But with the release of The Witch Queen, the catalyst for Whisper of the Worm is finally available again. This quick guide will tell you everything there is to know about it. Namely, how to get it, how to unlock it once you’ve found it, and more importantly, is it even worth it?
And that last part is important because Exotic catalysts can be extremely hard to find and/or unlock, but the benefits are not always up to par.
How to get Whisper of the Worm’s catalyst
While the amazing “The Whisper” exotic quest is still gone, the catalyst for Whisper of the Worm can be found through:
Playlist activities (Strikes, Crucible, Gambit) completions
As is the case of many other catalysts, this one is purely RNG-based, which means it will depend on your luck.
| Name | Type | Slot | Catalyst Rank | Catalyst Source | Available? | Requirements | Catalyst | Tier | Source ❘ DLC | How to unlock it | Catalyst effect | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whisper of the Worm | Sniper Rifle | Heavy | A › Strong | Playlist Activity completions | Yes | Free-to-Play | 
Whisper of the Worm | Sniper Rifle |
Strong ❘ A |
Playlist Activity completions Free-to-Play |
► TBC | ► Adds Whispered Breathing perk: Aiming down the scope for 3 seconds increases range and precision damage while the weapon scope remains zoomed. |
Season 16 |
How to unlock the catalyst?
Once you have found the catalyst, you will need:
- 500 kills (to be confirmed, as previously, the catalyst required Blighted Essence which could only be found in the Heroic version of The Whisper mission)
Can you farm Whisper of the Worm’s catalyst?
To unlock the Catalyst, any place with lots of easy-to-kill enemies can be a good spot. The Shuro Chi encounter from the Last With raid is a particularly popular place to farm kills.
Alternatively, Dares of Eternity can be a great spot to farm catalysts for Heavy weapons, as Heavy ammo is extremely easy to find.
Dares of Eternity (free-to-play activity)
Whisper of the Worm Catalyst Perks
The catalyst adds the following perk:
- Whispered Breathing perk: Aiming this weapon without firing for a brief moment grants bonus range and precision damage while it remains zoomed.
This perk, along with the weapon itself, used to be god-tier a few years ago. But Bungie nerfed both weapon and catalyst hard. So hard, Whisper of the Worm completely disappeared from the Meta. This could change soon, though, as The Witch Queen introduced much-needed buffs to the weapon:
- Reduced delay on activating Whispered Breathing from the catalyst from 2.1s to 1.2s.
- White Nail magazine refill changed. Was 3 from inventory but now pulls 2 from inventory and 1 from thin air.
- Increased damage in PvE by 10%.
We’ll see if these buffs will be enough to bring Whisper back to the forefront, but they are certainly a good start.
How to get the Whisper of the Worm?
In case you don’t have the weapon itself yet, you can purchase the Whisper of the Worm at the Monument to Lost Lights in the Tower.
It will cost you:
- 1 Exotic Cipher
- 150,000 Glimmer
- 250 Baryon Bough
- 2 Ascendant Shards
More Destiny 2 Catalysts:
Is the Catalyst worth it?
For starters, both the weapon and its catalyst can be easily considered A Tier:
- A Tier – Strong: Very strong, but not on the same level as S Tier Choices.
It is undeniable that Whisper of the Worm was a shadow of its former self, but with the several buffs it received with The Witch Queen DLC, Whisper of the Worm could be back. Plus, Season 16 won’t have the overpowered Particle Deconstruction seasonal mod, which gave Linear Fusion rifles (Whisper of the Worm’s main competition) insane damage increases.
Only time will tell, but in a few weeks, we should start seeing whether Whisper of the Worm will finally become a Meta option again.