Destiny 2 – How to get Astral Horizon (Legendary Trials Shotgun)

The Astral Horizon is one of the best shotguns in the game and can certainly compete with the likes of Mindbenders Ambition and Felwinters Lie. This one is only available through the Trials of Osiris and this does put some people off as Trials is sweaty and full of some of the best players in the game. Bungie though has made some changes this season, making it much easier to acquire for all players. The following is a guide for how to get Astral Horizon in Destiny 2.

Astral Horizon was introduced into the game when Trials came back into Destiny 2 during season 10. It’s an aggressive frame kinetic shotgun and is definitely considered one of the best PVP shotguns right now.

Let’s have a look at the stats for the weapon. We have 80 for impact, 32 for range, 34 for stability, 35 for handling and 40 for reload speed. It’s a 55 rpm shotgun with 4 in the magazine. The impact really stands out and this one can pack a punch and get that one hit kill at close range.

The curated roll comes with Elemental Capacitor where you get increased stats based on your subclass – void gets increased stability, solar gets increased reload speed and Arc gets increased handling. It also comes with Slideshot where sliding partially reloads the weapon’s magazine and boosts range and stability as well as Assault Mag for another increase in stability and rate of fire and Rifled Barrel for the increase in range and decrease in handling speed.

As for the potential rolls on this weapon in the final slot we have Elemental Capacitor, Swashbuckler, One-two Punch, Celerity and Opening Shot. Celerity is a nice perk added to Trials weapons where you get the following effects when you’re the last man standing on your team – you get increased target acquisition, increased handling and reload speed and reduced flinch from incoming fire. We also have the option of Opening Shot.

In the 3rd column of perks, we have the option of Slideshot, Field Prep, Auto-Loading Holster and Quickdraw. I’m quite happy with the roll I got, it’s got Celerity and Quickdraw on it as well as Assault Mag – so it’s quite well suited to PVP, especially Trials with Celerity on there.

For PVP I would look for either Celerity/Quickdraw or Opening Shot/Quickdraw. For PVE perhaps One-two Punch/Slideshot would be good or maybe Swashbuckler/Autoloading Holster.

To get this weapon you’re going to need to run some Trials of Osiris. For this, you’ll need to find two other Guardians as there’s no matchmaking. If you don’t have anyone in your clan or are not part of a clan, then try the Bungie LFG website or the companion app. You’ll generally find people looking to do the bounties and they’ll label their LFG with something like ‘Chill Trials’. Before you head into Trials you’ll need to pick up a passage card from Saint-14 in the Tower Hangar.

Pick up the bounties while you are there as you’ll get Trials tokens for these. Bungie has made a crucial improvement this season which allows players of all skills to get a reward with the first weekly bounty as you’ll get a Trials Engram. The Trials engram gives you access to the loot drop from the 3 wins tier.

The rewards for Trials of Osiris rotate each week. I would use a website like light.gg or something like that and it tells you there on the homepage what the rewards are for Trials each week. You get a reward at 3 wins, 5 wins, 7 wins and also for a flawless victory when you go to the lighthouse.

I don’t play too many Trials, because basically I’m not very good at PVP. I get stomped each time I go in there, with the occasional game where I might win a close one. I’m not a massive PVP guy and that’s OK for me. I enjoy PVP, but I know I am not the most skilled player in the world. In the past, that has put me off Trials, but I like this improvement with the Trials engram for one of the weekly bounties. You just have to complete 10 matches and you’ll complete it faster if you win some matches. That’s perfect for a player like me, as I now have access to some of that loot that was previously out of reach.

So if you’ve been sitting on the fence about Trials because you’ve heard its full of cheaters or it’s full of the best players, well, I’d say give it a go because more than likely you’ll find a group that’s chilled out and are going for the bounties.

As of making this guide The Astral Horizon is at the 3 wins loot drop. So if you complete the bounty this weekend (which is available until reset on Tuesday) then you’ll have easy access to one of the best shotguns in the game. If you watching after the Trials weekend since this video was published then it’s lilkely you’re going to have to get some wins in Trials or keep an eye on the loot rotation on websites like light.gg or something similar.

The Astral Horizon is clearly one of the best shotguns in the game right now, perhaps neck and neck with Felwinter’s Lie. It’s also not going to be sunset until the end of Season 14, so it’s going to be around for a good while yet. While it’s good in PVP you can also get some great rolls for PVE, making it a pretty good all rounder in the shotgun department.

I’ve been sucked into all the bad press with Trials, but to be honest I had a great session today. I had a few games, and yes I lost a bunch but I came away from the session with Astral Horizon and I did get a 5-0 victory under my belt. If I can do it, then anyone can.

Let me know down in the comments what you think of Astral Horizon. How do you think it compares to other shotguns in the game and what do you think of the current state of Trials of Osiris? I’d love to get your thoughts, especially if you have any ideas on how to improve the game mode and what Bungie might do to bring it back to it’s glory days.

That’s it for this guide on how to get Astral Horizon in Destiny 2. For more Destiny 2 content like this check out the Shadowkeep Guide or check out the YouTube Channel.