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Destiny 2 Whisper quest: How to unlock Whisper of the Worm and solve the Oracle puzzle

How to unlock the Whisper of the Worm in Destiny 2.

Destiny 2 Whisper quest is a bonus mission quietly added to the game as part of the July 2018 update.

Somewhat of a remake of the famed Black Spindle quest from the original Destiny, the mission is accessed through specific steps in a seemingly ordinary activity. From there, you must complete it within a strict time limit.

The reward? An Exotic sniper rifle named Whisper of the Worm, which is essentially the Black Spindle, making it one of the game's most useful weapons.

The reveal of both the mission and the weapon has sent the community into a frenzy, but be warned - unlocking it isn't easy.

On this page:

How to get the Destiny 2 Whisper of the Worm

First, it should be noted 'The Whisper' - the mission Whisper of the Worm appears in - can now be started and played at any time by picking up the quest from the Drifter.

It was originally a time-limited event appearing on Io from Friday to Monday, starting and ending at each day's weekly reset time - but is now more accessible to everyone.

When you have picked up the quest, unlocking Whisper of the Worm requires a number of specific steps. In brief, they are:

  1. Starting the 'Taken Blight' Public Event in Io's Lost Oasis area (likely during the planet's Flashpoint)
  2. Kill specific yellow bar enemies, then enter the portal it spawns
  3. Complete secret mission 'The Whisper' within 20 minutes

Thanks to Datto and WistfulAether on reddit for filling in the gaps of the above steps.

Watch on YouTube

Getting the Destiny 2 Whisper of the Worm step-by-step

Unlocking Whisper of the Worm requires you complete a secret mission named 'The Whisper', which is unlocked in a very specific way.

The mission is very tough, so you'll want to be as high a Power level as possible - at least 380, and ideally close to the 405 Power Level cap.

When you are ready, visit Io and head to the Lost Oasis, and wait for a Public Event to spawn. You'll want this to be the 'Taken Blight' one in particular. It might take a while, so be patient. (And again, this is a time limited event, so make sure it's active before you start.)

With the Public Event started, you'll want to find and take down three specific named enemies - Urzok, Aspect of Hate; Grevis, Aspect of Darkness; and Ta'Aurc, Aspect of War.

Once downed, a portal will spawn. Interact with it, and 'The Whisper' mission will begin.

This timed mission has to be completed in 20 minutes. First comes a lengthy platforming section. Due to its length and complexity, it's best first watched - the below video by Sweatcicle also offers fast routes for all three characters:

Watch on YouTube

After that are two combat sections. There is no complicated mechanics here, but it is challenging. The aim is to simply wipe out all the enemies, including a number of Blights that populate the room.

The second and final room has three bosses to take down. Once that is done, you'll then be given Whisper of the Worm, which looks and sounds pretty similar to the Black Spindle of old:


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!


The Whisper's other secrets: Chest locations and Oracle puzzle

Got the Whisper of the Worm? You're not quite done. There's also a Heroic version of the mission you have finished it for the first time. It'll appear on your map, and as long as everyone in your Fireteam has finished the normal version, and the Whisper event is currently active, then you'll be free to load in.

Complete it to get the weapon's Catalyst. The Catalyst gives you the Box Breathing perk, boosting damage after aiming after a short period of time. But how do you power it up, exactly?

Completing The Whisper on Heroic powers up the Catalyst (up to an apparent 36% cap per week), with 12% gained for the mission, and 2% for opening chests that have been added throughout the Heroic version's platform section.

That's not all. This Heroic version also features Oracles (remember those from the Vault of Glass?) which are spawned and 'sing' out a tune once you have found all five of these hidden chests. You can find a walkthrough of their locations in this video:

Watch on YouTube

Once they have spawned, shoot them in the following order. Thanks to Mlim_Kyle on reddit for both the above video and the below:

  • First wave: 1-3-5
  • Second wave: 4-6-7-3-1
  • Third wave:7-3-1-6-4-2-5

With that completed, you unlock an 'Enigmatic Bluepoint'. This is a ship schematic, described by the game as follows:

"Schematic for an otherworldly ship hull of ancient design and ominous purpose. Complete 'The Whisper' with the following weekly modifiers to build this ship."

The three modifiers are Arc, Solar and Void, which is set to be introduced each week. Complete all three, and the mystery ship will reveal itself.

Phew - that's a lot to be getting on with. And you though you had your work cut out completing all the Moments of Triumph, eh? We suspect like Black Spindle this quest will hang around in Destiny 2 for sometime yet, so if you're struggling, then waiting until you're well into Forsaken might be a good tactic, giving you a Power level boost - though we suspect it'll still be a challenge. Best of luck!