The Hard Light auto rifle is one of the more troublesome weapons in Destiny 2. Originally, it had a terrible case of the shakes whenever it was continuously fired. Recent patches have made it more manageable and dramatically increased accuracy, but it’s still a little wobbly.
Fortunately, the Hard Light Catalyst improves things even further, to make the Hard Light a much better experience. Whether or not the Hard Light is still worth it after this point is debatable. Additionally, obtaining and upgrading the Hard Light Catalyst is no picnic. Here’s everything players should know about what the Hard Light Catalyst is capable of and where to get one.
Updated on October 2, 2021 by Ben Baker: It's been a bit of a rollercoaster for the Hard Light. For a brief period, it was a monster of a weapon dominating PVP metas, then it received a nerf. Now the Hard Light Catalyst 2021 has found what many considered a balanced sweet spot. To demonstrate how viable this weapon still is it seemed important to mention the Hard Light Catalyst’s stats. There are also some notes on the best times to use it post-nerf. Generally speaking, it’s a solid choice in PVP and a monster in PVE. For beginning players or those who struggle with aiming knowing how to get Hard Light Catalyst is worth knowing.
What It Does
As mentioned earlier, the Hard Light Catalyst helps minimize the shakiness that comes with firing the Hard Light in continuous firing mode. This is accomplished by the following benefit that comes with the Hard Light Catalyst:
- Increase weapon stability by 18
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It's impossible to understate how wonderful this added stability is on top of the recent patch changes. For players who may have given up on this weapon a long time ago, it’s definitely worth taking another look with the Hard Light Catalyst installed.
Weapon Stats With The Hard Light Catalyst
- Impact – 21
- Range – 46
- Stability – 68
- Handling – 75
- Reload Speed – 68
- Rounds Per Minute – 600
- Magazine – 49
- Volatile Light – Rounds fired from this weapon have deduced damage falloff, over-penetrate targets, and ricochet off hard surfaces. Projectile damage increases after a bounce.
- The Fundamentals – Change this weapon’s damage type, cycling between Solar, Arc, and Void.
How To Find It
The Hard Light Catalyst will appear randomly whenever the player completes Heroic or Nightfall Strikes. There’s no indication exactly how rare a Hard Light Catalyst drop is, but like other, Catalysts it’s not likely to appear right away.
Whether the player is in Heroic or Nightfall doesn't seem to affect the odds of a drop. The important thing to remember is that it appears as a result of successfully completing a Strike. Thus, players should only tackle a difficulty they can manage.
Upgrading
Once players have obtained the Hard Light Catalyst, they can further augment it via upgrading. This is where a bit of grinding comes into play, as it takes one thousand kills with the Hard Light to upgrade. It doesn’t matter whether the enemies are PVE or Guardians, so long as one thousand are defeated.
It’s also important to note that the player must achieve these kills with the Hard Light. It doesn’t matter how the enemy took damage; as long as the final blow is dealt with the Hard Light weapon, it will count. These kills can also be retroactive. If the player killed anything with the Hard Light before obtaining the Hard Light Catalyst, it will also count towards the thousand.
Tips For Using The Hard Light
Hard Light is handy in certain PVP situations thanks to its ability to destroy enemy shields. For some players, this means winning Crucible matches on smaller maps where the continuous fire can wreak havoc. There are far better weapons for PVP though, so this isn’t the best choice.
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Alternatively, players can take the Hard Light into PVE. Its Fundamentals perk enables players to alternate between different elemental damages whenever they want. This means the Hard Light weapon will enable players to have elemental advantage no matter what enemy they face. The continuous fire and high penetration are also helpful against tanky enemies, like bosses.
Advice On Using The Hard Light Catalyst
The Hard Light is very forgiving for players with bad aim and an absolute menace for those with good aim. The direct fire combined with ricochets can really shred a group of enemies or antagonize those behind cover. This is a great weapon in PVP for providing covering fire, flushing out a stubborn enemy, or laying waste to anyone who groups up.
In PVE the Hard Light Catalyst is monstrous. The damage falloff is higher, the ricochet damage is higher, and it's stable enough to wield. The same principle in PVP applies in PVE, those behind cover, keeping heads down, and shredding hordes. It’s a solid weapon that’s great for beginners.