G’day folks, Chris Proctor and the Weapons Team here with the details on the Destiny 2: Into the Light weapons set.
In Destiny 2: Into the Light, we wanted to ship new versions of as many of the most iconic weapons from all over Destiny’s history as we could, including a couple of original Destiny throwbacks, with updated art as well as rebuilt or brand-new perks. Many of the original versions can no longer be acquired, while others can only be obtained from endgame activities.
We’ve pulled these weapons from many sources, including raids, pinnacle weapons, Black Armory and… one epic meme. Then we carefully weighed impact of rebuilding certain weapons against others before deciding on these to represent different eras of the game and a variety of weapon archetypes.
The selection we ended up with is twelve iconic weapons remembered with a smile by many players. Many of these have random rolls for the very first time, while others have updated perk pools. Our goal was to make them feel like they used to, and many retain their original stat packages, but others have been updated to achieve that feel in the current weapon sandbox. But let us be clear, only the Destiny 2: Into the Light versions of these weapons have updated perk pools, even compared to the weapons that are currently obtainable in the game.
Each weapon comes with a brand-new Origin Trait, Indominability, and many of them can roll with a new right-column trait, Desperate Measures. We also made sure all of these BRAVE Arsenal weapons were updated to our current art quality bar, and they have a consistent visual theme across the whole set.
Here are the twelve weapons that we’ve brought back:
This Wave Frame Grenade Launcher has been a staple in PvE since it shipped, with the potent combination of Ambitious Assassin and Chain Reaction. (It was only the second Special ammo weapon to include this strong add-clear perk). This is from the Vow of the Disciple raid, so normally it requires ownership of The Witch Queen and an active raid group to get it. But we want all players to experience this so-strong-it-could-be-an-Exotic weapon and get a taste of endgame artillery. We also took this opportunity to update its perk pool to include Disruption Break, Demolitionist, and more.
With its combination of Reconstruction and Vorpal Weapon, this Sniper Rifle doesn’t have to be manually reloaded, hits very hard, and sees a lot of usage in long-range raid and Nightfall encounters. It lured players into the Deep Stone Crypt raid when Beyond Light launched and again when the weapon set was reprised more recently. As with Forbearance, while acquiring this from the Deep Stone Crypt raid requires ownership of Beyond Light, this version is available to all players.
The first Legendary Vortex Frame Sword, Falling Guillotine is descended from the Dark Drinker Sword from the original Destiny. It immediately jumped to the top of the Sword meta when it shipped and is still relevant now, making it one of the most persistently popular Legendary weapons in Destiny 2.
Now Falling Guillotine is back with an updated perk pool and some spicy combos, including Repulsor Brace + Destabilizing Rounds, and Chain Reaction + Surrounded, and long-time favorite Relentless Strikes + Whirlwind Blade.
This weapon shipped as a pinnacle Crucible reward, instantly became mandatory in PvE and ruling PvP with an iron fist. Now it’s back with random rolls, including the iconic Master of Arms perk. (“Kills with any weapon improve this weapon’s damage for a short time.”) We’ve tweaked this perk to be more balanced than the previous version, but The Recluse remains an extremely potent option in PvP and PvE.
Another pinnacle PvP weapon that was the backbone of raid teams for more than a year, The Mountaintop had massive damage output in PvE and PvP. We’ve turned its Micro-Missile perk into a new Breech Grenade Launcher intrinsic perk, so it retains that functionality, but has two traits on top of that.
We didn’t want a return to the days of The Mountaintop PvP meta, so we opted to rebuild Micro-Missile. It retains its PvE strength, but with decreased self-damage and a massively increased physics impulse, hilarity ensues.
The first Legendary Machine Gun introduced into Destiny 2 is overdue for a return. Hammerhead is still considered one of the best of its kind, and it’s coming back with top-tier perks and that iconic Black Armory style. The new perk combinations of Rampage + Killing Tally and Rampage + Desperate Measures are particularly spicy for PvE.
Not the first but certainly the most beloved Aggressive Burst (a.k.a. 4-burst) Pulse Rifle, Blast Furnace now comes equipped with the Rasmussen ISA scope by default and rolls barrels instead of scopes in that first column. It was a powerhouse when it arrived and is once again, with the advantage of some top-tier new perks, including the potent combination of Kinetic Tremors + Firefly for PvE and Zen Moment + Rapid Hit for a perfectly stable PvP roll.
This Heavy Grenade Launcher is a longtime fan favorite and the most often requested weapon to reprise in this list by far… Ok, not really, but the ridiculous drop rate in early Forsaken was such a persistent meme that we couldn’t resist including it and turning it into one of the strongest Grenade Launchers in the entire game, with the greatest hits of Grenade Launcher damage perks and one particularly spicy option of Cascade Point in the Third Column.
With Chain Reaction getting buffed on Drum Grenade Launchers in The Final Shape, the Chain Reaction + Destabilizing Rounds combo provides some of the most potent add clear in the game, and Cascade Point + Bait and Switch is particularly synergistic for single-target damage. This weapon is also why we pulled the Heavy Grenade Launcher buff from The Final Shape into the 7.3.5 update.
Of all weapon types we wanted to include, selecting a limited number of Hand Cannons was by far the hardest. We probably could have filled the entire list with often-requested Hand Cannons. We have not forgotten them, but there are a couple that stand out both for nostalgia and dominance, one of which is Luna’s Howl.
Originally this was a Precision Frame 180 RPM Hand Cannon, and the Magnificent Howl perk would let you two-tap on follow-up kills in PvP, driving massive amounts of players to engage with Competitive PvP when it launched as a pinnacle weapon. The blisteringly fast Time To Kill (TTK) was a bit over the top for the amount of effort the weapon required, so we reduced its rate of fire and redesigned the perk to have a higher reward for more effort than the original.
For this iteration, we’ve kept it as a Precision Frame, 140-RPM Hand Cannon,and redesigned the Magnificent Howl perk. (“The number of precision final blows before reloading affects the total rounds granted with increased range and damage. Precision final blows with Magnificent Howl active extend the effect for additional rounds.”) This will allow for those two-taps, but with more effort required, and the Precision Frame will still make it very easy to control.
(Note: it didn’t make sense to ship Not Forgotten in this release, but we’re on the lookout for a good opportunity to bring it back, too.)
This Hand Cannon dominated PvP and PvE in Year 1, mostly because raid weapons were the only ones with two-trait columns back then, plus it had amazing stats. These have fallen behind a little bit, so we’ve updated them at the same time we have given it a brand-new perk pool. It still includes the original combo of Outlaw + Rampage but keep an eye out for Firefly + Kinetic Tremors for PvE and Moving Target + Zen Moment for a PvP consistency roll.
Hung Jury SR4 was at one time one of the most requested weapons to bring forward from the original Destiny, and we did in Destiny 2’s Season of the Splicer. But it was only right to include it again here, given its legacy.
Known as The Stranger’s Rifle when it originally shipped, this Pulse Rifle is familiar to any Guardian who played through the original Destiny campaign, and it’s the oldest weapon on this list. Now it returns as a Void weapon, with top-tier PvE and PvP perks.
And that’s all of them! Half of these will be available starting April 9, including The Recluse, Hung Jury SR4, Succession, Edge Transit, Elsie’s Rifle and Falling Guillotine. The remainder will unlock one at a time each week through the week of May 21. The BRAVE Arsenal weapons will continue to drop from Onslaught after The Final Shape, but the limited-edition variants won’t be available after June 3, so go get them while you can!
We hope you are as hyped as we are about Onslaught and the BRAVE Arsenal and that you found all the information we shared today useful. And there’s still more to share! Our third and final livestream focused on Destiny 2: Into the Light will air on April 2. That’s exactly one week before the content update arrives on April 9. We can’t wait!
Until then, Guardians.
