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Lightfall Seasonal Artifact perks, Ascendant Scepter - Destiny 2

Every perk on the Ascendant Scepter, the Seasonal Artifact for Lightfall and Season of Defiance in Destiny 2.
Sam Chandler
Sam Chandler
Bungie
2

The Lightfall and Season of Defiance Seasonal Artifact, Ascendant Scepter, offers players a new way to engage with their builds and the enemies in Destiny 2. Unlike previous seasons, this new artifact features perks instead of mods. Once unlocked, a perk is active and requires no slotting into armor. However, with only 12 active at a time, you will need to make some careful decisions about what to activate.

Lightfall Seasonal Artifact – Ascendant Scepter

A close up of a planet, it's ring of debris visible
Play through the Lightfall and Season of Defiance campaign and you'll earn the Ascendant Scepter Seasonal Artifact.
Source: Bungie

The Lightfall Seasonal Artifact for Season of Defiance is the Ascendant Scepter. This new artifact uses perks instead of mods. By unlocking a perk, its effects will be active where relevant and does not need to be slotted into a piece of armor like previous seasonal mods. Only 12 perks can be active at a time, so choose wisely. This system is similar to how artifacts used to function during Shadowkeep and Beyond Light. You can reset the artifact for free at any time.

  • Perks instead of mods
  • Perks activate once unlocked, no slotting mods into armor
  • Only 12 perks can be unlocked at once
  • Free artifact resets to try new perk combinations
Ascendant Scepter perks - Lightfall/Season of Defiance Seasonal Artifact
Column 1
Anti-Barrier Sidearms Your equipped Sidearms fire shield-piercing rounds and stun Barrier Champions. Additionally, Sidearms are always Overcharged when that modifier is active.
Anti-Barrier Pulse Rifles Your equipped Pulse Rifles fire shield-piercing rounds and stun Barrier Champions. Additionally, Pulse Rifles are always Overcharged when that modifier is active.
Overload Bows Damage by fully drawn arrows from your equipped Bows disrupts combatants, stunning the target, delaying ability energy regeneration, and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against Overload Champions. Additionally, Bows are always Overcharged when that modifier is active.
Unstoppable Scout Rifles Aiming down the sights of a Scout Rifle for a short time loads a powerful explosive payload that stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against Unstoppable Champions. Additionally, Scout Rifles are always Overcharged when that modifier is active.
Automatics Overload Sustained fire from Auto Rifles and Submachine Guns disrupts combatants, stunning them, delaying ability energy regeneration, and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against Overload Champions. Additionally, Auto Rifles and Submachine Guns are always Overcharged when that modifier is active.
Column 2
Authorized Mods: Solar The armor energy costs of all armor mods affecting your Solar weapons are significantly discounted.
Authorized Mods: Strand The armor energy costs of all armor mods affecting your Strand weapons are significantly discounted.
Authorized Mods: Void The armor energy costs of all armor mods affecting your Void weapons are significantly discounted.
Authorized Mods: Grenades The armor energy costs of all armor mods affecting your grenades are significantly discounted.
Multi-Siphon Mods Grants access to armor mods in your helmet that combine the effects of the Strand Siphon mod with the Solar Siphon Mod and the Void Siphon mods.
Column 3
Shatter Orbs The first time you break a combatant's shield, you create an Orb of Power if you break the shield with the matching damage type.
Defiant Armory Greatly improves the benefits provided by the Noble Deeds, Nanotech Tracer Rockets, Tex Balanced Stock, and Ambush Origin traits.
Untangler Destroying a Tangle with a Strand weapon suspends targets damaged by the explosion.
Solar Surge Collecting a Firesprite gives you Armor Charge.
Volatile Flow Picking up an Orb of Power grants your Void weapons Volatile Rounds.
Column 4
Bricks from Beyond Defeating a powerful combatant with a Void weapon has a chance to generate Heavy ammo for you and your teammates.
Flare up Firebolt Grenades apply more Scorch stacks. Damaging a combatant with a Firebolt Grenade spawns a Firesprite near them.
Origin Hones Weapons with the Noble Deeds, Nanotracing Rockets, Tex Balanced Stock, and Ambush Origin traits are always Overcharged when that modifier is active.
Allied Unraveling Rapid final blows with a Strand weapon grant your weapon Unraveling Rounds, with a longer duration near allies.
Counterweave When you or a member of your fireteam stuns or defeats a Champion, you gain energy for your least-charged Strand ability.
Column 5
Stranded Reach Destroying a Tangle with a Strand weapon creates a larger and more damaging explosion.
Rain of Firebolts When you have Firebolt Grenades equipped, gain a second grenade charge.
Void Weapons Channeling You gain a temporary bonus to Void weapon damage after you defeat a target with a Void weapon while at least one of your Void abilities is fully charged. This damage bonus increases based on the number of fully charged Void abilities you have.
Medieval  Champion Glaives you wield fire a powerful explosive payload that stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against Unstoppable Champions. Additionally, Glaives are always Overcharged when that modifier is active. Landing consecutive hits with a Sword disrupts combatants, stunning them, delaying ability energy regeneration, and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against Overload Champions. Additionally, Swords are always Overcharged when that modifier is active.
Prismatic Transfer When you cast your Super, each member of your fireteam with a subclass damage type different than yours gains a bonus to weapon damage.

There are quite a few interesting perks to unlock in the Lightfall/Season of Defiance Seasonal Artifact. The Ascendant Scepter’s fifth column is especially intriguing, with Prismatic Transfer synergizing well with fireteams using multiple subclass damage types. Stop by our Destiny 2 strategy guide for more help throughout Lightfall and beyond.

Guides Editor
Guides Editor

Hailing from the land down under, Sam Chandler brings a bit of the southern hemisphere flair to his work. After bouncing round a few universities, securing a bachelor degree, and entering the video game industry, he's found his new family here at Shacknews as a Guides Editor. There's nothing he loves more than crafting a guide that will help someone. If you need help with a guide, or notice something not quite right, you can message him on X: @SamuelChandler 

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