Published on: Feb 19, 2015 @ 15:46
Contrubuting Author: Alan Z
The Iron Banner has made another monthly visit, this time bringing an amazing roll on Gheleon’s Demise.
This version of Gheleon’s Demise has the attractive Outlaw and Firefly perks by default, mirroring that of the Crucible Quartermaster’s The Saterienne Rapier, a favorite among PvE players.
Let’s take a look how the two scout rifles compare head-to-head, and which one you should purchase first.
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Acquisition
To purchase The Saterienne Rapier you’ll have to reach rank 3 in Crucible reputation in addition to obtaining 150 marks, which can take as few as 240 wins or as many as 600 losses.
For Gheleon’s Demise you’ll have to reach rank 5 in the Iron Banner, which requires a total of 8500 reputation. Depending on how often you participate in the Iron Banner, you should be able to attain rank 5 within the week the event is active.
Maximize your standing by equipping the Iron Banner class item, emblem and shader for a 33% reputation bonus. The Tempering buff will also help by increasing gains for 12 hours.
You’ll be able to seize Gheleon’s Demise with 11,500 Glimmer and IB Rank 5.
Both will require dedication and grinding, especially if you don’t compete in the Crucible often, as these can only be obtained by playing in the Crucible.
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Face-Off
Did you get through the hurdle? Good! Now let’s get down to the brass tacks.
The Saterienne Rapier has been a Guardian favorite for a long time and for good reason. It’s a junior version (minus the physical size) of the elusive Fatebringer hand cannon, and since it’s got a higher range and stability, many people prefer it.
The Crucible Quartermaster version comes equipped with the Outlaw and Firefly perks, which decreases your reload speed by half after precision kills, and targets killed with precision causes them to explode with a solar blast.
Check out our full review for The Saterienne Rapier here.
The Red Dot-OAS sights give it a healthy increase to stability, which is always a welcome with your choice of High Caliber Rounds, Hammer Forged and Armor Piercing Rounds.
Hammer Forged makes a solid choice as it will bring the average range to nearly maximum. It has a quick reload speed and decent rate of fire, in line with favorites such as the Fang of Ir Yut and Vision of Confluence.
The primary concern with The Saterienne Rapier is the low magazine size, and there’s no way to increase it either. Unfortunately neither of these scout rifles are able to roll Field Scout.
A marksman’s weapon forged in fire by the Lords of the Iron Banner, Gheleon’s Demise is special in its own right.
At 61 Impact, it falls in line with the highest Impact scout rifles (tied with Badger CCL), meaning it hits like a truck. At 73 damage per headshot in the Crucible, it’s a 3-headshot kill.
Besides its limited time in the Tower, the main selling point of the rifle is the ability to reroll perks via Lord Saladin for 2 Motes of a Light a pop. You can reroll as many times as you want, though many would say you’d be crazy to change its default perks.
Unfortunately it has the near lowest stability, but because the rate of fire is so low, you’ll have enough time to adjust your shots to make up for it.
In PvE the low rate of fire isn’t an issue at all because you want to have more power over quicker shots. In PvP it may take some getting used to but the Impact more than makes up for it in most circumstances.
It also has a nearly maximized base range, making it perfect for long range Crucible maps.
As you can see in the image above, the base reload speed is slower than The Saterienne Rapier, but since both have Outlaw the difference is negligible.
The default perks are nearly perfect for PvE, but our recommendations for PvP would be Zen Moment, Flared Magwell and Third Eye if you buy another one to Reforge.
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Which is Better?
If you don’t already have Fatebringer and are dying to get your hands on its perks, buy Gheleon’s Demise first.
The Saterienne Rapier doesn’t pack as much of a punch, has less ammo, can’t be Reforged, and isn’t a limited-time weapon.
While The Saterienne Rapier overall is more user friendly and fluid, Gheleon’s Demise will dominate the PvE content due to its Impact.
Remember: Wearing the class item, emblem, and shader will increase your reputation gains.
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Best Scout Rifle?
Could The Saterienne Rapier and/or Gheleon’s Demise be considered the best Legendary scout rifle in Destiny? Arguably not, but they both come in close to Fang of Ir Yût.
If you haven’t already seen our full review for Fang of Ir Yût, click here.
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Feedback
What do you guys think? Which do you prefer using and why? Do you agree with our analysis?