Overview

Patrols are small, self-contained activities that reward you with resources for your weapons and armor. They are less intense than (for example) Adventures or Strikes but are worth completing, if only to discover more of the landscape you are exploring. Patrols have only a few objectives and mostly remain within the Sector where you begin the Patrol.

They are activated at Patrol beacon, which grants you a (random) Patrol from the ones available for the Sector you are in. Note that a particular Sector can have as many as nine of these beacons, but not all of them are active at the same time. Simply complete all the available Patrols in a specific Sector before leaving that Sector. Upon your return, additional Patrol beacons may be active. Then, you can continue to complete them, though the random nature of how Patrols are activated means you don’t need to visit every single Patrol beacon.

Patrols become available once you have completed all Campaign activities on Io. Rendezvous with Cayde at the Farm and complete a small tutorial adventure that teaches you how Patrols function. They are then unlocked at all destinations in all Worlds. Expect to be rewarded with an appearing Combatant Chest, experience, Reputation, and better knowledge of the world around you (including the location of chests that randomly appear during your exploration).

Patrol Mission Types

There are five Patrol mission types available, though some Sectors may not have access to every type of Patrol, even after all Patrol beacons are located. Each specific Patrol has a task for you to complete, and that task is reasonably similar whether you’re attempting it on Io or Titan. The following information showcases all mission types, with overview strategies for each one.

Assassination Mission

You must track and defeat a specific enemy located in (usually) an adjacent Sector, along with his or her immediate bodyguards or other threats. This is usually a Sub-Boss, and the task requires Sparrow travel. Expect the threat level of this enemy to be reasonable, though there are occasional hostiles that require more tactical planning (such as Taken foes) if you are at lower levels.

Example: You must travel from Outskirts to Sojourner’s Camp and destroy a named Fallen Captain and his two Shank bodyguards.

Expect the enemy you’re assassinating to be a Sub-Boss of the dominant Combatant in this Sector, though this is not always the case. This is also the most dangerous of the Patrols, as some assassination targets and their bodyguards can be formidable. Bring in help if you need it.

Collection Mission

A specific enemy type (one that is “indigenous” to the Sector you are in) drops a particular type of item, as indicated by this Patrol icon. Simply hunt down these enemies, defeat them, and claim the item. You have a randomly determined number of items to collect from a randomly determined enemy or enemies.

Example: You must hunt down nine Dregs and claim an item from each one.

Expect around three different variations of this Collection Mission for each Sector. Sometimes, this Patrol can take time because the enemy type may be rarely encountered in the Sector.

Need to know where a specific enemy type is located in each Sector? Consult the Director chapter map; the enemy clusters text details the expected foes. Example: You must hunt down nine Dregs and claim an item from each one.

Expect around three different variations of this Collection Mission for each Sector. Sometimes, this Patrol can take time because the enemy type may be rarely encountered in the Sector.

Need to know where a specific enemy type is located in each Sector? Consult the Director chapter map; the enemy clusters text details the expected foes.

Kill Mission

This is perhaps the most straightforward of all the Patrol types[md]simply kill foes in your immediate vicinity (moving to other clusters within the Sector) until the kill progress reaches 100%.

Example: You begin culling Fallen in Outskirts until the mission concludes.

Need to know where clusters of enemies are located in each Sector? Consult the Director chapter of this guide for maps.

Scan Mission

This requires you to head to an adjacent Sector, usually by Sparrow, and locate an area of the environment (indicated by the on-screen waypoint diamond). Once you’re there, remove any threats, and scan the environment with Ghost. Once the scan is complete (which takes only a second or so), the mission is over.

Example: You head from Outskirts to Sojourner’s Camp to scan the small camp where the Fallen are.

Survey Mission

This involves you maneuvering (ideally on a Sparrow) to a usually adjacent Sector and completing a small survey at a pinpointed location. There may be enemies in or close to the location, which is always shown on your in-game map. Simply stand within the area close to the location until the percentage fills up to 100%. Very occasionally, you may be tasked with heading to a Sector that isn’t adjacent to the one you started this Patrol type in.

Example: You begin in Outskirts and must travel to Trostland to survey an area. There are alternate Sectors you may be instructed to travel to, as well (so the survey area might have been in The Sludge in this example instead of Trostland).

You should assume that there are variations of this Patrol type, depending on how many adjacent Sectors there are. Usually, the Sector you are surveying at is large enough to have its own Patrols.

Patrol Loot Caches

Once you’ve successfully completed a Patrol, a Loot Cache (AKA Combatant Chest) appears in the Sector you started the Patrol in. It is flagged with the icon shown near to this paragraph. Simply head to the chest and open it for your reward.

Patrol Availability Chart

The following chart lists all of the Sectors across the four Worlds where Patrol beacons are active. In each location, expect to begin Collection (multiple variations), Kill, Scan, and Survey (multiple variations) Patrol missions.

Patrol Availability

Total Sectors with Patrols: 19

Total Patrols: 95

(*Total Patrols indicates the number of different types of Patrols available in all Sectors of a World. Note that there are additional variations for certain Patrol types that increase this number.)