Destiny 2 Touch of Malice drop location and how to get the Catalyst explained
How to get - and upgrade - the Exotic from King's Fall.
Destiny 2’s Touch of Malice is a classic Exotic that has made its return to Destiny 2.
It’s a one-of-a-kind scout rifle, powered by the dark power of Oryx, the Taken King, himself. It can output incredible damage per second, but at a steep cost to the wielder. The final round in the chamber will regenerate instantly, but steals health from its wielder every time it does so.
Touch of Malice, or ToM to Destiny aficionados, returned during Destiny 2’s Season of Plunder alongside the restored King’s Fall raid. It’s a random drop, and the Touch of Malice Catalyst is hidden behind a puzzle-easter-egg combo.
Here's how to get Touch of Malice and unlock the catalyst.
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How to get Touch of Malice in Destiny 2
Touch of Malice is a drop exclusive to the King’s Fall Raid. It’s much easier to acquire than in Destiny 1, where it was the prize at the end of a long scavenger hunt and quest chain. In Destiny 2, all you need is a good raid team, and some luck.
Touch of Malice drops from Oryx, the final boss of the Taken King raid. It’s a random drop with relatively low odds of falling (community surveys estimate around 5%). The only thing you can do is raid, and keep raiding. You have a chance to receive Touch of Malice once per character, per week, provided they are on a team that kills Oryx. That gives you up to three shots per week. The rest is luck and perseverance.
It's currently unknown if there is 'bad luck protection' for Touch of Malice drops - which means if it doesn't drop after so many encounters, there is a system to ensure you'll get it eventually.
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 get the Touch of Malice Catalyst in Destiny 2
Touch of Malice, like many other Exotics, has a catalyst that can be unlocked to further enhance the abilities of the weapon.
The Touch of Malice Catalyst grants an ability called Rapid Hit. With this enabled, precision hits increasingly boost reload speed and make the gun more stable. This makes it significantly easier to sustain accurate fire - the key to maximizing damage output.
To unlock the Touch of Malice Catalyst you must stand on a series of plates with the Touch of Malice equipped in various locations within the King’s Fall raid. This will cause four orbs of light called Relics to spawn in that area. You and your fireteam must grab all of them, and dunk them all simultaneously. A timer appears when the first Relic is held, so make sure to find them and position a guardian next to each before picking one up.
Raid Entrance
The first plate is near the entrance of the raid. Proceed down the statue lined hallway in the center of the room, then veer left towards the room in the rear left corner of the large open chamber.
Deposit at the altar in the middle of the large central chamber, directly behind the portal that opens at the end of raid entrance encounter. Watch out for shriekers that spawn when you are bringing the Relics.
Golgoroth’s Cellar
The next plate is in the room that holds the hidden chest in Golgoroth’s Cellar, in a small alcove to the side. As before, have the Touch of Malice holder step on this plate to spawn the Relics.
Fan out to find the four Relics. Once everyone is ready, gather them and jump in the hole in the hallway directly next to the hidden chest. It’s no longer a bottomless pit, rather it’s now a small room containing the altar. Have everyone dunk simultaneously, then proceed forward.
Transept, the Basketball Court of Oryx
The final plate is near the end of the Transept, the jumping puzzle with the large wall bumpers that launch unlucky guardians into the abyss. Look at the floor after you cross the second hidden bridge, at the base of the climb to the exit.
Once you collect the Relics everyone must head back towards the entrance to find the altar. At the far end of this room some narrow floating bridges will have formed, ascend those, and dunk as a group at the altar.
A door will open just to the left if this alter. This leads to an area colloquially known as the Basketball Court of Oryx. This was originally a well hidden easter egg in Destiny 1, now it’s the final piece of the Touch of Malice Catalyst puzzle.
There is a tall altar at the back of the room, and a large number of relics scattered throughout the room. Now is the time for everyone to start grabbing and dunking as quickly as they can. Once all the Relics are dunked, the Touch of Malice wielder receives their catalyst. It still takes a massive number of kills to power up the catalyst in order for it to activate, but now you can start that grind. Enjoy!
Good luck adding the Touch of Malice to your Exotic collection!