Destiny 2 guide: Allegiance quest (Season of the Drifter)

Destiny 2: Season of the Drifter offers players a choice. In the new Allegiance quest, you can side with the Drifter or the Vanguard. They both have different stories to tell and rewards to give.

Polygon’s Allegiance quest guide will show you how to beat each and tell you what you’re missing out on from the other side. If you have more than one character, you can make a different choice with each.

The Drifter walkthrough

Start by talking to The Drifter in the Annex. He’ll give you a choice between his pendent and the Vanguard’s. When you pick up the Drifter’s pendant, he’ll send you off on a long quest to earn his trust.

He wants to tell you his truth about being a Guardian. For completing his leg of the mission, you’ll earn a box each week with a piece of Gambit gear and one of each Gambit Prime synth.

Visit Spider in the Tangled Shore

Bungie via Polygon

As soon as you start the quest, the Drifter will send you to the Tangled Shore to talk to Spider. Find him in his den, and he’ll show you his Black Market wares. Buy the Jerky item from him for 50,000 Glimmer, and take a second to sift through the rest of his wares. There are some good Destiny jokes in there you don’t want to miss.

Thief of Thieves on Titan

After you pick up the Jerky, head to Titan and start the augmented version of the Thief of Thieves adventure. The objective is simple: Kill the fallen messengers, and chase the thieves through the station. Defend the treasure chest to end the mission. When the adventure is over, head back to the Tower.

Return to the Drifter

Talk to the Drifter, and he’ll send you on a long list of errands. First, he needs you to kill Guardians in the Crucible.

Guardian kills

Jump into Quickplay or the featured game mode, and kill 25 enemy Guardians. Depending on your PvP skill, this could take one match or five. Assists count, so you’re always making progress as long as you’re even hitting enemies.

Motes deposited

After killing 25 Guardians, deposit 25 Motes in Gambit. We recommend doing this in classic Gambit, not Gambit Prime. The multiple waves and lower stress makes it easier. If you’re only focused on depositing, you may be able to get this done in one game.

Cabal and Vex bosses

When you’ve collected all 50 Motes, the Drifter will send you into Strikes. You need to kill two Cabal final bosses and two Vex final bosses. We recommend running the Inverted Spire for Vex kills and Tree of Probabilities for Cabal kills. Both of those Strikes are easy to sprint through.

Back to the Drifter

Take what you’ve gathered back to the Drifter, and he’ll send you up to his ship.

Bungie via Polygon

Head into the Derelict

The Drifter will send you on a quest to grab something from his ship. There is a special node under the Reckoning on The Director — Destiny’s menu. Load into that mission. You’ll land on the Derelict. Instead of going straight and jumping through the portal like you would with The Reckoning, turn right and go down the hallway.

Follow the path until you reach a frozen room with strange plants in it. Walk forward and into the Drifter’s hut. Walk up to the table, and interact with it.

Back to the Drifter

Bring what you found to the Drifter, and he’ll send you out to the EDZ. He wants you to find some tapes of him speaking the truth about the Vanguard and what it means to be a Guardian.

Computer logs

You have seven tapes to find in the EDZ. A Ghost icon will appear in the corner of your screen when you’re getting close to finding one.

Trostland tape location

Grid View

• Bungie via Polygon
• Bungie via Polygon

Land in Trostland, and go into the buildings on your left. Kill the Fallen and look for an old computer next to some lockers.

Skydock IV tape location

Grid View

• Bungie via Polygon
• Bungie via Polygon

Land in the Sunken Isles and go into the Skydock IV Lost Sector. Clear the entire thing, and use Ghost on a computer screen. It’s attached to a pillar.

Flooded Chasm tape location

Grid View

• Bungie via Polygon
• Bungie via Polygon

Land in The Gulch, and go into the Flooded Chasm Lost Sector. Clear it out and interact with the Fallen terminal.

Winding Cove tape location

Grid View

• Bungie via Polygon
• Bungie via Polygon

Land in the Winding Cove, and jump up onto the rock in front of you. Interact with the boxes.

Sojourner’s Camp tape location

Grid View

• Bungie via Polygon
• Bungie via Polygon

Land in Winding Cove, and ride to Sojourner’s Camp. Stop by the camp on your right when you enter the area. The computer is under a red tent.

Scavenger’s Den tape location

Grid View

• Bungie via Polygon
• Bungie via Polygon

Land in Trostland, and ride to the Outskirts. Go into the Scavenger’s Den Lost Sector. Clear out all the Fallen in the big room with the shield barrier. On the ground floor, interact with the Fallen terminal.

Excavation Site XII tape location

Grid View

• Bungie via Polygon
• Bungie via Polygon

Land in Winding Cove, and ride to Firebase Hades. Go into the Excavation Site XII Lost Sector. Clear it out, and make your way to the chest. To the right, there is a big console. On the back side, you’ll find your final computer.

Return to the Drifter

Head back to the Drifter, and he’ll give you his first reward. Congratulations, you’ve now sided with the Drifter for Season 6.

The story

Through this quest, the Drifter will tell you his truth about Guardians. He’s been alive for over 1,000 years and views the Vanguards and the Iron Lords before them as hypocritical leaders. They’re willing to kill and bury their heads in the sand to protect their establishment.

But the Drifter sees another extinction event coming for humanity. And he wants us to help him prepare the Guardians for it.

The Vanguard walkthrough

Start by talking to the Drifter in the Annex. He’ll ask you to pick a side and offer two pendants. Select the Vanguard pendant. Now it’s time to start spying on Drifter.

Contact Aunor

Bungie via Polygon

After you take the Vanguard pendant, you’ll need to contact Aunor. Aunor is one of Ikora’s Hidden, and she’s a Warlock who works for the Vanguard. Go down to the Hangar in the Tower, and hang right. Under some scaffolding, you’ll find a computer monitor. Interact with it to send a message to Aunor.

Meet the courier

Bungie via Polygon

Stay in the Hangar, and head toward the Dead Orbit vendor. Behind a wall, you’ll find a woman with a ponytail. This is your courier. Give her the message.

Bug the Drifter

Bungie via Polygon

Head back over to the Annex. Go into the Drifter’s room, and walk around the perimeter. Look for prompts to bug his place. Place three, and head back to the Hangar.

Back to the Terminal

Return to Aunor’s terminal in the Hangar. Interact with it, and you’ll receive a directive to talk to Spider in the Tangled Shore.

Bribe Spider

Land in Thieves’ Landing, and make your way to Spider. Chat with him, and he’ll offer to sever his connection to Drifter — for a steep price. Bribe Spider with 50,000 Glimmer, and he’ll send you to a new quest on Titan.

Siren Song reprise

Land on Titan, and bypass Sloane. Start the remixed adventure “Siren Song.” Follow the instructions like you would for any other quest. When you kill the final Knight by the crystal, you’ll get a new mission.

Bank 50 Motes in Gambit

You need to bank 50 Motes in Gambit. It doesn’t matter how many games you need to do it because progress will carry over. However, the quest states that you can play either Gambit or Gambit Prime. At the time of this writing, only Motes deposited in Gambit Prime are working for the Vanguard side of this quest.

Bank your Motes in Prime, and get ready for the Crucible.

Kill 25 Guardians

After your time in Gambit, you’ll need to compete in the Crucible, and kill 50 enemy Guardians. Depending on your skill level, this step can take one game or five. But assists count as progress, so you’re working on the quest as long as you’re hitting enemies.

Return to the terminal

Go back to the terminal in the Tower hanger, and talk to Aunor. She’ll send you on a new mission to spy on the Drifter’s home.

Board the Derelict

Bungie via Polygon

Select the Director node — Destiny 2’s menu — under the Reckoning. You’ll spawn into the Derelict without any allies and no portal to take you to the Realm of the Nine. Take a right and go down the hallway. The Drifter’s placed mines in the ship, so jump around or shoot them.

At the end of the hall, you’ll find an icy room. Walk through it and into the Drifter’s hut. Pick up his tablet on the table. Listen to Drifter’s message, and make your way down to Earth.

Computer logs

You have seven tapes to find in the EDZ. A Ghost icon will appear in the corner of your screen when you’re getting close to finding one.

Trostland tape location

Grid View

• Bungie via Polygon
• Bungie via Polygon

Land in Trostland, and go into the buildings on your left. Kill the Fallen and look for an old computer next to some lockers.

Skydock IV tape location

Grid View

• Bungie via Polygon
• Bungie via Polygon

Land in the Sunken Isles and go into the Skydock IV Lost Sector. Clear the entire thing, and use Ghost on a computer screen. It’s attached to a pillar.

Flooded Chasm tape location

Grid View

• Bungie via Polygon
• Bungie via Polygon

Land in The Gulch, and go into the Flooded Chasm Lost Sector. Clear it out and interact with the Fallen terminal.

Winding Cove tape location

Grid View

• Bungie via Polygon
• Bungie via Polygon

Land in the Winding Cove, and jump up onto the rock in front of you. Interact with the boxes.

Sojourner’s Camp tape location

Grid View

• Bungie via Polygon
• Bungie via Polygon

Land in Winding Cove, and ride to Sojourner’s Camp. Stop by the camp on your right when you enter the area. The computer is under a red tent.

Scavenger’s Den tape location

Grid View

• Bungie via Polygon
• Bungie via Polygon

Land in Trostland, and ride to the Outskirts. Go into the Scavenger’s Den Lost Sector. Clear out all the Fallen in the big room with the shield barrier. On the ground floor, interact with the Fallen terminal.

Excavation Site XII tape location

Grid View

• Bungie via Polygon
• Bungie via Polygon

Land in Winding Cove, and ride to Firebase Hades. Go into the Excavation Site XII Lost Sector. Clear it out, and make your way to the chest. To the right, there is a big console. On the back side, you’ll find your final computer.

Return to Drifter

After you’ve found all the tapes, head back to Drifter for a final scolding. You’ve chosen a side.

Talk to Ikora

Ikora will give you your weekly reward. It isn’t clear on the map, but she’ll have a package for you if you talk to her.

The story

The story on both sides is very similar. The big difference for Vanguard players is the addition of Aunor. It’s unclear how Aunor will enter the story again, but it seems like Bungie is setting them up as an agent of the Vanguard.