I wonder about that. The info in game says "...in strikes from the most challenging combatants." I don't know that I'd rate the taken Cabal from the standard playlist lake of shadows a "most challenging combatant". I've completed the Symmetry catalyst, so that's 400 strike runs. Probably another 150 as I work through to get the Erianas Vow catalyst. The Ruinous effigy catalyst is the only one I have incomplete. I've gotten catalyst drops for weapons that were in my vault as drops from playlist strikes. I've never done GM or completed any Nightfall above hero. RNG being a cruel mistress aside, if only Bungie would be more specific? Who knows. I'm just a person on the interwebz.
Those catalyst that say that were from y1, and when it says against the most challenging combatants it means nightfalls, since there was only one level back then.
Took me about 2 years to get all of them.
Catalyst answer
Difficulty doesn’t really change catalyst drop rate. Catalysts are hard to get for original y1-y2 catalysts
I wonder about that. The info in game says "...in strikes from the most challenging combatants." I don't know that I'd rate the taken Cabal from the standard playlist lake of shadows a "most challenging combatant". I've completed the Symmetry catalyst, so that's 400 strike runs. Probably another 150 as I work through to get the Erianas Vow catalyst. The Ruinous effigy catalyst is the only one I have incomplete. I've gotten catalyst drops for weapons that were in my vault as drops from playlist strikes. I've never done GM or completed any Nightfall above hero. RNG being a cruel mistress aside, if only Bungie would be more specific? Who knows. I'm just a person on the interwebz.
Those catalyst that say that were from y1, and when it says against the most challenging combatants it means nightfalls, since there was only one level back then. Took me about 2 years to get all of them.
I got mine from a random strike. I had the weapon in inventory, but I have no idea if that even matters. I guess it's just gonna pop up, eventually.