Expunge is the latest activity in Destiny 2 Season of the Splicer. It expands on the Vex network showcased through the Override activity and builds on the story established during the first three weeks of the season.
It’s a little different than the Exotic quest from last season, though. To get you started on the right foot, here’s everything you need to know about Expunge, how to unlock it, and how to complete the first missions — Expunge: Labyrinth, Expunge: Styx, and Expunge: Tartarus.
Want to master Season of the Splicer? Make sure to check out our guides on how to unlock the Null Composure ritual weapon and how to unlock the new Stasis Aspects for the season.
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What is Expunge in Destiny 2?
Expunge is a multiweek questline in Destiny 2‘s Season of the Splicer. The quest sends you through the Vex network in a series of puzzles, platforming, and combat, and it furthers the story from the season. There are some weekly challenges for Expunge missions, so it’s worth playing through them.
You’ll unlock each Expunge mission as part of the Path of the Splicer questline. Path of the Splicer III unlocks Expunge: Labyrinth on the Tangled Shore; Path of the Splicer IV unlocks Expunge: Styx on the Moon; and Path of the Splicer V unlocks Expunge: Tartarus on Europa.
There will also be “corrupted” variants of each of the missions. These missions feature special chests that you can unlock only with a specific key code in the Splicer Gauntlet. The last mission apparently will be Delphi, which should appear in the final two weeks of the season.
How to unlock Expunge
The first Expunge mission came during week three of Season of the Splicer, but you can’t start it right away. You have to reach and complete the third step of the Path of the Splicer questline before unlocking Expunge: Labyrinth — the first weekly mission for the season.
If haven’t already, head to the HELM and speak with the Splicer Servitor. You could get a few different quests here depending on where you’re at in the season, but you need to complete Path of the Splicer III. At only 20 minutes, it’s worth it, and you’ll check off a seasonal challenge and earn some seasonal gear.
After completing the quest and cracking a Conflux Chest — make sure to craft an Override Key Code beforehand — head back to the Splicer Servitor to complete the quest. It will give you the new Codebreaker Splicer technique and unlock the Expunge: Labyrinth mission. It’s located in the Tangled Shore, and you can launch the mission directly from the map.
You can unlock future missions by following the Path of the Splicer questline. After completing an Override activity and cracking a Conflux Chest, you’ll be guided toward the Expunge activity for the week.
Expunge is more difficult than the other seasonal activity, Override. The recommended power level is 1,290, and you can bring up to two other friends with you. If this is your first time or you’re around the recommended power level, you’ll want to assemble a fireteam beforehand.
Expunge: Labyrinth walkthrough
Unlike the Presage Exotic mission from Season of the Chosen, Expunge will take place over several weeks in Season of the Splicer. The mission structure is the same, though. It starts with a series of platforming and puzzle challenges before introducing small mobs of enemies and, eventually, a boss.
Before getting started, make sure to equip any Anti-Barrier mods you have. Expunge: Labyrinth features Barrier Champions. Also, pick up the Signal Booster and Wirewalker upgrades for your Splicer Gauntlet. You can get through the mission without them, but together, they will open up new platforms and unlock shortcuts throughout the mission.
The mission starts with some tight platforming through the Vex network. This section is fairly straightforward, but be careful not to get crushed by the moving walls.
You’ll eventually reach an area where you have to make a big jump down a long shaft. The platforming tightens up here. Keep an eye on the thin platforms with a glowing strip to see where to go next. You’ll have to make several leaps of faith, but each of the platforms is reachable.
After some platforming and a couple of enemy encounters, you’ll need to deposit a data spike. A group of Fanatic enemies is waiting to take you down, exploding on impact. Avoid them while you’re still holding the data spike. Do this two more times, and you’ll reach the boss: Fantis, Oppressive Mind.
Fantis is a minotaur boss with horrible aim. Before getting to the boss fight, make sure to activate the Signal Booster panel right outside of the arena (it makes the fight much easier). Unload on Fantis to lower a third of its health. After that’s gone, it will spawn a shield and two additional enemies. These enemies each have a data spike, which you’ll need to deposit at one of two locations outside the boss arena.
This is where Signal Booster comes in. Normally, you have to jump across a series of disappearing platforms, but if you activate the panel, you can use a launchpad to make it over to the deposit point. There’s also a launchpad to make it back, but make sure to jump on it from the top. Hitting the floor next to the launch pad will kill you immediately.
And that’s it. Repeat the process three more times and Fantis will fall.
Expunge: Styx walkthrough
If you made it through Expunge: Labyrinth, Styx shouldn’t be an issue. If you haven’t already, complete Path of the Splicer IV and navigate to Expunge: Styx on the Tangled Shore. Before deploying, equip any Anti-Barrier mods you have. Like Labyrinth, Styx features Barrier Champions.
We highly recommend unlocking Codestrider for your Splicer Gauntlet before tackling the mission. Codestrider opens up additional pathways, which is very important in Styx. The main mechanic of the mission revolves around carrying a payload across the map on a short timer, so you’ll need all the help you can get.
The mission opens with a very familiar trek through the Vex network that involves navigating through a maze with a few platforming sections. It’s almost identical to Labyrinth, short of a massive jump you need to make midway through this section. Regardless, there aren’t any enemies at the beginning of the mission, and the platforming is straightforward.
After the beginning section, you’ll arrive at an open location with a few enemies and a floating diamond. Destroy it to reveal an authentication key that you can pick up. You have to deposit the key in a marked location on the map, but it will disappear from your hand after 10 seconds. You can extend your time by running through blue data cubes dotted along the path. If you die or if the key time expires, it will respawn at that location.
You’ll land in the boss room, but you can’t start the fight yet. You have to deposit more keys across the map using the same mechanic described above. Make sure to keep an eye out for green launchpads if you have the Codestrider upgrade, as they’ll make navigating through each section significantly easier.
Otherwise, we recommend avoiding enemies while you have a key. They’ll continue to spawn, so try to navigate through them instead of holding off and waiting for an opening. Also, moving and static lasers will be in your path. You can jump over the laser walls with a triple jump, so keep that in your back pocket.
Once you’ve deposited three keys, you’ll fight the boss: Dikest, Oppressive Mind. This is a tough fight, especially solo, but you can get through it with enough determination. Respawning isn’t restricted, so you can die as many times as you need without losing progress. After Dikest reaches half health, you’ll have to deposit a key in the boss room that’s on the other side of a bunch of lasers. Use your triple jump to get over them.
Beyond that, just point and shoot to complete Expunge: Styx.
Expunge: Tartarus walkthrough
Expunge: Tartarus is a shorter mission, but it’s a lot more difficult. Once again, make sure to complete Path of the Splicer V to unlock Expunge: Tartarus on Europa. Equip Anti-Barrier mods for the Barrier Champions and unlock the Codestrider upgrade on your Splicer Gauntlet. Like Styx, Tartarus is much easier with the upgrade unlocked.
The mission starts like the first two. Navigate through the Vex network using the platforms to guide you. When you finally drop into the mission, you’ll be greeted with a node you can hack and some deadly red walls.
The main mechanic of this mission is disabling firewalls. To do this, you’ll have to hack lit Vex nodes, which will reward you the Stabilized Security Access buff. You can have up to 32 stacks of this buff, so stand in the spot where you hacked for a few seconds.
To actually disable a firewall, you need to shoot the nodes powering the wall blocking your path, but you can only shoot them with the Stabilized Security Access buff. To make matters worse, an onslaught of deadly red walls will continue to fly at you. You don’t need to destroy all the nodes in one go, thankfully, so take things slow and head back to renew your buff whenever you need.
You need to repeat this process a few more times, each with more nodes. Enemies will also spawn, and they’ll block your access to the buff. Take them out before carrying on with the mission.
The mission climaxes in a fight with Dimio, Oppressive Mind. You’ll need to use the mechanic you learned in the main mission to take the boss down. Whenever you knock off a third of its health, it will retreat, and mobs of enemies will spawn. Take them out, then run to the start of the arena to get the Stabilized Security Access buff. Destroy the two nodes on either side of the arena with the buff active, and Dimio will start firing again.
Repeat this process three times, and you’ll complete Expunge: Tartarus.
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