with the Sniper Rifle
  • Shoot Dawn with the Bow
  • Shoot the Star with the LMG
  • Shoot the Hand with the LMG
  • Shoot the Black Armory symbol with the Sniper Rifle.

The Black Armory symbol is underneath the platform, near where the crate to start the Niobe's Torment mission is.

This triggers waves of enemy, so all you have to do is survive. The Taken Knights are immune to all weapons except Izanagi's Burden, so make sure you have it equipped.

The next step requires you to collect Forge Essence, which will be able to get by visiting each of the Forges again, whilst wearing/using all Black Armory Gear.

Once you’ve done this, You'll get an Emblem called Obsidian Dreams as well as the The Obsidian Accelerator. Return to Ada-1 to trigger a special cutscene.

Want more? Then check out our Destiny 2: Forsaken guide for more on the Season of Opulence and how to succeed in the Menagerie , how to farm Imperials, and how to get the new Pinnacle weapons and the Truth Exotic Rocket Launcher and Lumina Exotic Hand Cannon.

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Lauren Aitken

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