One of the defining attributes of a Destiny 2 lifer is the ability to get excited about shooting old guns with new perks. Last week, we found out that the free Into The Light update, aimed at keeping players occupied until the June 4 release of The Final Shape expansion, will include a new horde mode called Onslaught. Today, as part of another livestream, Bungie revealed the loot on offer, which comprises a dozen fan favourite weapons reprised with a sexy new paint job and perk combos. And although I’ve shot quite literally hundreds of thousands of aliens with these guns, you’d better believe I am ready to shoot some more.
First, some important housekeeping about how the ‘Brave’ guns, for that is what the set is called, will be acquired when Into The Light drops on April 9. A new social space called the Hall of Champions is being added to The Tower (which I presume you can fast travel to much like Xur’s area from the 30th Anniversary pack.) The Hall of Champions looks like a longhouse ripped from Valhalla, and is where Lord Shaxx will hold court, serving as the Onslaught vendor with his own bounties and rank-up rewards.
Of those, the most notable reward is the return of the Superblack shader. I’ve written before about how much Destiny 2 players have demanded an all-black shader, and this one will finally enable them to go full edgelord. In addition to the Brave weapons, you’ll also be able to acquire a set of Parade Armor 2.0 which was inspired by gear from year one of vanilla Destiny 2. Very nice they look too, although I would have paid an indecent amount of Silver for the OG Speaker cloaks from Destiny 1 (but that’s another article).
In order to unlock each Brave weapon so that it will start dropping from chests, you’ll need to complete a quest from Arcite 99-40. Each weapon will have a natural drop (which works like any other gun in Destiny 2), and a limited edition drop.
Some curated roles will feature perks that weren’t around when the gun was originally released.
Confusingly, but also enticingly, the limited edition version comes in two flavours. The curated version features a preset perk roll that leans hard into nostalgia. For example, The Recluse returns with its infamous combo of Feeding Frenzy and Master of Arms (which has been tuned down to not be completely busted). However, some curated roles will feature perks that weren’t around when the gun was originally released—like Killing Tally paired with Rampage on the Hammerhead LMG. The non-curated version of a limited edition weapon features two perks in every column, but these are rolled randomly from the pool. Both types of limited edition weapon come with a snazzy-looking animated ornament, which you can swap for another shader if you really are wed to, say, Iridescent Coral.
This wouldn’t be Destiny 2 without at least a dash of FOMO, so once The Final Shape arrives, the limited edition versions of the Brave weapons will stop dropping. That’s Bungie’s way of telling you to get your grind on if you want the prestigious variants. Oh, and if you’re wondering where you’re going to store all this stuff with your vault already about to pop its screws, the good news is that The Final Shape will be adding an extra 100 slots for all players. Not enough, obviously, but I’ll take it.
Below is the list of all 12 returning weapons, roughly ordered by my excitement to play with them. Bungie is putting out a blog tomorrow with all the possible perks, which is bound to reveal additional god roll combos.
1. The Mountaintop
One of three OP weapons that triggered the whole sunsetting debacle, this breech-loaded grenade launcher returns with its iconic ‘Micro Missile’ perk that enables it to fire more like a pocket rocket. Bungie assured viewers it will no longer be a one-hit-kill in PvP, and also noted you’ll be able to rocket jump now thanks to the Danger Close perk which drastically reduces self-damage.
2. The Recluse
Arguably the most infamous legendary PvE weapon the game has seen, The Recluse was sunset because no other legendary could compete with its ‘Master of Arms’ perk, which was incredibly easy to proc and resulted in body shots doing the same damage as crits. That perk was already nerfed drastically back in 2019, so it’ll be interesting to see how the reprised version performs.
3. Hammerhead
This is the first of two favourites from the Black Armory days. I had wondered how any void 450 RPM LMG could compete with the current king, Commemoration, from the Deep Stone Crypt raid. Bungie’s answer appears to be with double damage perks, as we saw Rampage and Killing Tally on the same roll. Reload speed might be an issue I suppose, but does that matter if everything’s dead?
4. Midnight Coup
Released when fixed perk rolls were still a thing, this 140 RPM hand cannon (which I once described as looking like a vibrator Prince would own), almost single-handedly popularised the Outlaw+Rampage combo. Competition for hand cannons is intense now, but Bungie mentioned it still has the best aim assistance, and the new combo of Kinetic Tremors+Firefly is mouth-watering.
5. Luna’s Howl
Here’s one purely for the PvP crowd. Luna’s Howl was another pinnacle reward weapon, and was stapled to sweaty players’ hands thanks to its ability to two-tap once the Magnificent Howl perk was active. Bungie has calmed that down, and swapped the archetype to 140 RPM (although it will still handle as smoothly as a 180). The developer also said you’ll be able to equip any ornaments you’ve acquired for Mountaintop, Recluse, or Luna’s, and that these will be sold in store again.
6. Blast Furnace
I once caught a bunch of flak for celebrating Blast Furnace as a key part of the ‘Dad loadout’ because of its ease of use, which enabled boomer players like me to sit at the back of the map and let the pulse rifle do the work. It’s coming back with a juicy Headseeker+Kill Clip combo, plus a new perk currently called Last Stand that works a lot like Golden Tricorn, except the buff is stackable.
7. Forbearance
Unlike the previous guns on the list, Forbearance is still available in the game (from the Vow of the Disciple raid) and is a meta staple thanks to its godly combo of either Ambitious Assassin or Unrelenting+Chain Reaction, which makes it best in slot for clearing waves of enemies. Bungie said it’s releasing a new version as a way of giving players who don’t raid a taste of the loot, which frankly I would have preferred be done a different way and had all these weapons be true reprises.
8. Hung Jury
This 180 RPM scout rifle was ubiquitous around the time the King’s Fall raid first released thanks to its ability to do AoE damage from a distance using the Firefly perk. I can see why it’s coming back, but scout rifles are not in a great spot in general, and even the recent version which had Rapid Hit+Kinetic Tremors as a possibility barely saw use. Hopefully it gets some nutty options this time.
9. Edge Transit
Hmmm. This grenade launcher was one of vanilla Destiny 2’s original memes because 1) it seemed to drop at a vastly inflated rate, and 2) it was quite shit. Heavy grenade launchers recently became the DPS meta thanks to a large reserve ammo buff, and there are some juicy perk combos on this like Cascade Point+Frenzy, so don’t rule this out from being a boss-killer come The Final Shape.
10. Succession
Here’s another currently available raid weapon, this time from the Deep Stone Crypt, being made available for those who dislike speaking to strangers on LFG. Again, the issue here is that Succession is already absolutely god tier with its Reconstruction+Vorpal roll, so it’s tough to see how much more can be added without bonkers power creep. To which I say: bring on the bonkers power creep.
11. Falling Guillotine
The presence of Eager Edge on the void Vortex sword should interest speedrunners, and the addition of Sword Logic, which was previously only available on the Crota’s End raid weapons, is a rock solid damage option. Still, testing on The Slammer—another recently released spin-to-win sword—has been disappointing, despite the presence of Bait and Switch, so I’m not super hot for this one.
12. Elsie’s Rifle
Last, and possibly least because few people like high impact pulse rifles, is the original reward for completing the D1 campaign. Bungie is adding Rewind Rounds, a popular perk originally created for the Vault of Glass guns, and maybe this will end up being one for PvP where the archetype does see some use.
Even though I have reservations about some of the weapons lower on the list, there’s no arguing that this is a great selection with desirable perk combos across the board. I would have loved to see a shotgun like Mindbender’s Ambition come back, largely because the glowing hive runes are so cool, and it would also have been great to get something from Saint 14’s Season of Dawn set—but every player will have favorites they would have picked.
The ability to ‘attune’ each of the Brave weapons means that the ones you choose will drop more frequently.
All the weapons feature a new origin trait called Indomitability that grants grenade energy for final blows with a Light subclass and melee energy for final blows with a Dark subclass. Interestingly, Bungie is adding the ability to ‘attune’ each of the Brave weapons at the Hall of Champions, which will cause whatever you choose to drop more frequently.
We’re told that every chest in the Onslaught mode will contain a weapon, and that harder difficulty levels and keeping the ADU macguffin protected will reward extra chests. So although this set of weapons won’t be craftable, getting the god roll you want should be within reason.
Next Tuesday is the third and final of Bungie’s Into the Light livestreams, happening at the same time: 10 AM PST. The studio said it will focus on an exotic mission with a craftable weapon, which [spoiler warning] I strongly suspect will be the return of The Whisper mission, based on a data mine of a new exotic ornament for the Whisper of The Worm sniper rifle.
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