Destiny 2: Beyond Light appears to be experimenting with giving Exotic weapons random rolled perks. In Season of the Hunt, Destiny 2: Beyond Light gave Guardians their first look at what random-rolled Exotic weapons could look like with the hand cannon Hawkmoon, the first Exotic weapon to feature randomly rolled perks. Now, in Season 13, the new Exotic Scout Rifle Dead Man’s Tale has become the second Exotic weapon with randomly rolled perks.
Dead Man’s Tale is a Kinetic, 120 RPM, Tex Mechanica Scout Rifle, featuring the Exotic perk Cranial Spike. Cranial Spike grants bonus damage and increases reload speed with chained precision hits, stacking up to five times. With the Exotic Catalyst called Dark-Forged Trigger, the weapon gains increased rate of fire when shooting from the hip and removes the hipfire accuracy penalties, making this Exotic Scout Rifle a unique option for Guardians who are fans of The Last Word and are looking for a new Scout Rifle.
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The most interesting thing about Dead Man’s Tale is the reappearance of random rolls on an Exotic weapon and the potential implication this has on Exotic weapons in the future. Dead Man’s Tale has nine barrel options, four stock options, and seven options in both the magazine and trait slots. Guardians can acquire these random rolls by completing the Exotic Quest: Presage, similar to how Guardians acquire random rolls of Hawkmoon in the Harbinger Quest.
Guardians in the Destiny community have started voicing their concerns over the continued use of random rolls on Exotic weapons. For many Guardians, Exotic weapons are made Exotic by their Intrinsic perks paired with their static perks and unique Trait. Exotics like Thorn are statically rolled and feature an Intrinsic perk with a Trait specifically designed to support the Intrinsic perk.
Introducing random rolls to Exotic weapons could diminish the experience of hunting for a powerful, curated Exotic weapon. While some Guardians may not enjoy the continuation of random rolls on their Exotic weapons, other Guardians may find that the random rolls create a more personalized Exotic weapon experience.
Regardless of if Guardians enjoy or dislike the idea of having more Exotic weapons with random rolls, the idea looks like it will not be a frequent occurrence. The Senior Community Manager at Bungie, dmg04, responded to feedback on Twitter stating, “Team isn’t planning to do this for all exotics moving forward," leading Guardians to speculate on when more random rolled Exotic weapons could appear in Destiny 2.
Destiny 2: Beyond Light is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.