Update: The RPM may only be changeable while using the fully automatic mode.
What We Know
The Khvostov 7G-0X is Bungie’s tribute to the first gun ever held by a Guardian, and by all indications so far it will be not only a great item for nostalgia, but a valued option in every Guardians’ vault when Rise of Iron hits hard drives in September. A recent article and video shared by Game Informer’s Ben Reeves outlined everything we currently know about the updated weapon.
“We really thought about what the first Khvostov meant to players and tried to reinforce that in this gun. We want you to make this a gun that you’re going to use throughout Destiny.” -Ryan Paradis, Lead Designer at Bungie
This Exotic Khvostov will be obtainable via a Questline in the new Destiny expansion, available to all players after they get a single Khvostov weapon part from one of three sources: Loot Chests in The Plaguelands, random rewards from The Archon’s Forge arena, or as a material gained by dismantling the original Khvostov 7G-02 from that very first mission.
These special weapon parts must be turned into one of Rise of Iron’s new quest givers (we’re not sure who specifically, but Tyra Karn and Lord Saladin are among possibilities) to trigger the chain of events that leads to a mission that takes us back through some of those original space and ultimately rewards this new Exotic.
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Known Sources of Weapon Parts
- Plaguelands Loot Chests (watch out for “Mimics”!)
- Archon’s Forge Rewards (the new arena found in the Plaguelands’ Fallen Fortress)
- Dismantle the original Khvostov 7G-02 (found only in A Guardian Rises, the opening mission in Destiny)
Once obtained, you’ll have a new mission: figuring out which version of the Khvostov 7G-0X you want to use. Breaking the typical Exotic Mold, this weapon doesn’t have a single unique ability or perk – instead, it offers perk columns that allow you to completely customize the behavior of the weapon, opting for different rates of fire and firing behaviors to suit your preferences.
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Stats & Perks
Original Stats:
Estimated Stats:
We’re basing the estimated stats on the original Khvostov compared to the video and screenshots we’ve seen so far, and believe this is an accurate assumption. However, one thing we noticed is that the weapon appears to have received a much-needed increase to its base Range. Braced Frame appears to only reduce the Range to around 19, while the Modernized Scope shows a decrease of roughly 2, leaving it at what appears to be 17 as a base. Increasing the Rate of Fire does take it down further, but screenshots peg it around -2 Range, which again takes us to an absolute minimum of 15 – a small but helpful improvement vs the original 12.
We’ll get into how these stats might translate into damage and effectiveness in-game in a minute, but first let’s go through the full list of perks and estimate all stat effects. All numbers are estimated based on calculations for similar weapons and stat bars seen in screenshots and video. Beyond that, the gun may also be subject to further changes before launch day!
Scope
- Classic Scope – The original Khvostov scope. Optimized for range and stability. This sight is cracked – it’s the OG one.
- Modernized Scope – Grants additional zoom and target acquisition in unknown amounts, but likely around 1.1x and +5 Aim Assist. Reduces base Range by 2 and base Stability by 4.
- The additional zoom and aim assist most likely mitigates both effects, meaning the statistical differences between the two sights are pretty close to a wash.
Firing Mode
- Automatic – Sets firing behavior to fully automatic.
- Burst Fire – Sets firing behavior to burst (3 shot). Increases Impact by ~1 and Range by ~3.
- Semi Auto – Sets firing behavior to semi-automatic (single shot) with higher muzzle velocity. Increases Impact by ~2 and Range by ~6.
Frame Options
- Hammer Forged – Increases Range by 5
- Rifled Barrel – Increases Range by 11; Reload speed reduced by 11.
- Braced Frame – Increases stability by 36; reduces Magazine size by ~20% (from 25 to 19 or 20, or from 65 to ~52).
Extras
- Extended Mag – Increases Magazine size by ~20% (from 25 to 31, or 65 to 77).
- Counterbalance – Recoil is slightly reduced and 80% of horizontal recoil is converted to vertical recoil.
- Rangefinder – Aiming this weapon increases its zoom by 1.1x. This reduces the penalties of damage drop-off, aim assist drop-off, and also reduces recoil by a small amount.
RPM
- 450 RPM – Sets firing behavior to 450 RPM. Standard option. Better Range and Impact, lower Stability, Rate of Fire, and Magazine Size.
- 900 RPM – Sets firing behavior to 900 RPM. Compared to 450 RPM, you get something like Stability +5, Rate of Fire +15, and the Magazine size increased by ~250%. Reduces Range by 2 and Impact by ~18.
- We can’t know yet if it has any benefits for Aim Assist or Equip Speed, but high Rate of Fire Auto Rifles are typically better in those stats versus low RoF models.
Ornaments
- The final column on the right represents the gun’s ornaments. This feature is new to Rise of Iron. We don’t know much about the Khvostov’s ornaments at this point, but we do know that once players find the requisite items to activate the ornament that they will be able to change the way the gun looks. Players will also be freely able to switch between these ornaments after they’ve been unlocked.
Hidden Perks
- Lightweight – This weapon grants +2 Agility while equipped.
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Six Guns in One
The really cool thing about the Exotic Khvostov is that it’s essentially 6 different guns in 1 slot, meaning it brings something for every player and situation. Let’s break each one down one at a time.
Classic
| Sights | Modes | Frames | Extras | RPM |
| Classic Scope | Automatic | Hammer Forged | Extended Mag | 450 |
| Modernized Scope | Burst Fire | Rifled Barrel | Counterbalance | 900 |
| Semi Auto | Braced Frame | Rangefinder |
The Classic Khvostov build will feel very familiar to anyone who’s used the original recently. It works like a standard RoF 77 / Impact 28 autorifle in the Crucible, dealing 26 crit and 21 body damage. As far as Perks go, you could switch to Rifled Barrel for more Range at the cost of Reload Speed, or Rangefinder to trade out 6 rounds for better zoom and recoil.
Doctrine of Khvostov
| Sights | Modes | Frames | Extras | RPM |
| Classic Scope | Automatic | Hammer Forged | Extended Mag | 450 |
| Modernized Scope | Burst Fire | Rifled Barrel | Counterbalance | 900 |
| Semi Auto | Braced Frame | Rangefinder |
Swap over to 900 RPM and you can truly bring this Exotic into the modern Crucible era, with a formidable reflection of the RoF 100 / Impact 2 archetype so prevalent right now. While there will undoubtedly be at least one more Weapon Tuning concurrent with the Rise of Iron release, it seems unlikely that the Doctrine of Passing and its ilk are going anywhere. At this Rate of Fire, we can expect our Doctrine of Khvostov to be dealing 15 crit and 12 body damage. The perks above are the classic recommendation for this type of Autorifle, but given the Khvostov already has more vertical recoil than any weapon in the class you might also experiment with Rangefinder.
Spare Khvostov .25 / Haakon’s Khvostov
| Sights | Modes | Frames | Extras | RPM |
| Classic Scope | Automatic | Hammer Forged | Extended Mag | 450 |
| Modernized Scope | Burst Fire | Rifled Barrel | Counterbalance | 900 |
| Semi Auto | Braced Frame | Rangefinder |
Remember, Burst Fire enhances Impact by 1 and Range by 3, so far as we can tell. Best guess, at 450 RPM we’ll have something like Spare Change .25 on our hands, dealing 34 crit and 23 body damage. However, it might end up being treated like Nirwen’s Mercy instead, dealing 29 crit and 19 body damage. To speculate further, we might even see the weapon keep a classic Autorifle damage profile in the vein of Haakon’s Hatchet, inflicting 20 on crits and 16 damage on bodyshots – it’s all speculation at this point.
Grasp of Khvostov
| Sights | Modes | Frames | Extras | RPM |
| Classic Scope | Automatic | Hammer Forged | Extended Mag | 450 |
| Modernized Scope | Burst Fire | Rifled Barrel | Counterbalance | 900 |
| Semi Auto | Braced Frame | Rangefinder |
If we switch back to 900 RPM with Burst Fire, Impact and Range get cut again, while Stability and Magazine size go way up. At a guess, it could act like Grasp of Malok, dealing 23 crit and 16 body damage, but if the magazine size bonus remains unchanged, it might border on broken. It’s just as likely that it will stick to an Autorifle damage profile, either 20 crit / 16 body or 15 crit / 12 body – if they keep the damage at its lowest, however, it may be unusably weak in this mode.
Khvostov Multi-Tool
| Sights | Modes | Frames | Extras | RPM |
| Classic Scope | Automatic | Hammer Forged | Extended Mag | 450 |
| Modernized Scope | Burst Fire | Rifled Barrel | Counterbalance | 900 |
| Semi Auto | Braced Frame | Rangefinder |
As a Scout Rifle emulator using Semi Auto, Impact is increased by around 2 points and Range goes up by roughly 6. At 450 RPM, we should have RoF 62, Impact 24, and this is a tough one as it resembles no current weapons. However, the closest comparison might be MIDA with its 52 RoF and 37 Impact dealing 57 crit and 38 body, or the NL Shadow with the same stats, but dealing 45 crit and 30 body damage. Failing that, I would expect to see classic Autorifle damage from either the high Impact class, at 26 crit and 21 body, or mid Impact dealing 20 crit and 16 body.
Whichever way it shakes out, this has the potential to be very effective as it appears to have an extremely high Rate of Fire in the video. Perkwise, there are a few different builds that could end up being good here. Rifled Barrel / Counterbalance should give us high effective Range and very manageable Recoil, but you’ll get a similar effect with Braced Frame / Rangefinder. Then again, maybe the recoil won’t be a problem and we can roll with Hammer Forged / Rangefinder to max out as many stats as possible.
???
| Sights | Modes | Frames | Extras | RPM |
| Classic Scope | Automatic | Hammer Forged | Extended Mag | 450 |
| Modernized Scope | Burst Fire | Rifled Barrel | Counterbalance | 900 |
| Semi Auto | Braced Frame | Rangefinder |
Swap over to 900 RPM with the Semi Auto on, and we’re looking at a RoF around 90 and Impact of roughly 6. I have no idea how it will work, but it’s unlike anything currently in the Armory. We saw the rate of fire in the video with Semi Auto at 450 RPM, so I can’t imagine how a human being could take advantage of the 900 RPM version, but time will tell.
If it reverts to classic 100/2 Auto Rifle damage (16/12) it’s probably not worth experimenting with, but if it’s higher than that (and you can somehow pull your trigger at 900 RPM) it might be a beast. The higher Impact could translate to damage in the next Autorifle class, and 20 crit / 16 body would be nothing to sneeze at. If it goes all the way up to 26/21, it would kill in 8-10 shots and have an optimal time to kill of .6 seconds. Whether anyone could achieve that is another question entirely.
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