Destiny: The Dawning - How to Get Ice Breaker, Void & Thunderlord Exotics

The Dawning bears gifts for Destiny fans this holiday season in the form of three unique Exotic weapons. These aren’t exactly new — instead of new models, these Machine Guns and Sniper are returned variants of already-established Exotics in-game.

All three are still worth the effort to unlock. Completing all the steps required won’t be easy, and for certain Exotic missions to appear, you’ll need to collect these weapons in order. Here you’ll find every step required to get these alternate Solarlord / Voidlord Machine Guns, making it so even the naughtiest Guardian gets a gift this year. The Icebreaker Sniper Rifle is a little trickier — instead of quests, you’ll need to complete Bounties.

That isn’t all that’s new in The Dawning. You’ll find Sparrow Races, scoring for Strikes, and tons of missions that don’t involve Exotic rewards. Don’t miss out on the festive undertakings in The Tower for bonus prizes, either.

More Destiny ‘The Dawning’ event guides:

How to Get All Three The Dawning 2016 Exotic Weapons

The “new” Exotics aren’t really new. Two are Solarlord / Voidlord Machine Gun variants — each with a different elemental effect. The third is the Icebreaker, a Sniper Rifle upgrade that originally dominated in Year 1. If you’re still interested in raining bullets on your enemies with three flavors of pain, continue scrolling for step-by-step explanations for all three exotics.

Nova Mortis – Exotic Machine Gun

This Voidlord / Void Thunderlord variant is the first Exotic available in The Dawning. You’ll need it before you can move on and earn the Abbadon.

How to Start the Nova Mortis Exotic Quest
1. Go to the Tower and open one of the large presents stacked up near the old Iron Banner location. There are three large present boxes.
2. Use Xur’s Tag to open Xur’s present box to begin the mission.
  - To earn Xur’s Tag, you’ll need to reach Rank 7 in your Dawning record book.
  - To rank up, try playing the Sparrow Racing League. Complete all 4 maps under 5:30.
  - Also, play strikes and complete challenges to hit those rank milestones.
3. Open Xur’s Present to get a quest item. Talk to Ikora Rey to begin the Exotic Quest “Songs from the Void”.

Now that you’ve unlocked the quest, let’s begin the actual challenges.

Songs from the Void Quest Guide
1. After talking to Ikora Rey, go to Banshee-44 to begin the first step — “Experience Breeds Excellence.”
  - To complete this step, get 100 Void Ability Kills. Load up any mission and use Void Grenades to earn kills — you don’t actually need 100, the meter will fill up very fast.
2. Next, you’ll get the step “Waking Nova Mortis”.
  - For this, simply complete the The Summoning Pits — Abomination Heist strike on Normal.
3. Return to Ikora Rey and you’ll get the Nova Mortis Exotic.

No skeleton keys are required here. This is the easiest of the three Exotic Machine Guns. The hardest part is just reaching Rank 7 in the Dawning record book — but play enough strikes and complete enough score challenges and you’ll get there. Next up is Abbadon.

Abbadon – Exotic Machine Gun

The Abbadon, or Solarlord / Solar Thunderlord, is another variant on an old in-game Exotic. It might not look too special, but its still a great find. The Abbadon cannot be collected until you’ve completed the “Songs from the Void” quest and earned the Nova Mortis.

How to Start the Abbadon Exotic Quest
1. With the “Songs from the Void” quest complete, return to the Tower.
2. Talk to Commander Zavala to being “Hymns of Fire”.

This quest may be glitchy for you — Zavala may have no quest marker over his head. Talk to him anyway!

Hymns of Fire Quest Guide
1. Like the previous quest, talk to Banshee-44 to get started on the “Cleansing Flames” step. Like the last quest, you’ll need to earn 100 Solar Ability kills.
  - Just like before, this is easier than it sounds. Go on Patrol and start chucking Solar Grenades to earn your 100 kills.
2. Return and get the “Burning Bright” step.
  - Complete the Shield Brothers strike on the Dreadnaught, on Normal.
3. Talk to Commander Zavala at the Tower to complete the quest and get your Abbadon.

Sounds familiar? These two Exotic quests follow a familiar pattern. The Icebreaker isn’t obtained by completing a quest. Instead, you’ll need to pray for a random drop this holiday season.

Ice Breaker – Exotic Sniper Rifle

In addition to Strike Scoring, Commander Zavala offers Strike Bounties — challenges that are tied to certain strikes and how you complete them. Similar to the Variks Bounties for Prison of Elders.