Destiny 2 continues to be a powerhouse in live service gaming. Not only is it continuing to be one of the most played live service games in gaming history, but the developers behind Destiny (Bungie) have successfully created a multiplayer game that is far more greater than the games that made them what they are, Halo (yeah I said it). With new content arriving, that means new quests to do, and more guides to pop up to help you be less confused. In this guide, we will be helping you complete ALL of the Cryptic Quatrains quests.
COMPLETE Cryptic Quatrains Guide – Destiny 2
To start this quest chain, you will need to reach Rank 7 on the Star Chart. After reaching Rank 7, you will then get the Small Treasure Beacon item, which you need in order to get the 1st Cryptic Quatrains quest. Once you have gotten the quest, head to the Moon.
Arriving at the Moon, check the quest again and figure out the riddle.
“Behind in the harbor, their sorrow was real
They lost what I’d taken, me heart filled with fear
From cruel revelation, the dawn would reveal:
A chest, broke and barren, and me nowhere near”
Reading through the riddle, you should then figure out the riddle is talking about a chest in K1 Revelation, a Lost Sector in Sorrow’s Harbor. Head to the location and complete the Lost Sector and open the chest, which will then lead you to the next step.
Examine the new riddle to figure out the next step.
“My eyes toward the cosmos, I let out a sob
I begged to the gods and the fallen alike
By bullet or saber, I’d fall to the mob
But please, let me deal them a palpable strike”
Examining the riddle, this should lead you to the Fallen S.A.B.E.R. strike on the Cosmodrome. Open up your map and start the Fallen S.A.B.E.R. strike. Complete the strike, and you should get the last riddle for the first part of Cryptic Quatrains.
After completing the Fallen S.A.B.E.R. strike, open up the riddle and try to solve it again.
“The winds of Europa were frozen and white
And even the tides had been stopped by the cold
The hook would swing empty, I’d not die tonight
By cranes they’d be searchin’, but I’d keep me gold”
Judging from the highlighted words on the riddle, the next location should be in Europa, specifically in Eventide Ruins. Hop on your ship and head there quickly to get the buried treasure.
Just next to the large crane in Eventide Ruins, there should be a large chunk of snow with a green eye symbol marked on it. Interact with it and you will successfully complete the first part of Cryptic Quatrains.
To get the Cryptic Quatrains II, you will need to get the Medium Treasure Beacon, which is unlocked at Rank 10 on the Star Chart.
Once you get the quest, you will then have to solve the first riddle.
“The bay filled me chest, although drown I did not
I coughed and I shivered me way through the mist
They dreamed I was lost, my sad scarper for naught
Yet all that I wished for was tight in me fist”
If your first thought is the Bay of the Drowned Wishes Lost Sector in the Dreaming City, then you would be correct. Head to the area and complete the Lost Sector to get the next riddle.
After getting the second riddle, open the menu and try to solve it.
“I swore I was dead at the shore of the lake
Their shadows stretched long as they searched the debris
But though they did strike out at me and me take
Their words found me ears, but they didn’t find me”
The riddle is leading you to complete the Lake of Shadows strike, which can be found in EDZ. Hop on the strike and complete it in order to get the next riddle.
Open the quest menu to solve the next riddle.
“Me long expedition led to no reward
Me bones cried for rest and yet I could not yield
Lest I head the sound of a crewmate’s drawn sword
I shivered with terror at what they might wield”
The riddle talks about completing a Expedition with a Sword weapon equipped. It doesn’t have to be a specific sword. As long as it’s sharp and you can swing it around to kill enemies, then put that in your inventory and don’t take it off until you complete an Expedition to get the next riddle.
After completing an Expedition with the sword, examine the new riddle for the next location to go to.
“The red ground of Nessus would soon be me grave
A column reached high into alien hue
Though cistern did beckon, no water it gave
At pyramid’s imprint, I sought to pass through”
To get the buried treasure, you need to go to The Cistern in Nessus.
You can find the buried treasure in the Well of Flame entrance. Like last time, it is marked by a green eye symbol on the ground. Interact with it and surprise! It’s not actually the buried treasure, but another riddle.
Solve the riddle to get to the for real buried treasure.
“Me crewmates were nearing, t’was just as I feared
And terrible fluid did fall from the sky
I fancied I noticed, the broken sphere,
A place that was safe for me treasure and I”
The location the riddle talks about is still in The Cistern, but in the north-west corner of the area.
Head to the location and you should see the buried treasure, marked by the green eye symbol. Interact with it and you will successfully get the treasure and complete the quest.
For the last Cryptic Quatrains quest, you need to be at Rank 16 on the Star Chart to get the Large Treasure Beacon. Once you get the Large Treasure Beacon, you will get the quest, as well as a new riddle.
“…was I still alive? Still not dead, as I dreamed?
Me treasure not sunken, not lost in the deep?
They’d caught not their quarry, I would be redeemed
And bury me knife in their chests while they sleep”
The riddle talks about The Quarry Lost Sector in EDZ, specifically in the Sunken Isles area. Head to the area and complete the Lost Sector in order to get the next riddle.
Once you get the next riddle, solve it quick to get the next location of the riddle.
“I waded ashore after crashin’ their ship
Me takin’ their treasure they’d never forgive
Me exodus doubtless curled many a lip
I’d make them forget I had one life to live”
The riddle talks about the Exodus Crash strike on Nessus. However, you have to do this strike without dying even once. Yes, you read that right. It’s better to have a fireteam full of players you know, that way coordination and cooperation will keep you and the others alive. If you are playing on a team with randoms, then you’re going to have to shrug off your social anxiety and talk to them.
After completing the Exodus Crash site without dying, open your menu and check the next riddle.
“They cursed as their catch crashed away through the trees
I moved as if lightnin’ did arc through me bones
I felt like the maker had answered my pleas
While handy with cannons, they left ‘em back home”
For the next riddle, you will have to complete the Ketchcrash with a Hand Cannon and Arc Subclass equipped. After completing it, you should get the next riddle.
This riddle is easy, as well as the step to complete it.
“Alone with me atlas and treasure at last
I use me crude dagger to cut out a code
This cipher I’ll place where it’s held safe and fast
Two beacons will guide you if treasure you’re owed”
The riddle talks about the Captain’s Atlas and the 2 Crude Ciphers you should have if you have completed Cryptic Quatrains I and II. Go to the Captain’s Atlas and combine the two Crude Ciphers, and you should get the next riddle.
The next riddle here will help us solve the Secret Compartment in the Captain’s Atlas.
“I crept out at dusk, left me treasure behind
And found me old crew and the captain as well
I’m light with a blade and me right hand’s unkind
They’ll find their salvation dead-center in hell”
The riddle talks about the sigil placement in the Captain’s Atlas that will unlock the Secret Compartment. To open it, you need to put the House of Dusk sigil on the left box, the House of Salvation sigil in the middle box, and the House of Light sigil in the right box.
Once you have the right order, you will then receive a new riddle.
“The cosmos had set me ashore, I was free
Forgotten at last, me heart empty of hate
On deck of the vessel that pointed to sea
I leaned on the mast and awaited me fate”
Here, you can find the buried treasure in the Forgotten Shore of the Cosmodrome. Head to the area and search for the green eye symbol.
Once you interact with the symbol, you will then get a new riddle, as this is not where the buried treasure is.
“I took all I had, placed it safe in a cave
Where stream joins its mother by pillars of three
It’s yours if you like, for you’re clever and brave
You may find me treasure, but never find me”
The hidden cave is still in the Forgotten Shore, just near the pathway to the Mothyards.
Get the treasure and you will have completed all of the Cryptic Quatrains quest. The main reward of this questline is the Charge of Light, a Legendary vehicle.
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