The
Praxic Blade—the iconic, lightsaber-inspired Exotic Sword introduced in the
Destiny 2: Renegades expansion—is a weapon of incredible versatility, merging powerful melee combos with unique projectile reflection and a devastating throwing attack. To truly maximize the potential of this weapon and live out those high-fantasy warrior aspirations, Guardians must hunt down its specialized catalysts.One of the most sought-after upgrades is the
Upper Hand Catalyst. This modification is designed for players who leverage the terrain, as it
significantly boosts the damage output of the Praxic Blade’s thrown and reflected attacks when you are positioned on higher ground than your enemy. This catalyst is essential for melting powerful targets and amplifying your "space knight" playstyle.Acquiring the Upper Hand Catalyst is a complex endeavor, requiring a full run of the
Fire and Ice Exotic mission on its toughest setting. This guide provides the complete, step-by-step walkthrough for securing this powerful upgrade.
Destiny 2: Get the Upper Hand Catalyst for the Praxic Blade
Phase 1: Prerequisites and Preparation
Before embarking on the hunt for the Upper Hand Catalyst, ensure you meet the necessary criteria.
1. Weapon Acquisition
- Complete the Campaign: The first and most vital step is to complete the Renegades campaign.
- Obtain the Blade: You must acquire the Praxic Blade itself, which is earned during the fourth mission, Fire and Ice.
- Unlock the Path: After finishing the main story, follow the Praxis Path questline to officially unlock the ability to pursue the Blade’s catalysts.
2. Relaunching the Mission
- Difficulty: The catalyst is locked behind the Legendary difficulty version of the Fire and Ice mission.
- Preparation: Due to the complexity and high difficulty, ensure you are fully stocked on ammo synths and consumables. Bring a reliable build focused onsurvivability and consistent damage.
Phase 2: The Hidden Path and Imbalanced Wardens
The catalyst is acquired by engaging in a secret sequence of steps withinthe mission's jumping puzzle, focusing on eliminating two specific Taken Knights.
1. The Starting Point and First Knight
- Mission Start: Relaunch Fire and Ice on Legendary difficulty and proceed as normal until you reach the Vault objective marker.
- Cliff Descent: Traverse the cliffs and locate a large, illuminated platform.
- The Hidden Route: Instead of continuing across the platform, drop beneath it and follow the linear pathway until you arrive at a distinctive dome-like structure.
- First Path: Stop at the dome and look left. You will spot a turret with a red light. A concealed pathway lies behind this turret. Take this path.
- Defeat Warden 1: Following this route will lead you into a confrontation with an Imbalanced Warden, a powerful Taken Knight. You must defeat this enemy.
2. The Bridge Bypass and Second Knight
- Return to the Dome: After defeating the first Warden, backtrack immediately to the central dome-like structure.
- Continue Forward: Walk past the dome and follow the path until you reach a bridge.
- The High Jump: Crucially, do not cross the bridge. Instead, look to the cliff wall on your left. You must find a way to climb this cliff and jump over the main path.
- Defeat Warden 2: Another Imbalanced Warden will be waiting in this elevated, hidden area. Defeat this second Taken Knight.
- Resume Normal Path: Once both Knights are eliminated, you may continue through the mission’s standard route.
Phase 3: Activating the Catalyst of Imbalance
The middle section of the mission involves a complex energy mechanic thatmust be completed precisely to spawn the next boss required for theCatalyst.
1. The "Balance the Scales" Encounter
- Standard Mechanic: Reach the section of the mission where the objective reads: "Balancethe scales." This area involves several blights that must bemanipulated.
- The Warden Sequence: Focus on the blights one at a time. Approach and fill a single blight to spawn a new Imbalanced Warden. You must defeat this Warden to trigger the next step.
- Pillar Blights: Once the Warden is defeated, a new blight will appear on one of the central pillars. Repeat this process for all the initial blights in the area, defeating the corresponding Wardens each time until all blights are successfully spawned atop the pillars.
2. Spawning the Catalyst Boss
- Blade Destruction: Now, you must use your Praxic Blade to destroy the blights atop the pillars.
- Catalyst of Imbalance: Successfully destroying all the blights will cause the Catalyst of Imbalance boss to spawn. Defeat this powerful enemy and continue the missionuntil a portal appears, marking the end of the standard encounter.
Phase 4: Final Steps and Acquisition
The last crucial steps involve backtracking and executing a specific mechanic during the final boss fight.
1. The Backtrack Blights
- Ignore the Portal: Do not take the portal that spawns after the Catalyst of Imbalance boss.
- Return Trip: Head all the way back to the areas where you defeated the initial two Imbalanced Wardens (the turret path and the bridge bypass).
- Destroy the Blights: You will now find new Taken Blights in these previously cleared areas. Destroy these blights using your Praxic Blade.
2. The Final Boss Mechanic
- Standard Fight: Proceed to the final boss and begin the encounter as usual.
- Final Phase Trigger: When the boss reaches its final health phase, look down beneath the main arena. New white blights will have spawned in the lower area.
- Full Activation: You must fill these new white blights (along with the black blights already present in the arena).
- Final Blow: Finish the boss and secure the victory. The Upper Hand Catalyst will drop from the final reward chest at the end of the mission.
Mastering this specific Legendary route, executing the two hidden Warden kills,and managing the blight mechanics during the final encounter are thekeys to fully upgrading your Praxic Blade and claiming the tacticaladvantage of the high ground in all future battles.
Tags: Bungie, Guardians, Raids, Exotics, PvP, PvE, Strikes, Crucible, Gambit, Lightfall expansion, Seasonal events, Weapons a
Platform(s): PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Windows PC Google Stadia
Genre(s): First-person shooter, MMOG
Developer(s): Bungie, Vicarious Visions, High Moon Studios
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