Destiny 2: How to Get the Forerunner Sidearm and Catalyst (Halo Pistol)

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Penned by Kody Wirth

Kody is our expert Destiny 2 and shooter genre writer. He lives in Oregon.

Reviewed by Benjamin Barr

Bungie’s 30th Anniversary Event is in full swing within Destiny 2. With it came a new game mode and dungeon, a ridiculous amount of Legendary weapons and armor, and plenty of other cosmetics for you to grind for. However, almost none of this compares to the introduction (and reintroduction) of two new Exotics.

Of course, everyone who has even the slightest history with Destiny knows about the Gjallarhorn. The go-to rocket launcher that brought Crota to its knees. But we’re not talking about that. No, we’re going to explore how to obtain the weapon potentially wielded by Master Chief himself — the Forerunner sidearm. In addition to learning how to get this Exotic sidearm, we’ll also delve into how to get the Forerunner Catalyst.

Let’s get started!

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What is the Forerunner Exotic Sidearm?

One quick glance and it’s clear that the Forerunner is a Halo: Combat Evolved Magnum with a bit of Braytech flair for lore purposes. Of course, this reimagining of one of the most prolific weapons in video game history doesn’t miss a step, even if it requires Special Ammo. 

Everything about it makes you feel like you’re getting ready to take out the Covenant instead of the Fallen. Its stats, aside from impact, all land on the higher end and it blends in the accuracy of running a hand cannon, with the speed of a sidearm. On top of that, when aiming down the site, the scope has an incredible zoom effect that doesn’t slow down your aim speed. Oh, and the reload and ready animations should look pretty familiar.

On top of the base build and callbacks with this weapon, you also snag some solid Perks. Pace Yourself is the intrinsic Perk, which grants increased accuracy and diminished recoil whenever you tap the trigger. The second is Full Stop, which provides a longer range with higher damage rounds. It can be fired in full auto and will do greater damage with headshots against unshielded enemies. 

How to Get the Forerunner Exotic Sidearm in Destiny 2

Some Exotic Quests can be lengthy endeavors that stretch out over hours and hours of playtime. Luckily, getting the Forerunner Exotic is really straightforward and just have you play through the new 30th Anniversary content. Here’s how to unlock the Forerunner Exotic sidearm.

1. Complete a Round of Dares of Eternity and Visit Xur

To start things off, you’ll need to complete your first round of the new six-player activity, Dares of Eternity. Luckily, as soon as you launch Destiny 2, it will automatically have you play through it. Afterward, head to Xur’s Treasure Hoard within Eternity, which is located just below the Moon in the Directory.

In this new social space, just head on forward and you’ll run right into Xur. Give him the Treasure Key you unlocked and then head over to the marked chest to open it. This will complete the “To The Daring Go The Spoils” questline, by chatting with Xur once again. At this point, Xur will provide you with “The Magnum Opus” quest, which will net you the Forerunner.

Worth noting you’ll also collect the quest to unlock the Gjallarhorn at this point, but that will have you doing entirely separate activities.

2. Collect Seven Strange Coins

Those pesky Strange Coins are back and now have an entirely new purpose — to purchase items and bounties from an interdimensional space horse. Sounds about right.

Unlike how they worked in the original Destiny, there are so many more ways to actually collect these coins. This includes Heroic Public Events, Xur Bounties, playlist activities (Strikes, Crucible, Gambit), and just playing Dares of Eternity. And at this point, there’s actually a good chance that you have enough in your inventory.

Before you start trying to grind for more, be sure to collect the Paraversal Haul you unlock from Xur at this point. That one, along with the other Haul you earned from playing Dares of Eternity, can then be opened in your inventory screen. While there’s no guarantee, this could potentially give you enough Strange Coins to start the next step and chat with Starhorse.

3. Complete Three Starhorse Bounties

Once you chat with Starhorse with seven Strange Coins, you’ll gain access to Starhorse Bounties. These are specific to Dares of Eternity and require you to meet specific criteria when completing a round. If you don’t finish it, the Bounty will reset and you’ll have to try again. You can only hold one at a time and have to purchase these with Strange Coins, with the cost ranging from three to seven depending on the difficulty.

Those that cost less are Daily Bounties, and typically require you to get specific weapon kills and hit 160,000 points during your Dares run. The Weekly Starhorse Bounties have separate ability and weapon type challenges, along with having to hit 180,000 points. Lastly, there’s a slightly more difficult Weekly that bumps the score up to 300,000 and requires you to complete the Legendary version of Dares of Eternity.

The benefit of going for the Weekly Bounties is that you earn more rewards and get additional progress toward completing your three Starhorse Bounties. However, these are more difficult and far less guaranteed than the Daily Bounties. Since Dares of Eternity is fairly short, we recommend running the Dailies to ensure you can finish your Bounties without having to restart.

4. Reach Rank Four in Strange Favor and Purchase the Strange Key

Once you’ve completed your Starhorse Bounties, it’s time to go back to Xur. Hopefully, you’ve been completing additional Xur Bounties because this step requires you to be ranked up enough to purchase a specific item. This seemed to be a fairly quick upgrade, so more than likely you are at level four and can immediately pick up the Strange Key.

5. Find a Familiar Shape

After acquiring the Strange Key, turn around and head through the purple vortex on the other side of the Treasure Horde. This will take you to the introductory arena for Dares of Eternity, without any enemies present. If you check out the description of the Strange Key, it will tell you to line up specific pillars to unveil a familiar shape.

So, once you’ve entered the arena head toward the main circle and look to your right for a pile of small rocks with a rectangle jutting out. Go to the right of it and look back toward the main arena until you see the Bungie logo and are given a prompt to insert the key. 

6. Find the Anamolous Object

Using the key unlocks an area that was blocked off by an energy shield. To find this area, head straight across to the cliffs on the other side of the arena (directly past the logo you just unveiled). You’ll find a crevice that you can enter, which leads directly into a short platforming section that has you climb to the top of the cave. This will use the same alternating platforms seen in the main Dares activity, so just wait to jump or try to skip every other platform to make it.

You’ll eventually come out into the open and come across a cryo pod. Without being able to really see who is inside, you’ll open it up and collect the Forerunner.

7. Visit the Gunsmith

The last step, like so many of these Exotic Quests, has you return to chat with The Gunsmith. This introduces the fact that the weapon is not of this dimension, that it won’t work in its current state, but with some Braytech integrations, it should be good to go. And there you have it, you’ve unlocked the Forerunner Exotic Sidearm.

How to Get the Forerunner Catalyst

Of course, getting the Exotic weapon is just the first step. Now you need to unlock that Catalyst. Thankfully, it’s fairly straightforward if a little grindy, just like the original weapon quest. All you have to do is reach Rank 16 with Xur, which allows you to acquire the Anomalous Access Card. This will grant you the Catalyst and unlock the final step of defeating 700 enemies with the Forerunner to fully activate it.

What Does the Forerunner Catalyst Do?

Taking the trend of Ager’s Scepter and other recent Exotics, this Exotic Catalyst provides more than just Orb generation. Instead, it grants you with The Rock Perk. This will convert any of your Grenades into Fragmentation Grenades with a successful final blow. Another nice call back to that classic combo of popping off pistol shots and lobbing a Grenade to finish the job.

Join the High Ground

The Forerunner Exotic sidearm harkens back to a classic Bungie weapon that feels right at home in Destiny 2. Like most of the Halo-themed weapons for the 30th Anniversary, it takes a current weapon archetype, leans further into what inspired it, and makes for an incredible hybrid-like weapon. In this case, the Forerunner has the stopping power and accuracy of a hand cannon, with the minor kick, firing rate, and reload speed of the best sidearms.

Be sure to let your Fireteam know how to get this iconic weapon by sharing this article on your favorite social channels, and sign up for our newsletter for the latest on Destiny 2. 

Happy gaming!