How to Get Xenophage: The Journey Quest, Step by Step

Xenophage is an Exotic machine gun. It comes from The Journey, an Exotic quest on the Moon. The table follows the quest log, step by step.

Step	Quest log goal	Where
1	Emerged from the dark	Anchor of Light
2	4 Path Fragments found	Lost Sectors in Archer's Line, Sorrow's Harbor, the Hellmouth and the Anchor of Light
3	Path uncovered	Pit of Heresy, past the Necropolis
4	Path's end located	Pit of Heresy, Tunnels of Despair
5	Volmâr, the Tempted slain	Pit of Heresy, hidden room
6	Return to Eris Morn with the Hive bug	Eris Morn on the Moon

The quest starts at 4 Hive statues near Eris Morn's lookout over the Lunar Pyramid. Steps 3 to 5 happen inside Pit of Heresy. That dungeon opens after the Shadowkeep campaign.

A Pro runs the whole quest on your account, the Pit of Heresy steps included.

1. Reach the Pyramid Overlook. Spawn at Sorrow's Harbor and head into the Enduring Abyss. Just past a glowing orb on the ground, drop through a hidden hole on the right. The path leads to the lookout over the Lunar Pyramid.
2. Light the 4 Hive statues. Interact with each statue until all 4 burn. A chest appears with the 1st step of The Journey.
3. Carry the Light. Go to the Anchor of Light and pick up the orb of Solar Light inside one of the buildings. Light the saucers around the area with it before the timer runs out.

The quest log ends this step with a hint: "If you are to discover your path, you must anchor yourself to light." The word anchor points to the Anchor of Light.

The 2nd step asks for 4 Path Fragments. Each one waits at the end of a Lost Sector on the Moon:

• Archer's Line
• Sorrow's Harbor
• the Hellmouth
• the Anchor of Light

Clear the Lost Sector and find the wall with a 3x3 grid of Hive runes. A single rune sits above the grid. Every rune on the grid has to match it.

Each shot flips the runes in the same row and the same column to the next symbol. Work the wall until all 9 runes match the one on top. A chest then drops the Path Fragment.

Each wall starts from its own pattern. Plan a few shots ahead before you fire.

Step 3: "Your path brightens, shining through the barrier of emerald"

The full quest log line reads: "Your path brightens, shining through the barrier of emerald, beneath a harbor built from sorrow." This step is completed in Pit of Heresy.

Clear the 1st encounter, the Necropolis. The next area has walls full of doorways marked with chained symbols. 1 doorway has no chained symbol. Interact with the hidden switch inside it.

Step 4: "The Pariahs stand guard"

During the Tunnels of Despair encounter, go to the far left area. A prompt under the cliff raises floating platforms over the pit. Cross them and take the orb of Solar Light at the end.

Carry the orb to the doorway on the opposite side and light the saucers beside it. The door to the hidden boss opens.

Step 5: Volmâr, the Tempted

Inside the hidden room you get a Dread buff. Your Dread names the element that can hurt Volmâr: Neutral (Kinetic), Thunderous (Arc), Fiery (Solar) or Abyssal (Void).

1. Find the orb in the entrance room whose color matches your Dread. Note the Hive rune above it.
2. Pick up the shiny orb in the middle of the main room.
3. Carry it to the saucer under the same rune and light it. Your buff turns into Vengeance.
4. Damage Volmâr with your element while Vengeance lasts. Repeat until he falls.

Step 6: back to Eris Morn

Return to Eris Morn with the Hive bug. She hands you Xenophage.

Monument of Triumph added the Xenophage catalyst on 9 June 2026. It is a random drop from Zulmak, Instrument of Torment, the final boss of Pit of Heresy.

Catalyst	Detail
Where it drops	Zulmak, Instrument of Torment, the Pit of Heresy final boss
Drop	A chance on every Zulmak kill
Unlock	400 targets defeated with Xenophage
Perks	Chain Reaction and Rampage

Chain Reaction makes every final blow explode with elemental damage. Rampage gives bonus damage after kills and stacks up to 3 times.

Own Xenophage before you farm the catalyst. The 400 kills count once the catalyst sits in the gun.

Every catalyst from Monument of Triumph sits on our exotic catalyst list. The other Pit of Heresy drops are on our dungeon loot tables.

Xenophage is a Solar machine gun that uses heavy ammo. Its intrinsic perk, Pyrotoxin Rounds, fires high-powered explosive ammunition.

It fires 120 rounds per minute from a 20-round magazine. That rate is slow for a machine gun. Each shot is an explosive round.

With the catalyst, final blows explode and kills stack bonus damage.

Want a heavy Exotic you can buy outright? See how to get Sleeper Simulant.

A Pro runs The Journey on your account: the statues, the Anchor of Light, the 4 rune walls and the 3 Pit of Heresy steps. The full quest takes about 4 hours.

• Full quest: The Journey. All 6 steps, Volmâr included. Single steps are an option on the page.
• Xenophage and its catalyst. The quest, then Pit of Heresy runs until Zulmak drops the catalyst, then the 400 kills.
• Weekly Pit of Heresy farm. 3 clears, 1 per character. Each clear ends on Zulmak.

The quest needs the Shadowkeep campaign done and enough Power for Pit of Heresy. Our Power Level boost covers the Power.

Each card prints its live price. Tell the chat which step you are on.