The Last Word is one of Destiny’s most infamous weapons, both from a game play standpoint to a lore standpoint. Now it’s finally in Destiny 2 as a quest for anyone who owns the Annual Pass. This gun requires some hefty requirements that may tax some players. However we hope this guide will make it a little easier to swallow. Most of the steps explain what to do as you get to them. However, we have a few tips and tricks to speed up the process a bit. This weapon will help you become more of a Legend inside and outside of Destiny.
However, this is the first time this weapon will appear in Destiny 2. To prepare for its arrival, I’d like to not only look at the past of this glorious weapon but also to its future. This is the legendary Last Word.
Destiny 2: The Last Word quest line
Step Two: The Cleansing
- Defeat Hive 0%
- Hive tables collected 0/75
- Hive bosses defeated 0/3
All of three of these steps can be completed at the same time. I’ve found activating Escalation Protocol on Mars to be the quickest solution. Although Lost Sectors on Titan would work as well.
Step Three: A Cleansed Artifact
- Return to the Drifter
Step Four: The Temptation
- Defeat Guardians in the Crucible
This step is a doozy. From what I can gather this is step depends on both single kills and K/D. I was lucky enough to have Mayhem active the week I completed this. You may not be as lucky. When I defeated a Guardian, I earned 1%. When I died,lost 1%. However, the longer my kill streak accumulated, the more my percentage increased. That makes sense. However, the values seemed to vary between 1 and 2%. My suggested strategy is to just play it safe. Don’t try for high kill counts but for good K/D. If you end a match 8/1, you benefit more than if you end a game at 16/8.
Step Five: The Damnation
- On Titan, find a blue quest marker, named “The Draw.”
The boss requires you to kill two wizards to take down its shield. This has multiple phases.
Step Six: A New Jagged Purpose
- Speak with The Drifter
Step Seven: Sullied Light
- Collect Crystals 0/15
- Crucible Metals Collected 0/25
- Hive Larva Collected 0/50
- Heroic Hive Rituals Completed 0/3
The crystals and larvae can be completed in tandem. All three Lost Sectors on Titan reward you these crystals. Also, Core Terminus on Mars grant these objectives. However, there are only two locations that are host to the Hive Ritual Public Event. Below are maps for both Mars and Titan. It’s best to jump between both worlds as the correct Public Event spawns.
As for the Crucible metals, any mode you feel most confident in will be best. Deaths don’t yield any negative effects. However ,you need Blood for Blood medals or Best Served Cold medals. Blood for Blood is awarded after you kill a Guardian who just took out an ally. Best Served Cold is seared for defeating the Guardian that killed you last. This may take time to get, since it’s hard to set up. So, the best strategy is to just play until you get it. Mayhem is also a good mode when it’s available. Provided below are two maps with locations for these Public Events:
Step Eight: Sorrow’s Road
- Speak with The Drifter
Step Nine: The Conversation
- Defeat Enkaar
This mission is pretty straight forward. You are unable to heal or gain Super energy unless you pick up random orbs of Light that fall from defeated enemies. As you arrive to the final fight, you have to duel Enkaar with The Last Word. There are three sets of duels, each duel adding another image of Enkaar. You have very little time to shoot him before he shoots you. They will shoot in order they appear in, so be cognizant of their order.
**Beware of possible glitch**
Two of us on-staff have experienced this particular glitch. It occurs during the final fight. The quest would not complete, even after we won all three duels.
Here’s what to look for: If you jump into the last section, after destroying a giant crystal, the game should activate a Respawn Restricted notification. If it doesn’t then this quest will not complete for you. We both heard the noise associated with the notification, but no screen prompt of “Restricted Respawn” appeared. If this happens to you, abandon the quest and restart.
Step Ten: A Dark Path
- Speak with The Drifter
Congratulations!!!! The Last Word is “Yours…Not Mine”.
Destiny 2 The Last Word Guide
The story of The Last Word, like any good story, is two-sided. One of good vs evil, dark vs. light, or Last Word vs. Thorn. The battle of Shin Malphur and Dregen Yör was more of a conclusion to the legend of The Last Word. To truly appreciate this hand cannon, we must venture to the beginning.
This is before the Guardians were even called Guardians. They were known as the Risen. A man named Rezyl Azzir, one of the first to bare the class Titan, was regarded as a Noble Man and a beacon of light and hope. This Noble Man thrived in this regard, often searching out the darkness to vanquish it. Rezyl, like any respected Guardian, had a weapon of choice. A hand cannon he affectingly called Rose because of its resemblance to budding petals.
However, to quote one of the greatest films of all time, “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain.” And this is exactly what became of Rezyl. He had feelings and visions of darkness growing on the moon. However, the moon was forbidden to venture to. Rezyl couldn’t ignore a growing threat, so to the moon he went.
This would prove to be his downfall. There, he was met with nightmare creatures that he had never seen. Grotesque human shaped bugs that would later be known as The Hive had overrun the moon and soon Rezyl. He was taken hostage by a Hive Wizard, named Xyor, the Betrothed. This Wizard used Rezyl’s light against him, turning his thirst for hope into a hunger. Xyor corrupted Rezyl and his beloved Rose, turning him into a cursed Guardian, named Dredgen Yor, and his Rose into the infamous Thorn.
Jaren Ward, Wielder of The Last Word
This story may seem like it has nothing to do with The Last Word, however without this backstory The Last Word will fall on deaf ears. In order to see how the two are connected, we must jump to another Guardian: a Hunter named Jaren Ward. This Hunter discovered a small town called Palamon on the outskirts of The Last City.
This town sustained itself under a ruler named Magistrate Loken. The two were often at odds. Jaren often went out to protect the town against roaming transports of Fallen in the surrounding mountains. Jaren had a reason to protect this town. Shortly after Jaren arrived, a young boy that lived there took to him.
The boy was the first non-Guardian to treat Jaren as a person rather than a threat or as a God. The boy was mesmerized by Jaren’s hand cannon: a steel black revolver with gold inlay and a wooden grip. This gun was The Last Word. This boy’s name was Shin Malphur, and he would go on to be one of the greatest Hunters that we know of. But that’s later in the story.
Jaren soon became the leader of Palamon. Not officially, since Loken held the actual title. The people of Palamon would look to Jaren to solve problems or tell them what to do, and this didn’t sit well with the Magistrates pride. Soon Loken became a ruthless leader with no heart, desperate to get back any and all power. Every time Jaren left town, Loken took the opportunity to regain power and induce fear.
Eventually, a boiling point peaked between Jaren and Loken. Loken had his militia wait for the Hunter’s return. Jaren arrived, not to his normal warm welcome, but to nine guns aimed at him. Loken no longer welcomed Jaren to Palamon. Over the past few months, Loken had become ruthless, tightening his grip on Palamon. It was something Jaren couldn’t let happen, not after growing so close to the young boy.
Shin Malphur
While this took place, Shin second father restrained him in the crowd that had gathered. His second father tightened his grip on Shin’s shoulder as if to say “don’t react.” Shin listened. Shin’s parents died that day by the Fallen. Shin’s second father had raised him, and he didn’t want to disrespect his wishes. However, Jaren too had become like a father to Shin, and he could not watch as Loken gunned him down in the street.
“This is my town,” Loken screamed across the courtyard. As Loken spoke, the gunmen steadied their rifles. Jaren did not waver. “Not anymore,” Jaren said, just loud enough for Loken to hear. “Those are going to be your last words then?” Loken asked, not understanding the irony. Jaren moved so fast that it seemed only Shin kept up. In one motion, Jaren shifted from a standing position to that of a gunslinger. His Last Word almost manifested in his hand from his holster. As he moved, he proclaimed, “Yours, not mine.”
Just like that, Loken vanished. The riflemen lowered their weapons. The town was free from Loken’s tyranny, and no one seemed to be upset. If this had happened years prior, Loken would have been mourned. However, he grew hard and ruthless in the few years leading to his death. No one missed him now.
Years passed as Jaren took over Palamon. People were happy and safe. Fallen raids have all but stopped. For the first time since Shin could remember, he felt at home. However, the world has a way of making these feelings fleeting. Jaren left for a few weeks. This was normal behavior for him.
However, this time Palamon had a visitor during Jaren’s absent. Another Guardian came to Palamon’s doorstep, and without hesitation, the town took this stranger in. Shin remembered feeling the same sense of awe he felt with Jaren with this stranger, however, this was more fear than respect. The stranger took Palamon’s hospitality and kindness but left despair and death. The stranger was fallen Guardian Rezyl Azzir, now known as Dredgen Yör. By the time Jaren returned, it was too late.
The Last Word vs. The Thorn
Shin was one of a few to survive. His surrogate father was not as lucky. The few who remained craved vengeance, and Jaren blamed himself for not saving the town. So, they packed up and followed the trail to hunt and kill Dredgen. Shin was older now, and Jaren took him under his wing, not as an apprentice, but a warrior. Shin was a warrior now. The months were long, and at times the group felt they should just turn back. Jaren kept them together, ever-forward, until one night.
He left in the middle of the night, the group must have been closer than they realized. Jaren left to confront Dredgen. There were no words between the two, just the sound of gunfire from Jaren and one festering shot from the cursed Thorn. Dredgen won, and Jaren’s Ghost fell. Jaren died from something his Ghost couldn’t revive him from: pure Darkness. Dredgen picked up The Last Word, commenting to the Ghost how beautiful.
The Last Word was. Jared had his trust in the wrong weapon, motioning to his Thorn. Dredgen tells Ghost to take the gun and give it to Shin as a gift. The Ghost refuses, realizing that Dredgen only wanted to egg the boy on so he too would meet the same fate as Jaren. Dredgen told his Ghost it’s not to antagonize but rather give the boy hope. Hope is what Dredgen Yör feeds on, after all.
The group awoke to the sounds of gunshots, then an evil sound, a sound they all recognized but didn’t want to believe. They all knew what had happened, but no one moved until morning. Once the sun rose, the group felt safe enough to disband. After all, if Jaren couldn’t do it, then they certainly couldn’t. Jaren was the only thing holding this group together. With him gone, fear replaced duty. Except for Shin. Shin remained there, waiting. For what he couldn’t say, but he couldn’t leave. Until he saw it, Jaren’s Ghost floating toward the boy. It stopped a few feet in from of him as a warm light flooded around him. For the first time, he heard the Ghost talk.
Dredgen Yör was waiting for Shin at the edge of Dwindlier’s Ridge. As Shin walked to him, a rage burned inside him. Dredgen taunted the boy “Been Awhile”. Shin stayed silent. “The gunslinger’s sword, his cannon. That was a gift. An offering from me…to you”. Shin still gave no reply as anger erupted into flames in his chest. Dredgen proceed. “Nothing to say? I’ve been waiting for you. For this day. Many times I thought you faltered. Given up, but here you are. This is truly an end…”
It was at this moment that the fire in Shin’s chest burst through his body. The flames ran down his arm and around The Last Word. He was over this, over the talking. In one motion he fired The Last Word before Dredgen could say anything else. The lifeless body of Dregen Yör was now motionless on the ground. As Shin walked to the body he unloaded two more rounds into the helm of the fallen Guardian. “Yours, not mine,” he said.
The Last Word, the First Gunslinger
This was the infamous story of The Last Word, and the first documented case of the Hunters Gold Gun super. In the original Destiny, any time a Hunter activated a Gold Gun super, the hand cannon portrayed was The Last Word for this reason. It is unclear if that will come back when The Last Word quest released for Destiny 2. As a Hunter main, I hope it does.
Now for fans of the lore, this story is full of questions. How did Shin become a Guardian? How did Shin keep his memories after becoming a Guardian? And finally, why did both Dredgen Yör and Jaren Ward seem so interested in this boy? I hope more questions find answered in The Draw quest for The Last Word. For now, we wait and see. I want to thank Jon Goff and Bungie for writing this story in the Destiny Grimoire back in the original Destiny. All of the quotes came directly from the grimoire.
This was the story of The Last Word, but it’s not where the story ends. When the mission drops we will have a complete rundown on what each step requires for you to obtain this gun in Destiny 2. We hope you’re as excited as we are for this quest, not only to find out more of the story but to use what was probably the most popular Handcannon of the original Destiny. We will see you again when the quest drops on January 29th, but until then “Yours, not mine”.