‘Destiny 2’ Launches Telesto ‘Bug’ Mystery Community Puzzle

While I knew it was supposed to be a community event during this final month of Destiny 2, I had no idea it would start quite like this…

After receiving a tip that something happened today, it has since been discovered that Telesto is bugging out again, but in a very unconventional way.

Pretty quickly, players discovered that Telesto’s latest glitch was shooting floating bolts that lifted into the air. Weird, but this is Telesto we’re talking about, so it’s not entirely unbelievable that it might randomly start doing something like this.

But this is actually the beginning of a community mystery puzzle, where I think I know the end point, but not how to get there. Again, this is not just a random error:

• Telesto has been animated to smoke and sparkle, which it didn’t before. This happens on any ornament.
• Firing the Telesto will rise in a pattern of bolts into the sky. I think they are meant to be constellations, as I’m pretty sure I’ve seen at least Orion and one of the big dips in there.
• Holding down reload kills this floating fire mode and causes the gun to fire normally again. Again, this is something Bungie must have specifically uploaded to the game. That’s not how bugs work.

(Update: 20.00 – I might call it a day on at least the “bolt pattern” aspect of this. They actually soar to the sky and look like stars, but after hours of thousands of people streaming through them, I don’t think they mean much. I think the overall takeaway is just “Telesto is broken (on purpose), stay tuned for what happens next”, as this leads to something bigger).

What happens from here I’m not sure. Yes, Telesto launches constellations. No, I don’t really know what to make of that fact. I’ve had indications that this may continue to develop in the coming days, so we may have to wait and see what further resets bring.

We think we know where this is going because it’s been in the API for a very long time now that there will be a community event at the end of the season where players will raise money to help rebuild the Eliksni neighborhood so it’s not such a bombed out mess. How do we get from Telesto constellations to that? I have no earthly idea, my knowledge stops here. But I have to assume they are related. If not, and the Telesto thing leads to something else entirely, well, that would really be something to see.

There has been one extremely It’s been a long time since Bungie put a bizarre mystery like this into the game, which has received mixed feedback in the past from players. Some like the weirdness and the hunt for answers, others just sit and wait for community creators to solve it. Right now we seem to be in that phase, as I’m told that Aztecross is already tracking constellations live on stream. I’m sure other streamers will join him soon, once the initial skepticism wears off.

So yes, this is true. This is not me hallucinating a community event into existence. Go check out Telesto’s bizarre behavior for yourself and come up with some theories of your own.

Update 9/11:

So, where are we a day after this was launched? Here’s what I can glean from the last 24 hours since this went live:

• The Telesto puzzle/easter egg just launched here has been teased pretty much all season. A new shirt has been added to the Bungie store a few weeks ago. Banshee is now playing with Telesto in his shop. There is a Telesto themed sparrow/ship/ghost shell in Eververse. There was even a Telesto Festival of the Lost mask. It has been the secret season of Telesto all along.
• This current Telesto “bug” likely leads to an emblem called Schrodinger’s Gun that has previously been found in the game files. However, we don’t know the next step from here to actually unlock it.
• At this point, I’m pretty convinced that despite the constellation-like nature of the floating Telesto bolts, there’s no discernible pattern to them and nothing to solve there. Reliable sources have informed me that there is some sort of time element to this thing, so we may just have to wait and see what Telesto does next. Its will is not its own.
• I’m hearing mixed reports on whether this will be connected to the larger community event we know is coming in the coming weeks, one where we rebuild the Eliksni neighborhood by donating materials and currency. I’m still not sure how the Telesto beauty would bridge the gap to the bigger event. It is possible that this thing for the emblem and the community event later are separate. If they are linked, we’ll have to wait and see how.

Regardless, this has really been a lot of fun, and I love how Bungie took the time to do something like this, complete with even a silly “fix the gun” reload animation. It might not be the start of some huge puzzle to dig up, but it’s something to fill the dead time, and at least the memes have been very funny (many of them at my expense). Unfortunately I’m going out of town so I won’t be able to play with Telesto every day from here, but I’m sure you all will keep me posted.

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