Beyond Light

Destiny 2 – The Best Rocket Launchers For Season 13

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There’s a long-awaited buff to rocket launchers coming in Season 13, which is due to kick off on February 9th in Destiny 2. Swords are getting nerfed and rockets are likely to come into the foreground once again, having been on the shelf for a long time concerning power weapons. Today I am going to have a look at some of the best rocket launchers in Destiny 2 right now, and some you should be looking to get for Season 13.

Last week Bungie explained some buffs are coming to rocket launchers in season 13 which include:

  • Rocket Launchers have fallen behind other Heavy weapons in most measures of effectiveness, we’re pushing them more into a burst damage role.
  • Increased Rocket Launcher damage by 30%.
  • Exotic Rocket Launchers have been adjusted individually and are affected by this change to different degrees.
  • Paired with the buffs to reserves from last season, we’re hoping you’ll explode many more things in Season 13!

The key thing here is a 30% increase in damage. That’s going to be across the board, but interestingly the exotic rockets are going to be adjusted individually. We’ll have to wait until the season starts on Feb 9th 2021 to see the extent of those changes.

This buff to rockets comes along side the nerf to swords with Bungie saying:

  • Swords are extremely dominant in PvE. At this time, 65% of players are using Swords for the majority of gameplay encounters in Destiny 2. While we are introducing a buff to Rocket Launchers to make them a bit more enticing, we feel that Swords do too much damage compared to other options.
  • Reduced Sword damage by 15%.

So hopefully now rockets are going to be much more viable as power weapons across both PVE and PVP activities.

That’s the buffs explained, next up let’s have a look at some of the best rocket launchers in the game as well as a couple to look out for coming back next season as reissued weapons.

Deathbringer

Deathbringer is an Exotic Power Rocket Launcher

  • Dark Deliverance – Fires remotely detonated projectiles that drop Void orbs on combatants. Fire; release to detonate.
  • Dark Descent – The further a Void orb falls, the more powerful its detonation becomes.

To get this one you can pick it up from the Exotic Kiosk in the Tower. This is part of the Shadowkeep Exotics.

Shining Sphere

Shining Sphere is a Legendary Power Rocket Launcher which is an Adaptive Frame meaning it has a well-rounded grip, reliable and sturdy. For PVP Quickdraw and snapshot sights would be good whereas PVE Field prep and Demolitionist would be a decent roll. To get this one it’s a random drop from the end of Iron Banner Matches or when you turn in tokens to Lord Saladin after the main quest is done.

Two-Tailed Fox

Two-Tailed Fox is an Exotic Power Rocket Launcher, which is quite unique as it shoots both Solar and Void rockets together.

  • Twintails – Shoots two rockets, one Void and one Solar, that can track onto the same target.
  • Play with Your Prey. The Void rocket suppresses enemies. The Solar rocket causes damage over time.

To get this one you can pick it up from the Exotic Kiosk in the Tower. This is part of the Forsaken Exotics.

Subzero Salvo

Subzero Salvo is a Legendary Power Rocket Launcher which is a Precision Frame meaning this weapon fires a small auto-tracking missile. Missiles lock onto targets when aimed.

For PVE Chain Reaction and Ambitious Assassin would be good. Chain Reaction is a new perk in Beyond Light where each final blow with the weapon creates an elemental damage explosion. Another good combo for PVE might be cluster bomb and quick draw, so if you didn’t get the god roll then keep an eye out for this one too! The most popular combo for this weapon in the community at the moment is Chain Reaction and Ambitious Assassin.

To get this weapon you can get it from the campaign, but also from Varik’s targetted weapon quests. To be able to pick these up you have to complete Europan Explorer I on Varik’s Sabotage menu, then you can purchase the quest in exchange for 30 Here always pieces. Then simply complete the objectives and head back to Variks to pick up the Rocket Launcher.

Bad Omens

Bad Omens is a Legendary Power Rocket Launcher, which is an aggressive frame meaning high damage and high recoil. For PVE Tracking Module plus Cluster Bombs would be good, and PVP Snapshot Sights and Quickdraw would be useful. This one is a random drop from activities, so no sure way to get this one but look out for it at the end of strikes, the crucible, gambit or ranking up at vendors.

The Wardcliff Coil

The Wardcliff Coil is an Exotic Power Rocket Launcher. It has some useful perks including

  • Mad Scientist – This weapon fires a volley of rockets.
  • Mechanized Autoloader – This weapon automatically reloads on ammo pickup

Really good weapon. This one can be picked up from Xur or from random world drop exotic weapons.

We also have Heretic and Sleepless coming back next season, so they will also be ones to look out for. There’s an interesting point Bungie put in one of their updates saying, “Weapons that drop in the Pit of Heresy/Shattered Throne dungeon can roll with perks that are unavailable from drops from other reward sources.” It’s not clear at the moment if these are new perks, or what these perks will be but it’s worth keeping an eye on rocket drops from Dungeons.

Some others worth shouting out are Eyes of Tomorrow from the Deep Stone Crypt Raid. Truth, another Exotic Rocket Launcher is also very good. Tomorrow’s Answer from Trials is another good choice, plus the Adept version if you can get hold of that.

Currently in PVE Eyes of Tomorrow is the most popular choice with 0.5% of the audience. Bad Omens is 0.2% and Truth is 0.1%. In PVP Wardcliff Coil is the most popular choice at 1.2%, then Tomorrow’s Answer at 0.7% and Bad Omens 0.5%. Bad Omens, Subzero Salvo and Shining Sphere consistently show in the PVP and PVE top 10 lists… plus they are nice and easy to get hold of.

Before I go I wanted to highlight the Charged with Light mod Argent Ordnance. Once activated Argent Ordnance promises ‘dealing damage to a powerful combatant gives you a major increase to rocket launcher damage for a short time, consuming one stack of charged with light’.

When you are Charged with Light you’ll see a buff called Godslayer Warheads active, so you’ll know its time to fire off those rockets. Across the board, Argent Ordnance gives about a 20% buff to rockets, which isn’t too bad. When paired with this new 30% buff then it’s going to be very noticeable.

Let me know down in the comments what you think of the rockets buff AND if this is going to being you back to using rocket launchers in Destiny 2?

That’s it for this guide on the best rocket launchers in Destiny 2. For more Destiny 2 Beyond Light content check out the full guide and subscribe on YouTube to This Week In Video Games today.