The mid-season patch of Destiny 2 in season 20 has brought some hope for sniper rifle lovers. With a recoil reduction of 50% and a 30% increase for ammunition, snipers might actually be making a comeback in the near future, as season 21 makes its entrance. While the archetype still needs some help, this is a promising sign.
Among many fantastic snipers in Destiny 2, Cloudstrike is an interesting Exotic option for both PVE and PVP. Now that it comes with a Catalyst as well, it becomes even more of a powerhouse in PVE in particular, where snipers have long been neglected.
How To Get Cloudstrike
Cloudstrike is a unique Exotic sniper in the sense that it's not a random world drop, nor can it be bought from the Monument to Lost Lights. Players will need to have the Beyond Light expansion purchased, so they can participate in Empire Hunts. Higher difficulty levels have a higher chance of dropping the weapon. For a more in-depth look at how to get the Cloudtsrike Exotic sniper, players can refer to this dedicated guide.
Cloudstrike's Intrinsic Trait is what makes it such a popular choice in PVP. Mortal Polarity ensures that when players hit a precision shot on a target, it spawns a lightning bolt at the target's location, damaging enemies. This also pairs with its other perk, Stormbringer. It's therefore not uncommon to see players in PVP hit a single guardian from behind a corner, and consequently kill two more who happened to be in the dying player's close vicinity.
Cloudstrike also shows a bit of promise in PVE, and that's where its Catalyst comes in.
How To Get The Cloudstrike Catalyst
The Cloudstrike Catalyst only drops from Destiny 2's playlist activities and does not come with a unique quest from Banshee-44 like many Exotics often do. This means players will have to hit either the Crucible, Gambit, or Vanguard strike nodes for a chance to earn it. The Catalyst is a random drop, so grinding for it is near impossible. It's best to pair the grind with Pinnacle gear grind to multitask (even though Pinnacle grind will likely not exist past season 20).
Once players have the Catalyst, they'll need to upgrade it by scoring 400 kills. This isn't the toughest Catalyst grind out there, but since Cloudstrike is a Special ammo weapon, players may want to hit the Shuro-Chi checkpoint with several stacks of rally banners to streamline their grinding. Remember to also put on reserves and targeting mods when grinding those kills, since snipers are tricky in PVE.
What The Cloudstrike Catalyst Does
- Triple Tap: Landing three precision hits on a target will return one bullet to the magazine.
Cloudstrike's Catalyst doesn't come with a funky, weird perk like some other Exotics. Instead, it's good old Triple Tap, which is a fantastic PVE perk for sniper rifles and other precision damage weapons ideal for single-target damage, such as boss damage.
Although the community has already established that Cloudstrike, even with Triple Tap, doesn't quite have the 'oomph' that Izanagi's Burden has for example, there is a chance that the balance could tip in Cloudstrike's favor sometime in the future.
Destiny 2 is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.