XûReview: Is That Worth Buying?

Item Class Subclass Buy? Strange Coin
Plan C Yes
Legacy Chest Engram 29
ACD/0 Feedback Fence Titan Any 13
Graviton Forfeit Hunter Nightstalker Yes 13
Alchemist’s Raiment Warlock Any 13

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ACD/0 Feedback Fenceb7440e1a729f85325698e9f2883a26be

Rain Blows lets you punch a little faster, but the Titan melee is risky with its pitiful range. Then you’ve got a choice of energy-transfer and reload speed perks. As for “Wrath Conductors” – it simply doesn’t do enough damage. It’ll knock back whatever hits you, but then requires a moment to recharge, where aggressive foes like a Thrall will get in another hit while you’re vulnerable.

Strangely, it’s the Defender who can make best use of these gauntlets. In a bubble with Armor/Blessing of Light, you can finish off those weakened by the damaging pulse, which procs Brawler’s Charge, which helps you get your Ward of Dawn back that much faster. However, Helm of Saint-14 is still a much better option.

By now, you’re probably well aware of how practical a build focused solely around melee is. Rain Blows can win you a melee duel, though these are admittedly rare. The amount of times in which you’ll be surprised at close range and not immediately die is already low, and a situation in which you deal damage with the Wrath Conductors and are able to finish them off with your own melee is even more rare. The pulse damage from the Wrath Conductors is not even enough to take down a shield. Still, a little damage is better than no damage at all.

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Graviton Forfeitb253e96565354b897a22fd53ebbbe54f

The largest dilemma for any Nightstalker is choosing between Keen Scout and Shadestep. With this exotic granting Shadestep automatically, that decision is irrelevant, because now both can be used- providing a staggeringly powerful neutral game.

In PvP, there’s no shortage of unique opportunities to use it to your advantage, but in PvE the AI is not so crafty that you’ll need to avoid life and death that often with it.

With that said, it’s still a useful tool for escaping harm in PvE, too. Golgoroth’s gaze and the new HM Warpriest projectiles are obvious things for a well-timed Shadestep to make irrelevant. Still, you’re only going to get so much mileage in PvE out of notshooting – the overall goal should always be to stay in the fight and support your team.

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Alchemist’s Raiment0981f8d53d9555871e787247c700e29c

This one looks a lot cooler than it is, unfortunately. The intrinsic Iron to Gold talks of Glimmer galore from simply picking up ammo – but it’s Bungie wryly hanging a lampshade on the fact that the early practice of Alchemy never really bore any fruit whatsoever. Either that or a poorly-designed perk – and we’ve never had any of those…

The universal Special Ammo or Heavy Ammo can boost your Sniper/Sleeper Simulant reserves, which is a welcome boon. Aside from that you get instant Grenade/Melee recharge when you pick up an orb with your Super full, like Bellicose. The best use of this Exotic is on Sunsingers in Oryx HM, where you’ll be holding on to your Super for dear life, and orbs recharging your abilities are useful. It’s a top-tier Exotic in that specific situation.

The second best use of this Exotic is to check the boxes for a Transcendence proc, though you’ll be wasting orbs that you could quickly get after your Stormtrance. At least you have a shiny purple bullseye to give those other Guardians in PvP a chance.