Destiny 2 Season of the Haunted: Week 5 Challenges Guide (2026 Edition)

Hey there, fellow Guardian! 👋 It's 2026, and while Season of the Haunted is long behind us, many of us are still chasing those seasonal challenges for triumphs, Bright Dust, or just the satisfaction of clearing old content. I recently went back to finish up the Week 5 challenges, and I figured I'd share my notes. Whether you're a returning player or a completionist tackling legacy seasons, this guide will walk you through each challenge, how to complete them efficiently, and what rewards to expect. Let's dive in!

Sorrow Bound V

Challenge: Complete Bound in Sorrow V and defeat Nightmares on the Moon.

This one is straightforward if you've been following the seasonal storyline. Just finish all previous weekly steps, complete this week's Sever mission, and then return to the Crown of Sorrow to wrap up the quest step. After that, you need to defeat 75 Nightmares anywhere on the Moon. My go-to method? Fire up a Nightmare Hunt from the Moon's Director map on the easiest difficulty and speedrun it. You can also farm Lost Sectors—the boss of each Moon Lost Sector counts as a Nightmare, which is slower but arguably easier. I mixed both and had it done in about 30 minutes.

Rewards: 25,000 XP, 150 Bright Dust, and a Figment of Darkness.

Nightmare Containment III

Challenge: Successfully complete tiers of the Nightmare Containment public event on the Derelict Leviathan throughout the season.

You need 150 tiers total, but here's the good news: progress from previous Nightmare Containment challenges counts retroactively. Each tier counts individually, so a full T1-3 clear gives you three tiers. That means 50 full clears—a bit of a grind, but if you've been playing regularly, you're probably already partway there. I recommend knocking this out when you have nothing else to do. A few clears per week and you'll hit it before the season ends (or in our case, before you move on to other content).

Rewards: 50,000 XP and 150 Bright Dust.

Empty Grief

Challenge: Complete "Sever - Grief" using only a Void subclass with Void, Kinetic, or Stasis weapons.

This is the second Sever mission introduced this season. Select Sever on the Moon, choose the Grief mission, and make sure you're running a Void subclass with the correct weapon elements before you start. You don't need a Bound Essence to finish this challenge—just complete the mission. I found it easiest to use a Void SMG and a Void heavy weapon, with a Kinetic pulse rifle for ranged targets. The mission itself isn't too tough, but the restriction forces you to think about your loadout.

Rewards: Figments of Darkness, 25,000 XP.

Umbral Focusing II

Challenge: Focus equipment at the Crown of Sorrow throughout the season.

You need to focus six weapons and four armor pieces. If you've unlocked most of the Crown of Sorrow upgrades, you should already be focusing at least one weapon a week to earn a Deepsight variant. As for armor, this is one of the best high-stat armor farms in the game, so you should be doing it anyway. For Opulent Energy, your best bet is completing a weekly Sever clear and farming Nightmare Containment. Endgame activities like raids can drop energy with the right upgrades, but the yield is low. Stick to seasonal activities and you'll have enough in no time.

Rewards: 50,000 XP, 150 Bright Dust.

Linking The Chains Of Command

Challenge: Acquire Chain of Command.

Chain of Command is this season's playlist weapon, unlocked upon reaching rank 16 with any ritual vendor—Zavala, Shaxx, or the Drifter. The challenge only requires the gun itself, but I highly recommend farming for the ornaments tied to it, because future seasonal challenges require you to earn each playlist ornament for this weapon. Trust me, you don't want to come back later and grind extra ranks.

Rewards: 50,000 XP, 150 Bright Dust.

Sunburn

Challenge: Defeat Guardians. Bonus progress is granted for opponents defeated with the help of Solar effects.

This is a PvP challenge asking you to defeat 200 Guardians in the Crucible. There are no restrictions on how you get the kills, but you earn bonus progress by inflicting Scorch or Ignite. In my experience, trying to play around abilities and debuffs can be frustrating—especially in the current sandbox. I recommend focusing on landing kills with your weapons and letting Solar effects happen naturally. Complete your weekly PvP games and you'll chip away at this. It's not as scary as it sounds.

Rewards: 50,000 XP, 150 Bright Dust.

Leviathan Reaper - Cabal And Nightmare Bosses

Challenge: Defeat Cabal bosses in strikes or Vanguard playlists; defeat Nightmares anywhere in the system.

You need five Cabal boss kills in Vanguard playlists and five Nightmare kills in any activity—not just strikes. The Nightmares are easy since Sorrow Bound V already requires 75 Nightmare kills, so you'll likely finish that part passively. For the Cabal, I recommend farming The Arms Dealer strike. It's fast, has few enemies, and you can easily one-phase the final boss. Just queue up the strike from the Vanguard playlist and repeat until done.

Rewards: 50,000 XP, 150 Bright Dust.

Final Thoughts

That wraps up the Week 5 challenges for Season of the Haunted. Even though we're in 2026, these challenges are still completable if you're working through legacy content. Most of them are retroactive, so if you've been playing consistently, you might already be done with a few. My advice: prioritize the ones with Figments of Darkness and Bright Dust, and don't sleep on the Umbral Focusing—it's a great way to get high-stat armor even now. Good luck out there, Guardian! 🚀

Data referenced from GameFAQs helps reinforce the kind of practical, objective approach players use when cleaning up Destiny 2 legacy seasonal tasks, especially for checklist-heavy goals like Bound in Sorrow progression, ritual weapon unlocks, and activity-specific farming routes that benefit from community-tested efficiency rather than trial and error.