How to unlock the Aspect of Influence in Destiny 2

destiny 2 aspect of control
(Image credit: Bungie)

Need help with the Destiny 2 Aspect of Influence quest? As the activities available in Destiny 2 develop in Season of the Chosen, so do our Guardian’s powers— specifically our Stasis abilities. Now that the 13th season of Destiny 2 is live, players are able to pick up their third Stasis aspect, the Aspect of Influence. 

So here’s a quick guide on how to get the Aspect of Influence in Destiny 2, what it does, and a few other titbits of information you need to get ahead of the game.

How to unlock the Aspect of Influence in Destiny 2

Like all Stasis-based subclasses, the Exo Stranger is your go-to gal to start this quest. However, you can’t simply pick up the third Aspect on a whim. If you want to unlock the Aspect of Influence you'll need to have obtained the prior two Aspects prior to starting the quest. If you have them, all you need to do is talk to the Exo Stranger and you’ll be awarded the quest.

After you've picked up quest, head to the Well of Infinitude on Europa. There you need to destroy several Darkness shards, so be sure to bring Salvation’s Grip with you. Don’t worry too much about ammo as there will be numerous heavy ammo boxes to replenish your munitions near the shards. 

When the final shard is destroyed, a series of enemies will appear: Survive by picking them off as you go. As the final enemy falls, you will be awarded with an Empowered Skeleton Key and the next step of the quest.

Once you’ve acquired your key, you'll need to complete a Heroic Exo Challenge. These challenges rotate on a weekly basis and can prove quite difficult early in the season due to their 1270 Power Level requirement. To make completing the events as easy as possible, unlock Anti-Barrier and Overload mods from the Bell of Conquest (the new Seasonal Artifact).

Just like all Aspects, you’ll need to take a trip to visit the Darkness at the end of your journey after completing the Heroic Exo Challenge. If you’ve forgotten what it is, or you’re like me and didn’t know it was called the Ziggurat, it’s that wee pyramid at the bottom of Europa near the Exo Stranger’s Landing Zone. 

(Image credit: Bungie)

What does the Destiny 2 Aspect of Influence do?

For the cost of one Fragment slot, the Aspect of Influence offers various classes different abilities depending on your class. They are:

  • Bleak Watcher (Warlock): Charges your grenade, transforming it into a stationary turret. This turret fires a series of Stasis bullets that track targets and do fairly reasonable damage. It’s a neat bit of kit that gives you another means of playing defensively from cover or tacking on a bit more damage during boss fights.
  • Grim Harvest (Hunter): Generates Stasis Shards when killing enemies that are slowed or frozen. Collecting a shard grants melee energy to those that pick it up.
  • Howl of the Storm (Titan): Use your charged melee ability while sliding to launch a wave of Stasis energy that freezes targets and creates Stasis shards (exactly what run- and-gun shotgun-wielding Titans need).
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