Weapons I Will Miss

I cannot fully explain just how damned hard it is going to be to make it through today.  What I mean by that is I did not take the day off for the launch of Destiny 2 on PC, and I know that it will be launching halfway through the day and I will start wishing I was home and able to be playing.  While I have played the hell out of Destiny 2 on the PS4, the PC beta just felt better to me than the console interface.  Destiny 1 was the game that essentially taught me how to play shooters on a console, and in spite of how much progress I have made in my ability to get the controller to do what I want it to do…  it still feels like a foreign territory.  When I sat down to play the PC beta, it was like coming home…  everything that had been slightly off with Destiny was set right just by being able to use a keyboard and mouse.  I realize that after the hundreds of hours that I have poured into the console version there is going to be an adjustment period, but also one I am more than willing to deal with.  When trying to decide what to blog this morning I thought about what I would actually miss in the transition.  It wasn’t the sets of gear from Iron Banner or the Faction Rally that I farmed up, or the fact that I had three almost power capped characters.  Ultimately the part I am going to miss the most is my arsenal of favorite weapons.  As a result this morning I thought I would talk a little about each of them.

Kinetic Weapons

Weapons I Will Miss

In order for me to love a Hand Cannon it needs a handful of attributes, the primary being an extremely high impact rating and the secondary being a decent magazine size.  With extended mag I am able to take the magazine to 13 rounds, and the 84 out of 100 impact definitely fits the bill as well.  The fact that the weapon has another of my favorite perks…  explosive payload which causes an AOE damage burst on impact is just icing on the cake.  The last few nights I have been farming tokens on Io and running around with this weapon equipped and having a blast shredding mobs.  This comes from the crucible so I am absolutely hoping I get an early lucky drop.  While there are a bunch of other hand cannons that are vying for my attention… Better Devils keeps winding up my favorite.

Weapons I Will Miss

I feel like Origin Story is likely the best kinetic auto rifle in the game, though I am sure I would hear some logical arguments on that point.  Ultimately why I love it is that it feels rock solid and stable in the slightly slower/harder hitting 450 rpm category.  It has fairly good range and can take down targets at a distance so long as you are firing controlled bursts.  The rampage perk is amazing especially if you are dealing with waves of enemies, and you can even leverage this extra damage if you are fast enough to get in additional burn time on bosses.  The good thing about this weapon is that it will probably be the easiest to get because you get the choice of it and two other weapons from finishing a strike milestone after you hit level 20.  As a result I take comfort that I won’t be going without this one for too terribly long.

Weapons I Will Miss

Among the most fickle weapon choices in my line up is Antiope-D…  one of the weapons the Gunsmith offers but is on a significantly rarer drop table.  I’ve turned in over a hundred gunsmith packages and I’ve only gotten one of these in total among all of my characters.  What makes this weapon so special is that while a submachine gun it lives in the slower 600 rpm bracket and as a result has significantly better stability and recoil pattern than its cousins.  The end product means if feels like firing a Destiny 1 Hakke auto rifle like the Zarinaea-D, which was among my favorite weapons in year one.  This is part of my base crucible loadout and does a great job of shutting down enemy players when they get too close for comfort, but also has enough range that you can chase them a little with it.  I am hoping the luck is with me and I am able to find this fairly early on.  If not there are some reasonable replacements…  but nothing will ever tarnish the memory of this weapon.

Energy Weapons

Weapons I Will Miss

Uriel’s Gift is a beast and there is really no other way to describe it.  This is the other half of my stock crucible loadout and the weapon that does most of the work as far as getting kills from range.  Much like Origin Story it lives in the more stable 450 rpm bracket for auto rifles and features quite possibly the single best perk right now in the game…  high-caliber rounds.  For those unfamiliar this causes your target to flinch making it much harder for them to keep the targeting reticle trained on you.  Now this works for NPCs and causes them to sort of stun lock while you are fighting them… but for enemy players it is extremely frustrating because it makes it insanely hard to actually fight back.  Additionally the weapon has Tap the Trigger which gives you extra stability and aim assist when you first engage a target.  I fully expect this weapon to be nerfed in the near future, but for the time being I am loving using it.  This one can come from Nessus, Gunsmith or an Engram because I have seen it drop from all three, so I am hoping that ups my chances of actually getting one quickly.

Weapons I Will Miss

Generally speaking I am not a big fan of Scout Rifles and will talk at length about this fact if anyone gives me half a chance.  There is an entire cult of the MIDA Multi Tool that I just do not understand because the weapon feels horrible to me.  The irony is… my favorite scout rifle the Manannan SR4 is in that exact same archetype bracket.  I am not exactly sure what it is about this weapon… the look, the feel, the sound and visual effects…  but whatever the case I like using it.  It does not hurt that it also has explosive payload that I talked a bit about earlier.  Lately I have been pairing this with my Better Devils in grinding planetary content because the combo gives me nice reliable ranged kill options and up close and personal stopping power.  This is primarily a gunsmith package drop as far as I am aware and I am hoping I get it pretty early.  Truth be told I will likely infuse my MIDA into it when I finish that quest.

Power Weapons

Weapons I Will Miss

While I have flirted with other shotgun options, much like its name… this is the most reliable and battle ready.  I’ve gotten it from a few sources but it still remains my go to shotgun for melting bosses that I can actually get up close and personal with.  Thanks to Destiny 1 spoiling me… a shotgun has to have the full auto perk in order for me to really care about it.  This actually seems to be pretty damned rare as far as weapons go in Destiny 2.  While I have found a few options with it, this gun seems to be the most reasonable to use and capable of dishing out the sort of damage I am wanting.  Hawthorne is one of my favorite characters, so it is only fitting that her signature gun goes down on this list as well.

Weapons I Will Miss

I’ve talked about this weapon at length the few times I have mentioned it in this blog.  There are those who call this the Destiny 2 Gjallarhorn and it is maybe not that incorrect of a statement.  The amount of sustained damage this thing can pump out is significant, especially when you combine it with a rapid reload ability like the titan rally shield or hunter dodge.  The exotic perk Conserve Momentum causes non-lethal hits with the weapon to lower your charge time.  This is significant and after a few shots it feels like an almost instant fire fusion rifle.  I regularly use this to single-handedly melt the cabal gunships during public events to push it to heroic in a single round.  It will oneshot most yellow bars and help you shred anything else.  Its biggest negative is the relatively small magazine size at 8 and the sluggish reload speed… which is ultimately why you want to pair this with some sort of a speed reload mechanic.  Regardless if you get your hands on this weapon I highly suggest checking it out.  It was the very first exotic I got in Destiny 2 on PS4 so hoping I find it again quickly on the PC side.

So these are my favorite weapons so far and the ones I use in the most regular rotation.  What are some of your favorites that I missed?  Drop me a line in the comments and let me know what weapon you are looking forward to getting again.