Fatebringer is the Destiny hand cannon that, in some respects, built part of the legends of Destiny 1. Now, with the Vault of Glass raid reimagined for Destiny 2, this legendary weapon is back and remains one of the best hand cannons in the entire game.
With the right rolls, there are few weapons, not just hand cannons, that feel quite like Destiny 2‘s Fatebringer, even in Season of the Splicer’s crowded field of high-quality options. This Destiny 2 guide goes over what to look for when farming Fatebringer, as well as how to farm it efficiently. It also goes over Fatebringer god rolls to be mindful of.
How to Get the Destiny 2 Fatebringer Hand Cannon
You can only get your hands on the Destiny 2 Fatebringer hand cannon in one place: the Vault of Glass raid. It drops from two encounter loot chests: the Templar boss fight and Gatekeepers encounter before the Atheon fight. If you don’t receive a Fatebringer at either point, you’ll have to wait until weekly reset to try again.
Once you have the weapon, you’ll be able to roll for it at the loot chest that appears following Atheon’s demise. Each roll costs 20 Spoils of War. You’ll get 5 Spoils of War for each encounter you complete in any raid, whether the chest provides other loot or not.
Many of the secret chests in Vault of Glass and Deep Stone Crypt also grant 5 Spoils of War, so you would do well to open them every run, even if you won’t get standard loot for it.
For 60 Spoils of War, the Atheon chest allows you to gather loot from any encounter in Vault of Glass, giving one more shot at acquiring Fatebringer. This method is something of a last resort, as you’re better served just doing the raid again than spending that many for a one in five chance.
Lastly, secret chests drop whatever loot you’ve already acquired in the raid, meaning every one of them has a chance to drop Fatebringer.
Farming Fatebringer, then, looks something like this:
- Whenever possible, run Vault of Glass on three new characters and get at least to Templar. Open every chest on your way to it.
- Finish Vault of Glass on at least one character and roll for it either in Templar/Gatekeeper Spoils or directly from the menu.
- Repeat every week until you have the perk selection you want.
Fatebringer PvE God Rolls
Fatebringer is incredibly fun to use even on its own, and the right set of perks takes it from a good gun to one of the best PvE weapons in all of Destiny 2. You’re looking for the following for a PvE god roll hand cannon.
Barrel
Corkscrew Rifling or Fullbore. The former is a mild buff to Range, Handling, and Stability, making it an all-around good choice. The latter is a heavy buff to Range at the cost of Stability and Handling, but neither will impact Fatebringer’s PvE performance.
Magazine
Accurized Rounds or Tactical Mag. The former is a straight improvement to Range, which takes Fatebringer lethality to greater distances. The latter adds Stability, Reload Speed, and some additional bullets to the magazine. Tac Mag is, therefore, more a quality of life perk but usable in the right circumstances.
Slot 3 Trait
Rewind Rounds or Explosive Payload. The former gives Fatebringer the ability to instantly pull bullets from reserves when the magazine empties. The latter adds upwards of 10-15% additional damage that isn’t affected by range falloff.
Slot 4 Trait
Firefly or Kill Clip. The former takes a good Fatebringer and makes it great, causing enemies to explode on a critical kill while increasing reload speed. The latter is a straight damage buff to the weapon for a short time when you reload following any kill.
Fatebringer PvP God Rolls
120 RPM hand cannons remain king in the Crucible, but with the right perks, Fatebringer can compete. You’re looking to maximize Range wherever possible, both to catch up to the meta and improve bullet stickiness. With increased stickiness, you’ll be hitting headshots with more consistency even if you aren’t perfectly accurate.
Barrel
Corkscrew Rifling or Hammer-Forged Rifling. Ideally, you pick up Hammer-Forged for the larger increase to Range, but the additional Stability and Handling from Corkscrew is good as well.
Magazine
Accurized Rounds or Tactical Mag. Same as PvE.
Slot 3 Trait
Explosive Payload. The increased damage and flinch are too good to pass up, and no other perk in this slot really comes close.
Slot 4 Trait
Opening Shot or Kill Clip. Opening Shot’s accuracy and range increase at the start of a fight can push Fatebringer closer to what a 120 can pull off. Kill Clip is straight damage for the next fight, so it’s never a bad choice.
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That’s how to get Destiny 2 Fatebringer, and with this all in mind, you should be able to get some god rolls if you’re lucky and patient enough. If you found this guide helpful, check out our other guides on the game.
