Now that you’ve unlocked one of the three swords available from Lord Shaxx you’re probably going to want to level it up. And if you haven’t received your sword yet, check out our handy guide. Having an attack rating of 220 might not seem strong enough, well fear not because you can unlock a new upgrade node that will increase your ammunition capacity from 5o to 56 and also leveling up the sword from a Legendary to an Exotic.

The first step is the most important, without this you cannot proceed in leveling up your sword. First, you must infuse your sword until it reaches level 280+ attack. The easiest way to do this is to play through heroic strikes or use an exotic weapon from Xur that is 290+ attack. Infusion gives 80% of the difference between the two items, so a 290+ attack infused to a 280 weapon will yield a result of 288 attack. How is this possible? Here’s the math >>>

You must also have all the XP nodes on the weapon filled. An easy way to unlock the XP nodes is to use Motes of Light and a Heavy Telemetry. Once you’ve done this you can begin the path to leveling up your sword to an Exotic weapon.

290 – 280 = 10

80% of 10 = 8

288 Weapon

Honing the Edge

Once you have infused your sword to 280+ attack and have unlocked the new scabbard node, you must talk to Lord Shaxx in the Hall of Guardians in the Tower. He will have a new quest for you, kill 50 Majors and 25 players in the Crucible with your sword. Keep in mind that Majors have a yellow health bar, while Ultras have the yellow health bar with skull icons. Killing them will also count towards the completion of this quest. The easiest way to complete this part of the quest is to do some low-level Strikes on easy mode.

The second part to this quest is to achieve 25 Guardian kills in the Crucible. If you have heavy ammo then sword hits will kill an enemy in one hit, without heavy ammo, swords do 122 damage, the equivalent to a normal melee attack. If you lack heavy ammo, don’t be deterred, jump and land to hit someone with your sword, when you land immediately go to swing again. Landing cancels the recoil animation and you can get two swings off rather quickly.

Test Your Blade

Return to Lord Shaxx in the Hall of Guardians in the Tower, he will have the next part of your quest for the exotic sword.

Blade of Night

Return to Lord Shaxx in the Hall of Guardians, in the Tower. Here he will want you to purify the darkness inside of the sword, that means that you are going to have to battle Ecthar, Sword of Oryx, a level 42 Hive Ultra who has an Arc shield along with a sword. Ecthar is located in the Asylum on the Dreadnaught, to get to the Asylum go on Patrol on the Dreadnaught, do not go into Regicide or The Sunless Cell Strike, you won’t be able to battle him that way. Simply go on Patrol and make your way to the Founts, which you can get through by going through the Mausoleum.

In the Asylum there will be a door guarded by three Warden’s Knights, they will be in a triangular formation. The left Warden has a Void Shield, the center Warden has an Arc Shield and the Warden on the right has a Solar Shield. Kill them in rapid succession, this will open the door. It’s best to do this mission with a Fireteam, but if you’re brave enough you can do it solo. Make sure you kill them in rapid succession, this will ensure that the door opens. If you take your time you’ll have to do it over again. Once the door opens proceed through it to battle and defeat Ecthar, but keep in mind that Ecthar’s shield can only be damaged by your sword. So make sure that you’ve got yours ready

Blade of Day

Return to Lord Shaxx in the Hall of Guardians at the Tower where the next step in the quest will be ready and waiting for you.

Essential Elements

This part of the quest is considered the most tedious, you need to attain 500 ability kills and retrieve 10 special materials from patrolling an area and collecting Spinmetal, Helium Filaments, or Relic Iron. The material you need to collect will depend on the element of your current blade. Ability kills include grenade, melee, and super kills. The easiest way to get the special materials is to go on Patrol and search for Spinmetal, found on Earth, Helium Filaments, found on the Moon and Relic Iron, found on Mars. You will have a 5 to 10% chance of getting a special material along with one of the three you collected. Keep in mind, you’re required to collect 10 of the special materials.

In Good Temper

Return to Lord Shaxx in the Hall of Guardians in the Tower. This is where he will put in the order for your Exotic sword.

Armsday Alloys

Once the Armsday order has been placed you will need to wait until the next Armsday, which occurs every Wednesday.

Take Up Arms

Return to Lord Shaxx in the Hall of Guardians in the Tower. Here you will receive the last step in your quest for the Exotic sword.

Sealing the Blade

The final quest is the Sunless Cell Strike, here you will need to defeat Adleg, Warden of Oryx, and then Alak-Hul, the Darkblade, within 30 seconds of each other. It must be done within 30 seconds or else you will not satisfy the quest. Once this is complete you will have completed all of the steps of the quest.

Congrats, you now have an Exotic Sword!