Destiny: The Taken King has managed to turn the game on its head by switching up the gameplay in tons of pleasant ways, as well as introducing some interesting new items and weapons. One of these is the Touch of Malice scout rifle, a weapon that was completely unknown about until the arrival of the King’s Fall raid. Here is a weapon that proves to be one of the more interesting new weapons in Destiny, and one that will require quite a bit of effort from guardians looking to obtain it.
The Touch of Malice introduces two very intriguing exotic perks to the fold. Touch of Malice (the gun’s primary perk) turns the final round in the magazine to a more powerful, regenerating one. The catch is that it drains the player’s health with each shot. Touch of Mercy, on the other hand, heals the player with a substantial amount of health after three rapid kills with the weapon, making the Touch of Malice a weapon about balance and precision. It doesn’t have the greatest stability (some serious recoil is to be felt by those wielding this weapon) but it is a powerful option for those looking to wreak havoc in PvE (and PvP, for more skilled players).
Shattered Past and Hunger Pangs
Once a player has collected one Calcified Fragment, they will be able to head to Eris Morn in order to begin the Shattered Past questline which puts everything in motion for obtaining the Touch of Malice exotic weapon. She will task players with obtaining five more fragments. After completing that quest, continue to obtain more fragments until you have 15 in order to get Eris Morn to offer the Hunger Pangs quest.
Hunger Pangs will send players to kill a Taken Cabal Centurion during a mission. It’s not too much of a tough fight, but it will test weaker players. Stay vigilant, because it will clear yet another step on the road to a new exotic.
The Old Hunger
This quest is granted to players who start the King’s Fall raid, or is given to players after reaching a certain light level. I personally received it once my Warlock’s light reached 280 without ever entering the raid. Although you don’t have to necessarily start the raid to receive the quest, you will have to complete it in order to earn your Touch of Malice. The Old Hunger quest tasks players with collecting three exotic artifacts from the three bosses found within the raid:
- Blade of Famine (dropped by the Warpriest)
- Shroud of Ir Anuk (dropped by the Deathsingers)
- The Ravenous Heart (dropped by Oryx, The Taken King)
You will need all three before the next step in this quest is revealed. That following step will require players to obtain:
- 25 Wormspore (found on the Dreadnaught)
- 50 Hadium Flakes (found in chests on the Dreadnaught)
- 50 Weapon Parts (you get these by dismantling weapons, you probably have thousands)
- 30 Calcified Fragments
Once you’re done with all of your collecting, you are ready to begin the final step towards obtaining the Touch of Malice. You now have the frame, but must imbue it with the power of the Taken.
Hunger Pangs Part II
This one will be a bit challenging since it requires more collecting and two boss fights that must be triggered. The first boss is Morgath, Lore-Keeper who is found at the end of The Undying Mind strike. He’ll be standing on the platform where the boss spawns. Kill him, then return to Eris. Afterwards, you must do your last bit of collecting before one more fight.
Obtain 15 more Calcified Fragments (bringing your grand total to 45) and Eris Morn will provide you with the final step. You must kill Mar-Zik, the Blightcaller during the Fear’s Embrace mission which is found on Phobos. This one is similar to the special wizard you had to kill during the Phogoth boss fight to obtain Thorn.
This wizard will spawn once the Echo of Oryx’s health has dropped to around 20%. Make sure to kill the wizard before killing the Echo or you’ll have to do it again. Once defeated, you will obtain Essence of the Feast and Eris Morn will have the Touch of Malice waiting for you back at the tower.
It was a tough journey, but you have triumphed over a seemingly insurmountable darkness. Go forth and share your legend. If you need help expanding that legend make sure to check out our Destiny: The Taken King wiki for guides, tip, tricks, and more.
Safe travels, gaurdians.
More Destiny
- How to Find All Calcified Fragments Locations
- Boost to Level 25 with a Spark of Light
- How to Beat King’s Fall Raid
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