A lot of promo art for the Destiny 2 expansion Lightfall showed a Guardian wielding a Hand Cannon that had not been seen before. This interesting weapon had both a silencer, a red laser sight, and a roar of flames painted onto the gun. Yet, when players ran through Destiny 2 and completed Lightfall, this Hand Cannon was nowhere to be seen.
It wasn’t until Season 21’s Season of the Deep in Destiny 2 that were players able to finally unlock this legendary Hand Cannon called Epochal Integration. Some players have asked for months how to get Epochal Integration in Destiny 2, and by following these steps, they’ll be blasting Guardians in the Crucible and The Witness’ forces in no time.
Finish Lightfall’s Campaign
For New Light/Free-to-Play players, Epochal Integration will be locked for them until they purchase and complete the Lightfall expansion in Destiny 2. Players will also need to complete the Unfinished Business Exotic Quest. This expansion will reward players with the new Darkness Subclass, Strand, and there’s a bout of new content awaiting them within Lightfall, so it’s really up to players whether it’s worth it or not to continue their adventures in Destiny 2 with this DLC.
Once Calus has been defeated, and the Veil has been retrieved, players can begin the next step which will have them visiting Nimbus back at Strider’s Gate. Here, Nimbus will give players the quest “Parting the Veil”, which will net them some Strand Aspects and Epochal Integration.
Defeat Cabal In Neomuna
The first step of how to complete Parting the Veil in Destiny 2 is to defeat Cabal enemies anywhere on Neomuna. The easiest place to do this would be in the Gilded Precept or Hydroponics Delta Lost Sectors, as these areas are not particularly challenging, and other Guardians cannot steal final blows here. These Lost Sectors are Cabal only, so players won’t have to worry about any pesky Vex running amock.
Players need to kill Cabal through any means, it doesn’t matter if it’s a precision shot or a melee attack. Either way, Cabal will occasionally drop Vex Tracking Data, and players will need 10 of them to process into Step 2 of the Parting the Veil quest.
Acquire Vex Data
Step 2 of Parting the Veil will have players embark on Maya’s Retreat. This location was utilized in the HyperNet Current Strike, as well as the Lightfall campaign, and players will want to head to Liming Harbor to get to their destination. It’s best to track the quest in the Directory so that players will have a guiding waypoint that will take them to their desired destination in Maya’s Retreat.
Once here, players will see a Vex conduit, this Vex-made tower consists of three shielded Harpies, and players will need to defeat a swarm of Vex waves so that one of the Harpies will lower its shield and attack. These waves can be dangerous, as there are overwhelming numbers of Vex enemies, but dying is no issue for Guardians, as they can just revive themselves and resume the fight. Once all three Vex Harpies are defeated, players can retrieve the data at the Vex tower structure.
Acquire Additional Data
After retrieving the data from Maya’s Retreat, players will then need to find more data at the Irkalla Complex. Players will want to travel to Zephyr Concourse and head through Esi Terminal, following the Cabal enemies and keeping to the left is a good idea, especially when players come across a Darkness portal that will lead them to the Irkalla Complex.
Once players have arrived, they will see the same Vex tower that was in Maya’s Retreat, as well as the 3 shielded Vex Harpies. Players need to repeat the same steps as before, killing waves of Vex to disable the Harpy shields and kill them. Once all three are defeated, players can retrieve more data from the Vex tower.
Complete “Parting The Veil” Mission
Remaining in the Irkalla Complex, players will receive some dialogue from Nimbus and Osiris, and then they will be able to start the Parting the Veil mission from the banner just outside of the complex where the Veil door was locked up tight. This mission is relatively straightforward, and players will just be journeying back through the Veil containment facility with a complete lack of enemies.
The mission itself indulges in the mystery surrounding the Veil, as many players were disappointed upon the release of Lightfall because the game had more questions than answers. Yet, it seems that Destiny 2 is finally ready to divulge with players when they ask what is the Veil, and the Parting the Veil mission is just the first step of many.
Once deep inside the Veil facility, players will be tasked with interacting with a terminal. This terminal holds the personal logs of Chioma Esi, and for Destiny 2 lore fans, these terminal logs are an absolute treat. Players can listen to them whilst looking at the encapsulating and ominous beauty of the Veil.
Yet, not all is right in the complex, as the Taken are summoned into the facility. Players will need to kill the Taken enemies, and of course, it wouldn’t be a Destiny 2 mission without a tight hallway filled with Taken Phalanxes to push and kill Guardians through the power of the Architects.
Defeat Imprint Of Nezarec
Players need to defeat Taken and rush through to the Veil itself, the same area where they defeated the Darkness-imbued Calus, Disciple of the Witness. This area has many Strand grapple points and a fair few ledges that might have players die over and over if they are not careful of their footing. This room will see a new boss fight with a Tormentor enemy.
The Tormentor, the Imprint of Nezarec, needs to be defeated to progress. This boss fight has many Taken ads, but they will all disappear once the Imprint of Nezarec is defeated. Void Resistance mods are recommended, as well as Fusion Rifles and Linear Fusion Rifles, as these are the only weapons that will truly melt and destroy a Tormentor’s crit spots, as Rockets are useless against these enemy types.
Players should also use their Strand subclass, not only to take care of the countless ads but to utilize the grapple points in the sky so that when the Imprint of Nezarec pushes Guardians off of the edge in an attempt to kill them and restart the boss fight, they will be able to grapple to safety and avoid death. The mission is easily done solo, players just need the right weapons and a tactical mind to take care of enemies and the boss. Upon the defeat of Imprint of Nezarec, players will receive more dialogue from Osiris and Nimbus, and the mission will be completed.
Meditate At The Pouka Pond
Returning to the safety of the Hall of Heroes, players will need to meditate on their findings at the Veil by going to the Pouka Pond. Here, players will find a note left behind by Osiris, as well as the ability to collect their reward. The reward in question is the Epochal Integration Hand Cannon, which even has the Masterwork completed as a bonus reward, so Osiris deserves many thanks for this weapon.
Once players have meditated at the Pouka Pond, they can also inspect their Strand abilities, and unlock the new Strand Aspect that will be available for Titans, Warlocks, and Hunters from Season of the Deep. This new Aspect can be unlocked for free, with no Strand Meditations needed, leaving plenty of free time to get Exotic fish.
Now that the Parting the Veil mission is complete, players can use the Directory and venture to Neomuna and load into the Veil Containment from the bottom left of the Neomuna map. Every weekly reset, there will be a new terminal log decrypted, and players can learn more about the Vex, the Veil, and perhaps the Witness, alongside commentary from Nimbus and Osiris.
Is Epochal Integration Any Good?
Now that players have acquired the Legendary Hand Cannon that they sought since the release of Lightfall, they might be asking if Epochal Integration is any good. For Season of the Deep, Hand Cannons are quickly becoming a popular choice because they can be used to stun Unstoppable Champions. However, Hand Cannons still need some work if they are to be entirely viable as well as the new PvP and PvE meta for Destiny 2.
Fans might be disappointed to find that despite the brilliant visual identity of the gun, the Epochal Integration Hand Cannon doesn’t hold its light towards some of the superior Hand Cannons. That isn’t to say it’s a bad weapon. As a Solar Hand Cannon, Epochal Integration will benefit more from PvE activities due to its weapon traits and rolls like Incandescent. However, Epochal Integration is less than favorable in PvP because of the lack of perks like Rangefinder, and the alternative options players have found with the best PvP weapons in Destiny 2.
Nevertheless, Epochal Integration is worth picking up, and adding this weapon to the Guardian’s collection of weaponry. The Hand Cannon cannot be found in random drops, but perhaps someday the weapon will be craftable, and the perk pool will increase.
Destiny 2 is currently available for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.