Destiny 2is celebrating the end of 2024 with The Dawning, a holiday event where Guardians turn the remains of their foes into delicious treats for their favorite characters. Spreading the holiday cheer will grant Gifts in Return, which you may then focus into exclusive event weapons and cosmetics.
This year, six weapons are up for grabs from Eva Levante, including the new Mistral Lift Linear Fusion Rifle. Most Dawning weapons from previous years are also back, this time with significantly better perk pools for both PvE and PvP. Let’s dive into all six weapons and cover the absolute best perk combinations you can chase during this short winter event.
Albedo Wing
Albedo Wing is an Arc Glaive that has a decent perk pool for newer players.Replenishing AegisandClose to Meleeis your best combination here, allowing you to reload the Glaive as you block incoming damage. Damaging a target with your Glaive projectile will then buff your Glaive melee damage for a few seconds. That’s about all there is to Albedo Wing, even if we consider PvP.
The only other roll you might consider is Air Trigger with Voltshot, allowing you to load Jolt lightning into your next projectile after a reload kill. Jumping before you reload will drastically increase your reload speed, making this whole gameplay loop a lot smoother. But this pales in comparison to Indebted Kindness orvirtually any Rocket Sidearm. Only get this roll if you don’t own any DLC.
Shield Duration
Avalanche
Avalanche hasn’t seen many changes this year. If you’re looking for a good workhorse Heavy weapon, you may still getSubsistenceandIncandescentfor PvE add clear. Kill a few red bars to build up Scorch stacks, then watch all the tougher foes violently explode. For actual single-target DPS, you could go Rewind Rounds with Target Lock, but virtually any Heavy weapon is going to serve you better for boss DPS than a Machine Gun.
Fans of Avalanche in PvP might want to farm for this reissue, as it can now get the S-tierClosing Timeperk in the first column. You can pair this withVorpal Weaponfor a solid Heavy weapon that can counter Supers and land easy multikills in 3v3 and 6v6 modes alike.
Range
Glacioclasm
Glacioclasm received a rather massive perk pool buff this year. For PvE players, you can’t go wrong withOverflowandReservoir Burst.Picking up an ammo brick will give you Reservoir Burst for the top half of your overflowed magazine, giving this weapon some amazing add clear potential. If you need a backup DPS weapon, go forControlled Burstinstead.
Fans of PvP won’t want to skip on Glacioclasm either. While it isn’t outright broken like in the Forsaken era, it can get the amazing perk combination ofLone WolfandClosing Time.Both perks effectively remove all downsides of High-Impact Fusions: their slow handling, subpar stability, and reliance on range and stability stats to perform well. So long as you keep your magazine low, you’ll never have those problems.
Stability
Mistral Lift
If you never got a chance to earn Doomed Petitioner last year, then Mistral Lift is absolutely worth getting this Dawning. This is the first LFR that can roll withEnvious Arsenalin the first trait column, fully reloading the weapon from reserves if you deal damage with your other two weapons. Pair this withBait and Switch, and you have asolid Heavy weapon for hotswap DPS strategies.
Another good roll here is Rewind Rounds with Precision Instrument, which gives you a solid DPS option for Champions and weaker bosses in endgame PvE content. As for PvP, simply avoid using this weapon. Linear Fusion Rifles aren’t great in the Crucible and are completely outclassed by Machine Guns and Grenade Launchers.
Bait and Switch
Do Not Use
Stay Frosty
Stay Frosty received a serious upgrade this year. PvE players can rockRimestealerwithHeadstonefor an S-tier Stasis weapon, shattering Stasis crystals to generate Frost Armor with ease. If you need a more general workhorse weapon, then you might want to useEnlightened ActionwithDesperate Measuresinstead.
Where this gun really shines is the Crucible. Thanks to its origin trait and solid stat package, Stay Frosty can outperform most 450 Pulse Rifles without much issue. For perks, you’ll wantLone Wolffor a massive boost to your weapon stats andKill Clipto reduce the weapon’s optimal TTK after you land a final blow. Get a kill, reload, and enjoy two bursting Guardians with one of Destiny 2’s smoothest-feeling 450 Pulse Rifles.
Zephyr
There’s one reason to get Zephyr:Cold Steel.This perk causes each swing to inflict Stasis Slow, allowing you to outright freeze targets with enough hits. It’s solid for countering Champions or triggering Stasis synergies in PvE, but this is otherwise a subpar Sword when compared to The Slammer.