It feels like just yesterday we were battling through the Ascendant Plane, but here in 2026, Bungie has once again surfaced a familiar gauntlet of weekly challenges inspired by the legendary Season of Defiance. As a professional Guardian, I’ve been grinding these weeklies since reset and let me tell you — the payouts in Bright Dust and XP are enormous, but the tasks are absolutely brutal. Whether you’re a PvE veteran or a Crucible demon, this week demands your A-game.

From flawless Defiant Battlegrounds to Grandmaster Nightfalls that remind us just how punishing the -25 Power delta can be, there’s no shortage of suffering. But fear not — I’ve charted the optimal path through each challenge, and I’m breaking down the fastest methods, the exact rewards, and the builds that’ll keep you alive when everything goes sideways.

Eternal Queensguard

The wording here used to confuse me, so let me be crystal clear: you just need to complete a flawless run of any Defiant Battleground. No playlist restriction, no difficulty requirement. That sounds simple until a random Phalanx decides to architect you into a wall.

My advice? Spec into 100 Resilience immediately. Then build into pure survivability. Solar subclasses with Restoration are god-tier here — Healing Grenades and Ember of Empyrean can keep you alive through almost anything, and Warlocks or Titans have even more Restoration tricks via Aspects. If Solar isn’t your style, Strand’s Woven Mail remains the strongest damage reduction buff in the game, and Void Devour can make you an immortal killing machine in enemy-dense fights. Take it slow, don’t hero-play, and that flawless run is yours.

Defiant Focus

This challenge is a retroactive gift from the Traveler. You simply need to decode or focus 20 Defiant Engrams at the War Table in the H.E.L.M. All previously focused engrams this season count, so many of you might already be halfway done without realizing it.

To stockpile engrams fast, upgrade your War Table fully and then farm raids or dungeons. Shattered Throne and Pit of Heresy are phenomenal when they’re the weekly pinnacle — each encounter drops two Defiant Engrams, and with a competent fireteam you can blast through both dungeons in under an hour. If you’re solo, just chain-playlist activities. The drop rate spikes significantly once you’ve unlocked all War Table upgrades.

Favored Liberator

Your fireteam needs to generate 60 Favors inside Defiant Battlegrounds or the Avalon Exotic mission. Favors are those glowing buffs that pop from ability final blows and Heavy weapon kills. But here’s the catch: you must have the correct War Table upgrades active to spawn them. If you haven’t unlocked those nodes, you’re going nowhere.

Once you do, this becomes a team effort. Fireteam members all contribute progress, so a full squad can knock this out in two or three Defiant Battleground runs. Equip Season of Defiance armor pieces if you still have them — each piece boosts Favor spawn rates, and the extra chances add up fast. I also recommend using add-clear Heavy weapons like machine guns or grenade launchers to make Favors rain.

Fleeting Glory

I won’t sugarcoat this: you’re heading into the Competitive Crucible playlist, and it’s going to hurt. Fleeting Glory asks you to complete at least eight matches, with wins granting bonus progress. The 3v3 playlist cycles Elimination, Survival, and Rift, all with aggressive Skill-Based Matchmaking that has no mercy.

If you’ve never touched Competitive before, your first seven matches are placement games, and the matchmaking difficulty will swing wildly. Expect to face gods and get stomped. My advice: don’t chase wins. Just play your life, communicate with your team, and focus on personal improvement. Take breaks when the frustration builds. The 100,000 XP and 300 Bright Dust reward is nice, but your sanity is worth more.

High-Value Hunter

It’s Gambit time, and we’re hunting big game. You need to defeat 75 Powerful combatants — that’s anything without a red health bar. Majors, ultras, and bosses all count, and high-value targets give massive bonus progress.

Here’s the speed farm: kill every Blocker that spawns. Small, medium, and large blockers each count as a Powerful combatant. Primeval Envoys and the Primeval itself also count. In a typical Gambit match, you can easily rack up 15-20 defeats. Chain a few matches while aggressively hunting the HVT when it spawns halfway through, and you’re done in no time. It’s a relaxing 50,000 XP and 150 Bright Dust compared to the crucible slog.

Grandmaster

This is the ultimate test. Grandmaster Nightfalls are open from now until the season ends, and they remain the hardest PvE content in the game — a -25 Power cap, more Champions than you can count, and modifiers designed to make you cry.

You absolutely need a coordinated pre-made fireteam. LFG Discord servers are your friend if your clan is asleep. Your build must be tight: max Resilience, anti-Champion weapons, and a game plan for every encounter. The seasonal surges and overcharge mechanics do soften the blow compared to pre-Lightfall days, but don’t get cocky. One wrong peek and you’re back in orbit. For 100,000 XP and 300 Bright Dust, it’s worth the pain — and the bragging rights.

This week’s challenges aren’t for the faint of heart, but with the right approach, they’re entirely conquerable. Gear up, Guardians, and may your drops be god-rolls.