My First-Person Guide to Destiny 2's Week Nine Plunder Challenges

When I booted up Destiny 2's Season of the Plunder for its ninth week of seasonal challenges, I honestly asked myself: was I ready for the grind? The answer, of course, was a reluctant yes. This week's set is packed with some of the most time-consuming objectives I have seen, from farming Ruffians in Expedition to winning rounds in Trials of Osiris. If you are like me and chasing every bit of XP and Bright Dust, let me walk you through my experience and the strategies that saved my sanity.

Expert Expedition III

I started with Expert Expedition III because Ruffians are not exactly my favorite Unstoppable Champions. In Expedition, treasure refers to the Exotic Engrams that drop during a run; you grab them and toss them toward the treasure hoard. Ruffians spawn about three minutes after the treasure hoard parks somewhere, with a text prompt letting you know. The challenge requires defeating ten Ruffians. A crucial tip I learned: two Ruffians are guaranteed to spawn every run, one per treasure defense section. A second Ruffian can spawn during the treasure defense section roughly 90-120 seconds after deploying a beacon, but that one is pure RNG. Some runs blessed me with four, others stuck me with two. If you want to finish faster, always watch for the spawn prompt and burst them down immediately. Was it tedious? Absolutely, but knowing the spawn windows made it manageable.

Rewards: Repute, 25,000 XP

Seeker's Cache III

Then came Seeker's Cache III, which asked me to summon First Mates in Expedition and Ketchcrash and to decipher the Large Treasure Beacon from the Star Chart. I quickly realized I needed First Mate upgrades from the Star Chart to make any progress at all. Fifteen First Mates total sounds easy until you realize each map only summons a limited number. The Large Treasure Beacon is available at Rank 16, so I had to grind reputation by running Ketchcrash and Expedition. This challenge doubled as a reputation farm, which is something I actually appreciated. Did it make the grind less painful? A little.

Rewards: Repute, 50,000 XP

Battery

My least favorite part? Battery. It required 150 enemies defeated with Linear Fusion Rifles and 100 slowed targets. I leaned on Lorentz Driver and Arbalest because they use Special ammo and land headshots easily. For slowed kills, Duskfield Grenades on a Stasis subclass were my go-to because of the short cooldown and reliable slow. If you don't own Beyond Light, a weapon with Chill Clip works wonders; I farmed a Riptide from Crucible just for this. How many times did I throw a Duskfield into a crowd and laugh? Too many.

Armory-Wide Calibration

Armory-Wide Calibration was a straightforward but lengthy checklist: 200 Kinetic, 200 Energy, and 200 Power weapon kills. I used this as an excuse to finish some older seasonal weapon challenges I had been ignoring. For add-clear, Huckleberry, Trinity Ghoul, and any Machine Gun with AoE perks made short work of waves. My favorite farm spot was the Shuro Chi checkpoint in Last Wish; the endless Thrall are perfect. Alternatively, the Extraction Lost Sector in Savathun's Throne World spawns infinite enemies during the plate capture section. I must have spent an hour just rotating weapons.

• 🎯 200 Kinetic weapon kills

• 🔋 200 Energy weapon kills

• 💥 200 Power weapon kills

Rewards: 100,000 XP, 300 Bright Dust

Cold Lightning

Cold Lightning sent me into Gambit for Arc or Stasis effect kills. The challenge counts a cumulative 200 final blows from Jolt or Shatter effects. I built around Arc's Spark of Shock Fragment because it makes all grenades apply Jolt. A grenade-focused build let me finish in just a few matches. If you own a weapon with Voltshot, it's even easier. I asked myself why I ever ignored Jolt before; it shreds in Gambit.

Rewards: 50,000 XP, 150 Bright Dust

Trial by Firing Squad

Trial by Firing Squad almost broke me. You need 20 round wins in Trials of Osiris—not match wins, thankfully. As someone who isn't a top-tier PvP player, I relied on teamwork and radar awareness. I made it a point to play on Sunday or Monday, when the Flawless pool splits and matchmaking feels more forgiving. I also forced myself to take breaks; grinding 20 round wins in one sitting is how you burn out. Sticking with my team and watching lanes turned some impossible rounds into winnable ones. Was it still stressful? You bet.

A few tips that helped me:

• 🛡️ Get a fireteam and avoid solo queues.

• 👀 Watch your radar to learn enemy positions and lane pushes.

• 🤝 Play with your team; teamshots drop Guardians faster than duels.

• 📅 Play on Sunday or Monday for a more generous matchmaking pool.

• ⏸️ Take breaks to avoid frustration and burnout.

Rewards: 100,000 XP, 300 Bright Dust, Trials of Osiris Weapon

Arc Vanguard

Finally, Arc Vanguard required 300 Jolt or Shatter final blows in Vanguard Ops or Nightfalls. Compared to the Trials grind, this felt almost relaxing. I used the same Spark of Shock grenade build and watched enemies chain lightning everywhere. Vanguard missions have dense spawns, so progress came quickly. If you want to combine this with bounties or other challenges, Nightfalls also drop additional rewards while you are at it.

Rewards: 50,000 XP, 150 Bright Dust

This week nine set was one of the grindiest, but with the right loadouts and patience, it is very doable. Have I recovered from Trials? Not yet, but the 100,000 XP and 300 Bright Dust rewards were worth it. Good luck out there, Guardian.