Destiny 2: How to Unlock Oblation: Bloodline for Cull’s Shadow

If Oblation: Bloodline looks bugged, it almost never is. The unlock for Cull’s Shadow — an Exotic Kinetic Fusion Rifle — gates behind a Weapon of Sorrow check and a set of rune doors on the Moon, and most failed runs are people guessing at the order or hitting the wrong symbols.

The short version

• Equip a Weapon of Sorrow — Thorn, Osteo Striga, Necrochasm, or Touch of Malice. Any of them works; you keep it on the whole time.
• Visit the 4 marked Hive Crystal locations on the Moon. They are independent — do them in any order. There is no strict Moon-wide sequence.
• At each location, the equipped Weapon of Sorrow reveals hidden green Hive runes. Shoot them in the displayed top-to-bottom order — that is the only ordering that matters.
• Finish the mission: it descends through the Necropolis to Valus Tau’rig, “The Insatiable,” who transforms into Tau’rig, the Corrupted.
• Clearing the mission awards Cull’s Shadow.

What you need before you start

• One confirmed Weapon of Sorrow: Thorn, Osteo Striga, Necrochasm, or Touch of Malice. The game checks the weapon family, not “a Hive-looking gun” or any poison weapon — so it has to be one of these four.
• Access to the Moon from Director → Destinations → Moon.
• Time to do the chain in one session. Keep the Weapon of Sorrow equipped throughout — it is what exposes the hidden runes.

Step 1: Sweep the 4 Moon Hive Crystals

Land on the Moon with your Weapon of Sorrow equipped and head for the marked Hive Crystal locations. There are exactly four, and they are independent objectives — you can clear them in whatever order is convenient, not a forced sequence.

At each crystal, the Weapon of Sorrow reveals a set of green Hive runes that are otherwise invisible. Shoot them from the top down, in the order shown. This top-to-bottom order is the one ordering that actually matters — getting it wrong here is what makes a location “look dead” even though the step is fine.

If you walk up and see no runes at all, you do not have the Weapon of Sorrow equipped, or it is not one of the qualifying four. Swap to one of them and the runes appear.

In a fireteam, let whoever has the active step lead. Mixed quest states make prompts look inconsistent, so confirm each location updates before everyone moves on.

Step 2: Run the mission through the Necropolis

With the four crystals done, the quest opens the mission proper. It descends through the Necropolis — a Hive structure of tunnels and ritual rooms — toward the final encounter. The danger here is rushing: clear the room, hit the objective interaction, and watch the left-side objective text update before pushing forward. Exotic missions gate progress behind those interactions, so brute-forcing ahead just gets you swarmed.

Step 3: Beat Valus Tau’rig

The mission ends with Valus Tau’rig, “The Insatiable.” He does not stay in one form: partway through he transforms into Tau’rig, the Corrupted, so treat it as a multi-stage fight rather than a single damage race. If he stops taking meaningful damage, the encounter wants you to finish a room action or clear adds before the next damage window opens — not bug out. Clear the threats around the objective first so you are not getting flinched off the interaction, then commit damage once he is vulnerable.

Clear the fight and the mission resolves with Cull’s Shadow, your reward Exotic Kinetic Fusion Rifle. If you are also working the rest of the questline, see our companion walkthrough on how to unlock and complete Oblation for Cull’s Shadow.

Common mistakes

• Treating the Moon as a strict sequence. The four crystal locations are independent — any order is fine.
• Ignoring the rune order at a crystal. The runes must be shot top to bottom; that is the only ordering that counts.
• Using the wrong gun. Only Thorn, Osteo Striga, Necrochasm, and Touch of Malice reveal the runes — not any random Hive or poison weapon.
• Unequipping the Weapon of Sorrow mid-run. Without it, the green runes never appear.
• Forcing damage on Tau’rig during a gated phase instead of finishing the room action that opens the next window.

Practical takeaway

Keep a Weapon of Sorrow on, clear the four Moon Hive Crystals in any order while shooting each set of green runes top to bottom, run the Necropolis carefully, then beat Valus Tau’rig through his transformation into Tau’rig, the Corrupted. Do that and Cull’s Shadow is yours. If you are chasing the rest of the meta after this, our guide to every Monument of Triumph catalyst covers what to grind next.