Best Weapons From Desert Perpetual In Destiny 2

Summary

Desert Perpetual raid in Destiny 2 comes with one of the best Origin Traits seen so far.
Some weapons, like the Stasis auto rifle and the Solar fusion rifle, are dupes for older weapons.
Whirling Ovation and Opaque Hourglass are the most interesting weapons of the raid.

Desert Perpetual, Destiny 2's newest raid and the one to be released with Edge of Fate, has been out for two weeks now. This Vex-themed raid brought in a brand-new Exotic weapon for players to chase, as well as a host of Legendary weapons. As always, some have the potential to be hits, while others already appear to have somewhat missed the mark.

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The raid's Origin Trait is nothing to scoff at. Frame of Reference buffs a weapon's damage, reload, and range when players score final blows. This buff doesn't expire if the weapon is stowed, which makes it all the more powerful. The buff can stack up to five times, with a 7% weapon damage increase. The exact numbers for the other stats are still not out, but with the damage alone, it's proving to be one of the more desirable Origin Traits in the game. For those jumping in to grind out the raid's gear, check out the loot table, as well as this early ranking of all the weapons, including the Exotic rocket launcher.

Intercalary

Stasis Auto Rifle

God Roll: Headstone & Rimestealer

Auto rifles are in a decent spot right now, but it's hard to justify a primary when the new ammo system, despite its problems, has made double-special loadouts incredibly powerful once again. Intercalary is in the Kinetic slot, which makes it a bit more unique from the host of other auto rifles, and it does have good synergy with any builds that take advantage of Stasis. This is because of the pairing of Headstone and Rimestealer, two perks that can feed off of each other and provide players with Frost Armor.

Despite that, given the competition of special weapons and other, better primaries, Intercalary is firmly at the bottom of the ranking. It's easily the last weapon players should care about earning from the raid.

Finite Maybe

Solar Fusion Rifle

God Roll: Reconstruction & Controlled Burst

Finite Maybe is a slightly better Eremite. If players weren't around during Season of the Witch and missed out on this Solar fusion rifle, then this one from Desert Perpetual might be a good replacement. Controlled Burst is the perk that both fusions share, but while Eremite was ideal with Envious Assassin, Finite Maybe gets the benefit of Reconstruction, which removes the need for reloading or using other weapons to proc a reloading perk.

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Fusion rifles are in a weird spot in PVE. They can have their uses, certainly, but it would be a stretch to say they fit in the current meta. For the future, it might still be worth getting the ideal roll for Finite Maybe, but it remains at the bottom of the ranking against other, more useful weapons.

The When And Where

Stasis Rocket Launcher

God Roll: Reconstruction & Bait and Switch

Rocket launchers are still in a strong spot, even if they weren't common in the Contest Mode of Desert Perpetual. Hezen Vengeance continues to dominate as a Legendary rocket launcher, and its spot won't be contested by The When and Where. The double-whammy of Envious Arsenal and Bait and Switch on Hezen is just too powerful against the Reconstruction and Bait and Switch roll for The When and Where.

That being said, if players weren't around to farm the Rite of the Nine and get their hands on Cold Comfort, this could be a nice Stasis rocket launcher option to pair with something like Liturgy. Though even then, it still loses to Cold Comfort that, like Hezen, can roll with Envious Arsenal. Moreover, the Origin Trait does this weapon no favors, possibly making this more of an ad-clear heavy weapon. At that stage, a machine gun is simply a better option.

Opaque Hourglass

Arc Heavy Combat Bow

God Roll: Firefly & Dragonfly

Easily the most unique weapon in the raid, as it introduces players to a new archetype, is the heavy combat bow. Opaque Hourglass is shaped like a crossbow, and it very much plays like one, with players able to retrieve their bolt after shooting it. While it has already seen some fun uses in PVP where the bolts can be used as little platforms to stand on and demolish enemies from, it's definitely more of a niche, novelty weapon.

Still, the combination of Firefly and Dragonfly makes this an interesting and powerful bow in a meta that is so incredibly hostile against bows. For the novelty alone, players should try to get their hands on this brand-new archetype as soon as possible, even if it fails to make a genuine spot for itself in the PVE meta.

Antedate

Arc SMG

God Roll: Rolling Storm & Jolting Feedback

Another archetype and element that has some competition is SMGs, specifically Arc SMGs. When the Ikelos SMG exists, it's hard to compete with it. There's also Subjunctive, though the perks in both weapons are wildly different. Antedate, the new Arc SMG on the block, benefits from having some of the best new Arc perks available in its pool.

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Pair this up with Rolling Storm and Jolting Feedback, and it becomes a humble powerhouse of a primary, perfect for any Arc builds that benefit from Bolt Charge, Amplified, and Jolt. It's definitely up there, even if SMGs are still just a little weaker in the meta compared to hand cannons and double-special loadouts.

Lance Ephemeral

Strand Sniper Rifle

God Roll: Fourth Time's the Charm/Envious Arsenal & Bait and Switch

There are a lot of great sniper rifles in Destiny 2: The Supremacy, Praedyth's Revenge, and even Succession. Lance Ephemeral, the most recent Strand arrival in this archetype, faces very tough competition in that regard, but it's already showing some promise due to an excellent perk pool.

The first perk is situational: either Fourth Time's the Charm or Envious Arsenal, depending on whether or not players will be rotating through weapons or dumping out their entire magazine. Bait and Switch is just a given, as it remains one of the best DPS perks in the game. Those who have yet to snatch a good sniper rifle from any of the other raids should definitely consider Lance Ephemeral their top priority from this raid.

Whirling Ovation

Exotic Strand Rocket Launcher

Coronal Culmination: Hold to charge a shot. Charged shots detonate a Solar explosion.

Is the Exotic weapon of the raid worth its salt? Yes, and no. Whirling Ovation, like the Legendary weapons in this ranking, suffers from very stiff competition. Still, early tests show that it could have a spot in the PVE meta. In order to get the most out of it, players should charge their shot to release a Strand projectile and a delayed Solar payload.

It has decent damage potential, and its charged shots have the capacity to annihilate champions and mini-bosses even in difficult content. Against big bosses, though, it may not be the best option available. The charge time can be quite annoying, and since most high-stakes encounters have a time limit, there are other options that win over in terms of convenience and ammo economy.