Destiny 2 is well known for it's galactic open world, and the myriad treasures hidden throughout it. If players are aspiring to collect 100% of those treasures though, then they should mark October 19th on their calendars, as it marks the last possible day to start perfecting two valuable Exotic Catalysts.
With the game's first attempt at a "content vault" coming on November 10, dedicated players are scrambling to identify and experience all the content that'll be making an exit. Namely, the planets Io, Mars, Mercury, and Titan, will be entering the Destiny 2 Vault together with the Cabal vessel, Leviathan. Consequently, players will be unable to access the Strikes, Raids, and story content, normally available on those maps. This makes earning some Catalysts, and completing others, like the Outbreak Perfected or Whisper of the Worm, impossible after November 10.
Both the Outbreak Perfected and the Whisper of the Worm feature Catalysts that, when unlocked, require unique materials to complete. Once completed, the Catalysts allow their respective Exotic weapons to upgrade into a Masterwork. Unfortunately, the materials required by the Outbreak and Whisper Catalysts can only be earned in small, weekly, increments. This effectively means that players who haven't already started completing these Catalysts need to begin the process by October 19 latest, or they won't have time to earn the necessary upgrade materials.
Outbreak Perfected's Catalyst requires SIVA Particulates to upgrade, while Whisper's Catalyst asks for Blighted Essence. This sounds simple, but the process is unfortunately a bit more convoluted than trying to acquire other Destiny upgrades. Each of the aforementioned materials is earned upon completing the respective weapon's Heroic mission, so: the Zero Hour Heroic mission grants SIVA Particulates, and The Whisper Heroic mission grants Blighted Essence.
Each mission also grants an additional handful of the rare materials if players successfully complete an (honestly, incredibly elaborate) puzzle, but, these rewards can only be earned once per week. So, again, time is of the essence. With the approaching Destiny content vault (or, DCV), players won't be able to carry out the necessary weekly runs of these quests for much longer.
The Catalysts each require several hundred bits of the materials, so players hoping to Masterwork their weapons will have to complete these missions more than once. Completing the bonus puzzle configurations allows players to earn the required SIVA/Blighted Essence in only three weeks, whereas simply completing the Heroic mission prolongs the ordeal into a five week experience. So in light of this, players should begin to complete these Catalysts no later than October 19, or they simply won't have the time to earn the required Blighted Essence/SIVA.
Destiny 2 is available now on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Stadia with PS5 and Xbox Series X versions also in development.