Ritual Initiation quest arrived during the second week of Destiny 2 Rite of the Nine event and straight up hands you a rare Exotic choice to pick one—no RNG, no endless dungeon clears. You have to choose between The Navigator, Hierarchy of Needs, or the Gjallarhorn Catalyst, and each one has its pros, cons, and complexities if you pass on it now. So let’s talk about what they are, why they matter, and which one you should pick so you don’t end up regretting it later.
What is the Ritual Initiation Quest?
Ritual Initiation quest in Destiny 2 is basically Bungie handing you a solid item to skip the annoying RNG grind for one of three high-end rewards. Normally, you’d be stuck running dungeons over and over like some loot-addicted gremlin. But with this quest, you get a fast pass to either:
- The Navigator exotic trace rifle
- Hierarchy of Needs exotic bow
- Gjallarhorn Catalyst
Each one normally drops from a Ghosts of the Deep, Spire of the Watcher, or Grasp of Avarice dungeon, respectively. Without the Ritual Initiation quest, your chances of getting the drop are RNG-heavy and dungeon clears are long. So we can say this is Bungie being nice for once. You can get the Ritual Initiation from “The Emissary” vendor in Rite of the Nine at the Third Spire event hub. But make sure all quests of the first week are finished to progress through it.
The Navigator
The Navigator is the one everyone’s screaming “take it!” about and for good reason. This Strand trace rifle is a lifesaver in jump puzzles and team support builds. Its big gimmick is that it creates Strand grapple points when you shoot allies, which lets your fireteam fly across maps. If you love mobility tricks or parkour cheese, Navigator is your new best companion on Destiny 2’s battlefield.
Thanks to Protective Weave, you can have extra defense for yourself and your team using Woven Mail debuff. Now, you should know that the new Heresy Episode Artifact offers great abilities to Strand and Trace Rifles, and what’s so good about Navigator is that it gets the maximum strength from both. Unlike Hierarchy, Navigator works very smoothly with its aligned builds, so everything clicks together way better.
Also, the Ghosts of the Deep dungeon, where it normally drops is a nightmare to farm. Players have done 20+ clears without a drop. So, if you don’t pick it with the Ritual Initiation quest, you probably will never see it unless the game gods bless you on a blue moon. For the fans, this rifle is like that one sleeper hit weapon no one talked about for months, and now it’s suddenly in everyone’s loadout. It’s very niche but highly usable once you learn how to build around it.
Related:
- Cold Comfort God Roll in Destiny 2 Rite of the Nine
- Destiny 2 Refusal of the Call God Rolls and How to Get It
Hierarchy of Needs
A weapon for bow lovers. Hierarchy of Needs is a Solar Exotic bow that’s kinda dope when it works. It has a unique Guidance Ring mechanic where precision hits and final blows charge up energy, and you can shoot through the ring to get tracking arrows and extra damage.
If you want the catalyst, which turns it into a real powerhouse, you need to do Master Spire of the Watcher, or at least the final encounter on that difficulty. Yeah, not fun. Catalyst drop info is murky, too like half the Destiny 2 community isn’t even sure if you need full clears or just checkpoints. Hierarchy slaps if you’re a bow main or Solar build fan, but it’s not for the faint of heart. It takes some serious grind or this quest shortcut to make it work in its finest way.
Gjallarhorn Catalyst
Gjallarhorn is already a banger, and the Exotic catalyst makes it better. But you can’t even pick this option unless you already have Gjallarhorn unlocked from the 30th Anniversary Pack.
If you do have it and want the catalyst, this Ritual Initiation quest is the easiest way to skip the Grasp of Avarice dungeon (though it’s one of the more exciting ones). You could knock both Gjally and its catalyst out in one solid run otherwise, so most people say save this quest for something rarer unless you’re already packing the launcher.
The catalyst gives Gjally faster reload speed and makes the wolfpack rounds extra spicy. In case you already use it and you’re fine with how it plays, maybe simply stick with Navigator instead.
Which Exotic Should You Pick?
After all the above discussion, if you’re still staring at the quest screen wondering what to choose, here’s the final answer to help you make a final and right decision:
- Pick The Navigator if you want utility, movement abilities, and one of the most annoying-to-farm exotics.
- Go with Hierarchy of Needs if you’re a Solar bow enjoyer and willing to put in some grind later.
- Choose Gjallarhorn Catalyst only if you already have Gjally and want to level it up instantly.
Navigator is the top pick for 90% of players. It’s fun, weird, and way too much of a pain to earn otherwise. Unless you hate Trace rifles, it’s the smart long-term choice.
To grind these out eventually, Bungie introduced Explorer Mode for dungeons. It’s an easy mode, but with less loot. You can run through the dungeon to learn mechanics and settings without worrying about wiping 12 times at the boss. It’s a good way to get familiar before doing actual runs. Some Redditors said they even got Navigator in Explorer mode, so what else do you need to make your day if you receive it that way?
