One of the things I still like about Destiny 2 seasons is the way that balance updates switch up the meta. For Episode: Heresy, which kicked off last week, Linear Fusion Rifles are again the DPS top dogs. Of those, none has had a bigger glow up than The Queenbreaker. First introduced in Destiny 1 as Queenbreakers' Bow, and then reprised as part of the Forsaken Expansion in Destiny 2, this Fallen-themed arc wire rifle has always been the kind of gun that gives hot garbage a bad name.
Now, a mere nine years since its release, The Queenbreaker has become one of the premier DPS weapons in the game. Currently, all linear fusion rifles benefit from an artifact mod (ie temporary) called Particle Deconstruction, which partially refills the magazine and deals additional damage on sustained hits. But the reason The Queenbreaker is eating so voraciously is thanks to two things. Firstly, its core exotic perk got a complete rework. Per the patch notes, the alternate firing modes now work as follows:
- Marksman Sights fires a single-shot bolt that chains to nearby targets and blinds them on hit.
- Combat Sights fires a three-round burst that decreases charge time even further on sustained damage.
Marksman is a monster for clearing trash mobs, thanks to the chain AoE damage, but it's the Combat mode that is baking bosses. Combined with Particle Deconstruction, it makes Queenbreaker a damage monster, as you can see from the testing below from DPS guru TheAegisRelic.
The second reason is that The Queenbreaker also received an exotic catalyst. These are special upgrades which enhance the core functionality of exotic weapons, and have to be acquired by specific (sometimes complex) paths. In The Queenbreaker's case, the catalyst grants the Rewind Rounds perks, which reads "When this weapon's magazine is empty, it refills from reserves based on the number of hits." The upshot being you barely need to reload during a typical damage phase, thereby maintaining higher DPS.
How to get The Queenbreaker exotic catalyst
The Queenbreaker catalyst is found as a random drop from completed matches in the Gambit, Vanguard or Crucible playlists, meaning you're at the mercy of RNG. And given that those games can take 10-15 minutes each, it can be a frustrating slog. But there is a painless way to snag it sooner. Click on Destinations, go into the Crucible node and select a Private Match. Now, in the Game Options, change the settings to:
Game Type: Collision
Match Time Limit: 5:00
Match Score Limit: 5
The map doesn't matter, and crucially you don't need any other players. Launch the activity and on spawn just run over to the nearest zone, cap it, and the game will end. You won't receive any other rewards, but The Queensbreaker catalyst does have a chance of dropping. It took my clanmate and I about six games each to get it—much quicker than grinding a playlist normally. Now all you need to do is get 400 kills with the weapon (Altars of Sorrow on the Moon or a Shuro-Chi checkpoint are great for this) and you'll be able to upgrade The Queenbreaker to its final form.
One final tip: If you're facing a mobile boss with a small crit spot, such as the final encounter in the new Sundered Doctrine dungeon, gently persuade a teammate who doesn't have The Queenbreaker to run the Divinity trace rifle. It'll make hitting those headshots a breeze and you'll soon be chonking damage bars like a demon.
