Destiny 2 Barrow-Dyad Exotic Catalysts: How To Get, Quests, Perks, Taken Fragments Location – Complete Guide

Looking to unlock the Barrow-Dyad exotic catalysts in Destiny 2? Here’s a complete guide on how to get them, all the quest steps, and Taken Osseous Fragments locations.

The Barrow-Dyad is a new Exotic weapon in Destiny 2 added with Episode: Heresy. This Strand SMG comes packed with some really interesting exotic perks and has four Exotic catalysts that can enhance the weapon even further.

However, unlocking these catalysts isn’t as simple as picking them up from a vendor. You’ll need to complete specific quest steps, collect Taken Osseous Fragments, and deal with a bit of time-gating.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to do to unlock the Barrow-Dyad’s exotic catalysts, including a step-by-step breakdown of the quest and fragment locations.

Weapon	Type	Element	Ammo	Source	Craftable?
Barrow-Dyad	Submachine Gun	Strand	Primary	Derealize Exotic Mission	Yes

All Barrow-Dyad Exotic Catalysts in Destiny 2

There are four exotic catalysts for the Barrow-Dyad, each adding a new perk to the weapon. These are:

• High-Impact Reserves Refit: Rounds at the end of the magazine deal more damage.
• Hatchling Refit: Precision final blows or rapidly defeating targets with this weapon spawns a Threadling at the target’s location.
• One for All Refit: Hitting three separate targets increases damage for a moderate duration.
• Target Lock Refit: Damage increases the longer this weapon remains on a target.

Two of these catalysts are available with Heresy Act 2 (March 12), while the final two will be obtainable when Act 3 releases on April 1.

How to Get the Barrow-Dyad Intrinsic Perks in Destiny 2

Step 1: Complete The Taken Path Quest

Before you can get your hands on the intrinsic perks, you’ll need to complete The Taken Path exotic quest. This will unlock the weapon itself. Check out our guide on how to complete this quest here.

Step 2: Claim the Diadic Ascension Quest

After you’ve completed the main quest, visit the Taken Slab in the Eris Morn’s apartment and claim the Diadic Ascension exotic quest. This quest requires you to level up the vendor, and collect Taken Osseous Fragments in The Nether.

There are 18 available fragments in total, 6 in each location of the Dreadnaught.

Step 3: Unlock ‘Steel Your Nerves’ Upgrade

The first step of the quest requires you to claim the “Steel Your Nerves” upgrade at the Taken Slab vendor. To do this, you need to level up the seasonal vendor to Level 5.

Step 4: Collect 6 Taken Osseous Fragments in The Nether

Now, you need to collect six of the eighteen Taken Osseous Fragments in the Nether activity. Each zone has 6 Taken fragments.

Below, you can find the location for each of them.

Destiny 2 The Nether: All 18 Taken Osseous Fragments Locations

There are three zones in The Nether where you can collect the fragments.

The Trenchway:

• The first fragment is near your spawn point, on the right side. (Opening Area)
• The second is tucked under a structure nearby to the far left. (Opening Area)
• The third is on top of a ledge near the opening area. (Opening Area)

The last three fragments are located in the next area where there’s a huge pit in the middle.

• The fourth is on a platform in the middle, before making the jump.
• The fifth is located on the far left of the area on top of the ledge. This is where you need to pick up the Solar objective sometimes.
• The sixth fragment is located on the far right of the area. Jump ahead, and make your way to the right, pull out your Ghost to reveal invisible platforms leading to a rock where the fragment is located.

Hall of Souls

• The first fragment is on a pillar immediately to your right when you spawn.
• Make your way forward to the Court of Oryx. From there, turn left, and you’ll find the second fragment is under a platform on a pillar.
• The third is below a supporting pillar where a bright beam of light is visible.
• The fourth fragment is located in the King’s Fall raid opening area where you’ll find a Tormentor. Make your way to the left hallway and you’ll find this fragment behind a pillar.
• From there, make your way forward to the next room. The fifth fragment can be found between giant rocks near a central objective spawn point.
• The sixth is located near the center of the area, on a small ledge to the left.

The Mausoleum

• The first fragment is hidden in a corner right behind where you spawn.
• The second is under a broken bridge in the middle of the area.
• The third is on top of a broken pillar in front of the bridge.
• The fourth is under a tentacle-like structure on the path leading to the boss fight.
• Make your way to the boss arena, and you’ll find the fifth fragment on the rock above you, to your right.
• The sixth is behind a rock next to where the boss chest spawns to the right.

Collecting 6 fragments will unlock an Intrinsic upgrade for the Barrow-Dyad exotic submachine gun.

Step 5: Unlock ‘Unbreakable Will’ Upgrade

After collecting the first 6 Taken fragments, you’ll need to level up the seasonal vendor to Rank 9 to unlock another upgrade called “Unbreakable Will.”

Step 6: Collect 6 More Taken Osseous Fragments in The Nether

Now, you need to head back to The Nether and collect 6 more Taken fragments. Simply follow the location guide above to find them.

Step 7: Unlock ‘Moment of Clarity’ Upgrade

For this step, you need to unlock the “Moment of Clarity” upgrade at the Taken Slab. This requires you to rank up the seasonal vendor to Rank 12.

Step 8: Collect the Last 6 Taken Osseous Fragments in The Nether

After that, you need to collect the remaining Taken fragments in The Nether. Again, follow the location guide above to collect all 18 of them.

This will complete the Dyadic Ascension questline. Now, let’s talk about how to unlock the exotic catalysts for this weapon.

Unlocking the “Writ: Path of Ambition” Questline

The first step is to find the Hidden Taken Worm in The Nether. Go into The Nether Explorer activity (opening area of the King’s Fall raid) and search for a Taken Worm in the Hall of Souls, under a ledge near the Court of Oryx entrance.

Picking it up unlocks the Writ: Path of Ambition quest.

Step 2: Complete the Mission

Next, complete the Writ: Path of Ambition mission. Open your menu and launch the quest, which takes you to the Dreadnaught. Follow the waypoint through a jumping puzzle on floating Taken orbs. This is pretty straightforward and shouldn’t take more a couple of minutes.

After completing the mission, head back to Eris Morn’s aparment. There you’ll notice a new Taken orb right next to the Taken slab, interact with it and it will unlock a completely new rank up tree for the Taken slab called “Ambition”.

How to Get the Barrow-Dyad Exotic Catalysts in Destiny 2

High-Impact Reserves Refit:

To start, you need to complete Court of Blades on Expert difficulty. Equip the Barrow-Dyad SMG before finishing the activity. Once completed, you will unlock a new Exotic quest called Sharp Osseous Spine.

Next, start the A Needle’s Path quest by heading to Eris Morn’s apartment and interacting with the Slab. This step requires you to complete Court of Blades on Expert difficulty again, but this time, you must use only precision weapons. The allowed weapon types are Scout Rifles, Linear Fusion Rifles, and Sniper Rifles.

You still need to have the Barrow-Dyad equipped while doing this.

Once you complete this, you will unlock the High-Impact Reserves Refit Catalyst. To equip it, visit The Enclave and reshape your Barrow-Dyad with the new Catalyst.

Hatchling Refit:

The second exotic catalyst, Hatchling, is now available as of Week 3. This perk allows precision final blows or rapid multi-kills to spawn Threadlings, making it a strong option for Strand-based builds. Here’s how to unlock it.

You’ll need to start by heading to The Nether, specifically the Trenchway area. If you don’t spawn in the right spot, simply keep reloading until you land there. Once in the Trenchway, make your way to the top room where the Solar Crystal objective spawns. Take a left, and pull out your Ghost to reveal invisible platforms.

Jump across these platforms until you reach a hidden room. Inside, you’ll find two chests and a console to the left that, when interacted with, opens a portal leading to two additional chests. One of these chests contains the Heavy Osseous Spine exotic quest, which grants access to the A Hammer’s Path quest.

Now, go visit the Taken Slab in Eris’ apartment and get the A Hammer’s Path quest. Once you have this quest, the first quest step requires upgrading the Path of Ambition vendor rank to level 12. This can take some grinding, and many players find that farming Court of Blades or repeatedly running the first encounter of The Nether activity is the fastest way to gain reputation.

Just make sure Path of Ambition is your active path so that your progress actually counts.

After reaching rank 12, return to the Slab and acquire the Sumptuous Repass upgrade to unlock the next quest step. You’ll then need to complete an Expert run of The Nether activity, but this time, you can only use Shotguns, Glaives, or Swords while Barrow-Dyad is equipped. It’s similar to last week’s Court of Blades requirement, but now it applies to The Nether instead.

After finishing the run, the Hatchling Refit for Barrow-Dyad will be unlocked, allowing you to equip it by reshaping the weapon at The Enclave.

That’s it for this guide. While you’re here, make sure to check out our loot table hub for all Destiny 2 raid and dungeon loot tables.