Top Choice: The Saterienne Rapier
Although I don’t know what “Saterienne” means, one thing is for certain: this Scout Rifle means business. Boasting Outlaw and Firefly, along with impressive base Range, Stability, and Reload Speed, this weapon is designed to deliver death with precision.
With the option of either High Caliber Rounds or Armor Piercing Rounds, you can choose to to lock your opponents in stagger or strike multiple foes with one shot, respectively; the Rapier has an answer for everything.
The 13 Round Magazine seems like a drawback, but you’ll be proc’ing Outlaw while blowing away groups of mobs with Firefly so often that you won’t ever notice. If you had to get just one weapon from the Crucible Quartermaster, we recommend this Scout Rifle.
Three Little Words is a strong contender. 3Rd Eye is perfect for PvP, and Headseeker helps it pull off quicker kills. Great all around stats, with High Caliber Rounds and Fitted Stock as nice third row options. Pulse Rifles are currently very deadly in the Crucible, and this one is no exception.
For The People is still fairly scary in the Crucible, with an ideal perk profile including Field Scout and extremely High Stability.
Against All Odds has the highest Impact of any LMG, and Field Scout, but horrifyingly low Stability only mitigated by its low RoF and Persistence (eventually).
TFWPKY 1969 and Two To The Morgue are both good buys. The first is a Hand Cannon with Field Scout, but two underwhelming perks.
The second is a slower firing Shotgun with synergistic damage perks and six in the mag; it’s designed for maximum PvE devastation. Either of these would are fine choices for PvE.
Top Choice: Secret Handshake
Whereas once this spot might have belonged to the LDR 5001, the nerf to Armor Piercing Rounds unseated it for the Secret Handshake to take its place. This Shotgun boasts a fantastic Rate of Fire, serviceable Impact, and very high Reload Speed, but it’s the perks that make it worthwhile.
Accurized Ballistics, Hammer Forged, and Shot Package give it very respectable range and turn it into a Crucible monster. It still lacks the raw power and range of Felwinter’s Lie, but outstrips it in several other categories, making it viable for both PvE and PvP.
You don’t often get a perk roll this perfect at the Vendor and that’s why it earns our top recommendation from the Vanguard Quartermaster.
PLUG ONE.1 and Time On Target fit the bill here. The former has practically unfair base stats, along with the potential to grant a little extra ammo on a kill, and Perfect Balance to maximize its Stability.
Time On Target has unusually high reload speed, and respectable Stability that can be increased further with Perfect Balance. What makes this preform so well in the Crucible is its Headseeker & Reactive Reload perks, both of which increases the damage you can dish out. Taking advantage of both of these perks, you can potentially kill enemies in 2 bursts, with 36 damage per bullet.
Up For Anything, with its excellent Range via Hammer Forged and Rangefinder, and a respectable Magazine Size and high Stability, has so much going for it to take advantage of. Think of it as the For The People’s Vanguard cousin.
LDR 5001 is your second best bet. Although Unflinching is sporadically useful, and Clown Cartridge will only buff your magazine occasionally, it’s real power comes from the Arc damage, base Impact class, and Armor Piercing Rounds. You can deal hefty damage through light cover, and it provides the perfect Special option for Arc Nightfalls. Can’t go wrong here.
Your other option is Another NitC. Rangefinder pushes its range to the outer limits, and Outlaw cures any potential Reload Speed problems. With 19 in the magazine, you can keep up the pain that much longer. Shame it doesn’t have Firefly.
As each Faction currently only has four weapons available, we’ll only be covering the top choice, with a couple of words on why the others didn’t make the cut.
Top Choice: The Chance
This is the best Hand Cannon you can buy currently, Timur’s Lash notwithstanding. It shares Fatebringer’s Impact and RoF class, and has three fantastic perks for PvE. Spray & Play is a great option as long as you frequently empty your mag, Field Scout buffs the Magazine Size to 13 from a lowly 6, and Grenadier helps Grenade uptime substantially.
Aesthetically, it’s particularly cool, sporting the FWC logo on the side with a brilliant purple frame. We’d take it over TFWPKY 1969, and if you have the Crucible Marks, you should too.
The Crash is an interesting option for PvE, with Luck in the Chamber, Feeding Frenzy, and Field Scout, but its low base Range with no way to increase it hinders it in PvP or when trying to keep your distance in other content.
The Culling is an average LMG. Counterbalance is nice for its stability, and Who’s Next is not an awful option, but lacking Field Scout or a more reliable reload-based perk, you can do better.
Top Choice: Deviant Gravity-A
This one is tricky. We could probably make a case for Hide And Seek-42, but the recent nerf to Special Ammo in 1.1.2 make its Magazine Size of 4 – and subsequent low reserve ammo – a real bummer. The Deviant Gravity-A is the only Arc LMG available for sale anywhere, and has a lot going for it.
Its base Impact/RoF model is the same as the deadly Swarm, which makes it perfectly suited for both PvP and PvE, with just the right amount of kick for how fast it fires. Although it cripplingly lacks Field Scout, it makes up for it with Spray & Play and Surplus. You’ll be reloading a little more often, and you won’t get the most ammo in PvP, but each ammo pickup will see you near capacity.
You can buff its Range to scary values with Hammer Forged or choose Single Point Sling for some PvP versatility. Skip Rounds adds a little extra ammo to your reserves – always nice.
The Hide and Seek-42 isn’t bad either. It has Accurized Ballistics and Hammer Forged to help round out its strong base stats, and Crowd Control and Cascade. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have Shot Package or Rangefinder, and its low Magazine Size is particularly troublesome.
The Crypt Dweller SR1 is the only Legendary of its type with that Rate of Fire class, which is interesting in and of itself. It shares this RoF with the MIDA Multi-tool, and has the same perks as Another NITC. It’s not a bad option at all, but without Firefly and a disappointing magazine size of 13, it just doesn’t have the Impact to justify it. Outlaw saves it though.
The less said about Unwilling Soul-09, the better. Even Persistence and Fitted Stock don’t do much to save it from acting like a garden hose that no one is holding on to.
Top Choice: Vanquisher VIII
New Monarchy has awful options for weapons. We don’t really recommend buying any of them – but Vanquisher is the best option if you do. Despite the low Magazine Size and recently super-nerf’d damage, the Vanquisher is still a reliable gun that can land a whole clip of headshots with ease. We’re hopeful for an auto rifle buff in the future to make this weapon really shine.
It has great Stability, a little extra firepower with Glass Half Full, and Spray & Play to alleviate the issues its low Magazine Size presents. High Caliber Rounds lets you take advantage of its Impact for chain-staggers, and Fitted Stock bumps up the Stability a little more. Single Point Sling does okay in PvP, too.
The Crusader I isn’t worth your time. The Saterienne Rapier and Another NITC are both superior to it, while sharing its base Impact/RoF class. Neither perk on the Crusader I is very useful.
The Judgment VI, despite being a heavy-hitter, is handicapped by its poor perk profile and low Magazine Size. It has no real way to buff its Range, although Spray & Play lets you get those reserve rounds in quicker. Quickdraw, Snapshot, and Single Point Sling all wish they could be either Field Scout or Hammer Forged.
Finally, the Prestige IV is a wholly disappointing LMG. Counterbalance and Crowd Control are actually decent for PvE, but its base stats are so low they need help from all of its perks to reach acceptable levels. No Field Scout and Void Damage seal the deal for staying away from this one. Keep your 150 Crucible Marks away from New Monarchy, all in all.
We hope this article has given you some weapons to seriously consider in the coming weeks before House of Wolves. While we carefully considered all the options and stand by our recommendations, we know that it’s not easy to get the Marks to buy each and every gun we supported here.
Think about how you play, and what you’ll be best served by in the House of Wolves. If you’re going to stick to your Fatebringer, you probably won’t need The Chance. If you already have a perfect Gheleon’s Demise, then the Saterienne Rapier isn’t going to be at the top of your priority list.
Think about our Honorable Mentions, and if one of these guns can shore up any weaknesses in your arsenal. Above all, remember that these are just our opinions; you should play with what you enjoy.
On that note, do you think we missed anything important? Did we give short shrift to a favorite of yours, that you want to defend to the death in the comments section? We’re listening, so please share your feedback!
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