Destiny 2 chess ARG puzzle solution

Players wanted larger-scale puzzles and some sense of mystery to return to Destiny? Well, it's here. A new chess-themed puzzle is available in-game, and it's a doozy. First, players will need to have collected all 60 hidden chess pieces. Then they'll need to use them for what comes next.

Destiny 2 players are no strangers to secrets, but it's been quite some time since something of this magnitude has appeared in-game. But before players can get adequately started on the chess puzzle itself, they'll need to collect the pieces to play. Once you have all 60 chess pieces or have a friend who's already done the work, it's time to head to The Last City, to Eris' Flat, and through the portal to her Throne World.

Finding the chessboard

In Eris' Throne World, there's a hidden room beneath the platform you appear on. Go to either the left or right side and drop off of the platform, then scoot back in through the opening. In the center of the room, players will find a table with a chess board. Interacting with the table immediately teleports you to the Unknown Antechamber locale, representing the chess board itself. 

The Unknown Antechamber is available to launch directly in The Last City, even if players haven't already reached it via the hidden room. Once at the Unknown Antechamber, the chess pieces themselves become important. There are 60 pieces in total, and they're easiest to track through the Secrets tab of the Episode: Heresy Triumphs. The Triumph titled The Opening details total accumulation, while Dreadnaught Chess Pieces, Drifter's Pieces, Nether Secrets, and Ambition and Resolve Pieces break it down by locale.

Mid Game chess puzzles

There are several puzzles players will have to solve using the large chess board in the Unknown Antechamber and the pieces they've collected. Around the room, there are plates that correspond with specific chess pieces and then ones for Take and Deletion. 

To perform an action on the board, players must stand on the desired plate and shoot the location where they want the action to occur. For example, Standing on the Pawn plate and shooting the E6 spot on the chessboard will cause a Pawn to appear on the E6 spot.

The object is to create a checkmate scenario on the board over the course of 27 different setups. Thankfully, if players don't feel like getting into the nitty-gritty of the lengthier midgame puzzles, they can skip it and move directly to the next step. To skip the midgame puzzle:

1. Bishop to G7
2. Pawn to F4 
3. Pawn to A6
4. Knight to B2
5. Queen to D7

To solve each puzzle in earnest, these are the steps players will have to perform.

Puzzle 1

1. Pawn to E6

Puzzle 2

1. Rook to H8

Puzzle 3

1. Pawn to E5

Puzzle 4

1. Pawn to E4
2. Pawn to F4
3. Knight to D4

Puzzle 5

1. Pawn to E6
2. Knight to D5

Puzzle 6

1. Pawn to D1

Puzzle 7

1. Pawn to D7
2. Knight to G7
3. Bishop to G5
4. Pawn to F4

Puzzle 8

1. Rook to D2
2. Knight to C6

Puzzle 9

1. Deletion on F6

Puzzle 10

1. Pawn to E4
2. Knight to D7
3. Bishop to F5

Puzzle 11

1. Pawn to C6
2. Pawn to D7
3. Pawn to E6

Puzzle 12

1. Take on E4

Puzzle 13

1. Bishop to E5

Puzzle 14

1. Pawn to B7 
2. Pawn to F7
3. Knight to H8

Puzzle 15

1. Knight to D7
2. Knight to E7

Puzzle 16

1. Deletion on F2
2. Knight to F2

Puzzle 17

1. Take on F6
2. Take on C3

Puzzle 18

1. Knight to D3
2. Knight to F5
3. Bishop to C5

Puzzle 19

1. Deletion on D7
2. Deletion on E2

Puzzle 20

1. Bishop to E8

Puzzle 21

1. Bishop to E2

Puzzle 22

1. Knight to E5

Puzzle 23

1. Knight to E3

Puzzle 24

1. Deletion on D5
2. Knight to C4
3. Pawn to B6
4. Pawn to B7
5. Knight to H3

Puzzle 25

1. Take on F5
2. Deletion on D4 
3. Deletion on H4
4. Queen to D7
5. Rook to E2

Puzzle 26

1. Knight to B4
2. Bishop to D5
3. Queen to E7

Puzzle 27

1. Take on C4
2. Take on D6
3. Take on E3
4. Take on F5

End Game chess puzzle

After the puzzles have been completed, head up to the balcony to where the undo mechanism is and notice that it can be interacted with to "Offer Your Answer." This is part of the next puzzle, the End Game. Where there was the Take plate, there's now a water basin. Interact with it to see an aerial shot of the board as it changes to show pieces prearranged. The pieces will fade away to show their in-game symbol before players regain control. After, a unique identifier will appear where players usually get their buffs. For reference, mine was x3427.

The brilliant Destiny 2 community put their heads together and discovered that, when combined together, the chessboard images form a QR code that takes players to the Aion Network site. Here, players can enter various codes online. Here's a list of the codes the community has verified to work.

• 11104 - Signal code entry
• 001 - About
• 003 - Employee Handbook
• 007 - Code of Conduct
• 008 - Access Codes
• 009 - Daily Schedule
• 010 - Deployed Objects
• 011 - Bookmarks
• 012 - Notifications

The Signal code in question is the identifier you get after activating the water basin. Once entered, it will ask for an experiment code, which must be deciphered and converted into something called FEN notation using the unique chessboard image witnessed from that basin. If that seems like it's going a little bit beyond what you want to put into this puzzle, fear not. The Destiny community has collaborated to once again solve the greater puzzle work. 

As an added bonus, the community has also found a freely redeemable Emblem by playing around with the Aion Network site. You can redeem the code "JGN-PX4-DFN" for the Secret Signal Emblem on Bungie's website.

Grand master chess solution

While getting your feet wet with FEN notation might be someone's idea of a fun time, for those who don't want another college minor, there is a way to just input the solution. Players can simply arrange the collected chess pieces to appear as the above image (per the Raidsecrets Discord). Just like before, you'll stand on each plate representing a chess piece and shoot the location you want it to appear. Take is no longer an option, but you can use any number of pieces now, including Deletion.

Once all the pieces are in place, return to the top balcony and offer your answer. If everything is entered correctly, the braziers in the room will light, and some text will appear, signifying your victory. On the opposite end of the room, a chest will appear containing the Deinterlace ship, the Unbral Rumble Shader, the Enigmatology Emblem, an Exotic Cipher, three Ascendant Shards, 25 Strange Coins, and three Curio of the Nine.

However, that's not all there is to this strange place. If you head up to the balcony above the chest, there's a larger water basin with several of the Drifter's coins tossed in. Interact to get whisked away to an ominous cutscene teasing what's to come. 

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