Season of Plunder comes with a new series of content and since this season is pirate-themed, it’s only fair to have a questline that requires you to solve riddles that lead you to some buried treasure. There are three seasonal quests filled with riddles called Cryptic Quatrains and here’s a quick guide on how to solve each step and earn the reward waiting for you at the end of all of it.

Cryptic Quatrains Quest Guide

All three of the Cryptic Quatrains questlines can be unlocked in the Season of Plunder’s Star Chart, which can be found at the H.E.L.M. You need to reach at least Rank 16 here in order to unlock all three, and to rank up you’ll need to do the seasonal activities such as the Expedition playlist, Ketchcrash, seasonal missions, and bounties.

Each quest comes in the form of a riddle which is easy to decipher as the key words pointing where you need to go or do are highlighted in yellow. But for this guide we’ll skip all the riddle reading and tell you exactly what you need to do to complete each step.

Once you complete all three Cryptic Quatrains quests, you’ll be rewarded with the Charge of Light Sparrow.

Cryptic Quatrains I - 4 steps to complete

To start the Cryptic Quatrains I questline, you’ll need to collect the Small Treasure Beacon from the Star Chart. You need to reach Rank 7 to unlock it.

Step 1 - Head to the Moon

This one is pretty straightforward. Just head to the mood, but we suggest you land on Sorrow’s Harbor complete this one as the next step will ask you to go there anyways.

Step 2 - Clear K1 Revelations lost sector

This step requires you to head to Sorrow’s Harbor to clear the K1 Revelations Lost Sector. Nothing specific here, just complete it like any normal Lost Sector by any means and this step should complete.

Step 3 - Complete Fallen S.A.B.E.R. Strike

The next step will task you to complete the Fallen S.A.B.E.R. Strike found in the Cosmodrome. Just queue up directly for this Strike and clear it from start to finish like any normal mission to complete this step.

Step 4 - Head to Europa to find the treasure (green Fallen marker)

This is the final step and will require you to head to Europa and find the buried treasure. For these questlines, buried treasures are marked with a green Fallen marker on the ground, it’s beaming with green light so it will be easy to spot when you’re looking at the right area.

For this step, You’ll need to go to Europa in the Evertide Ruins landing zone. Once you land in the area you’ll notice an icy rock right in front of you (picture above). head there and behind it you’ll find the green Fallen marker on the ground. Simply interacting with it will reward you with one Season of the Plunder gear piece, some Map Fragments, and a Crude Cipher Fragment which will you’ll be needing for a later quest.

Cryptic Quatrains II - 5 steps to complete

To start the Cryptic Quatrains II questline, you’ll need to collect the Medium Treasure Beacon from the Star Chart. It will be available to you once you reach Rank 10.

Step 1 - Clear the Bay of Drowned Wishes Lost Sector

The first step will need you to go to the Dreaming City and complete the Drowned Wishes Lost Sector. land in the Divalian Mists landing zone and quickly turn around and start heading to the Lost Sector. Complete like normally and you should get this step done.

Step 2 - Complete Lake of Shadows Strike

Just like the Strike you had to clear in the first Cryptic Quatrains quest, only this time you need to head to the EDZ and clear Lake of Shadows Strike. Nothing particular for this one, just finish it normally.

Step 3 - Finish an Expedition with a specific loadout

This one is pretty easy as all it requires you to do is finish a Season of Plunder Expedition mission with a Sword equipped. You don’t have to even use the sword, just make sure you have one equipped in your Heavy slot from start to finish to complete this step.

Step 4 - Find the green Fallen symbol

This one can be tricky to solve if you’re going by just the given clue. It requires you to find the green Fallen symbol in Nessus. Start from the Cistern landing zone and start heading west with a Sparrow to a stone tower called Wall of Flame. It’s a leaning tower with a triangle entrance (pictured above).

Enter through the triangle entrance and you should find the green Fallen symbol just by the entrance. Interact with it to start the fifth and final step.

Step 5 - Find the final green Fallen Symbol

From the stone tower, head outside, start going to the north western part of Cistern. What you’re looking for is a rocky sphere near a tree which has the green Fallen Symbol nearby (pictured above). The location of the treasure is also nearby a public event. Interact with it and you’ll earn A Season of Plunder gear, Map Fragments, and the second Crude Cipher Symbol which you’ll need later as well.

Cryptic Quatrains III - 7 steps to complete

To start the final treasure hunt called Cryptic Quatrains II, you’ll need to collect the large Treasure Beacon from the Star Chart. You’ll need to reach at least Rank 16 in order to unlock it.

Step 1 - Clear Quarry Lost Sector

Just like the previous Cryptic Quatrains steps involving Lost Sectors, you’ll need to head to the EDZ and complete the Quarry Lost Sector. Just go through this any way you like and once you open the Lost Sector chest this step should be completed.

Step 2 - Complete Exodus Crash Strike without dying

This next step will require you to complete the Exodus Crash Strike on Nessus with an extra condition - complete the Strike without dying once. Just go through the Strike and play it more safely than usual as this is the one with exploding Shanks and trip mines. Your teammates dying won’t ruin you completing this step. As long as you didn’t die once during the whole activity, this step should be completed the moment it ends.

Step 3 - Complete a Ketchcrash activity with an Arc subclass and a Hand Cannon

This next step is easy but specific as well. Participate in the Season of Plunder activity Ketchcrash and complete it with an Arc subclasses and a Hand Cannon equipped.

Make sure you have the Hand Cannon equipped from start to finish to be sure you’ll get this step completed once the activity ends. You don’t need to damage with a Hand Cannon or the Arc subclass skills for it to count.

Step 4 - Use Cipher Fragments to make the Crude Cipher in your Captain’s Atlas

The next step will ask you to make the Crude Cipher using the two Cipher fragments you collected in the previous Cryptic Quatrains quests in your Captain’s Atlas. This will give you access to some kind of hidden compartment in the Atlas that allows you to put specific symbols in the device, which you will do in the next step.

Step 5 - Apply the right house sigils in the right slots

The next Step will ask you to interact with your Captain’s Atlas and attaching the right house sigils in the new compartment you’ve unlocked in the previous step.

Apply the House Dusk sigil on the left side, the House Salvation sigil in the middle, then the House Light sigil on the right. Apply these sigils in the correct slots and that should complete step 5.

Step 6 - Find the green Fallen symbol

In this step, you are again in search of the green Fallen Symbol on the ground. This hunt will require you to head to the Cosmodrome in the Forgotten Shore. Head to the area with the rusted boats left ashore. One of them is pointing at the water and in front of its mast is the green Fallen Symbol (pictured above). Interact with it to complete this step.

Step 7 - Find the final green Fallen symbol

The final step requires you to find the final green Fallen symbol, which can be found also in the Forgotten Shore in the Cosmodrome. The green Fallen symbol can be found in a cave surrounded by a shallow river. In front of the cave are three concrete pillars (pictured above). Just head inside the cave and you’ll find the final green Fallen symbol. Interacting with it fully completes the third and final Cryptic Quatrains quest.

Doing so will reward you with some Deepsight Resonance, Season of Plunder gear and weapons, and most importantly the Charge of Light Exotic Sparrow which you can see below.