How to get Heir Apparent and its Catalyst in Destiny 2

Fancy picking up the Destiny 2 Heir Apparent Catalyst? The Destiny 2 Guardian Games 2021 are in full swing, and Hunters and Warlocks the world over are grinding to exact revenge on last year's winners, the Titans. But, as all three classes compete to prove their supremacy for another year, there's another special prize for us to acquire, besides a little commemorative statue in the Tower.

Now we can put our medals and Laurels—the Guardian Games-exclusive currency—towards getting the Heir Apparent Catalyst in Destiny 2, or giving ourselves another chance to pick up the exotic heavy machine gun in case we missed out last year. Make sure you nab the exotic or its Catalyst before the Games end on May 10 to avoid disappointment.

But before you can unleash Heir Apparent on other Guardians in the Crucible or on the various evil-doers of Destiny 2, you've got some grinding to do first. So, here's how to fill your new Destiny 2 Medal Case and add Heir Apparent and its Catalyst to your exotic collection.

Getting Heir Apparent

How to get Heir Apparent in Destiny 2, if you missed it last year

The exotic heavy machine gun comes packing two handy perks: Heavy Slug Thrower spits out bullets once Heir Apparent's barrel is spinning at top speed and Armor of the Colossus casts an Arc-powered shield if you spin up the gun's barrel while at full health. 

If that tickles your fancy—and you didn't pick it up in last year's Games—start your Heir Apparent hunt by speaking to Zavala in the Tower while the Guardian Games is running. Take the Guardian Games class item that relates to your class and then approach Eva Levante to start the quest The Games Begin.

Here you'll need to amass 100 Laurels, which you can exchange for a Contender Card so long as you're wearing your class-specific Guardian Games armour. The quickest way to stockpile Laurels is by running the special Guardian Games Strike playlist, which, appropriately, divides Guardians into teams made up exclusively of their class. Completing this a couple of times should give you the Laurels you need.

With the Laurels in hand, return to Levante to buy the Contender Card and start the exotic quest, Wreathed in Laurels. Your first objective here is to get 50 Laurels, so run the Guardian Games Strike again for this. From there you need to defeat 100 enemies with a machine gun in the Daily Focus playlist. The focus alternates between Strikes, Gambit, and Crucible, but once you've done that, Heir Apparent will be yours. The heavy ammo you'll need for this will be less common in Crucible matches, so bear that in mind if you're planning the most efficient grind possible.

Getting the Catalyst

Destiny 2 Medal Case: How to get the Heir Apparent Catalyst

The Catalyst is a little more awkward to get, since the related quest is a random drop, but it's well worth your persistence if you're rocking the right build: It increases the strength of Heir Apparent's Armor of the Colossus perk, replenishes some of your magazine if it's destroyed, and it also means kills will drop Orbs of Power.

To get the Competitive Catalyst quest to drop, you need to turn in Gold or Platinum medals. There are mixed reports in terms of how long the drop takes, so you'll have to turn in as many medals as possible to maximise your chances of landing the quest. Laurels and medals are stored in your Medal Case. Despite how it looks in-game, this isn't a quest and so it cannot be completed, which seems to be causing some confusion.

Get the medals you need by earning laurels and exchanging them for Contender and Platinum cards. This gives you an objective and the corresponding medals as a reward for you if you complete it. Eventually, repeating this process will get you the quest drop. 

From there you need 50 medal points, which can be a bit of a slog. Here are the different medal-point tiers and the points reward:

• Bronze: One point
• Silver: Two points
• Gold: Five points
• Platinum: 15 points

Platinum medals are earned from the most challenging activities, such as Nightfalls and Trials, but they may not be worth the aggro if you don't have a Fireteam with you. That said, you're going to be grinding a while if you stick to simpler Bronze and Gold tasks. You can also earn medals from one-off Triumphs.

Once you've done that, complete three more Contender Cards. Next, you need 90 Competitive Spirit, another special currency for Guardian Games. You get this by killing enemies in the Daily Focus activity only, and it's a little easier Strikes and Gambit due to the relatively high amount of heavy ammo. Then, once you've got some more kills with Heir Apparent, congratulations: The Catalyst is yours.