Destiny 2‘s Season of the Witch is taking the Hive magic to a new level. The Deck of Whispers takes inspiration from tarot decks, with 12 Major Arcana and a slew of Minor Arcana cards. Each has its own effects, and they range from “useful” to “essential” and everything in between.
You’re going to need at least five Major Arcana cards if you want to make the most out of the season activities (or if you’re just struggling with Tier Three Altars of Summoning). Minor Arcana cards are also useful since they bring a slew of benefits.
You can get these cards through a mix of randomness and time gates. Completing activities has a chance to grant you Opaque Cards, which you can decipher in the Ritual Table. Opaque Cards will be a Major or a Minor Arcana randomly, so you can’t choose what you get from them. No matter what you get, though, odds are you’ll be better than you were without it.
Deck of Whispers: How do Major and Minor Arcana cards work?
In Season of the Witch, your Major Arcana cards will grant you a bonus in Savathûn’s Spire and Altars of Summoning, giving you a myriad of benefits. You’ll get one of the cards in your deck drawn randomly during Savathûn’s Spire or Altars of Summoning, which will grant you a buff based on the active card. The catch is you need at least five active Major Arcana cards.
Minor Arcana cards, on the other hand, work similarly to seasonal upgrades. The time of farming activities to obtain an arbitrary, time-gated currency and upgrade your vendor in a grid is long gone. Now, you just need to get cards and unveil them to get bonuses. What cards you get seem to be somewhat random, though relevant upgrades will likely be tied to story missions or activities. Some Minor Arcana cards also grant you flat resources, such as Witch’s Engrams or Witch’s Keys. They don’t have any bigger purpose.
Here are the effects of each Major and Minor Arcana cards, as deciphered by TodayInDestiny creator and general API sorcerer JpDeathBlade.
All Major Arcana cards and what they do in Season of the Witch
The Major Arcana cards all relate to making seasonal activities easier, which comes in handy in higher difficulties. We’ve only found the first five, but we’ll update this article with the names of the remaining ones once we obtain them.
Here are the cards JpDeathblade has found:
- The Sisters: Final blows have a chance to drop Special ammo.
- Seasonal bonus: Keyed Chests in the Altars of Summoning and Savathûn’s Spire will contain additional Whisper Cards, if available.
- The Witch: Increases damage dealt with each final blow.
- The Adherent: Rapidly defeating combatants has a chance to regenerate health and shields.
- The Harbinger: Final blows have a chance to create an explosion, damaging nearby enemies.
- Seasonal bonus: Keyed Chests in the Altars of Summoning and Savathûn’s Spire will contain additional Whisper Cards, if available.
- Blades: Rapidly defeating combatants has a chance to drop Heavy ammo.
- Dealing Void damage also applies Suppression.
- Dealing Arc damage also applies Jolt.
- Dealing Solar damage also applies Scorch.
- Rapidly defeating combatants reduces class ability cooldown.
- Final blows reduce melee cooldown.
- Dealing damage reduces grenade cooldown.
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All Minor Arcana cards and their rewards
Minor Arcana cards play a different role. Some of them are permanent bonuses for Season of the Witch activities, while others are just free resources. Here are all Minor Arcana cards and what you’ll get from them, as discovered by JpDeathblade.
- VI of Tablets: Using your Witch’s Keys will award additional Witch’s Engrams.
- Opening Witch’s Chests has a small chance of awarding a Witch’s Key.
- Using your Witch’s Keys to open Witch’s Chests in Savathûn’s Spire on Legend difficulty will award an additional piece of armor and a Deepsight Resonant weapon.
- Using Witch’s Keys to open Witch’s Chests in Savathûn’s Spire may now drop Red War weapons.
- These should be the weapons in the Recovered Red War Engram available for focusing.
- Using Witch’s Keys to open Witch’s Chests in Altars of Summoning may now drop Red War weapons.
- Extends the timer when activating Arc Crystals in Season of the Witch activities. Activating an Arc crystal blinds and jolts nearby targets.
- Grants one stack of Restoration while carrying a Solar crystal in Season of the Witch activities.
- Void crystals can be destroyed for a distance in Season of the Witch activities.
- Reveals a shrine in the Altars of Summoning that allows you to manipulate your ritual Offerings.
- Allows you to redraw a card from your active deck once per activity.
- Allows an additional redraw from your active deck once per activity.
- II of Worms: The next Season of the Witch weapon you focus at the Ritual Table will be Deepsight Resonant if possible.
- One Ascendant Shard
- Enhancement Prism
- Enhancement Prism
- Enhancement Core
- Enhancement Core
- Exotic Engram
- Feeble Offering
- Robust Offering
- Powerful Offering
- Witch’s Key
- Witch’s Key
- Witch’s Key
- Witch’s Key
- Red War Weapons Engram
- Red War Weapons Engram
- Red War Weapons Engram
- Red War Weapons Engram
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