Long ago, The Red Death was a highly sought after weapon. With the release of Destiny 2: The Final Form, Bungie brought it back – and its divisive Guardians around the world with its impressive advantages but clear limitations.
A fair amount of hype has surrounded the return of the Red Death to Destiny 2, with many YouTubers (such as Aztecross) offering favorable early reviews. However, upon first use, some Reddit users expressed disappointment.
Reddit user u/Deadeyefitz found the weapon to be underpowered, slow, and somewhat clumsy. Its position as an Exotic causes more scrutiny than other weaponry due to it taking up that important slot that could be used for other powerful firepower. However, most comments responding to our leading man are positive about The Red Death.
What makes The Red Death Reformed “Awesome”
This exotic pulse rifle offers many excellent advantages. First, each kill boosts recharges and heals the user – that’s right, no need to recharge. Simply blast an enemy and get a handy health boost. After reloading though, you’ll heal your allies as well.
Another exciting perk is Reverse Relationship, which offers increased handling, reduced shaking, and momentarily increased movement speed whenever you take damage. On top of that, you also take more damage when you’re at lower health (the threshold seems to be around half health). The damage is increasing? A crazy 40%!
Reddit user DitchDoctor808 agrees, saying, “I absolutely love it. It has a heal clip on steroids without breaking the combat rhythm to reload. I respect your opinion, but it was a fire on my sun-based prism wizard.”
Now this all sounds great, doesn’t it? Pulse rifle users are practically drooling already. But wait, there’s even more.
The Final Form also outshined pulse rifles in PvE by an additional 38% in damage in red bars. This makes the Red Death Reformed a formidable primary that can kill almost anything.
It’s also a great choice for PvP, with the heals potentially making skilled users unstoppable – as well as helping the team with those recharge heals.
What made The Red Death Reformed to be “Medium”?
I spent a lot of time with The Red Death Reformed during the Legendary Campaign and was very disappointed. Right out of the gate, this pulse rifle just doesn’t offer the high damage expected of an Exotic weapon—especially when I consider the damage of the Forerunner, Quicksilver Storm, and other Exotics at my disposal. Honestly, even some Legendary weapons surpass the RDR.
I can’t deny that the perks of The Red Death Reformed are amazing and the ability to heal yourself and allies will definitely be considered a requirement for all content. However, why would I use my Exotic slot for this weapon when my handcrafted BXR Battler with enhanced Incandescent and Demolition works just as great? The latter is also a pulse rifle and is granted that massive 38% damage increase without taking that crucial weapon slot.
My views are not shared by all the Guardians out there and even my colleague, Gabe Dominguez, swears by its ability to carry him through certain parts of the Legendary Campaign. He even recommends the weapon for Rookies and Rookies (which I can’t deny myself), and there is the Catalyst, which promises to make the weapon even stronger.
Reddit user BarryDylanofODIN had his take on the issues with the Red Death Reformed, saying, “I like it, but wish it had a bigger magazine. Even 33 or 36 rounds could work, because 30 rounds go fast.”
Regardless of which side of the fence you are on, it will come down to taste and personal experience. I can’t get over the low rate of fire and lackluster damage for Exotic, while others love the ability to heal from every red-bar mob in the game.
This crack weapon is this season’s exotic and can be obtained from the season pass. Free users will get it on day 40, while paid users will get it on day one.
And that’s about all there is to say about this attractive new pulse rifle.
Check out some of our other guides as well, like how to get the prismatic armor perks in Destiny 2: The Final Form, or the Exegesis Puzzles and Boss Guide.
