We’re already out of story content in Destiny 2 but that’s fine, because there’s never been a better time to run Grandmaster Nightfalls. The hardest version of the basic Vanguard Operations activity, Grandmaster Nightfalls went live for the Season of Defiance this week and we highly recommend that you give them a shot even if you haven’t before. Why? Well, this week in particular there are a few reasons to do so.
First, the featured Grandmaster Nightfall this week is Proving Grounds. While it isn’t the easiest Nightfall in Destiny 2, compared to some of the other ones in the rotation this season (The Glassway, Heist Battleground Mars, etc.) it’s pretty straightforward. The only really difficult parts are the Tank room (tip: hide under the bridge in the middle of the room while taking them out) and the boss fight (tip: hang out in or around the “oven” for most of the fight).
Second, it’s a double Nightfall reward week. This means you’ll get two Adept weapon drops, more Exotics, and basically more of everything. You’ll also get more Nightfall Ciphers which you can spend to get more weapon rolls on later weeks.
Third, the featured weapon you’ll get from running Grandmaster Nightfalls this week is Hung Jury SR4. This reworked version of the weapon has some excellent perk combos, including Rapid Hit/Firefly. But the god roll you want to aim for, in our opinion, is Shoot to Loot/Kinetic Tremors. Starting next season, Shoot to Loot is going to allow you to pick up not just ammo by shooting it, but also Orbs of Power. Kinetic Tremors creates explosions on sustained fire, and these explosions work with Shoot to Loot, making Hung Jury an excellent choice for higher-level content (like future Grandmaster Nightfalls).
If you’ve never run a Grandmaster Nightfall in Destiny 2 before, this season is also the best time to start. You only need to be Power Level 1815 to run them, which you can hit without even grinding Pinnacles if you’ve gotten your artifact high enough. Plus, with the new Surge and Overcharged Weapons systems, it’s easier than ever to build a loadout. Previously, you had to build everything around the activity Burn to maximize your damage output. Now, though, as long as a weapon matches one of the Surges or is an Overcharged weapon — which you should be using to deal with Champions anyway — you’ll be getting the damage buff.
If you’ve never run a Grandmaster Nightfall in Destiny 2 before, just take it slow and communicate with your team. If you have, then things should be easier than you remember. Regardless, this is probably going to be the best week of the season to grind them, so get out there and earn that loot.
