The Destiny 2 Nightfall weapon changes on a week-by-week basis, giving you the chance to delve into enemy-infested lairs across the system and grab yourself a special gun. The only way to get a Nightfall weapon is by completing the activity, and even then, there’s only a limited chance. You can also get adept versions of each weapon, though these are solely a guaranteed reward for the much-harder Grandmaster Nightfalls.
A couple of Nightfall weapons were retired last season, including the Plug One (opens in new tab) fusion rifle and Hothead rocket launcher. If you don’t want to miss out on any weapons that might disappear by season’s end, it’s always a good idea to keep a weather eye on what’s coming up next. Here I’ll explain what Nightfall weapon is up for grabs this week, its best roll, and what you’ll need to bring to beat the activity on higher difficulties.
What is the Nightfall weapon this week?
The Nightfall weapon from October 18 – 25 is Duty Bound, an adaptive frame auto-rifle. It’s currently the only adept auto-rifle that you can get through Grandmaster Nightfalls, making it a pretty desirable weapon. For a PvE god roll you’ll likely want Arrowhead Brake and Accurized Rounds for increased ranged and smoother handling, then either Perpetual Motion or Triple-Tap, depending on your accuracy, then Rampage or Vorpal Weapon.
If you’re getting the adept version, Vorpal is especially good as a PvE roll, since you can also slot on an Adept Big Ones mod, which will let you deal even more damage to powerful enemies and bosses. That said, Rampage is a better perk if you just want Duty Bound for clearing minor enemies.
For a PvP roll, Perpetual Motion and Frenzy or Dynamic Sway Reduction are probably your best bet. Duty Bound is not an amazing PvP auto-rifle in terms of the perks it can roll, but if you insist on bringing it, Perpetual Motion will grant you a bump to stats while on the move, and Dynnamic Sway Reduction will improve accuracy and stability for full auto fire.
Perhaps the most unique PvE roll you can get is Triple Tap and Fourth Times the Charm, which should mean you rarely have to reload, since both perks return rounds to the mag as long as you’re landing successive precision hits.
Nightfall weapon rotation for the Season of Plunder
With each new season, some Nightfall weapons are retired to make way for new ones, meaning it’s often your last chance to grab them for quite a while. The current Nightfall weapons in the seasonal rotation order are:
- D.F.A (Kinetic Hand Cannon)
- Horror’s Least (Arc Pulse Rifle)
- Duty Bound (Kinetic Auto Rifle)
- Militia’s Birthright (Kinetic Grenade Launcher)
- Either Mindbender’s Ambition (Solar Shotgun) or Horror’s Least (Arc Pulse Rifle)
- Silicon Neuroma (Kinetic Sniper Rifle)
After this the order will repeat. Things became a little confusing order wise after Mindbender’s Ambition was replaced with Horror’s Least in the second week due to a bug, so it’s unclear if Horror’s Least will, in turn, be replaced with Mindbender’s Ambition when its week rolls around. Some of these will also likely leave rotation at the end of the season, but there’s no information on which yet.
How to get Adept nightfall weapons
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Since Grandmaster Nightfalls have now begun, you can earn adept versions of the weekly Nightfall weapon by completing them. Adept weapons are strong because they can equip adept mods, which are far superior to regular weapon mods. Adept Big Ones for example, effectively combines Boss Spec and Major Spec into a single mod that allows extra damage for both bosses and powerful enemies. You can earn adept mods by completing Grandmaster Nightfalls.
Completions also have a chance to reward you with a Nightfall Memento. These items are mainly cosmetic, and can be slotted into new weapons that you craft. When you reach level 20 with that weapon it’ll unlock a title, and when you reach 30, you’ll get a special shader for it. The Nightfall Memento shader is a shiny orange colour with tessellated vanguard symbols that move.