How to Get Wolfsbane Exotic Axe in Destiny 2 (October 2025)

The Wolfsbane Exotic axe is Destiny 2's first-ever Exotic battle axe, introduced in the Ash & Iron update. You can obtain this Solar heavy sword by completing the Heliostat Exotic mission, which takes place in the Plaguelands and requires you to stop The Conductor from amplifying her Echo using Warsat technology. This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know about acquiring Wolfsbane, its unique perks, catalyst locations, intrinsic upgrades, and expert strategies for maximizing its potential in October 2025.

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Key Information Summary

Aspect	Details
Weapon Type	Exotic Solar Heavy Sword (Axe)
How to Obtain	Complete Heliostat Exotic Mission
Mission Location	Plaguelands (Access via Portal > Pinnacle Ops)
Release Date	October 7, 2025
Craftable	Yes, at the Enclave
Catalysts Available	4 (Attrition Orbs, Relentless Strikes, Burning Ambition, Subroutine: Recursion)
Intrinsic Upgrades	4 tiers (Resurgence Directive I-IV)
Current Meta Tier	B-Tier PvE, C-Tier PvP

How to Get Wolfsbane Exotic Axe?

Accessing the Heliostat Mission

To begin your journey toward obtaining the Wolfsbane Exotic axe, you need to access the Heliostat Exotic mission. Here's how:

• Navigate to the Director and select the Portal tab
• Choose Pinnacle Ops and then Exotic Missions
• Locate and launch Heliostat from the available missions

Important Note: Your first completion of Heliostat is locked to Normal difficulty with fixed modifiers. This ensures every player experiences the mission consistently. After completing it once, you'll unlock the ability to customize difficulty through Portal tiers and modifiers for more challenging runs with better rewards.

Mission Rewards

Upon completing the Heliostat mission for the first time, you'll receive:

• Wolfsbane Exotic axe with Deepsight capability
• Ability to reshape the weapon at the Enclave
• Access to higher difficulty tiers for future runs

Complete Heliostat Mission Walkthrough

Section 1: Entering the Warsat Facility

When you load into Heliostat, you'll start in a Warsat facility in the Plaguelands. Follow these steps:

• Clear initial enemies along the cliffside path
• Look for white interact rings on the floor labeled "Call Radiation Shielding Psion"
• Interact with the ring to summon "Decima, Shielding Psion"
• Enter the protective bubble to gain "Psionic Protection" buff (15 seconds)
• Proceed through the facility, interacting with rings to maintain your protection buff

Section 2: Quicksilver Psion Encounter

Continue through winding corridors until you reach Bunker War-6:

• Interact with the ring labeled "Call Quicksilver Psion" to summon "Thysaeuc, Quicksilver Psion"
• Defeat the Radiolaria Nexus Vex Minotaur that spawns
• Stand in the pool it drops to gain "Radiolarial Suffusion" buff
• Fill the progress bar until it becomes "Radiolarial Saturation"
• Follow Thysaeuc to a blocked door and interact with "Help Psion Dissolve Barrier"
• Proceed forward into the first encounter room

Section 3: Access the Bunker Encounter

This encounter requires you to destroy four security nodes:

• First node: Located in the ceiling of the machine in the center of the main room
• Clear ads to spawn another Radiolaria Nexus Minotaur
• Gain Radiolarial Saturation buff from the pool
• Help your Scion ally open doors to side rooms
• Clear each side room and destroy the security node in the ceiling
• Repeat until all four nodes are destroyed
• Return to the middle room and prepare to descend

Section 4: Descend Platforming Section

• Jump down the massive hole in the center of the room
• Navigate platforms carefully (water below is deadly)
• Interact with the terminal at the end of the walkway
• Take the last doorway on the left wall
• Navigate the corridor with platforms, avoiding electric traps from wrong doors
• Complete jumping puzzles to reach the other side
• Find and interact with "Call Hacking Psion"
• Hack the red screen on computer terminals
• Execute Partner Hack and proceed through the opened door

Section 5: Symbol Matching Puzzle

• Enter the room with radiation emitter in the center
• Interact with the terminal on the right side and note the symbol
• Go to the left side and interact with the matching symbol terminal
• Drop through the hole that opens in the floor

Section 6: Sliding Section with Gates

• Shoot security nodes while sliding down to disable electric gates
• Time your shots carefully - each gate only stays open for a few seconds
• Continue forward to the next puzzle encounter

Section 7: Access Central Observation

• Enter the middle building and call a Hacking Psion
• Observe symbols on the pillar screens in the middle room
• Look through windows into opposite rooms to match symbols
• Note symbol positions (left, middle, right terminals)
• Call hacking psion and shoot vents to access each room
• Interact with matching symbols in order: left, middle, right
• Prepare to override the gravlift

Section 8: Override the Gravlift

• Take either elevator to begin the jumping puzzle
• Navigate across while avoiding radiation (use radiation Psions for shielding)
• Activate the terminal labeled "Override Gravlift Access"
• Enter the red portal (don't enter before activating!)
• Repeat on the other side and return through the portal
• Enter the massive gravlift elevator to reach the final boss

Section 9: Stop the Warsat Launch (Final Boss)

• Clear ads in the boss room
• Kill Radiolaria Nexus Minotaurs to gain Radiolarial Saturation buff
• Open side rooms with Quicksilver Psion's help
• Clear rooms and execute Partner Hack to spawn boss Valus Thunn
• Damage the boss until immune phase
• Kill the 'Warden' Wyvern to break immunity and gain Protection buff
• Defeat Valus Thunn completely
• Interact with the ring in the middle of the room
• Shoot the satellite and select "Reach Through Time" to complete the mission

Wolfsbane Exotic Perks and Mechanics

Intrinsic Perks

Wolfsbane features four tiers of intrinsic perks that you can unlock by finding Vex nodes throughout the Heliostat mission:

Resurgence Directive (Base):

• Light attacks generate Sword energy
• Chance to spawn seeking Quicksilver nanites that heal the wielder upon attaching

Resurgence Directive II:

• Stability: 5
• Guard Resistance: 5
• Ammo Capacity: 2

Resurgence Directive III:

• Impact: 2
• Guard Endurance: 5
• Ammo Generation: 5
• Ammo Capacity: 2

Resurgence Directive IV:

• Impact: 3
• Stability: 2
• Guard Resistance: 2
• Guard Endurance: 5
• Ammo Generation: 5
• Ammo Capacity: 2

Main Traits

Nano-Assault:

• Quicksilver nanites that attach to the wielder charge the blade
• When fully charged, press reload to overclock the attached nanites
• Enhanced offensive capabilities during overcharge:
  • Light attacks deal increased damage
  • Fully charged Heavy attacks create a flaming Quicksilver swarm-nado

Unyielding Handle:

• Disables guarding for more offensive play
• Being in combat for a short duration grants damage reduction

Weapon Perk Columns

Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4 (Guard Socket)
Honed Edge	Jagged Edge	Nano-Assault	Tenacious Handle
Tempered Edge	Enduring Blade		Rampager's Handle
Hungry Edge			Unyielding Handle

Wolfsbane Catalyst Guide

Wolfsbane has four exotic catalyst Refits that expand on its nanite and healing mechanics. Currently, only the Attrition Orbs catalyst is available, with others releasing in future updates.

Attrition Orbs Refit (Available Now)

Effect: Dealing sustained damage creates an Orb of Power.

How to Obtain:

• Launch Heliostat on at least Master difficulty
• At the very start of the mission, in the second psion room
• Look behind the boxes to the right to find a datapad
• Continue through the radiation zone until you reach a specific terminal
• Interact with the terminal
• Complete the mission to unlock the Attrition Orbs catalyst

Future Catalysts

Relentless Strike Refit:

• Effect: Landing three light-attack hits within a short time grants Sword ammo

Burning Ambition Refit:

• Effect: Dealing sustained damage scorches the target. Dealing damage to a scorched target inflicts scorch

Subroutine: Recursion:

• Effect: Quicksilver nanites grant more health the greater your stacks of Nano-Assault are. Taking damage while Nano-Assault is active has the chance to generate nanites nearby

How to Get All Intrinsic Upgrades?

To unlock all four intrinsic upgrades for Wolfsbane, you need to break nine Vex nodes hidden throughout the Heliostat mission. Important: You can only break these nodes with Wolfsbane equipped, so you'll need to run the mission a second time after acquiring the weapon.

Nodes 1-3 (Early Traversal Section)

Node 1: In the room filled with water, inside the blue diamond entryway

Node 2: At the far left door in the large hallway (before jumping across)

Node 3: In the door right under you after jumping across into the hallway on the right

Nodes 4-6 (Second Jumping Section)

Node 4: On the left side of the room, on one of the top walkways (relative to the gravlift)

Node 5: On the right side, next to the first radiation generator on the main path

Node 6: On the right side, next to the second radiation generator on the main path

Nodes 7-9 (Final Boss Room)

Node 7: In the right side room, above the computers next to the Hacking Psion terminal

Node 8: In the left side room, on the left side as soon as you enter through the hallway

Node 9: In the far left of the main boss room, tucked away behind boxes

Reward: Collecting all nine nodes grants the Resurgence Directive IV upgrade, the highest tier intrinsic for Wolfsbane.

Wolfsbane Performance Analysis and Tier Ranking

PvE Performance (B-Tier)

Wolfsbane is a fun and unique weapon in PvE, but it has significant limitations:

Strengths:

• Unique nanite healing mechanic provides sustainability
• Solar damage synergizes well with Solar 3.0 builds
• Craftable with customizable perks
• Swarm-nado can help with ad clear in certain situations

Weaknesses:

• Nano-Assault takes too long to charge in practice
• Damage output doesn't rival legendary DPS swords or The Lament
• Swarm-nado deals pitiful damage compared to other exotic options
• Better options exist for both major DPS and ad clear

Best PvE Use Cases:

• Casual content where you want a unique experience
• Solar-themed builds for style points
• Situations where the healing nanites can provide sustainability

PvP Performance (C-Tier)

Wolfsbane struggles significantly in PvP due to several factors:

Issues:

• Heavy weapon with severe ammo limitations
• Difficult to proc Nano-Assault effectively
• Doesn't offer enough advantage over legendary swords
• Slow attack speed makes it vulnerable to faster weapons

Recommendation: Avoid using Wolfsbane in serious PvP scenarios. Stick with more established exotic heavy weapons or legendary special weapons.

Expert Tips and Strategies

Maximizing Nano-Assault Efficiency

1. Pre-stack nanites before engaging major targets
2. Use light attacks consistently to build nanite stacks
3. Time your overcharge for critical damage phases
4. Combine with Solar abilities that enhance melee or sword damage

Build Synergies

Titan Builds:

• Precious Scars: Provides constant restoration for survivability
• Solar 3.0: Combine with Sunspots, Restoration, and Cure effects
• Stronghold exotics: Though you can't guard, some benefits still apply

Warlock Builds:

• Solar 3.0: Well of Radiance for damage boost and healing
• Phoenix Protocol: Extended super duration for ability synergy
• Heat Rises: Enhanced airborne combat

Hunter Builds:

• Solar 3.0: Knife tricks and ignition effects
• Caliban's Hand: Enhanced melee and ignition damage
• Star-Eater Scales: Super energy regeneration

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Trying to guard: Wolfsbane disables guarding for offensive play
2. Ignoring nanite management: The healing mechanic is crucial for sustainability
3. Using in high-level content: Better options exist for endgame activities
4. Forgetting to craft: Take advantage of the craftable nature for optimal perks
5. Neglecting intrinsic upgrades: The higher tiers provide significant stat improvements

Platform-Specific Information

Wolfsbane is available on all platforms that support Destiny 2:

• PlayStation 4/5
• Xbox One/Series X|S
• PC (Steam and Epic Games Store)

The weapon performs consistently across all platforms, though PC players may have an advantage in precise nanite management due to mouse and keyboard controls.

Community Resources

Official Resources

• Bungie Website: bungie.net - Official patch notes and announcements
• Bungie Help Twitter: @BungieHelp - Server status and support

FAQ Section

How do I unlock the Heliostat mission?

The Heliostat mission is automatically available in the Portal under Pinnacle Ops > Exotic Missions once you have the Ash & Iron update installed. No additional quests are required.

Is Wolfsbane worth using in endgame content?

Currently, Wolfsbane is considered B-tier in PvE and is generally outperformed by other exotic options like The Lament or legendary swords for DPS. It's more of a fun, niche weapon than a meta choice.

Can I get Wolfsbane on my first character and use it on alts?

Yes, once you obtain Wolfsbane on one character, it will be available in your Collections for other characters to claim. However, intrinsic progress and catalyst unlocks are character-specific.

What's the best way to charge Nano-Assault quickly?

Use light attacks consistently against groups of enemies to build nanite stacks faster. The more enemies you hit with light attacks, the quicker your Nano-Assault gauge will fill.

Do I need to complete the mission on Master difficulty to get catalysts?

Some catalysts, like Attrition Orbs, require Master difficulty or higher. Future catalysts may have different difficulty requirements, so check the specific requirements for each catalyst.

How many times do I need to run Heliostat to fully upgrade Wolfsbane?

You need to run it at least twice: once to get the weapon itself, and a second time to break all nine Vex nodes for the intrinsic upgrades. Additional runs may be needed for catalysts depending on their requirements.

Can Wolfsbane be used in all activities?

Yes, Wolfsbane can be equipped in most activities where heavy weapons are allowed, including strikes, raids, dungeons, and Crucible (though it's not recommended for PvP).

What's the difference between Wolfsbane and other exotic swords?

Wolfsbane is unique because it's the first axe-style exotic sword and focuses on nanite healing mechanics rather than traditional guarding. It also has the swarm-nado heavy attack, which is different from other sword heavy attacks.

How do I know if I've found all the Vex nodes?

The game doesn't track node progress explicitly, but you can reference online guides with screenshots for each location. Once you've broken all nine nodes, you'll receive the Resurgence Directive IV intrinsic.

Will more catalysts be released for Wolfsbane?

Yes, Bungie has confirmed that additional catalysts (Relentless Strikes, Burning Ambition, and Subroutine: Recursion) will be released in future updates, though specific timelines haven't been announced.

Related Content Recommendations

• Best Solar Weapons in Destiny 2 October 2025 - Discover top-tier Solar weapons that pair well with Wolfsbane
• Complete Ash & Iron Update Guide - Learn about all the new content in the latest major update
• Destiny 2 Sword Tier List October 2025 - See how Wolfsbane compares to other swords in the current meta
• Solar 3.0 Build Guide - Master the Solar subclass to maximize Wolfsbane's potential
• Exotic Mission Completion Guide - Tips and strategies for all exotic missions in Destiny 2

Final Thoughts

Wolfsbane represents an exciting addition to Destiny 2's exotic weapon roster as the first-ever axe-style heavy sword. While it may not top the meta charts for endgame content, it offers a unique playstyle with its nanite healing mechanics and swarm-nado heavy attack. The weapon's craftable nature and multiple intrinsic upgrades provide plenty of customization options for players who enjoy experimenting with different builds.

As Bungie continues to release additional catalysts and potentially balance adjustments, Wolfsbane's position in the meta may evolve. For now, it's best enjoyed as a fun alternative to traditional swords, perfect for players who want to try something different while still maintaining respectable performance in most PvE activities.

Whether you're a collector aiming to complete your exotic weapon collection or a Solar enthusiast looking for new ways to express your playstyle, Wolfsbane is definitely worth acquiring. Just remember to manage your expectations regarding its competitive performance and focus on enjoying the unique mechanics it brings to Destiny 2's combat sandbox.