Exotic and Catalyst Help

What is an exotic and catalyst hunt session?

An exotic and catalyst hunt session is booked time with an experienced Guardian Sherpa who plans and plays the activities that move a Destiny 2 exotic or catalyst forward, while you play on your own account. Sessions are $29 for one hour or $75 for three hours. Drops are never guaranteed, and we never ask for your password.

• Service: guided self-play sessions for exotic weapons, exotic armor, exotic quests and missions, and exotic weapon catalysts.
• Price: from $29 for one hour; $75 for three hours.
• Fireteam size: depends on the activity. Solo-friendly objectives can be done as a duo with your Sherpa; raid and dungeon exotics use a full fireteam for that activity.
• What you get: a plan built around the item's in-game requirement, live callouts, progress checks and an honest recap of what is left.
• Refunds: full refund until a Sherpa accepts the order.
• Source of truth: the item's own screen in your game. Requirements change, so we plan from what your game shows, not from old web guides.

This hub explains how a hunt session works, which length suits which kind of goal, how to prepare and how the hunt fits into Destiny 2 as it stands in late 2026. For the full planning method, read our exotic and catalyst guide.

What to expect from your exotic and catalyst hunt session

Every session follows the same six stages. You can follow yours on the private order page, and you play every step yourself.

1. Checkout

Pick a one-hour or three-hour session on the Exotic and Catalyst Hunt Session page. The price shown is the price you pay, and you receive a private order page link straight away.

2. A Sherpa accepts

Your order appears on the job board for Sherpas who proved the relevant activities. You can cancel for a full refund until one accepts. After that, the order page shows your Sherpa's Bungie name.

3. Order page: tell us the goal

This is the step that saves the most time. Write down the item you want and its requirement in your own words, copied from the in-game screen, for example "finish the quest step, then earn a set number of kills with this weapon". If several catalysts need the same activity, list them all. Add your platform, Bungie name and a time window.

4. Fireteam invite

At the agreed time you receive a normal in-game invite and join voice chat. For group activities, the Sherpa fills any open slots with vetted teammates unless you bring friends.

5. The session

The Sherpa confirms the requirement with you on screen, agrees the first activity and runs it with you, calling mechanics and pacing the run so that time goes into the objective rather than detours. After each completion you check the item's progress together and adjust the plan. If the requirement cannot be finished in the booked time, the Sherpa says so early.

6. Completion and the 48-hour review

At the end, the Sherpa writes a short recap on the order page: what moved forward, what remains and the fastest next step, so you can carry on alone if you like. You then have 48 hours to review and raise any issue.

What stays in your hands

You hold the controller for every step. The Sherpa plans, guides and supports, but never signs in as you. That is why the session is safe for your account and why anything that drops goes straight into your own inventory. It is also why we can be honest about time: we can make each minute count, but the game decides what drops and when.

• Your Sherpa confirms the requirement before the first activity starts.
• They explain each encounter step and call mechanics while you play.
• They chain activities that count toward the item so little time is wasted.
• They tell you honestly if the goal will not fit in the booked time.

Choose your exotic and catalyst service

This collection has one service in two lengths. If your exotic comes from a raid or dungeon you would rather simply complete, a raid or dungeon carry may be the better buy; the related cards below link every option.

Exotic and Catalyst Hunt Session (Destiny 2, Self-Play)1 hour $29 or 3 hours $75Raid carriesSelf-play raid runs, from $30Dungeon carriesSelf-play dungeon runs, from $25Titles and seals helpPlanning from $25, Godsbane from $89Grandmaster Nightfall carriesSingle run $29, 3-run pack $79PvP and Trials carriesTrials, Competitive, Iron Banner, from $19Coaching1-to-1 sessions, from $29

Exotic missions, catalysts and raid exotics compared

Exotic goals fall into a few broad types. Use this table to pick a session length; the exact steps for any item are on its screen in your game.

Table rows describe broad categories only. Bungie has changed how catalysts and exotic quests are earned over time, and some content has been reworked in 2026, so confirm the requirement in-game before you book.

What's included in a hunt session

• Booked time (one or three hours) with an experienced Sherpa, played on your own account.
• Help reading the requirement and choosing the activity that moves it fastest.
• A fireteam invite, plus vetted teammates for group activities if you need them.
• Live encounter callouts and progress checks after each completion.
• Honest advice if a requirement cannot be met in the booked time.
• A written recap on your private order page and a 48-hour review window.

What's not included

• Logging into your account for you, or any service that needs your password.
• A guaranteed drop of a specific exotic, roll or catalyst.
• A promise that the item finishes inside the booked hour or hours.
• Items that are no longer obtainable in the game. If your goal looks unavailable, we tell you before the session.

One hour or three hours: which session length should you choose?

Choose one hour for a single catalyst with a short objective, one step of an exotic quest, or a planning session where the Sherpa reviews your Collections with you and ranks your wishlist. Choose three hours when the goal needs several activity completions, a full raid or dungeon run, or when you want to push two or three catalysts that share the same activity.

The three-hour session costs $12 less than three separate hours. Session length is booked time, not a promise of completion. If you are unsure, start with one hour, tell the Sherpa your goal and they will say honestly whether more time would help.

How to decide which exotic to chase first

• Will you actually use it? An exotic you will equip every week is worth more of your time than one that only looks impressive.
• Is the requirement short? Quick wins build momentum and clear your list.
• Can several items share one activity? If two catalysts count the same kills, one session can move both.
• Does it need a group? Group-tied items are where a Sherpa saves the most time; solo objectives you can finish in normal play.

How to prepare for your hunt session

Most lost time in a hunt comes from two problems: a full inventory and an unclear goal. This checklist fixes both.

1. Open Collections and confirm the item, or open the weapon and read the catalyst objective.
2. Copy the requirement into your order page in your own words.
3. List any other catalysts or quests that use the same activity.
4. Clear space in your inventory and vault so pickups are not blocked.
5. Equip the exotic if the objective needs kills with it, and bring a build you know.
6. Check the activity's power requirement in the Director.
7. Set up a headset for voice callouts.
8. Turn on two-factor sign-in for your account.
9. Pick a time window when you will not be interrupted.

Is a self-play carry safe for my account?

A self-play carry is the lower-risk way to get help, because nobody else ever signs in to your account. You stay logged in on your own console or PC, you hold the controller for every encounter, and a Sherpa joins you through the same fireteam invite a friend would send. We never ask for your Bungie, Steam, PlayStation or Xbox password, and we never log in as you. If anyone claiming to be Guardian Sherpa asks for a password, do not share it and contact us.

We will not tell you the risk is zero, because no provider honestly can. Bungie's terms and enforcement policy restrict some third-party services, Bungie decides how it applies its own rules, and those rules can change. Self-play lowers the risk; it does not remove it. Bungie has also taken public action against cheating and account-sharing services; our news desk covered the October 2026 ban wave, and we suggest reading it, along with Bungie's current policies, before you order.

An exotic hunt never requires account access. Every activity involved, from quests to raids, is one you can join through a normal fireteam invite.

Simple habits keep you safer with any service: keep your password private, turn on two-factor sign-in, accept invites only from the Bungie name shown on your order page, and share only what the order page asks for. Our order page may offer a read-only Bungie sign-in so we can confirm progress; read-only means we can view progress data but cannot change anything. The full policy is on our account safety page.

Who are Guardian Sherpas?

Guardian Sherpas are experienced Destiny 2 players who applied, were reviewed and verified before they could accept a single exotic or catalyst order. We publish the process openly on the Sherpa application process page so you can see exactly what each guide went through.

• Application with public stats. Every applicant links at least one public stat page, such as raid.report, dungeon.report, trials.report, DestinyTracker or their Bungie.net profile, and lists the activities they want to run with their clear counts.
• Automatic and manual checks. We check that the stat links match the Bungie name, then an admin reviews the clears, the applicant's background and any ban history. Stat links that do not match, or clears we cannot verify, get an application declined.
• The callout test. Applicants explain how they would teach one encounter to a first-timer. It is the most important answer on the form, because clear callouts are what you are paying for. We may also ask for a short trial run or screen-share to hear them.
• Identity and tax verification. Approved Sherpas upload photo ID with a selfie, file a W-9 or W-8BEN tax form, connect a payout account and turn on two-step login before the job board opens.
• Activity-specific access. A Sherpa only sees jobs for the activities they proved, and we review their first jobs closely.

Sherpas are paid only after your 48-hour review window closes and the job is confirmed as played fairly, which keeps everyone focused on a good session rather than a fast one. Any history of cheating, bans, account sharing or recovery services rules an applicant out. Interested in guiding others yourself? See become a Sherpa.

Exotic and catalyst session pricing explained

A hunt session costs $29 for one hour or $75 for three hours. You pay for the Sherpa's booked time, planning help and callouts, plus any vetted teammates needed for group activities. The price does not depend on which exotic you choose.

Every price is shown on the product page before you pay, in US dollars, with no hidden fees and no shipping, because every service is digital. New customers can use the code WELCOME20 for 20% off a first order. You can cancel from your order page for a full refund to the original payment method at any time until a Sherpa accepts the order. After a Sherpa accepts, the customer-side cancel button closes, but our team can still cancel, refund or reschedule if something goes wrong on our side. Details are in the refund policy.

Destiny 2 in 2026: what's still live

Destiny 2 is in maintenance mode. Bungie released Monument of Triumph on June 9, 2026 and has described it as the game's final live-service content update. The servers and the core activities are still running: our explainer on whether Destiny 2 is shutting down covers what maintenance mode means in practice, and Bungie's unvaulting plans for returning older content are tracked in our unvaulting roadmap post.

• Raids and dungeons still rotate as weekly featured activities, which matters for raid and dungeon exotics; see this week's featured raids and dungeons.
• Loot changes: raids and dungeons received a loot refresh with armor set bonuses, covered in our raid and dungeon loot refresh post.
• Pantheon is permanent, with rotating raid bosses and reprised weapons; see our Pantheon guide.
• Seasonal events were retired with Monument of Triumph, and our coverage reports their rewards moved to vendor sources. Check the in-game vendor before assuming a past item is gone.
• Iron Banner, Trials of Osiris and Competitive are still live for PvP-linked goals.

Because the game no longer gets regular seasons, activity names, rotations and rewards are more stable than they used to be, but they can still change with hotfixes. We note dates on everything we publish and always suggest you confirm the details in the in-game Director before you book.

Returning after a break?

Many of our hunt customers are returning players rebuilding a collection. Start with a one-hour planning session: the Sherpa goes through your Collections and catalysts with you, flags anything that has moved or been reworked, and leaves you with an ordered list. Our returning player guide covers the rest of what changed.

Related guides

• Exotic and catalyst guide: how to plan your hunt
• How a Destiny 2 self-play carry works, step by step
• Raid carry guide and dungeon carry guide
• Titles and seals guide
• Grandmaster Nightfall guide
• How the weekly reset works and how to plan your week
• Account safety and the Guardian Sherpa FAQ

Frequently asked questions