How to get Dead Man's Tale in Destiny 2

You may have already complete the Destiny 2 Presage quest to pick up Dead Man's Tale, but there's more to find if you're willing to go back. The mission went live in the second week of Season of the Chosen, but if you haven't picked up the latest exotic scout rifle, you can find out how to easily get it below.

While the Destiny 2 Dead Man's Tale exotic isn't the hardest special weapon to get in the game, it isn't the easiest either; you won't just be dropping in and picking it up, as you did with Ticuu's Divination. 

But now, a couple of weeks on from the release of Dead Man's Tale, there's more to discover on board the mysterious ship. It turns out there's a secret mission that, if you scan data pads in various locations during the Destiny 2 Presage quest over a series of weeks, you'll get an exotic Ghost shell. For that and the exotic itself, check out our guide below.

Destiny 2 All the Scattered Pieces triumph: Where to find the clues

To complete the 'All the Scattered Pieces' triumph and get the snazzy Shell of Gilgamesh Ghost shell, you need to have completed Presage already (the rest of the guide below covers that) and find four clues. Fortunately the locations are all available courtesy of DestinyNews+. You can see them in the tweet above, and the related chest location here.

Note: The above are the second week of clues. Here's where to find the first six. The thing is, it looks like if you didn't complete the first six in the first week, then you'll need to do that, and then wait for the next set of clues to turn up at the next reset.

Destiny 2 Dead Man's Tale rolls: an overview

Dead Man’s Tale is an exotic scout rifle with an intrinsic perk called 'Cranial Spike', which increases the weapon’s damage output for every consecutive precision hit and allows you to reload the weapon faster. It also has various perks it can roll with. It’s a simple weapon with very little pizazz, but it deals a nice chunk of damage. 

While it’s a little too early to say what the perfect roll might be just yet, the fact that Dead Man’s Tale can roll with Fourth Time’s the Charm and has a magazine capacity of 14, it’s a very easy roll to gun for—especially if you can get accurized rounds to help make it that bit more deadly at range. It’s also a safe bet to dismantle any Dead Man Tale’s that drop with the Outlaw perk because that’s exactly what its intrinsic trait does... but better.

How to start the Destiny 2 The Voice on the Other Side quest

First, you need to run The Arms Dealer strike. If you're a Destiny 2 veteran like myself, you’ll know this EDZ Strike like the back of your hand by now. You start in an enclosed space, you coax your Ghost into opening a door, and then you slaughter Cabal mercilessly. 

Well, there’s something different this week. Instead of opening the first door with your Ghost, you’ll realise another door is already open. Inviting you to cross, even. Should you pursue the mystery behind the door, you’ll soon discover a tough Cabal enemy and a mysterious Intercepted Distress Signal item hidden within a shipping container after defeating the Cabal in the area. 

When you have the Intercepted Distress Signal, you’ll be called back to the Tower to speak with Zavala. It’s here you will discover the nature of the item and receive the Destiny 2 The Voice on the Other Side exotic quest. 

Now a new quest step appears pointing you towards the northwest of the Tangled Shore. This mission is known as Presage and it allows up to three Guardians to enter as a fireteam. Prior to going in, it is recommended that players are at least 1230 Power Level. On top of that, it’s best to make sure you have a reasonable Mobility stat and your fireteam has an even split of Energy types between them to deal with various enemy shields. 

Destiny 2 Presage quest walkthrough

Now a new quest step appears and points you towards the northwest of the Tangled Shore. This mission is known as Presage and it allows up to three Guardians to enter as a fireteam. Prior to going in you should be at least 1230 Power Level. Also, make sure you have a reasonable mobility stat and your fireteam has an even split of energy types between them to deal with various types of enemy shields. The Presage can be compared to a strike in many ways, but it also boasts the puzzle mechanics of a dungeon or raid.

The three main mechanics present are the destruction of exposed fuses, pulling switches for doors, and shooting spores to receive Egregore Link—the latter allowing you to pass through misty blue barriers. The fuses can always be found within red pipes, so this will help you piece together where to find the fuses and they will usually open a door that leads to a switch or spores. 

But before I get ahead of myself, you’ll need to get inside the ship. With the door seemingly jammed, you’ll need to brave the exterior of the ship and find a hole in its side to enter. To get to the hole, look to your left as you spawn and follow the platforms until you make your way inside. 

From here, navigate a short series of mazes with destructible vents until you reach the main door. Pulling the switch in this area results in the main door opening and your first introduction to the ominous blue spores. Shoot the spores while standing in close proximity and continue towards another series of mazes. 

Eventually you'll find yourself in a room with electrical barriers and a series of doors to unlock. You need to jump between different sides of the room at a quick pace until all the doors are unlocked. This activates a small platform just above the massive meat grinder of doom at the bottom of this section. Jump down and enter the door. 

The next area looks vaguely familiar, almost like a certain Skywalker could have been almost squished in it. Search your feelings and you'll find a switch the back of the room. Pull it so that the walls start encroaching on your position. Now, destroy vents on the floor to find exposed fuses. After a set number of fuses are destroyed, a small hatch will open and allow you to drop down and to safety. This hatch is indicated by a series of small red lights around it. 

After falling down the hatch, your reward is an awful lot of Scorn, and you’ll need to kill them all before continuing. There will be a few more similar rooms like this, ending in a hangar. When all the enemies here are defeated, you’ll need to go outside again and hop round to the next hangar. 

As you continue, you’ll notice a section that allows a Rally Banner to be placed to signal the end of the mission. After a boss fight, that is. To defeat Locus of Communion, fight through three damage phases tied to the sweltering hot lower level of the ship. When it initially spawns, you'll be able to squeeze in some damage but he will, rather abruptly, flee the top level, leaving his pals to fight for him, and reside in the lower level of this encounter. This heated underbelly will damage you over time if they fail to cool it by pulling the various switches around the top level. 

To start the cooling sequence, pull the lever in the heated room in the top floor and then pull the other switches around the cooled area. When they've been flipped, the bottom floor will cool and allow you to descend and deal damage to the Locus of Communion. Repeat this process until it's defeated.

You’ll then return to the top floor and venture forth through the new door that has opened until you find a poor lad suspended in the air by the creepy plants that plague the whole ship. Interact with him and complete the Destiny 2 Presage mission.

Now all that's left is to visit Zavala in the Tower to receive your first Dead Man’s Tale. Yes, first. This is a random roll exotic and you’ll need to complete the mission again if you want a particular roll. 

And there you have it, your second random roll exotic in Destiny 2. While it might not feel as special as Hawkmoon initially did, Bungie has stated there will not be any further random rolled exotics for some time now. So dig deep and keep running this pretty spooky and fun wee mission until you get the roll of your dreams.