Pinnacle weapons are now a thing of the past in Destiny 2. Last season, dedicated Guardians went darkness hunting in strikes for hopes of obtaining Edgewise. In Season of Dawn those players will be pursuing the Kinetic Sidearm Buzzard. The twist? It can change elements!
Destiny 2 Buzzard – How to Obtain
Speak to Commander Zavala in the Tower and he’ll give you a quest called Anything That Moves! It challenges you to achieve the following in strike playlists:
- Sidearm Final Blows: ???
- Airborne Sidearm Final Blows: 50
- Strike Points Earned: ???
As per usual, multikills grant bonus progress towards the Sidearm final blows. We don’t yet know exactly how many final blows this quest requires. Rather than displaying a specific number, Bungie opted for a bar that displays a the percentage complete.
Perks
- Slot 1
- Outlaw: Precision kills greatly decrease reload time
- Fourth Time’s the Charm: Rapidly landing precision hits will return two rounds to the magazine.
- Slot 2
- Osmosis: Using your grenade ability changes this weapon’s damage type to match your subclass until you stow it.
- Swashbuckler: This weapon gains increased damage from melee kills and kills with this weapon.
Why Were Pinnacle Weapons Retired?
Simply put, Pinnacle Weapons are too good and too hard to get. One of the big issues is the simple fact that a Pinnacle Weapon from Crucible is also going to be very good for PVE players. This forces people to fight there way through game modes they might not enjoy.
“Most of them far exceeded the efficacy they should have been at,” the developer said. “Another issue is that they cause problems in the player ecosystem, particularly in the case of the Crucible pinnacle weapons. Due to the nature of PvP and PvE, anything that works well in PvP is likely going be extremely effective in PvE as well. This forces players into the Crucible if they want the ‘best’ loadouts.”
In short, The Recluse really was too good. It has completely warped the weapon meta and is consistently used by at least half of all of the best Destiny players in the world. That’s an astonishing number which more than doubles any other weapon it he game.
How Are Ritual Weapons Different?
Ritual Weapons no longer have special perks and are curated rolls. Rather than being the best weapons in the entire game, Bungie describes them as something closer to an “interesting novelty” which is what the developers wanted pinnacle weapons to be in the first place.
If you’re still on the hunt for older pinnacle weapons, Bungie recently made a few of them easier to obtain. Season of Opulence’s Hush (Gambit), The Mountaintop (Crucible), and Wendigo GL3 (Vanguard), have had their requirements reduced. Each triumph now needs fewer kills, medals, and is a smaller time investment as a whole.
Looking for more Destiny 2 information? We have a Season of Dawn season pass guide which runs down all of the rewards. We also have a Season of Dawn calendar guide which is kept up to date with Bungie’s current roadmap. And if you’re looking for information on this season’s Lantern of Osiris artifact or the new Charged with Light mods we also have those!
