How to Get Cull's Shadow in Destiny 2: Moon Quest and All Traits

A Secret Exotic on the Moon

Cull's Shadow is an Exotic Fusion Rifle that uses Special ammo and arrived with the Monument of Triumph update (9.7.0, June 9, 2026). Players report that it sits in the Kinetic slot. You will not find it in a raid or a dungeon. It drops at the end of the exotic mission Oblation: Bloodline, and the road there runs through Hive rune puzzles on the Moon.

The rifle plays like a hybrid: frontal blades handle close range, while shots spend stored charges and apply corruption to the target. The sixth section covers the mechanics in detail.

The one thing to know right away is that the quest will not move without a Weapon of Sorrow. Everything else is attention and patience, because there are many near-identical puzzles and almost none of them is hard.

What to Bring and How the Puzzles Work

Green Hive runes are visible only through one of four Exotic Weapons of Sorrow: Touch of Malice, Thorn, Osteo Striga or Necrochasm. Keep it equipped from the Scarlet Keep boss arena onward through the very end of the quest, missions included. If the runes do not appear, first check that the Weapon of Sorrow is actually in your hands.

The routine is nearly identical everywhere:

• find a door or gate with beige Hive symbols;

• equip your Weapon of Sorrow so green runes appear in the room;

• shoot the runes in the order the symbols are shown, top to bottom;

• walk through the opened door and touch the Hive crystal.

If you own none of the four, players report that Thorn can be bought from the Monument to Lost Lights kiosk (Forsaken Exotics) for one Exotic Cipher and 125,000 Glimmer.

The number of runes varies by location: the Scarlet Keep arena has three, while the Shrine of Oryx asks you to handle five at once. The beige symbols always set the order, so memorize them from top to bottom before you pull out the weapon.

The Scarlet Keep Strike and Four Suspicious Activities

Everything starts with The Scarlet Keep strike on the Moon. Reach the final arena and defeat the boss Hashladun. Afterward the gate shows three beige symbols, and the matching runes are hidden around the room. Shoot them with your Weapon of Sorrow in the order of the symbols, go through the gate, turn right and touch the Hive crystal.

The crystal marks four spots on the Moon map as Suspicious Syndicate Activity. You can clear them in any order. Each holds a glowing Cabal body, and inspecting it gives a clue about where to go next:

• Anchor of Light - the clue points to the Temple of Crota;

• Archer's Line - leads to the Shrine of Oryx and its five-rune puzzle;

• Sorrow's Harbor - leads to the K1 Revelation Lost Sector;

• Hellmouth - leads to the Chamber of Night.

Every site repeats the same pattern: find the door with beige symbols, reveal the runes, shoot them in order and touch the crystal. It is repetitive but simple, and it goes faster with friends in voice chat. Once all four are done, the next step of the quest opens.

Oblation: Bloodline and the Weapon Drop

The mission starts in Sorrow's Harbor, in a hidden tunnel under the bridge near the Scarlet Keep. Drop down from the right side of the bridge toward the keep, go under the structure and enter the hidden tunnel door. The mission then shows up on the Moon map.

The core loop is collecting Soulfire Charges from special enemies and depositing them into cauldrons, then using what you get against green crystals. Beat the boss and Cull's Shadow lands in your inventory.

Do not rush to orbit. The first of the four weapon traits is hidden in this very mission, and it is easiest to grab it right away.

The Four Soulfire Traits

You already hold the rifle, but it has four Soulfire traits (players often call them catalysts). They are spread across three missions of the chain, so you need to play it to the end.

For Succor, leave the boss room and climb outside to the Hive grimoire, then return to the runes. It is easy to miss because the mission already looks finished.

Zeal requires Cull's Shadow in your hands, since the clue is drawn right on it. Skewer comes at the last step of the chain and needs no extra puzzles.

How Cull's Shadow Plays

The weapon has two exotic perks, Soulburn and Soulforge. Two frontal blade hits within two seconds, or a blade kill, restore 40 health and grant one Soulfire Charge. Each shot spends a charge and applies Potent Corruption, which is damage over time. When a corrupted enemy dies, it turns into a soulfire crystal.

Players describe the traits as crystal boosters: Succor returns ammo to the magazine when the blades destroy crystals, Rancor makes crystals detonate near enemies, and Skewer makes the blades inflict corruption on detonation.

The rifle suits players who enjoy close combat and an aggressive style. You keep moving between blade strikes and shots, so a passive long-range approach does not work here.

The Quest Route in Short

The chain is long, and it is easy to lose the thread on the repetitive steps. Keep the order handy:

1. Equip a Weapon of Sorrow and run the Scarlet Keep, solving the puzzle in the boss arena.

2. Clear all four Suspicious Syndicate Activities on the Moon.

3. Find the tunnel under the bridge in Sorrow's Harbor and complete Oblation: Bloodline.

4. Unlock Soulfire Succor, then run Soulfed and Immolation.

To avoid replaying missions, plan your runs ahead. Succor sits in Bloodline, so do not leave right after receiving the rifle. Rancor and Zeal are both in the Soulfed mission, so look it over before you go in. Skewer is awarded automatically, so the last mission is the calmest one.

Pick the Weapon of Sorrow you feel comfortable with for shooting runes and fighting Hive enemies: you will not need to swap it between puzzles.

If you plan to return to harder content afterward, prepare your character in advance: Power leveling can help, and for exotic and rare loot hunting there are a Raids bundle and a Dungeons bundle.

Where to Go After Cull's Shadow

If you like long exotic quests, take a look at Heirloom, and fans of exotic weapons will like Whisper of the Worm. Among raid rewards there is the Whirling Ovation exotic stands out.

If you want to test your build under pressure, try The Pantheon: Calus Resplendent, then The Pantheon: Morgeth Surpassing and The Pantheon: Insurrection Prime Revolutionary. They are harder than the solo puzzles on the Moon and call for coordinated play.