By Matt Espineli on Sep 16, 2017 09:30 pm
The Most Exotic of the Destiny 2's Exotic Weapons
There are a multitude of powerful Exotic weapons in Destiny 2 that are each packed with unique characteristics and attributes. With so many Exotic weapons to discover, it can be tough to figure out which ones are worth keeping. To help you narrow down your choices, we've highlighted 10 Exotic weapons that we believe to be the best in the game (for now). We're still digging deep into Destiny 2, but there are some basic things you should know (and habits from Destiny 1 you might need to break). Those include not waiting to decrypt Engrams and saving some of your Upgrade Points. You can check out more in our Destiny 2 beginner's guide. For more game guides, including breakdowns of the three classes, along with our skill and ability galleries for the various subclasses, be sure to visit our Destiny 2 guides and walkthroughs page to keep up with happening in the online world of the Guardians.
Skyburner's Oath: Energy Scout Rifle
Weapons that do bonus damage against a single enemy race can seem underwhelming, but Skyburner's Oath is an exception to that rule. This exotic scout rifle does extra damage to all Cabal, the main enemy type you'll face throughout the campaign and Destiny 2's raid, Leviathan. Wonderfully, it even shoots through Phalanx's shields. Having great stability and being full-auto only adds to its appeal, and when you realize it's also a beast in the Crucible, Skyburner's will become one of your favorite new guns in Destiny 2.
Merciless: Power Fusion Rifle
Merciless is an essential rifle to have as it can quickly mow down enemies and bosses, especially if they don't have any immunity triggers. This is because non-lethal hits made with this weapon increase its charge rate until an enemy is killed. Merciless is a must own for all PvE modes; though, it certainly packs a punch if you use it well during PvP as well.
MIDA Mult-Tool: Kinetic Scout Rifle
The MIDA returns from Destiny 1, and it's nearly as powerful as you remember it. While it sports a reduced magazine this time around, it remains a well-rounded rifle with great reload speed and fantastic handling. And with the Mini-Tool submachine gun, you have a strong pairing that'll do wonders in any battle.
Sweet Business: Auto Rifle
Sweet Business is a gatling gun that knocks back aliens in firehose fashion. It's a perfect Titan weapon through and through given how it can be set up on a low barricade that instantly reloads its 45 round drum over and over again until all of a guardian's reserve ammo is spent or everything in front of the guardian is dead, whichever comes first. Not only does it make a great stationary weapon but the High-Caliber Rounds perk also lets you fire with steady accuracy from the hip. With the heavy weapon class of light machine guns gone in Destiny 2, this buisness is the only LMG (light machine gun) business in town. The only weaknesses to this exotic is its lack of elemental damage, being a kinetic weapon, and some spin up time before reaching the full 360 rounds per minute, which can make quick reaction shots difficult.
Hard Light: Elemental Auto Rifle
The Destiny 2 version of Hard Light is a genuine improvement over its predecessor. While it retains the similar rapid-fire shredding characteristics of the original, the new Hard Light can change between elemental types, making it an optimal choice for plowing down shields in any situation.
Riskrunner: Elemental Sub-Machine Gun
Sub-machine guns can often be a bit hit-or-miss in terms of usability. However, the Riskrunner is a great example of how these tenacious little automated weapons can be more effective than you think. Not only is its chain lightning effect devastating against multiple foes, it's also a fantastic sight to behold during a firefight.
Wardcliffe Coil: Power Rocket Launcher
The Wardcliffe Coil is a powerful and versatile weapon that can make short work of enemies unfortunate enough to be within its firing range. While this rocket launcher's reload speed is understandably weak, nearly everything else about it makes it worth pulling out whether you're in a tight spot or just want to get the jump on a group of unsuspecting foes.
Vigilance Wing: Pulse Rifle
The Vigilance Wing's smooth handling, controllable recoil, and five-round burst make it a perfect choice for cooperative-focused battles, like Strikes and the Crucible. Smart use of its capabilities can easily save your fireteam in dire straits. Though, if you play solo, the Vigilance Wing may not be worth the Exotic slot to equip it, especially if you're able to secure the other Exotics that appear in this list. But the ease of control this rifle provides in making headshots make it well worth owning.
Rat King: Sidearm
The Rat King may seem like an odd choice, but it can be a worthwhile asset during Raids or any cooperative activities given how it becomes more powerful when more members of your Fireteam have it. It's a stylish weapon (+1 for the Katana wrapping on its grip) well-suited for coordinated groups.
Sunshot: Hand Cannon
The Sunshot is a useful hand cannon in both PvP and PvE due to its ability to fire powerful rounds that inflict both splash damage and make enemies explode upon death. Against weaker foes, the Sunshot can set off chains of exploding thralls or fallen. These traits-- combined with solar damage--make the gun particularly effective against Cabal. It also has a relatively quick reload time, which helps minimize one of the hand cannon class' greatest weaknesses.
Coldheart: Trace Rifle
Despite being a freezy death ray, the Coldheart does not freeze enemies in place--which is one of it's biggest weakness. In order to use it effectively, a guardian needs a clear line of sight and lack of other enemies charging at or firing on them. It increases damage over time, which means if you isolate a high level enemy, you can quickly deplete their health. Overall, the Coldheart seems less effective than other exotics. But there's no denying the use of its minion clearing capabilities and how that can be used to effectively build up super energy to finish off stronger enemies.
By Matt Espineli on Sep 16, 2017 08:30 pm
Fantastic sights to behold.
Destiny 2 is a good looking game, and like its predecessor, it's packed with an abundance of breathtaking locations. From the innermost chambers of the Pyramidion to the landing of the Leviathan, there's a lot to admire. That's why we've gathered shots of the 15 most beautiful areas in the game for your viewing pleasure. Click ahead to check out the most stunning locales best Destiny 2 has to offer. We're still digging deep into Destiny 2, but there are some basic things you should know (and habits from Destiny 1 you might need to break). Those include not waiting to decrypt Engrams and saving some of your Upgrade Points. You can check out more in our Destiny 2 beginner's guide. For more guides for the game, including breakdowns of the three classes, along with our skill and ability galleries for the various subclasses, be sure to visit our Destiny 2 guides and walkthroughs page for more information on what's happening in the online world of the Guardians.
Earth Orbit
The Farm
Noodle Shop in the Bazar
Looking at the Leviathan Raid From Nessus
The Leviathan
The Recovered Traveler
The Old Demolished Tower
Titan Orbit
The Titan Ocean
Looking at Jupiter From Titan
Looking at Saturn From Titan
The Solarium
The Traveler's Former Resting Place
Looking at the Pyramidion From IO
Inside the Pyramidion
By GameSpot Staff on Sep 16, 2017 03:08 am
Destiny 2 has been out for over a week now, and while many players have run through everything it has to offer so far--including the Raid--it's something that we'll be playing for months, if not years. It makes numerous improvements over its predecessor, and yet there are still a variety of areas where it could be even better. We know Bungie is in this for the long haul, with multiple DLC expansions and other free updates on the way--Activision has even enlisted additional studios to help ensure new content arrives on a more routine basis than in Destiny 1. That's good news, because in addition to more content, there are other tweaks, adjustments, and refinements we want to see. In the gallery above, we run through 16 such items on our wishlist. Destiny is out now on PS4 and Xbox One, with a PC version slated for release on October 24. You can read our thoughts on the game in our Destiny 2 review diary, with our full review coming soon. To get the most out of the game, check out our roundup of Destiny 2 guides, tips, and tricks.
Fix the Challenge Display
Challenges are a welcome change over the first Destiny's Bounty system. It's nice to have specific goals to complete in any given map or location every day without first having to manually pick up those tasks, but the way in which they are displayed could use some work. For starters, I would love to see my Challenges in the Director without first loading into a map or mode. This is particularly important for Crucible ones, where I can't equip the right weapons or subclass to complete Challenges until I'm actually in my first match of the day. It would also be helpful in cases where you forget that you've already completed the Challenges in a specific place for the day, sparing you the trouble of loading in only to discover you've wasted the last minute of your time. Just as importantly, please, Bungie, I'm begging you: allow Challenges to display without delay. Pulling out your Ghost can lead to an indefinite wait before Challenges show up, because they refuse to pop up if there's anything in the UI being displayed on the right side of the screen. If you're playing in a Fireteam, the notification showing the Glimmer you're earning from your teammates' kills can mean a maddening wait before you're allowed to check on your progress. -- Chris Pereira
Let Me Dismantle in the Vault
Inventory management is such a huge part of Destiny 2, but it's not like it's something we actually want to spend our time on. It's just a part of the game that's necessary to play. So it should, in theory, be as streamlined as possible. In Destiny 2, that's mostly the case, but there's one exception: I'd like to be able to dismantle gear while I'm looking in my vault. It's a small thing, but it's irksome having to exit the vault and re-enter the menu just to hold the button and dismantle. -- Mike Rougeau
Show Fireteam Members on the Map
If you spend any time playing with friends in a Patrol zone, you'll likely drift apart eventually. Maybe you need to track down a Servitor to kill, while your friend wants to seek out one of Cayde's chests, or one one of you takes part in a Scan or Survey quest that takes you far away. Whatever the reason, actually meeting up again without fast traveling to the same point can be something of a hassle. Beyond your Fireteam members' names being shown on the screen, there's no easy way to see how far away you are from each other. This forces you to rely on vague descriptions by bringing up the map, which can be difficult if one player needs help and is under attack. Why not just allow players to see an icon on the map to save players the trouble of playing this obnoxious game? -- Chris Pereira
Tell Me Where My Shaders Came From
Some players have made a big deal out of Destiny 2's new shader system, which lets you apply shaders to individual guns, armor pieces, and even ships and sparrows. The issue is that shaders are now one-time-use items, so you have to keep finding more if you want to change your gear up now and then. My issue is having to turn to Google to find out where I can get more of that frabjous fuschia Dawn and Dusk (or whatever my favorite shader of the moment happens to be). Simply adding a word or two to each shader's description when you hover over it ("Nessus," "Eververse," "Crucible") would solve the problem. -- Mike Rougeau
Fix NPC Notifications
There are few things more satisfying than flying into a Destiny 2 social space and seeing a ton of notifications indicating that various characters want to talk to you. Thanks to this game's new rewarding economy, that usually means you're about to get a bunch of engrams or gear. There's only one hiccup, and it relates to Destiny 2's interface. The problem is that the icon that indicates when a character wants your attention is the same one that pops up when you simply get near them, or when you take your ghost out. So if you're standing next to a vendor, there's no way to tell if they actually have something for you, or if you're simply positioned too near them. -- Mike Rougeau
Add A Photo Mode
Destiny 2 has a bigger, more beautiful, and fully realised world than the first game. I have stopped on numerous occasions to stand by and admire the scenery, including once during a Crucible match where doing so led to my swift and embarrassing death. I very much hope that Bungie introduces some kind of official photo mode for Destiny 2. I am playing on PS4, and the Share functionality is fine to quickly share images of fun things I saw or did, but it would be nice if Bungie added a more involved camera system that lets you select different angles and use filters, as well as a more easily accessible option to remove the HUD. -- Eddie Makuch
Add Optional Waypoints to the Mini-Map
As someone who finds himself staring at the mini-map constantly in games like Grand Theft Auto V, I'm actually glad that Destiny 2's is fairly limited. While I don't want it to become filled with every Patrol, resource, player, and other landmark that it could show, I would like slightly more information. Specifically, being able to set a waypoint on the map that shows up on the mini-map would be much appreciated. Bringing up the full map repeatedly as you inch your way toward a Cayde chest just isn't fun, and being able to mark a Fireteam member to more easily track them down would cut down on what can otherwise be a tedious process. Even something as simple as an indicator as to which direction is north would be a major improvement. -- Chris Pereira
Remember My Equipped Gun After Supers
Gunplay is crucial to Destiny 2, and choosing which of your three weapons to equip at any given second is one of the great thrills of playing. You always want to have the right tool for the job, whether it's a scout rifle for distant snipers or an SMG for those pesky Cabal. As a player, my brain is constantly making these tiny calculations to decide which gun to hold in my hands, including when I pop my super. I case the room, check out where I'm going to land when I'm done going nuts, and ask myself what I want to have equipped when I do. That's why it's so irritating when Destiny 2 resets me to my primary gun after my super runs out, instead of leaving me in shotgun town. Hopefully it's an easy fix? -- Mike Rougeau
Fast Travel in the Social Space
Slight spoilers with post-game details below. The second social space in Destiny is cavernous! You get to explore an industrial, well-detailed representation of the reclaimed city, but getting from one end to the other is an unnecessary hassle. Especially since most of what you need to do in the city post-game is just turn in quests and claim rewards. The space loses its luster after dozens of trips back and forth from Cayde-6 on one end of The Tower to Ikora Rey on the other. I'd appreciate either grouping everyone you need to talk to in one place, letting you fast travel between the three small areas, or putting all of the content in a single menu you can quickly sort through. -- Justin Haywald
Let Me Equip More Emotes
It's great that Destiny 2 so readily hands out new emotes to players through Bright Engrams without asking them to fork over real-world money. And some of the new ones are especially terrific. But why are we limited to only using one at a time? I want to be able to remap all of my emotes to ones I would actually use--I just don't care about being able to take a knee when the Down button could instead be another emote for mocking my friends. At the very least, allow dance emotes to be remapped to the default dance button. People should be able to express themselves through the magic of dance however they wish. -- Chris Pereira
Provide More Vault Space (Yes, Already)
Any original Destiny vets know the familiar struggle of having too much gear and not enough space in which to store it, even as Bungie kept increasing our vault space over and over again. It may feel OK in Destiny 2 now, but with only 200 spots for all the weapons and armor across as many as three separate characters, I'm already dreading the day I once again run out of space. Why not nip this one in the bud, Bungie? -- Mike Rougeau
Tell Me How the Power Level of My Drops Is Calculated
Many Destiny 2 players are hitting a wall once they reach around 265 power level, which is normal for Destiny--there always comes a time when leveling up and increasing your power becomes more difficult. The problem is that drops in Destiny 2 don't appear to make much sense. Part of that may be down to the way Legendary mods that add +5 to your gear's power level are artificially inflating your overall power number. So well I appear to be at 279 thanks to all my mods, the loot I get from most sources drops at just 269. Is that because of my mods, though? Or does loot from some sources simply drop 10 levels below your current one (which kind of sucks)? Is Destiny 2's loot system really working as intended, or is there something here that needs fixing? If nothing else, Bungie could at least explain what's going on. -- Mike Rougeau
Add a Firing Range to the Social Space
Destiny 2 offers an even wider array of weapons than the first game, but there's still no easy way to test them out. If the inhabitants of The Farm could be bothered to set up a soccer field, they should find the time to set up a firing range where you can try out each of your weapons. Sure, you could jump into a Patrol zone and rely on the mobile app to move items from your Vault, but there's always the chance that you could be attacked or that another player comes along and kills the enemies you're targeting. Having a spot in the social space where you can cycle through weapons in your Vault on consistent targets would make it a lot less painful to keep your weapon stockpile a manageable size. -- Chris Pereira
Fix Infusion and +5 Mods
Infusion is a crucial aspect of leveling up in Destiny 2 while continuing to use your favorite gear, as it lets you feed higher-powered stuff into your lowered-powered armor and weapons to bring the latter up to the former's level. But there's one new system in Destiny 2 that has caused a lot of confusion because of how it affects infusion: mods. Legendary weapon and armor mods can add +5 to your gear's power level, which is great for getting an extra boost in combat. But that number isn't taken into account for infusion. For example, if you infuse a 250 gun with a 265 that has a +5 mod on it, the gun will only go up to 260, because that's the actual power level without the mod factored in. To solve this Bungie needs to show the gear's actual power level, not its mod-increased level, in the infusion menu. -- Mike Rougeau
Swap Clan and Roster Locations
With the current menu layout, your Roster (letting you see friends online) and your Clan screen are in two separate locations: one is on the same set of screens as your inventory, while the other is next to the Director. I constantly find myself either opening the wrong screen (old Destiny 1 habits die hard) or being forced to close the one I'm currently in to jump over to the other to check on my friends' status. Ideally, the Roster would also be accessible from the main options screen, or the Roster and Clan screens would simply be switched. It's a small complaint, but one that would go a long way in making things smoother for players. -- Chris Pereira
Center the Map on Me
I'm thrilled that Destiny 2 actually has functional maps for its various exotic locales, but I'd love it even more if the map would actually center on me instead of defaulting to the middle when I open it. It's a small gripe, but I'm reminded of it every time I waste a second or two hunting for my icon while taking fire from pesky Psions or Hobgoblins. -- Mike Rougeau
By Mat Elfring on Sep 16, 2017 02:18 am
Cartoons aren't just for kids. As you probably know, there's a whole world of adult-orientated animated series available to stream through various services. However, they all aren't hits, but you're in luck, with Season 4 of BoJack Horseman and Season 21 of South Park coming out, we're taking a look at some of the best adult animated series you can stream/binge right now. All you need is a Netflix or Hulu account in order to fill your weekend up with animated goodness.
Bojack Horseman
Season 4 of Netflix's hit series was just released, so you can spend all weekend catching up on this ridiculously funny series. If you've missed out, Bojack Horseman is about a '90s sitcom star who is now washed up and living in Hollywood. Did we mention he's also a bipedal horse? It has a wildly irreverent sense of humor that will give you plenty of laugh out loud moments. The show features a great cast of comedic voices including Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie, Aaron Paul, and Paul F. Tompkins. You can check out our impressions of BoJack Horseman Season 4's opening episode. Bojack Horseman is available on Netflix.
South Park
Can you believe South Park first debuted in 1997? As it has for the past 20 years, the hit series follows a group of foul-mouthed boys from a small town in Colorado. Season 21 airs this week, and like most years, we know nothing about what's coming up for the show, as its creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, work on each episode up until the day of its release. Regardless, if there's any episode you've missed or want to rewatch, it's all available online. South Park is available on Hulu (Seasons 1-20) and on Comedy Central's website (popular episodes).
Ricky and Morty
Cartoon Network's Rick and Morty is pure insanity, and obviously, the folks at GameSpot Universe love it a whole lot. The series follows a crazy scientist and his grandson, who isn't very intelligent. Season 3 is currently airing, and the show's over-the-line, witty humor is the driving force of the series. Want more Ricky and Morty? Check out our breakdown of Episode 7 here and a gallery of every Rick and Morty from that episode. Rick and Morty is available on Hulu (Seasons 1 and 2).
Family Guy
The show that made Seth MacFarlane famous is available on multiple streaming services. Family Guy follows the Griffin family, and the jokes are a bit out there--and usually involve a person from pop culture's past doing a bizarre activity. It's about to enter its 16th season this October, so there's a lot to catch up on if for some reason you've never seen it. Family Guy is available on Netflix (Seasons 1-14) and Hulu (Seasons 1-15).
Red vs. Blue
This YouTube series is a classic. Using footage from the original Halo, Red vs. Blue gives a reason to why all these Spartans are fighting each other. In addition, we get to know more about the people inside the helmets. Rooster Teeth's series was a hit on YouTube, and eventually, the whole show got compiled for Netflix. Season 15 is currently on YouTube, and while the show has a gotten a tad more serious, the humor it was known for is still there. Red vs. Blue is available on YouTube (all seasons) and Netflix (Seasons 1-13)
The Simpsons
Unless you've been living in a cave with your fingers in your ears for the past 28 years, then you're well aware of what The Simpsons is. However, what you may not know is that you can watch every episode from the series online. Yes, you read that correctly. Through the FX website and app, you can access any episode of The Simpsons, as long as your cable or satellite provider allows it. Relive Homer picking a dental plan for work or getting braces for Lisa or stupid sexy Flanders to your heart's content. The Simpsons is available through FX's website and app and on Hulu (Season 28 only).
Futurama
Simpsons creator Matt Groening launched this sci-fi animated series back in 1999, which spawned seven seasons and a slew of internet memes. The show follows Fry, a man from 1999 who gets cryogenically frozen and wakes up a 1000 years in the future. Sadly, only the two final seasons are available on Netflix, but every episode is coming to Hulu soon. Hypnotoad demands you watch it all, over and over again. Futurama is available on Netflix (Seasons 6 and 7).
Bob's Burgers
Much like Futurama, Bob's Burgers was pulled from Netflix. However, unlike Futurama, the entire series is already available on Hulu. The Fox animated series, which returns to the network this October, follows Bob Belcher and his family. Together, they run a hamburger joint in a seaside community. The series has won two Emmys since its inception and continues to be a smash hit, so you should definitely check it out if you've never seen it. Bob's Burgers is available on Hulu (Seasons 1-7).
Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken is the stop-motion version of Twisted Toyfare Theater, a comic within the pages of Toyfare magazine from 1997-2011. The Adult Swim show features short clips featuring toys in various situations, most of them incredibly adult. Sure, the humor can be a bit absurd and immature, but the show is overall hilarious, and it's even better when they use a toy in a skit from your childhood. Robot Chicken is available on Hulu (Seasons 1-8).
Archer
Adam Reed is the mind behind two of my favorite Adult Swim shows, Frisky Dingo and Sealab 2021--both available to watch on Hulu. So it makes sense that his FX series Archer is wonderful as well. The series follows a spy and takes a comedic look at the world of espionage. Archer is an episodic series, so you have to watch every episode; luckily, the show is wonderful, and you'll want to. Archer is available on Netflix (Seasons 1-7), Hulu (Seasons 1-7), and on the FX website (Season 7, for a limited time).
Aqua Teen Hunger Force
During the first few years of Adult Swim, Aqua Teen Hunger Force debuted. It was a show about three personified foods--who were supposedly superheroes--living in the suburbs and annoying their neighbor Carl. The series was super-out-there, featuring this team spending more time buying items at the mall and building exercise equipment rather than fighting crime. However, this is one of the series that launched Adult Swim as a place for college kids to spend their Sunday nights. Aqua Teen Hunger Force is available on Hulu (Seasons 1-11).
Venture Brothers
Venture Brothers is an early Adult Swim series that is technically still on the air, as Season 7 is reportedly in production. The show follows the Venture family, a parody of Jonny Quest, and the episodic series has them traversing the globe, battling evil villains and inventing horrible, monstrous robots. Aside from Jonny Quest, the show parodies GI Joe, Marvel Comics, and more in a smart and witty way. Venture Brothers is available on Hulu (Seasons 1-6).
Metalocalypse
Finally, there's Adult Swim's Metalocalypse. The series follows the world most popular and successful death metal band, Dethklok. The show is bloody, violent, and hilarious. It also introduced the world to Dr. Rockso, who claims to have done cocaine. The show was created by Brendon Small, who you may know as the co-creator of Home Movies, alongside Bob's Burgers creator Loren Bouchard. However, fair warning, this is a huge departure from Home Movies. Metalocalypse is available on Hulu (Seasons 1-4).
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