Quick answer: Cull's Shadow is the secret Exotic Kinetic Fusion Rifle added in Monument of Triumph (live June 9, 2026 — Destiny 2's final major update). To get it, hold one of the four Weapons of Sorrow (Thorn, Osteo Striga, Touch of Malice, or Necrochasm), solve Hive rune puzzles at five Moon locations, then run the secret Oblation: Bloodline mission that starts in Sorrow's Harbor. Beating its boss Valus Tau'rig drops Cull's Shadow plus its first catalyst. Two more secret missions — Oblation: Soulfed and Oblation: Immolation — unlock the remaining 3 of 4 catalysts and an Exotic Sparrow.
Cull's Shadow is the love-letter Bungie buried inside Destiny 2's final content drop — a new Weapon of Sorrow tied to Dredgen Call, hidden behind an unmarked questline on the Moon. It's the kind of secret exotic the community lives for, and because it's brand new, the chain isn't on every guide site yet. This walkthrough covers exactly how to unlock the Oblation: Bloodline mission, how the weapon plays, and how to claim all four Cull's Shadow catalysts across the three Oblation missions.
What Is Cull's Shadow and Is It Worth Getting?
Cull's Shadow is an Exotic Kinetic Fusion Rifle that uses Special ammo. It's the newest entry in the Weapons of Sorrow family — the same cursed lineage as Thorn, Touch of Malice, Osteo Striga, and Necrochasm — and lore-wise it's the long-lost gun of Dredgen Call.
Its identity comes from the intrinsic perk Soulburn:
"Final blows or rapid hits with the weapon's frontal blades heal you and provide Soulfire Charges, which cause rounds fired by this weapon to inflict potent corruption. These frontal blades deal increased damage to targets afflicted by corruption." — Soulburn intrinsic trait (in-game)
In plain terms: Cull's Shadow has melee frontal blades that build Soulfire Charges, and spending those charges turns your fusion bolts into corruption-inflicting rounds that hit corrupted targets even harder. It's a self-sustaining loop — blade to charge, charge to corruption, corruption to bonus damage — that rewards aggressive, in-your-face play rather than sitting back. With four catalysts layered on top, it becomes one of the most mechanically dense exotics in the game.
Verdict: As the final secret exotic in Destiny 2's history and a fully-catalyzed Weapon of Sorrow, Cull's Shadow is a must-have for collectors and a genuinely fun add-clear/survivability weapon for build crafters. If you chase exotics at all, this is the one to finish before the live service winds down.
What You Need Before You Start
The Oblation chain has one hard gate: you must own a Weapon of Sorrow to interact with the questline. You need one of these four:
- Thorn (Hand Cannon)
- Osteo Striga (Submachine Gun)
- Touch of Malice (Scout Rifle)
- Necrochasm (Auto Rifle)
If you don't have any of them, Necrochasm is the most accessible right now — it's a free Crota's End quest, and we've got a full walkthrough in our How to Get Necrochasm in Destiny 2 guide. You'll also want a fireteam (or a solid LFG/solo plan) for the combat sections, since the bosses scale like a mid-tier exotic mission.
How to Unlock the Oblation: Bloodline Mission
The mission is locked behind a short, secret, unmarked questline on the Moon — there's no waypoint, so you have to do this in order:
- Equip a Weapon of Sorrow (one of the four above). You need it held to interact with the puzzle objects.
- Solve the Hive rune puzzles at five Moon locations: Temple of Crota, Scarlet Keep, K1 Revelation, Chamber of Night, and Shrine of Oryx.
- Interact with four glowing Cabal corpses scattered around the Moon, each marked "Suspicious Syndicate Activity."
- Once the trail is complete, the mission launches from beneath a bridge in Sorrow's Harbor.
This is a one-time unlock — after Bloodline is open, you can replay it from the Director. Because it's a fresh secret with no in-game marker, this is exactly the kind of mission where a step-by-step is worth keeping open on a second screen.
Oblation: Bloodline Walkthrough
Bloodline is "a hunt for Dredgen Call's long-lost gun" through winding Hive caverns. It breaks into five sections:
- Syndicate Drilling Operation — Defeat the Totality Enforcer, then engage the Manual Safety Override, which reveals three blue Cooling Tower Control Fuses you need to shoot.
- Cooling Pillars — Destroy three cooling pillars by shooting their vents after the fuses are disabled.
- Tunnels — Push past Thrall and Acolytes, then platform across the Hive lanterns toward the Soulfire Crux.
- Soulfire Barrier — Kill the Pyre Matron to drop the shields, then kill the Soulfire Vessel with a melee or finisher to grab the Soulfire Charge and light the pyres.
- Boss: Valus Tau'rig — The Cabal Valus wields Cull's Shadow against you. It's a two-phase fight: damage him down, light the connected pyre to expose him again, and repeat for the second phase.
Clearing Valus Tau'rig rewards Cull's Shadow itself, plus its first catalyst, Soulfire Succor.
All 4 Cull's Shadow Catalysts (Oblation: Soulfed & Immolation)
Cull's Shadow drops with four catalysts, spread across the three Oblation missions. Each mission unlocks the next, so you can't skip ahead:
Catalyst 1 — Soulfire Succor (Oblation: Bloodline). Earned on your first clear. Destroying soulfire crystals with the weapon's frontal blades provides Soulfire Charges and partially reloads the magazine from reserves.
Catalysts 2 & 3 — Soulfire Rancor & Soulfire Zeal (Oblation: Soulfed). Unlock Soulfed by finding a Hive book and shooting three runes with Cull's Shadow in Bloodline's boss room. Soulfed pits you against three giant Hive bosses — an Ogre, a Wizard, and a Knight. Soulfire Rancor makes soulfire crystals expel potent corruption when destroyed and auto-detonate when an enemy is close; Soulfire Zeal grants damage resistance and movement speed while Cull's Shadow is equipped whenever a nearby crystal detonates.
Catalyst 4 — Soulfed Skewer (Oblation: Immolation). Unlock Immolation by shooting six Hive symbols in the correct order at Soulfed's conclusion while holding Cull's Shadow. The final boss is Ir Gohl, Forger of Sorrow — a two-phase fight where you destroy crystals using the Soulfire Worms. Beating Ir Gohl rewards the final catalyst, Soulfed Skewer, plus an Exotic Sparrow.
Want it done fast? Three secret missions, five-stage encounters, and a six-symbol puzzle add up — and the bosses don't play nice solo.
- Destiny 2 Exotic & Catalyst Carries — full Oblation chain, Cull's Shadow + all 4 catalysts, done by a pro fireteam.
- Destiny 2 Raid Carries — day-one & weekly clears, Triumphs, fast and safe.
- Destiny 2 Power Leveling — hit exotic-mission-ready Power quickly.
- All Destiny 2 Services — raids, dungeons, exotics, Trials, and more.
Why Farm Cull's Shadow Now? (Tiered Loot & the Final Update)
Monument of Triumph (Update 9.7.0) is Destiny 2's final major content update, and it also shipped the new tiered loot system across raids and dungeons. Standard raids now drop Tier 3 gear, Master difficulty drops Tier 5, and featured weeks let you farm dungeons for Tier 5 rolls — so this is the best-ever window to chase god rolls alongside your exotic hunt. It's also the swan song update, which added Sparrow Racing League and the Oblation questline as a send-off to long-time Guardians. If you've been meaning to finish the Weapons of Sorrow collection, there won't be a better — or more final — time than now.
For more endgame targets while you're farming, see our Equilibrium Dungeon guide (Renegades' newest dungeon) and the Prophecy Dungeon guide for a reliable weekly farm.
FAQ
What weapon type is Cull's Shadow in Destiny 2? Cull's Shadow is an Exotic Kinetic Fusion Rifle that uses Special ammo. Its intrinsic perk, Soulburn, uses frontal melee blades to build Soulfire Charges that turn its bolts into corruption-inflicting rounds.
How do you unlock the Oblation: Bloodline mission? Equip one of the four Weapons of Sorrow (Thorn, Osteo Striga, Touch of Malice, or Necrochasm), solve the Hive rune puzzles at Temple of Crota, Scarlet Keep, K1 Revelation, Chamber of Night, and Shrine of Oryx, and interact with four "Suspicious Syndicate Activity" Cabal corpses on the Moon. The mission then opens beneath a bridge in Sorrow's Harbor.
How many catalysts does Cull's Shadow have and where do they drop? It has four: Soulfire Succor (Oblation: Bloodline), Soulfire Rancor and Soulfire Zeal (Oblation: Soulfed), and Soulfed Skewer (Oblation: Immolation). Each mission unlocks the next, so they must be completed in order.
Do I need a specific exotic to start the quest? Yes — you must hold one of the four Weapons of Sorrow to interact with the questline. Necrochasm is the most accessible since it's a free Crota's End quest.
Is Cull's Shadow part of Monument of Triumph? Yes. It's the secret exotic of the Monument of Triumph update (Update 9.7.0), which went live on June 9, 2026 as Destiny 2's final major content drop, alongside tiered loot and Sparrow Racing League.
Can I solo the Oblation missions? They're designed like mid-tier exotic missions with two-phase bosses (Valus Tau'rig and Ir Gohl, Forger of Sorrow), so they're solo-able with patience but smoother with a fireteam — or a carry if you want all four catalysts without the grind.
