How to access the Dreaming City in Destiny 2: Forsaken

Even in Destiny 2's third year, the Dreaming City remains one of Destiny 2's prettiest and most interesting destinations - and if you missed out on Forsaken's heyday, it's still one of the most rewarding. The thing is, you can't just waltz right into the Dreaming City and start questing. You can access the area by default thanks to Destiny 2: New Light, but to take full advantage of its activities, you'll need to unlock it via a short questline included in the Forsaken campaign. Here's how to do just that.  

How to unlock the Dreaming City and the Awoken Talisman quest

In order to access the Dreaming City and its Awoken Talisman quest, you'll need to undertake a number of challenges / tasks to actually get access to the area. 

1. Complete the Forsaken story campaign

Cayde-6 in Destiny 2: Forsaken

Before you can get anywhere near the Dreaming City, you're going to have to complete the entire Forsaken story campaign first. That means taking down Uldren and all the Barons, so make sure you've done all that first before reading any more. 

Done that? Okay. Let's go. 

2. Pick up Spider's tasks

Once you've complete the Forsaken storyline, make sure to speak with Ikora Rey and Zavala in the Tower before returning to the Tangled Shore to speak to Petra. She'll tell you to speak to the Spider, who will give you three (yes, three) tasks to undertake. And prepare yourself, they make take a while.  

3. Collect Talisman Fragments

The first of Spider's tasks is to collect Talisman Fragments from three of the Tangled Shore's Lost Sectors - there are five in total. The easiest one is the Empty Tank, which is just to the right of Spider's lair. But they're all well-signposted on your map regardless. 

All you need to do is complete three of them, and loot the treasure, and then return to the Spider. 

4. Kill a hell of a lot of Taken

Spider's next task is a doozy. He wants you to kill some Taken. Well, 300 to be precise. Yes, 300. The easiest way to do this is to undertake some patrols, or the Lake of Shadows Strike. 

You can also head to Io and find the Taken Blight Public Events, which should help you rack up that 300 count. 

Then, head back to Spider again. 

5. Complete the Ether Harvest Tangled Shore public event

His third and final quest is to complete the Tangled Shore Public Event known as the Ether Harvest. You don't even need to make it heroic - unless you want to - as all you need to do is complete it. And then head back to Spider for the last time (for this particular mission). 

6. Complete two more missions

Now that you're all done with Spidey (no, not that Spidey), you'll have completed the artifact, which is basically a big ass key to the Dreaming City. However, you can't just unlock the door and stroll right in. Nope, instead you have to complete two more missions - called A Hum of Starlight, and then another called Awakening - which afterwards you'll have complete access to the Dreaming City. Hurrah!

Sam Loveridge
Global Editor-in-Chief, 12DOVE

Sam Loveridge is the Global Editor-in-Chief of GamesRadar, and joined the team in August 2017. Sam came to GamesRadar after working at TrustedReviews, Digital Spy, and Fandom, following the completion of an MA in Journalism. In her time, she's also had appearances on The Guardian, BBC, and more. Her experience has seen her cover console and PC games, along with gaming hardware, for a decade, and for GamesRadar, she's in charge of the site's overall direction, managing the team, and making sure it's the best it can be. Her gaming passions lie with weird simulation games, big open-world RPGs, and beautifully crafted indies. She plays across all platforms, and specializes in titles like Pokemon, Assassin's Creed, The Sims, and more. Basically, she loves all games that aren't sports or fighting titles! In her spare time, Sam likes to live like Stardew Valley by cooking and baking, growing vegetables, and enjoying life in the countryside.