Destiny 2: How-to Get the Thorn Hand Cannon – Quest Steps Guide

Our Thorn Hand Cannon Guide for Destiny 2: Forsaken and the Season of the Drifter will show you step-by-step how-to obtain this Exotic Hand Cannon! We take a look at how-to start the Thorn quest, all the quest steps, and feature some tips and explanations on how to best complete the quest!

Thorn Release Date

Thorn was released on March 12th, 2019!

Thorn - Exotic Kinetic Hand Cannon

"To rend one's enemies is to see them not as equals, but objects—hollow of spirit and meaning." —13th Understanding, 7th Book of Sorrow

Thorn Perks

• Mark of the Devourer: Rounds pierce targets and deal damage over time. Kills with this weapon leave behind Remnants.
• Corkscrew Rifling: Balanced barrel. - Slightly increases range and stability - Slightly increases handling speed
• Accurized Rounds: This weapon can fire longer distances. - Increases range
• Soul Devourer: Absorbing a Remnant strengthens Mark of the Devourer and partially refills the magazine.
• Textured Grip: The friction on this weapon's grip is particularly strong. - Greatly increases handling speed - Slightly decreases stability

Thorn Lore

"The Weapons of Sorrow are not the endgame, but a road map. Each evolution, every advance in the delivery of pain and the mastery of destruction feeds the Hive's hateful weapons research. They will map every scream, harness every aggression, until they understand every method by which to ravage the hearts, minds, and flesh of man. And in doing so, they will turn us against ourselves—feeding our lust, our greed, our fear, until we become a threat unto ourselves like none we could imagine. So, wield these, angry reaper. Strive to know the darkness in your own heart. Walk in the shadows of fallen heroes. And know that you are an enemy of hope."

—a warning

How-to Start the Thorn Quest

To start the Thorn Quest you will need to head to Trostland at the EDZ. North of Trostland is the Salt Mines, make your way to the mine and you will find the Transmat.

Use the Transmat, and you will teleport to a new location. Move forward here until you see the purple barrier and a guard rail on the left.

Move along the guard rail forward until you see a little alcove you can jump up into.

Keep moving forward and you will come up to a camp with a burnt out campfire. Walk up to the campfire and you'll get a prompt to "Sift through the Ashes." Do that and you will be given the "Melted Hunk of Metal" which starts you on your journey to obtaining the Thorn!

Thorn Quest Steps

Step 1: A Melted Hunk of Metal

Despite the burn damage, you recognize this weapon as a Thorn, a legendary weapon capable of severing Guardians from the Light. The Shadows of Yor, followers of an infamous Guardian-killer, are well-known for carrying Thorns. This one is broken, but you think it may be possible to fix it. A reputable (and discreet) gunsmith would know where to start.

Bring the ruined Thorn to Banshee-44 in the Tower.

Once you obtain the hunk of metal, you'll be bringing it to Banshee-44 at the Traveler.

Step 2: The Essence

Banshee has recommended a number of rare components that you should be able to use to restore your ruined Thorn to working order. First on the list is Hadronic Essence, a dense lattice of exotic baryons and mesons, once commonly favored as an infusion in Warlock fieldweave.

Gather Hadronic Essence by completing bounties for Asher Mir on Io, by defeating Warlocks in the Crucible, or by completing Nightfall strikes. Nightfall strikes grant the most efficient progress.

Time to gather some Hadronic Essence, and you can do this by completing bounties, defeating Warlocks in Cruicible, or completing Nightfall strikes. As it mentions, you'll get the most progress the fastest by doing Nightfalls.

Step 3: The Steel

Next on the list of required components is Plasteel Plating, a durable hybrid plastic favored by Titans for its balance of strength and workability. Plasteel is not commonly available for artisan use these days: the Red War wiped out the DIY supply chain within the City.

Gather Plasteel Plating by completing bounties for Sloane on Titan, by defeating Titans in the Crucible, or by completing encounters at the Blind Well. Heroic Blind Well encounters grant the most efficient progress.

Once you've turned in those Hadronic Essences, you'll need to gather Plasteel Plating. This has you either completing bounties for Sloane on Titan, defeating Titans in Crucible, or completing encounters at the Blind Well. Again, you are granted extra if you complete the harder of these which is the Heroic Blind Wells.

Step 4: The Binding

Last on the list of Guardian-grade components is Sapphire Wire, another hard-to-come-by item formerly favored by Hunters because of its versatility. Sapphire Wire, like Plasteel Plating, was another casualty of the Red War… but you feel confident that you can scrounge some up.

Gather Sapphire Wire by completing bounties for Ana Bray on Mars, by defeating Hunters in the Crucible, or by completing an Escalation Protocol wave. Escalation Protocol waves grant the most efficient progress.

Now it's time to gather Sapphire Wire which can be gained by completing bounties for Ana Bray on Mars, defeating Hunters in Crucible, or completing Escalation Protocol waves. You gain more efficient progress by doing the Escalation Protocols.

Step 5: Weaponize the Unknown

Your project is going well. The gun is now mechanically sound, but it is simply a gun: it has no intrinsic power of its own. You'll need to reconnect it to the Light somehow, and the vast dark secrets of the Void seem like the most promising route.

Defeat Guardians in the Crucible using Void energy or Hand Cannons. Precision streaks using Void Hand Cannons grant the most efficient progress. Note that progress is multiplied in the Iron Banner or in Competitive Crucible matches.

You've gathered up all the items, now it's time to defeat Guardians in the Crucible using Void Hand Cannons or Void Energy. You can get this progress increases by playing in the Iron Banner or Competitive Crucible. You can find a list of possible Void Hand Cannon options right here.

Step 6: Something Yet Remains

Your Thorn hums with the hungry indifference of the Void, but it lacks something essential. You know the original Thorn was intimately connected to the Hive, though you don't know exactly how. Wandering around the Tower to ask your mentors about the provenance of a banned weapon strikes you as a bad idea, but— There are quieter places to ask questions. Places off the beaten path, where knowledgeable Cryptarchs have settled down to do their work in peace and quiet…

Pay a visit to Tyra Karn at the Farm. The Farm is accessible via the EDZ Director.

Head to the Farm and talk to Tyra Karn who will lead you into the final step!

Step 7: The Chasm of Scream

While you were speaking to Tyra, she mentioned something called the Hated Path, a sort of primer to transform an ordinary Hand Cannon into a Thorn. Bathe your Light in horrors. Feed your weapon with death. Bind it with sickness. Horrors, death, sickness… that all sounds like the Hive nests on Titan to you.

Defeat the Arbiters, Sardav and Telesh, then defeat Savathûn's Song in an epic reprise of strike "Savathûn's Song" on Titan.

You'll be heading into an amped up version of this strike. The level of it is at 660 and you will want to be at least 640 to finish it, there's some modifiers to worry about and these are Blackout, Iron, and Harsh Elements (boosts elemental damage that you take). Defeat the Arbiters throughout the strike, and then both Sardav and Telesh during the main boss fight. You might need to slow down a bit during the Savathun fight to make sure they spawn in, so don't kill the boss until you take out both of them. Once the final boss has been slain, you can go obtain the Thorn!