So far, Bungie's commitment to giving players something new to do in Destiny 2 each week has proven to be true. This week sees the reintroduction of the three factions from the previous game in what Bungie is calling Faction Rallies. The special event begins today, running through October 3 where players can pledge their loyalty to one of three factions: Future War Cult, Dead Orbit, and New Monarchy.

During this event, players earn faction tokens for participating in most activities like Lost Sectors, Strikes, the Leviathan Raid, Public Events, and the Crucible. Turn in these tokens to the chosen faction leader to increase rank and earn faction specific loot such as armor, guns, shaders, and more. Once the event is at an end, the faction with the most rewards packages handed out is declared the winner, and offering its power weapon to members at a big discount. Dead Orbit features the Haunted Earth scout rifle, Future War Cult has the Heart of Time pulse rifle, and New Monarchy is offering the Interregnum XVI sidearm as the ultimate faction reward.

In addition to testing new loyalties with the three factions, the weekly reset in Destiny 2 has also brought a new set of milestones for players to tackle in exchange for more powerful gear. Here are the details on all of the new quests, tasks, and events for the week of September 26, 2017.

Weekly Nightfall Strike

This week in the Nightfall, players are going up against Brakion in the Pyramidian strike on Io. In an interesting twist, Bungie is setting the Nightfall timer at a hard number, so players have no way of extending it by jumping through hoops or destroying anomalies. For this week, players have 22 minutes to finish the entire Nightfall and 17 for Prestige players. Making matters worse is some absolutely brutal modifiers, which pit players against a more restrictive Nightfall timer than in previous weeks. Good luck, Guardians.

Since it takes place on Io, players should prepare to see plenty of Vex enemies, with Taken mixed in as well. As players descend into the Vex stronghold, the big thing to watch out for in these initial rooms is laser beam traps, which deals massive damage and will likely kill most players in one hit. Even with a timer, players are encouraged to take their time through these sections as precision and timing are key to making it out alive. A number of the following rooms continue this pattern, alternating between fighting off enemies and then running a laser trap gauntlet.

destiny 2 concept art io vex

The next area of the strike involves players activating three Vex panels, requiring that the fire team stands in them while fighting off waves of enemies. Unlocking all three altars opens up the next warp gate and the final laser trap corridor. The last leg of this strike has players hacking four Vex towers. Naturally, players will need to defend against waves of Vex during these segments before proceeding to the boss.

The final area of this strike is a battle against Brakion, The Genesis Mind. Essentially a massive Vex goblin, players will need to hit Brakion fast as the goblin likes to warp around the room and surround itself in a protective shield. To bring down the barrier, players need to activate two platforms on the floor while fending off Vex enemies and attacks from Brakion as well. Players are encouraged to stay mobile during this fight, as Brakion is able to lock onto players who remain stationary. After enough health is removed, Brakion's head will pop off, causing it to charge players as any normal Vex would.

The active modifiers this week are:

  • Torrent: Player abilities recharge much faster than normal.
  • Timer: Players have 22 minutes to complete the Nightfall. Prestige Mode is set to only 17 minutes.
  • Timewarp - Zero Hour: The Nightfall timer cannot be extended.

The player challenges for this week are:

  • Speed of Dark requires the fireteam to finish the Nightfall with at least 5 minutes remaining on the clock.
  • To earn Unbroken, the fireteam needs to complete the Nightfall with fewer than three deaths.
  • The Siege Engine challenge requires that players prevent Brakion from being shielded for more than 40 seconds before defeating it.

Flashpoint Location and Treasure Maps

Guardians should head to Io this week as Jupiter's moon is the hot spot for Flashpoint and Treasure Map activity for the next seven days. Flashpoint Milestones task players with participating in public events that occur every few minutes and are set within a specific location. Just participating in an event increases a percentage, though players will want to make sure they complete it or finish the heroic version in order to finish the quest much faster. Once players get to 100%, visit Cayde-6 to earn the week's powerful gear via a luminous planetary engram. Keep in mind that the Flashpoint milestone only appears for players once the main campaign has been completed.

destiny-2-faction-rallies-dead-orbit-header

As he does each week, Cayde also has brand new Treasure Maps for players to find on Io. As usual, the rewards are randomized, though they may spawn interesting things like a letter fragment or an exotic engram. Here are the general locations for each of the treasures:

  • One is located within Excavation Site II, so load into the Giant's Scar and follow the corridors in the downed ship. The chest is located in a corner of a control room.
  • In the path linking Giant's Scar to the Lost Oasis, players can find this treasure chest on top of a metal structure.
  • In the Wraith Mines to the north, players can find this treasure on a high ledge overlooking the first large cave area. Clear the Taken and use the structures in this room to ascend.
  • The fourth treasure can be found on the way to The Rupture. It's deviously placed on a hidden ledge overlooking a massive cliff. Use the icon on the mini-map to determine where to stop, and carefully approach the edge to see the treasure.
  • Finally, the last treasure is located near the Pyramidion in The Rupture. The chest is hidden in a little alcove along the outside of the massive Vex structure, and not inside of it.

Leviathan Raid Encounter Order

As it did last week, the Leviathan Raid order has been shuffled. Not only does this help keep the raid feeling fresh from week to week, it's a great way for players to learn each section of the event even if they're unable to fully complete it. This week, the order is as follows:

  • Gauntlet
  • Baths
  • Pleasure Gardens/War Beasts
  • Emperor Calus

Lord Shaxx Crucible Milestone

It shouldn't be much of a surprise at this point, but the Call to Arms milestone is available once more for the next seven days. Simply participating in any Crucible match from the Director menu will fill a certain percentage to completing this quest. Once it hits 100%, return to Lord Shaxx to earn highly sought after Powerful Gear, which will no doubt help fans to push past the 265+ mark.

Call to Arms - Win glory by participating in Crucible matches.

And that's all for this week, Guardians. Enjoy!

Destiny 2 is available now for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and launches for PC on October 24.