In order to prompt the quest for your first Gunsmith bounty, you’ll need to achieve Rank 2 with his internal reputation system. There are two ways to earn Gunsmith reputation: You can borrow test weapons that become newly available every Armsday, or get lucky with a Golden Age Relic drop, which award 250 XP towards your next rank.
By completing the mini-bounties associated with each Field Test weapon, you’ll earn Gunsmith reputation. Complete all 5 every week for the maximum amount of guaranteed rep. If you do this consistently, you should hit Rank 2 in two weeks, give or take.
When you finally hit Rank 2, in addition to a thoughtful reputation package, the Gunsmith will offer you the quest “Back In the Saddle.” This starts you on the road to your first Gunsmith weapon.
This Omolon Fusion Rifle was designed specifically for Warlocks, and has a unique perk that makes it very interesting. Damage with an ability will change the elemental damage of Susanoo to said ability. This means a Storm Grenade will convert Susanoo’s elemental damage to Arc. Although it’s intended to only last for a short time, it currently persists until you change weapons or go to orbit.
For this reason, it’s a little gimmicky at the moment. If Bungie patches it, it could have some interesting synergy with certain class setups – and yours truly will be kicking himself even harder for accidentally dismantling it. The Susanoo has high Impact, a low Charge Rate, average Range, and high Stability. It’s a very solid, if slow, option in PvE, and Braced Frame makes the spread laser thin in PvP.
The Titan-only Shotgun has a low base Impact and a high RoF, much like the classic Secret Handshake. With the Magazine Size of 6, this actually means fairly substantial DPS at the cost of stopping power on each blast. With its perk Surrounded, you’ll be glad for the high RoF, as you’ll get a boost to your damage that will help you rapidly handle whatever’s encircled you. Its unique perk, Bouncer, removes the ammunition cost for lethal shots inside the Ward of Dawn.
Three thralls in your bubble? Blast, blast, blast, and you’re no worse for wear. This will obviously only benefit Defenders, but it’s quite a benefit for those who prefer to use their bubble aggressively. All-in-all, it’s a fun Shotgun if you plan on bubbling up, but not worth using as a Striker or Sunbreaker – or when staying in your bubble isn’t helping your team.
It’s somewhat of a spiritual successor to Patience & Time with its muted camo design, but arguably even better. This is all thanks to its LDR-style Impact/RoF, which offers the perfect balance between lethality and minimal downtime between shots. If you enjoy the 1000 Yard Stare, you’ll love Stillpiercer. Its unique perk grants enhanced Motion Tracker whenever it is equipped. In practice, this means that your radar will be segmented into eight slices to help you pinpoint enemies more easily. Of course, this perk becomes useless the moment you ADS, but is conceptually suited to the idea of being the perfect hunter.
Its other perk, Perfectionist, rewards very skilled hands with a full magazine refund upon 4 consecutive headshot kills. There is no time limit for proc’ing this, so take your time. Stillpiercer has a single default scope, but it is versatile with a pinpoint reticle and a low zoom factor.
The first step for Back In the Saddle will task you to kill enemies with a specific weapon type while under the influence of a Special Weapon telemetry. There have been reports that telemetries from prior to TTK don’t count these kills, so it’s better to be safe and purchase one from the Gunsmith.
You’ll need 75 kills with…
Feel free to boot up the Dark Beyond and do your thing – and Warlocks, Vex Mythoclast does count. Remember that a telemetry lasts for 30 minutes, so be efficient and don’t be afraid to use your Special Ammo Synths.
Returning to the Gunsmith with this quest stage completed, he will offer his congratulations and assign you the last leg of the bounty. This one requires you to collect 10 Weapon Parts from dismantled rare or Legendary weapons, corresponding to the class of the one you’re working towards. This means Warlocks will have to dismantle rare Fusion Rifles, Hunters Sniper Rifles, and Titans Shotguns.
Running Strikes and the Court of Oryx is the best way to easily access blue and purple Engrams. Maybe you’ve been hoarding a couple from your House of Wolves days?
Unfortunately, there’s a pre-determined value for each weapon type. Regardless of how many Weapon Parts you actually receive, Legendaries are worth 5, and Rares are worth 1. You can dismantle 10 Rares or 2 Legendaries, but the sum total needs to be 10+ to complete this stage.
Once you’ve done this, you’ll be rewarded your Legendary Class Weapon – Congrats!
Enjoy it, and in the meantime, keep doing those Field Test Bounties and turning in those relics, because once you have completed the Rank 2 Quest and reached Rank 3, you’ll unlock the final stage of the Back In the Saddle quest. This version puts you on track to score your class Exotic.
This Scout Rifle is just fantastic – seriously. We’ve reviewed it in full, so go check out that review for our thoughts.
It’s sort of Tlaloc in Auto Rifle form, supposedly granting a boost to a few stats, including RoF, when enemies are close by – but this Exotic perk appears to be barely functioning, if it all. Without it, we’re left with an above-average Auto Rifle with some above-average perks, but it’s hard to say with full confidence that it’s worth an Exotic slot. These talents are Life Support, and the intrinsic Crowd Control. Extra DPS and a chance to recover health when critically injured isn’t too shabby, but it’s hardly Exotic. At least it has Extended Mag to make the most of Crowd Control. Until we get the word on the Exotic perk, Titans might have gotten the raw end of the deal on this one.
Tlaloc might be unmatched in certain situations, but Ace of Spades makes a case as the most well-rounded of the Exotic trio. It is one of the few Hand Cannons in the game that comes standard with Firefly, a favorite perk of ours finally making a triumphant return from the glory days of Fatebringer. While it lacks the elemental damage of Fatebringer, its Exotic Perk Maverick is a happy consolation prize. Every time you kill an enemy with critical damage, you’ll move one round from your reserves into your magazine.
In theory, you could fire absurd amounts of bullets before needing to reload. With Reinforced Barrel and the intrinsic 3rd Eye, you have an Exotic for all seasons, tickling those ranges that old Hand Cannons could hit, and putting out strong PvE AoE damage while still being a reliable 3-hit-kill in the Crucible. If you aren’t too bothered by a lower range, High Caliber Rounds is great for chaining headshots on perma-staggered Majors.
You’re just repeating the Rank 2 Quest with a new weapon type. Grab a Primary Weapon telemetry and skip off to get your kills. With the plentiful reserve ammunition of Primaries, this will be a much easier task than it was with your Special.
After you get back to the Gunsmith, he’ll already be tapping his foot impatiently, waiting for you to dismantle another round of Legendaries and Rares. The same tips apply for this stage, but if you really can’t wait, you can always spend your Legendary Marks on a weapon from the Vendors; that’s 5 right there.
When you reach the 10/10 mark, talk to the Gunsmith and Tlaloc, the Fabian Strategy, or Ace of Spades (depending on your class) will be yours!
It’s really not too bad; the hardest parts of the quest are amassing the reputation. Hopefully, you’ve been plugging away with the Field Test weapons, but it’s never too late to start.
