Destiny 2 Harbinger mission explained: All feather locations and how to start the Bird of Prey quest explained

How to start the Harbinger quest in Destiny 2

First, before you can enter the Harbinger mission, you must have obtained the Hawkmoon, which itself requires having access to the Season of the Hunt.

How to start the Harbinger mission in Destiny 2

The Harbinger mission is part of the Bird of Prey quest, which can be picked up from Crow in the Tangled Shore - you'll find it at the bottom of his vendor screen.

Now, visit the Trostland fast travel point in EDZ. From this spawn, go straight ahead, past the church to a building on the corner, and leap up to the second floor. (If you're struggling to find the exact location, the above embedded video shows a complete walkthrough.)

On the corner is a 'fireplace' panel. With the Hawkmoon equipped, you can shoot the panel several times and remove it, revealing a hidden passage. (If it's already exposed, another player has done the work for you.)

The Harbinger mission can then be activated just inside.

How Destiny 2's Harbinger mission works, and how to complete the opening dam jumping puzzle

The Harbinger mission operates similar to Whisper of the Worm and Outbreak Perfected's Zero Hour, offering a challenging mix of jumping puzzles and combat encounters. The recommended power is 1270 - which means, ideally, you'll need to have reached the Pinnacle level cap and / or levelled your artefact significantly.

Unlike those missions, there is no timer - allowing you to take your time through every step. Though there is no matchmaking, you are also welcome to have a fireteam.

As well as Triumphs for flawless, solo and fast completions, the main rewards for completing the Harbinger mission are:

• Additional Hawkmoons with random rolls (two for first completion)
• Earning the Hawkmoon Catalyst
• Collecting Feathers of Light (from boss completions and collectables during the mission) to progress the Bird of Prey quest to the Return to the Hawk of Light step and earn Exotic ship Radiant Accipiter

The mission itself consists of a number of combat encounters and jumping puzzles. To start the first encounter, you must complete a jumping puzzle at the dam, as shown in the following video:

Destiny 2 Harbinger dam jumping puzzle route

From there, it's highly recommended you have a high level fireteam with you to complete the subsequent encounters. If you're struggling to find the emissaries, this map by Nuclearfish108 on reddit is very useful.

Though challenging, it's possible to complete it both flawless and solo, as shown by Esoterickk on YouTube, which is also a recommended watch if you want some pointers of each encounter:

Solo Flawless Harbinger Mission Completion (Alpha Hunter Triumph) [Destiny 2]

Watch on YouTube

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!

Week 1 Feather locations in Destiny 2's Harbinger mission

As soon as earning additional Hawkmoons and the Hawkmoon Catalyst, an additional objective is collecting Feathers of Light, which will help you progress the Bird of Prey mission and earn you the Exotic ship Radiant Accipiter.

Feathers are earned by boss completions as well as finding five feather locations throughout the encounter. Additionally, feather locations change week-by-week.

Here they are for Week 1:

1. During the 'Hunt the Emissaries' step, an Emissary will be in a blue-tinted room. The feather is found on a walkway up and in the middle of the room.

2. During the 'Hunt the Emissaries' step, you should be travelling through a tall circular room with rusted platforms around the edge. Jump up to the upper most platform to find a feather.

3. During the 'Hunt the Emissaries' step, in the room before the witch Emissary, is a red cage in the corner with a feather inside. To open it and access the feather, press the panel on the wall just to the side.

(You will get also seven feathers from the chest after completing the Survive encounter.)

4. After the Survive encounter, during the Reach the Shard step and not long before the final encounter, is a ledge with a pipe embedded in the ground and a rusted walkway above. The feather is on a rock underneath.

5. Just before the boss room is a cliff shooting off to the right. Follow it to find a feather at the end.

Finally, you will earn 10 feathers for completing the final encounter (alongside other rewards).

(Note at launch, the Triumph to collect all feathers is bugged - so know that once you have found the five above, you're all set.)

Week 2 Feather locations in Destiny 2's Harbinger mission

Feather locations will be different week-to-week; you know you are on Week 2 as you'll see a feather through some bars after the dam jumping puzzle and before the Emissary encounters in the main 'hall'.

Here's where to find Week 2's feather locations:

1. For the feather behind the bars you see at the start, defeat the Emissary in the red turbine room. There is a doorway you can go through at the other side, leading to the dead end with this feather.

2. As you find the Emissaries, you'll find them in rooms either side of the tall circular room with rusted platforms (see the Feather location 2 from Week 1 to see what we mean). In the room with the two crates on a central ledge, the feather will be on top of one of these crates.

3. As you find the Emissaries, you'll find them in rooms either side of the tall circular room with rusted platforms (see the Feather location 2 from Week 1 to see what we mean). In the slightly green-lit room with the silo and pipe next to the wall, look for the 6-Lev print in the corner by the doorway. The feather will be on top of a box.

4. After the Survive encounter is a platforming section to the Reach the Shard objective. As soon as you appear in the valley, jump back up onto the highest ledge above you, and jump up and right to a cliff. There's an enemy here, as well as a feather location.

5. In the final room with the boss, go behind the waterfall at the back to find the feather.

(Note at launch, the Triumph to collect all feathers is bugged - so know that once you have found the five above, you're all set.)

Week 3 Feather locations in Destiny 2's Harbinger mission

Feather locations will be different week-to-week; you know you are on Week 3 as with the Emissary room with the red cage in the corner, you need to go to the next room along (where the Emissary will be) to find the feather on a crate.

Here are the Week 3 Feather locations for the Harbinger mission:

1. In the blue-tinted room with the witch Emissary, go through the upper exit to the dark corridor. Follow it to the dead end, where you'll find the feather location. (Though this specific location isn't pictured, but in the second image below, go in that direction until the end.)

2. This feather is found in Crow's room. To find it, defeat the Knight Emissary in the large red 'rusted' room.

In this same room, take the ledges up to the top floor, and shoot through the forcefield in the doorway. Take a right in this corridor, and it's the room at the end.

3. You'll find this in the final Emissary location, specifically in the room next to the red cage in the corner (which held a feather in Week 1). This week's feather is on a crate in the same room as the Emissary.

4. Following the Survive encounter is a jumping section to the final encounter. On the way, you'll in a room with a pipe on the far left wall. Make sure you jump over to it and the corner passage. Continue this linear route to another pipe suspended in the middle of a cavern.

Follow that to a larger red pipe. At the end of this, and before you then jump up to the upper doorway, you'll see the feather glowing on a ledge to the right.

5. After Feather 4, continue along this route - through the doorway next to the ledge with the feather - until you come to a corridor with a train track on the ground. When it stops, the feather is to the right.

(Note at launch, the Triumph to collect all feathers is bugged - so know that once you have found the five above, you're all set.)

Return to the Hawk of Light route to finish the final Bird of Prey quest step explained

Once you have 100 feathers - this will take three weeks in total, finding all available feathers across three Harbinger runs on a single character - you'll then have the final Bird of Prey quest step - Return to the Hawk of Light.

The following video will show the complete route from start to finish, or follow the text below for where to go:

Destiny 2 - Return to the Hawk of Light route (final Bird of Prey quest step)

To find the start of the Return to the Hawk of Light route, return to the building in the EDZ patrol space where you discovered the Harbinger mission. Instead of going through the wall on the middle floor, jump up to the top floor.

Now follow the route through until it opens out at the dam. Along the wall here is a new route you can take, through a pipe.

Continue on, defeating enemies as you go (you can do all of this solo, no fireteam needed) until the same boss room as the 'Survive' encounter.

Here, take the upper ledges round to the forcefield in the doorway, and press the prompt to 'Commune with the Traveller'.

Wait here for a few moments for it to disappear (for us, we jumped down a few ledges, then back up, but suspect just waiting here will do the trick also). Continue on, following the on-screen marker, to find a room with the ship. Wait until the Hawk to appear, then interact with it - finishing the quest and adding that very ship - the Radiant Accipiter - to your inventory.

All done! You're still welcome to continue replaying the Harbinger mission each week - with additional completions rewarding you with a Pinnacle gear drop and another Hawkmoon roll.