Destiny 2 Mysterious Box quest steps and lock locations to get Izanagi's Burden
How to get the Izanagi's Burden from completing the Mysterious Box quest in Destiny 2.
Destiny 2's Mysterious Box quest is an Exotic quest found as part of the Black Armory DLC, the first expansion in Destiny 2's second year.
It requires you to perform specific steps within each of the Black Armory DLC Forges to unlock four Mysterious Box locks, and ultimately giving you the Izanagi's Burden.
On this page:
Every step of Destiny 2's Mysterious Box quest
In brief, here's every step of the Mysterious Box quest to unlock Izanagi's Burden:
- Find the Mysterious Box location from the Volundr Forge
- Open the locks for the hand, a butterfly, a fishhook by completing the Volundr, Izanami and Gofannon Forges with Maximum Temper (by shooting drones mid-battle)
- Get the Black Armory Key Mold quest from Ada-1
- Kill Watchers in the Leviathan Underbelly, then get Glimmering Amethyst from opening Public Event or Strike chests
- Clear the Bergusia Forge with Maximum Temper (by shooting drones mid-battle)
- Complete a rare Black Armory Bounty
- Complete the Shattered Throne dungeon
- Complete a special version of The Pyramidion Strike
- Complete a special version of the Bergusia Forge
- Return to Ada-1 to recieve the Izanagi's Burden
It's quite involved! Thanks to xHOUNDISHx on YouTube for filling in the gaps with some of the above steps:
How to find the Mysterious Box in Destiny 2
First, you need to own the Black Armory DLC, which is part of the Destiny 2 season pass.
Play through the Machine Gun Frame quest steps, until you have returned to Ada-1 and are told to go visit the Volundr Forge.
Proceed to the Forge as usual (by heading to the EDZ's north-east most starting location, setting the Forge as the objective on the map and following the waypoints through the nearby tunnel) until you arrive at Smidur's Cavern.
The cavern has a large ravine below the cliff edge right in front of you, where you have to jump across to the Forge. However, if you look to the left of where the broken bridge is, you'll find a ledge lower down.
Go round the other side, and jump down to it.
Turn around, and you'll notice another ledge opposite, as well as a cave.
Head inside this cave and you'll come to two crates. The larger left one is the one you're going for. Investigate it, and the Mysterious Box will be yours.
You can now begin the Mysterious Box quest.
How to open the first three Mysterious Box locks
The Mysterious Box quest steps have you open four locks. The description is as follows:
"An ornate box with four locks. Each lock has a different symbol emblazoned on it: a hand, a butterfly, a fishhook, and a Black Armory insignia."
There are then four steps to complete, each relating to a different Forge:
- Fishhook lock opened - from Volundr Forge
- Butterfly lock opened - from Izanami Forge
- Hand lock opened - from Gofannon Forge
- Black Armory lock opened - from Bergusia Forge
Specifically, you need to shoot down floating objects between the end of the first round and the end of the second round of each Forge to earn 'Maximum Temper'. As long as someone in your session does it, it will then give you the key when you end the Forge.
Here are their specific locations:
Fishhook Lock location (Volundr Forge)
Here is WiLLiSGaming showing where to shoot:
Butterfly Lock location (Izanami Forge)
Here is Esoterickk explaining this in more detail:
Hand Lock location (Gofannon Forge)
Here is Ninja Pups showing this location:
How to open the fourth Mysterious Box lock and get the Mysterious Decryption Device
Once you have opened the third lock, Ada-1 will give you a new quest to open the Black Armory Key Mold, the reward being used to open the fourth Black Armory lock on the Mysterious Box.
There are two steps. One is get Watcher Lens drops from Watchers, the drones found in certain alarmed sections of the Leviathan's Underbelly. Though the quest description suggests all of them, you can kill the same ones over and over and still get drops. Then, you must open Public Event and Strike chests, earning Glimmering Amethyst each time, until you have enough to continue.
Now, you have to complete the Bergusia Forge with 'Maximum Temper', which again involves shooting down specific drones during the playthrough. Here's Esoterickk showing these locations:
With that done, you'll open the Mysterious Box at last - but you're far from done, receiving the 'A Mysterious Decryption Device'.
The Season of the Deep is here alongside the Into the Depths quest. You can know go fishing too! Don't forget to keep an eye on the Lost Sector and King's Fall challenge rotation schedule!
How to use the Mysterious Decryption Device
This requires its own set of steps before you can complete the quest. Return to Ada-1, then hand in a rare Black Armory bounty. These are added to your inventory at random when completing regular Black Armory bounties, so keep playing until you get one.
Doing so gives you an Obsidian Crystal. Redeem it in your inventory to earn the Unidentified Frame.
You now have to complete three activities in order. The first is the Shattered Throne, the Dreaming City dungeon that's only active every third week. Then, there are two special versions of the The Pyramidion strike and the Bergusia Forge to complete - you'll find these as missions on Io and the EDZ respectively.
These are tougher than usual, and it probably goes without saying that being as close to the 650 level cap as possible makes these objectives much more achievable.
With that done, you'll be given an item named 'Not a Weapon'. Return to Ada-1 final time, and there we have it - the Izanagi's Burden is yours.
It's a sniper rifle with a few unique perks - one, Honed Edge, which can consume the magazine for a round with extra range and damage when holding reload, Chambered Compensator, Accurized rounds, Outlaw and Composite Stock.