How The Tome Of Want Works In Destiny 2: Heresy

But before you can start farming for these items, you’ll need to get your hands on the Tome of Want first. In this guide, we go over how the Tome of Want works, how to get it, and briefly explain its scripture and ritual mechanics.

Updated March 14, 2025, by Charles Burgar: Now that Act 2 is out, we now know how to unlock the other Artifact perk bonuses from the Tome of Want. We’ve updated this guide to briefly explain the mastery system tied to the Shaping Slab, a core component of unlocking new perk bonuses for the seasonal Artifact.

What Is The Tome Of Want?

The Tome of Want is Heresy’s primary reward source. This device allows you to target seasonal and ritual rewards, similar to how tonics worked in Revenant.. But unlike the tonic system, the Tome of Want allows for more granular reward adjustments through Scriptures that may be socketed inside the tome. If you played during Forsaken, the Tome of Want works similarly to the Chalice of Opulence.

Upon reaching R3 with the Shaping Slab, this season’s vendor, you’ll gain access to the Tome of Want. You can access the tome from the inventory tab of your character menu, which is the same place where your tonics are consumed. Inspect the tome to begin the ritual process.

Scriptures And Rituals

Socketing scriptures into your Tome of Want will start a ritual. All content you play— The Nether, Vanguard Ops, Crucible, et cetera—will slowly build ritual energy. Once it’s full, the Tome of Want will automatically generate your rewards and consume your socketed Scriptures.

Of course, you’ll need scriptures installed before the Tome of Want awards you anything. Scriptures come in two forms: categories and modifiers. Categories determine which type of reward you’ll earn, such as a weapon or armor piece. Modifiers influence the exact reward you get. For example, if you socket a seasonal weapon scripture, you’ll be able to modify which seasonal weapon you’ll receive.

There are also rarer, one-time-use scriptures aboard the Dreadnaught. You’ll typically find them in chests. Socketing these Exotic scriptures into your Tome of Want will override your category reward with something entirely different, such as an Ascendant Shard or an Exotic Engram.

Unlocking New Tome Engravings

As with last season, Heresy’s Artifact mods can be further enhanced through the Tome of Want. While a ritual is active, your Tome of Want will enhance all Artifact mods selected on your Tome Engravings grid. These engravings will passively unlock as you progress through the Shaping Slab’s various progression tracks.

Tome Masteries

Unlike most vendors, the Shaping Slab can have its reward track altered based on your Guardian’s chosen Taken discipline. When you enter Eris’ Apartment, they’ll be a pillar next to the Shaping Slab vendor. If you’ve started Act 2, you’ll gain access to a second mastery type: the Mastery of Ambition. This completely changes the Shaping Slab’s reward track, unlocking new Aritfact passives for the Tome of Want.

If you want to maximize your Tome of Want, you’ll need to rank up your Shaping Slab as much as possible. There are three masteries in total, two of which are obtainable as of Act 2:

1. Mastery of Resolve: Default. Unlocks Arc and Void-themed perks.
2. Mastery of Ambition: Unlocked in Act 2. Unlocks Strand and Rocket-themed perks.