Destiny 2 players finally gain access to the Thunderlord exotic

After a three-week quest, the Destiny 2 community has finally discovered how to earn the infamous exotic weapon Thunderlord. This weapon’s existence was first leaked months ago, but wasn’t confirmed until earlier today.

Thunderlord is the reward that awaits players when they finally solve the Murder of Master Ives, the third and final step in the “Journal of the Reef Cryptarch” quest that started as part of the Festival of the Lost Halloween event. Upon login today, players who were up to date on their quest were able to embark on a journey back to the Cosmodrome in Old Russia — the place where players first set foot in Destiny’s universe four years ago.

After trekking through the destroyed, snow-covered land, players go up against a boss and a wave of Fallen enemies. Once the dust is settled, players will earn the final exotic engram from the murdered Cryptarch, Master Ives. The engram decrypts into Thunderlord, the very first exotic ever seen in the first-ever Destiny gameplay reveal.

But the new Thunderlord is a bit different from its predecessor in Destiny. Not only is it the only machine gun type weapon available in Destiny 2 at the moment, it has some seriously upgraded perks. Killing enemies with Thunderlord rains lightning strikes from above around the area. Holding down the trigger also increases the rate of fire, while kills increase the gun’s reload speed.

The Thunderlord quest is now available for all players, regardless of whether they own Destiny 2: Forsaken. More machine guns are set to enter Destiny 2 once the Black Armory DLC is released later this year.