Dead Messenger is an Exotic Grenade Launcher added to Destiny 2 with Season of the Risen. It’s part of the rare Wave Frame archetype with its unique Exotic property being that it sends out three waves of energy rather than one to deal massive damage to large hordes of enemies. It can also switch between elements, just in case you wanted to kill things even quicker by matching the element to enemies’ shields.
Your path to acquiring Dead Messenger is through the Vox Obscura Exotic quest. After completing Operation Elbrius in Season of the Risen’s main story, Empress Caiatl will have a message for you at the H.E.L.M. War Table. She wants help dealing with Psion rebels; this help involves tackling Vox Obscura and its recommended Power level of 1550.
Vox Obscura itself requires completing multiple timed encounters solo or as a fireteam of up to three Guardians and we have a full guide on the best way to handle it. If you are within 10 Power of 1550, the combat challenge of Vox Obscura should not be too difficult to overcome, but each encounter requires efficiency due to the dwindling countdown you’re racing to beat.
Once the boss Qabix has been defeated in the heart of the rebel base, players can acquire Dead Messenger from a chest room to the right side of the final console. Dead Messenger doesn’t appear to have random rolls like Dead Man’s Tale or Hawkmoon from last year, so one completion of Vox Obscura is all you need to get the Grenade Launcher in its best form.
Dead Messenger also has a catalyst; however, it requires running the Master difficulty version of Vox Obscura that is currently unavailable in week one of Season of the Risen. The normal version of Vox Obscura can still be rerun after acquiring Dead Messenger for drops of seasonal gear as well as the Ivory Empress Exotic sparrow.
