How to get the Heir Apparent Catalyst in Destiny 2

The Heir Apparent Exotic machine gun is a Guardian Games special in Destiny 2. Both the weapon and its catalyst are exclusively available through the Guardian Games event, a limited-time competition of the classes hosted by Eva Levante in the Tower. While Heir Apparent is strong on its own, its catalyst is what has made the Exotic LMG so notorious in the Crucible since it received a buff last year.

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The catalyst for Heir Apparent enhances one of its unique traits, Armor of the Colossus. If Heir Apparent is spun up while the user is at full health, Armor of the Colossus will wrap the Guardian in a powerful Arc shield to enhance their defenses at the expense of some mobility. The catalyst increases the durability of this shield, making it nearly impossible to break without weaponry that has a matching Arc energy type. If it is successfully depleted despite this, the catalyst also partially refills the 200-round magazine when the shield is destroyed for a bit of bonus clutch factor.

Heir Apparent has a pretty straightforward path to acquisition during the Guardian Games, acquired through the Top of Class quest. Once you have Heir Apparent, you can hunt for its catalyst as well. But the catalyst requires a little more dedication to secure.

Both the Heir Apparent and its catalyst will only be available while the Guardian Games event is live in Destiny 2, so players who are missing either should make sure to get these quests done before it goes away. Guardian Games in 2023 will be live between May 2 and 23, wrapping up Season of Defiance.

How to complete the Competitive Catalyst quest in Guardian Games 2023

The Competitive Catalyst quest is a potential random drop from turning in Guardian Games Medallions at the Podium in the Tower. It sounds like a daunting prospect, but the drop chance is particularly generous when turning in Gold and Platinum Medallions. Knocking out Eva Levante’s stock of Contender and Platinum Cards will provide Guardians with a consistent stream of high-tier Medallions if you’re struggling with getting this quest to drop quickly. Once you have acquired the Competitive Catalyst quest, you will have three steps to complete to get the Heir Apparent Catalyst.

At time of writing this article on May 3, the Competitive Catalyst quest is currently bugged for some players. For the first step to deposit Medallions and earn points, the deposited Medallions are not currently counting toward the required total. Bungie is currently investigating this issue, so it might be worth holding onto your Medallions for now until it’s been fixed if you’re just here to get the Catalyst in 2023.

Earn 50 Medallion Points

Step one of the quest will have you turning in more Medallions until you accrue a total of 50 Medallion points. Medallion points do not stack up on a 1:1 ratio with the Medallions that you’re turning in, though, with higher tiers of Medallions valued at higher amounts of points. Interacting with the event in any capacity tends to reward players with a number of Medallions, but completing Eva Levante’s Contender Cards, Platinum Cards, and competing in the dedicated Guardian Games playlists launched from the Tower will make sure the Medallions you’re earning are worth more points overall.

Each Medallion is valued as follows:

Bronze Medallion: One point
Silver Medallion: Two points
Gold Medallion: Five points
Platinum Medallion: 15 points

Complete three Contender Cards

Step two follows the quest’s theme of interacting with the many features of the Guardian Games event, asking Guardians to complete three of Eva Levante’s Contender Cards. These Contender Cards can be purchased from her in the Tower using Glimmer, with the harder Platinum Cards that award Platinum Medallions costing a little bit extra. If you’re this deep into the Guardian Games festivities, you should have a good grasp on how these Contender Cards work. Complete three of your choosing in the playlist of your preference to move on to the third and final step of the Competitive Catalyst quest.

Acquire 90 Competitive Spirit

Competitive Spirit is a currency unique to this quest, and you’ll need 90 of it to complete this final step. Competitive Spirit is obtained via Machine Gun kills in any playlist. If you want to make this step go a bit quicker, then precision final blows with Machine Guns will grant additional progress compared to regular killing blows. With this quest no longer tied to the Daily Focus playlist as it was last year, there’s a lot more freedom in the player’s hands as to where and how they want to tackle this step.

Collect the 90 Competitive Spirit needed from defeated enemies and you will have earned the Heir Apparent Catalyst. You will need to get kills with Heir Apparent to slot the catalyst into the Exotic machine gun, but these kills can be obtained whenever and aren’t tied down by any Guardian Games-related time restrictions.