While most Destiny 2 players are looking forward to the new weapons in the upcoming Witch Queen expansion, they still want to enter Savathun’s Throne World with an established arsenal. Exotic primaries are sure to be a popular choice because of the damage buff they are receiving with Witch Queen, but there are also a few other weapons that every Guardian should have ready to go in their inventory. And as it so happens, one of the best weapons from this last year of Destiny 2, the Hothead Rocket Launcher, is available to farm right now.
How to Beat Lake of Shadows Grandmaster Strike Easily
The stars have aligned to allow Destiny 2 players to farm the Hothead at a rapid pace. Lake of Shadows is the Nightfall Strike this week – right before Witch Queen is set to launch – and Hothead is one of two weapons available to drop on Strike completion. The other is the Hung Jury scout rifle.
Grandmaster Nightfalls might be among the most challenging content in Destiny 2, but Lake of Shadows is arguably the easiest GM to get through. Players will need to be power level 1345, have overload and unstoppable champion mods equipped, and we recommend packing Protective Light as a life-saving mod. This week's GM is our recommendation for farming a specific weapon but it's also a great source for Exotic Armor, Enhancement Prisms, and Ascendant Shards for those who might be running low.
One of the easiest strategies for getting through Lake of Shadows on Grandmaster is to use the revamped Gjallarhorn exotic Rocket Launcher to clear every tough enemy or group and to use the Aeon gauntlets (equipped with the Sect of Insight mod) to create heavy weapon ammo on champion finishers.
If fireteams coordinate finishers, they should have plenty of ammo to mow through the whole strike in under 20 minutes (with speedruns taking less than 10). Obviously, there are plenty of other viable strategies for Lake of Shadows, but the “Aeon strat” is one that helps simplify the experience.
Why Hothead Rocket Launcher is Worth Farming
The Hothead Rocket Launcher might not seem like an essential Destiny 2 weapon at a glance, but there are several reasons that players should farm it. The main reason is that legendary rocket launchers are extremely potent when paired with Gjallarhorn. If just one member of a fireteam is using Gjallarhorn with the catalyst, the other legendary rocket launchers get the benefit of Wolfpack Rounds as well.
This is a valuable trait because legendary rocket launchers will have both the benefit of the Wolfpack Rounds and damage-boosting perks. Quite a few different legendary rocket launchers include valuable damage perks like Vorpal Weapon and Explosive Light, but Hothead is the best.
Hothead also offers an adept version from the Grandmaster Nightfall Strike, so that means it can equip the Big Ones Spec mod for extra damage to bosses AND majors. Its perk pool includes Impact Casing, which is an essential perk for rocket launchers because of its damage boosting property, as well as Vorpal, Explosive Light, or even Clown Cartridge. The two best Hothead Rocket Launcher rolls that Destiny 2 players should target are either:
- Hothead Recommended Roll 1: Quick Launch, Impact Casing, Demolitionist, Explosive Light
- Hothead Recommended Roll 2: Quick Launch, Impact Casing, Field Prep, Explosive Light
Those two Hothead rolls should be able to do serious damage when paired with a fireteam member using Gjallarhorn. Explosive Light is a great damage perk and then anything that boosts DPS via a fast/instant reload will ensure Hothead can pack a punch. It might be a little harder to find Orbs of Power once Bungie changes the way orbs are created by weapons, but there should still be a few lying around to collect before getting to big targets like the Witch Queen raid bosses.
The Adept Hothead is the best when it comes to legendary rocket launchers in Destiny 2, but there are other great choices if players can’t find the time to farm Lake of Shadows. The Ascendancy Rocket Launcher is the ritual weapon for Season of the Lost and it comes with Impact Casing and Explosive Light as static perks. Hezen Vengeance from the Vault of Glass raid or Royal Entry from Vanguard Strikes are also decent choices with a damage-boosting perk like Lasting Impression.
Linear Fusion Rifles might still end up as king of DPS in Witch Queen, but Rocket Launchers are still very good and could be even better. There has been speculation that the Season of the Risen artifact will include a mod that boosts Rocket Launcher damage even further, but that has yet to be confirmed. What we do know is that Void 3.0 rework will allow all void Destiny classes to debuff enemies, which makes that Demolitionist Hothead roll even more potent.
Destiny 2 players have a few days left to farm Lake of Shadows (on any difficulty, but only GM guarantees an adept weapon drop on each clear) before the servers go down ahead of Witch Queen. That maintenance starts on February 21 at 6pm PT.
Destiny 2 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.