Destiny 2’s Lightfall expansion has finally been released and there’s a ton of new content for players to sink their teeth into. Along with a new story, exotics, loot, endgame content, and a build crafting system, Lightfall also introduces our second Darkness subclass, Strand. Of course, what really matters are the new weapons and armor pieces you can unlock. Similar to previous seasons, Guardians can once again earn Adept variants of Nightfall exclusive weapons. One of these is the Mindbenders Ambition (Adept), which is a Solar, Aggressive Frame shotgun. Once the king of the Crucible, many are wondering if it’s worth farming the Mindbender’s Ambition during this season of Destiny 2.
How to Get Mindbender’s Ambition
Mindbender’s Ambition is solely tied to the Nightfall activity. Yet, it’s not as simple as playing the Nightfall activity until one drops. Weapons specifically tied to this activity rotate in availability every week. This means there will be some weeks when you cannot get this grenade launcher, and some when you can. I strongly recommend using the website TodayInDestiny, as it will show you what Nightfall weapons are available by clicking on the Nightfall image box.
Keep in mind that if you want the Adept variant of Mindbender’s Ambition, you need to play the Grandmaster version when this gun is available. If this sounds like you’ll be jumping through a lot of hoops, you kind of are. It’s not a terribly eloquent system, but it’s the only way to earn this gun. At the time of writing this article, you cannot craft Mindbender’s Ambition since no gun patterns exist for it.
Should You Farm Mindbender’s Ambition?
PVE
Yes, sort of. Mindbender’s Ambition is a surprisingly potent shotgun for PVE. This is mainly due to the perks it offers such as Incandescent, Threat Detector, One-Two Punch, Pugilist, and Swashbuckler. All of these are strong options – especially if you want to run a Solar build and use the Incandescent perk. That being said, shotguns aren’t exactly viable in Grandmaster or even Master tier content. This is because they’re outclassed by snipers and fusion rifles which provide better utility and burst damage potential.
If you’re looking to use this gun in a more casual build and you can’t craft a Without Remorse then it can be worth obtaining. However, I wouldn’t spend a lot of time farming for Mindbender’s Ambition (Adept) or using all six of your Grandmaster runs on it. There are better Nightfall guns that you should spend your time grinding for.
PVP
Absolutely not. Look, I know we all have fond memories of when Mindbender’s Ambition dominated the PVP meta. It use to have a bonkers range, great perk combinations, and utterly decimated anyone who stood before it. Sadly, that time has passed as Precision Frame shotguns are all the rage right now. If you want a shotgun solely to use in the Crucible, then this isn’t the one to grind for. I recommend hunting for a Retold Tale, Matador 64, or wait for Xur to sells a good roll of the Fractethyst
