Iron Banner returned in Destiny 2's Season of the Splicer with two brand new weapons, including the Riiswalker Shotgun. It has a lightweight frame and can roll with perks such as Quickdraw, Iron Reach, and Killing Wind.
The Eliksni design of the weapon also ties into the story of Season of the Splicer, with the members of the Fallen House of Light seeking refuge in the Last City. With Iron Banner back this week, Destiny 2 players can exchange their tokens with Lord Saladin to try and get their perfect Riiswalker roll.
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Riiswalker is a kinetic damage, lightweight frame archetype Shotgun that is obtained from the Iron Banner. It has low range but an above-average rate of fire, and the lightweight frame means it naturally has great handling and boosts movement speed when being held.
Along with a solid array of perks, Riiswalker is proving to be a particularly potent weapon in the Crucible and even PvE. Players should make sure they pair it with a good mid-range energy weapon, such as the new Gridskipper Pulse Rifle, and get in the faces of enemy Guardians by playing aggressively.
Riiswalker is an Iron Banner weapon and as such is only obtainable from Iron Banner loot sources:
- Season of the Splicer Iron Banner quest
- Iron Banner Engrams
- Iron Banner Bounties
All players are guaranteed a Riiswalker once they complete the third step of the Iron Banner quest, “Adversarial Relations." Players also have a chance of obtaining Riiswalker from Iron Banner Engrams which are given out by Lord Saladin when players cash in 20 Iron Banner tokens.
Finally, Lord Saladin also offers four Iron Banner bounties during each event. Each one rewards pinnacle Iron Banner gear, so there is a small chance of getting high-level Riiswalker.
This Shotgun’s strengths definitely lie in its fast handling and mobility, but its range is a serious weakness that can be somewhat mitigated with the right perks. Either way, it’s quite difficult to go wrong with many of the perks, so players should try out whichever rolls they have.
For barrel perks, some standout choices are Smallbore, Full Choke, and Rifled Barrel. Smallbore is an excellent choice for any weapon that has it as it offers moderate boosts to the Range and Stability stats. Full Choke will tighten a Shotgun’s pellet spread when aiming down the sights which will make Riiwalker much more consistent at longer ranges. Lastly, Rifled Barrel will increase Range by 10 but reduce the Handling stat by 15.
Accurized Rounds and Light Mag are great PvP choices for magazine perks. Accurized Rounds grants weapons an extra 10 Range, and Light Mag slightly increases Range but gives a bigger boost to reload speed. However, Tactical Mag and Assault Mag are good for both PvP and PvE. Tactical Mag boosts Magazine Capacity, Stability, and Reload Speed, but Assault Mag will greatly increase Stability and will up the rate of fire from 80 to 90 rounds-per-minute.
For perk slot one, pretty much none of the available perks are poor options and are mostly down to personal preference and playstyle. Quickdraw is a great all-rounder and is always useful to have as it plays nicely with Riiswalker’s naturally great handling. Hip-firing Destiny 2 players should definitely consider Hip-Fire Grip and highly mobile players may want to get Slideways for increased Handling and Stability, and a partial reload after sliding.
Likewise, perk slot two has very few undesirable perks. Iron Reach stands out as one to at least try since Riiswalker is the only Shotgun in Destiny 2 that can roll with this perk. Iron Reach will massively reduce Riiswalker’s Stability stat but will increase its Range by 20. Accurized Rounds, Iron Reach, and a Range Masterwork will increase Riiswalker’s Range stat from 50 to 90. Killing Wind is another all-rounder choice for PvP and PvE, while Vorpal Weapon and Swashbuckler are essential PvE perks.
This roll is focused on playing aggressively and using Riiswalker to consistently get one-shot kills by leaning into its natural mobility and boosting its range.
- Full Choke
- Accurized Rounds
- Slideways
- Iron Reach
- Range Masterwork
This roll sees Riiswalker as a secondary weapon to whip out quickly on small Crucible maps or to deal with any close-range attackers.
- Full Choke or Barrel Shroud
- Light Mag
- Quickdraw
- Killing Wind
- Handling Masterwork
A reliable PvE roll for bringing down tough enemies up close to bring into Strikes and other missions.
- Smallbore
- Assault Mag
- Quickdraw
- Swashbuckler or Vorpal Weapon
- Reload Masterwork
Destiny 2: Beyond Light and the new Season of the Splicer are available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.