Avast Guardians, Season of Plunder is here! This space pirate-themed Destiny 2 season is all about crossing blades with Fallen House of Salvation, hunting for buried treasure, and working with everyone’s favorite scoundrel, the Drifter. Of course, there is a bunch of new loot to chase and activities to complete. Of course, this season’s big draw is all the new loot, and there are some terrific guns to farm for right now. Tied to the returning King’s Fall raid, the Smite of Merain might have the best PVE perk pool in the entire game. Here’s how to get the Smite of Merain and what the god rolls are:
How to Get Smite of Merain
Smite of Merain is exclusive to the King’s Fall raid. This weapon will drop from the Warpriest, Daughters of Oryx, and Oryx encounters. Keep in mind that the Oryx chest only rewards gear you have previously earned in the raid. If you did get a Smite of Merain, it can also appear as a reward from any of the secret chests throughout the raid. This is because the secret chests only reward items you’ve previously found in the King’s Fall raid.
Additionally, you cannot keep farming the same encounter as you would in a dungeon. Once you complete an encounter on a character for that week, all you will earn are Spoils of Conquest. Now you can buy this pulse rifle for 20 Spoils of Conquest from the final chest, but you’ll need to have gotten Smite of Merain at least once. Alternatively, you can craft this gun, but it will require you to earn five Deepsight variants of Smite of Merain.
Smite of Merain God Rolls
Smite of Merain PVE God Roll
- Arrowhead Brake
- Tactical Mag
- Demolitionist, Pugilist, or Focused Fury
- Adrenaline Junkie, Swashbuckler, or Vorpal Weapon
Whew, okay this is going to get a bit complicated. The Smite of Merain has a lot of incredible perk combinations that could be classified as “god rolls.” This makes it exceptionally difficult to select one as the best because there are so many great options you can obtain. Because of this, I am going to only highlight a few terrific perk combinations. Ultimately, what works best for you entirely depends on your playstyle, build, and the content you plan to use this in.
Regardless of what primary perks you select, in the first slot, I really recommend Arrowhead Brake. Not only does it give us better recoil control, but we will get +10 to handling. This lets us swap to other weapons faster, which can be quite useful in tougher activities or against bosses. I also really like Tactical Mag for Smite of Merain. We don’t need a bit of ammo boost because of the Runneth Over perk, so having that extra stability and reload speed is terrific.
Now for the fun part. The first perk combination is the classic mix of Demolitionist and Adrenaline Junkie. Perfect for grenade builds, this is one of the best combos in the game thanks to the mix of damage and consistency. On the flip side, Pugilist and Swashbuckler are exactly the same idea but for a melee-focused build. If you want a roll for difficult endgame activities, I recommend Focused Fury and Vorpal Weapon, as this will give us two damage perks in both slots! Seriously, this gun is bonkers make sure to get one.
Smite of Merain PVP God Roll
- Hammer-Forged Rifling
- Accurized Rounds
- Moving Target
- Vorpal Weapon or Eye of the Storm
When it comes to PVP we have far fewer options. In a meta all about pulse rifles, we are going with both Hammer-Forged Rifling and Accurized Rounds. Both of these perks boost our range by 10, which helps us stay competitive against the sea of BxR-55 Battlers and Horror’s Leasts. You can go with Corkscrew Rifling in the first slot, however, I don’t think the +5 to stability and handling is entirely needed.
As for primary perks, Moving Target is the obvious choice. With so many mobility options in Destiny 2, this perk will almost always be triggered since most players move while firing. If you are a bit more static, Focused Fury is a solid alternative. In the second slot, you can go with either Eye of the Storm or Vorpal Weapon. The former is my personal choice since it can help you when duels – especially if you’re being flinched by weapons with explosive rounds. However, Vorpal Weapon is great for bigger 6v6 modes since you deal extra damage to enemies in their Supers. While that’s far more situational, it can be quite useful.
