Destiny 2 – Best Weapons from Gambit Prime and The Reckoning
There are some top weapons hidden away in Gambit Prime and The Reckoning, with a range of weapon types covered and potentially the best hand cannon in the game right now. When Shadowkeep dropped both Gambit Prime and The Reckoning activities were made free to play, so the full suite of weapons are available for everyone. The following is a guide for the best weapons from Gambit Prime and The Reckoning in Destiny 2.
Gambit Prime and The Reckoning were introduced during Season of the Drifter back in Season 6 of Destiny 2. There’s a short quest to do to open up Gambit Prime and The Reckoning, so if you’re a New Light player or someone who’s never interacted with this event before, then you’ll have to open up the game modes before you can go for the weapons.
To do this have a chat with the Drifter in the Annex in the Tower. He’ll give you a quest called ‘Gambit, in it’s Prime’. This will take you through the mechanics of Gambit Prime and The Reckoning. Pick up a Gambit Prime Bounty from the Drifter, then complete that through a run of Gambit Prime. Go back and speak to the Drifter and he’ll give you a Synthesizer to create a mote from Synths found in Gambit Prime. You can use these motes to farm-specific Gambit Prime armour – however, we’ll cover that in the video at a later date. Today, I’m focusing on weapons.
I find The Reckoning much more useful for farming weapons than Gambit Prime, however, you may have better luck than me. There are 2 bosses for The Reckoning, either Swords or the Likeness of Oryx. These bosses rotate daily, so if it’s not the one you want today then it will be tomorrow.
There are 3 tiers of The Reckoning, and I have found the most success on Tier II. However, there are some specific pieces of loot at Tier III.
The Reckoning loot table
Swords loot
- Lonesome (Sidearm)
- Nightwatch (Scout Rifle)
- Sole survivor (Sniper Rifle)
- Just incase (Sword) Tier III Exclusive
Likeness of Oryx loot
- Spare Rations (Hand Cannon)
- Bug Out Bag (SMG)
- Outlast (Pulse Rifle)
- Gnawing Hunger (Auto Rifle) Tier III Exclusive
- Doomsday (Grenade Launcher) Tier III Exclusive
That’s a little bit about the mechanics and loot from the Reckoning, let’s get into the best weapons from these activities.
Sole Survivor
This is an adaptive frame energy sniper rifle that’s 90 rounds per minute with 4 in the magazine that deals arc damage.
The curated roll comes with Snapshot Sights for that fast aim down sights, Outlaw for precision kills decreasing reload time, Flared Magwell for the increase in stability and reload speed and Extended Barrel for the increase in range and recoil but the slight decrease in handling.
For PVE Extended Mag, Triple Tap and Firing Line is a good roll whereas in PVP you’ll want to look for something like Slideshot, Snapshot Sights and Richochet Rounds.
Last Man Standing
This is an aggressive frame energy shotgun that’s 55 rounds per minute with 4 in the magazine dealing solar damage.
The curated roll comes with Full Auto Trigger System, Auto-Loading Holster where the weapon is automatically reloaded while holstered, Assualt Mag for the increase in stability and rate of fire.
For PVE you’ll want to look out for something like Graverobber, One-two punch and Assault Mag and for PVP Swashbuckler, Opening Shot and Accurized Rounds.
Outlast
This is a rapid-fire frame energy pulse rifle that’s 540 rounds per minute and has 32 in the magazine dealing solar damage. It’s got good stability stats at 48 and great aim assists hidden stats of 78.
The curated roll comes with Kill clip where reloading after a kill increases damage, Zen Moment were causing damage increases stability, Tactical Mag for the increase in reload speed, magazine size and stability.
In PVE something like Rampage, Outlaw, Appended Mag is a good roll whereas PVP Rangefinder, Kill Clip, Accurized Rounds is something to look out for.
Bug-Out Bag
This is an adaptive frame Submachine Gun that sits in the energy slot. It’s 900 rounds per minute and has 32 in the magazine and deals solar damage. It’s got good handling and reload speed stats at 52 and great recoil hidden stats at 88.
The curated roll comes with Multi kill Clip where reloading grants increased damage based on the number of multi-kills you get. Slideways, where sliding partially reloads the magazine and boosts handling and stability, Alloy Magazine where faster reloading when the magazine is empty.
For PVE you’ll want something like Multi kill clip, Subsistence and Appended Mag. For PVP the curated roll is really nice. I like this one for PVE, it’s not as good as Recluse but it’s great for dealing with a range of ads – plus it’s very fun to use.
Night Watch
This is a lightweight frame scout rifle, so you move faster when this weapon is equipped. It sits in the Kinetic slot, it’s 200 rounds per minute and has 16 in the magazine. It’s got good impact stats at 60, great handling at 69 and not bad reload speed at 62.
The curated roll comes with Explosive Payload where bullets create an area of effect damage, Overflow where picking up special or heavy ammo reloads the weapon beyond normal capacity and Extended Mag where the weapon greatly increases magazine size (but reloads slower).
For PVE something like Rampage, Subsistence and Appended Mag is good as for PVP you’ll want something like Moving Target, Outlaw, Accurized Rounds.
Personally I like this one for PVE rather than PVP, as Scouts aren’t really meta right now unless you have a really fast-firing one (like the 260 rpm Scouts). This one helped me get through the Pinnacle Quest for Randy’s Throwing Knife. I found it much stronger than something like Symmetry. Shooting Symmetry felt very weak in comparison to something like Nightwatch – so definitely recommend this one.
Gnawing Hunger
This is an adaptive frame auto rifle that goes in the energy slot, it’s a 600 rounds per minute auto with 43 in the magazine and shoots void damage. This has great handling at 67, pretty good reload speed of 61 and not bad range at 53.
The curated roll comes with rampage, for kills with this weapon grant increased damage, Overflow for when you pick up special or heavy ammo it reloads beyond normal capacity, Appended Mag for that increase in magazine size and Arrowhead Brake for an increase in recoil and handling.
For PVE lookout for Rampage, Subsistence and Extended or Appended mag. For PVP Kill clip, Zen Moment and Accurized Rounds.
This is in the class of autos that got a buff in Season of the Worthy and since Hardlight was nerfed in the last update, this, together with Galliard, is one of the best auto rifles in the game right now.
Spare Rations
This is most likely the best weapon that you can get out of Gambit Prime and The Reckoning right now. It’s a kinetic, 150 rpm hand cannon with 13 in the magazine. It’s another lightweight frame hand cannon, so you move faster with this weapon equipped. It’s got great impact at 80, great handling at 74 and not nad reload speed at 60. It’s got perfect recoil of 100 on the hidden stats.
The curated roll comes with Explosive Payload for the area of effect damage and Overflow where picking up special and heavy ammo overflows the mag beyond normal capacity. There’s Appended Mag for the increase in magazine size and Hammer-Forged Rifling for the increase in range.
For PVE have a look for Rampage, Fourth Time’s the Charm, Appended Mag and Hammer Forged Rifling and PVP Rangefinder, Snapshot Sights and Richochet Rounds. This weapon is very strong in PVP and PVE. Some of the top players use this in high-level PVP including Mtashed among other players.
The most reliable way to get this I have found is Tier II Reckoning and you’ll need to face the Likeness of Oryx. You may be lucky to get a drop of this in Gambit Prime, but I haven’t had much luck with that.
That’s some of the best weapons from Gambit Prime and The Reckoning. Personally I always have Spare Rations on me. I really like Nightwatch for PVE and Bug Out Bag too. Gnawing Hunger can’t be ignored right now as Auto Rifles are very strong. It’s all down to personal preference at the end of the day, pick the weapon that works for you and your playstyle.
Let me know down in the comments what you think of the Gambit Prime and Reckoning weapons. Which weapons do you have in your sights and which ones haven’t you got yet and want to go for?
That’s it for this guide on the best weapons from Gambit Prime and The Reckoning in Destiny 2. For more Destiny 2 content like this check out the Shadowkeep Guide or check out the YouTube Channel.