Imagine this:
You’re a New Light, all excited to hop into the world of Destiny 2 and see what people have been dumping hours and hours (and hours and hours) into.
Brimming with anticipation, you complete your Guardian orientation and load into your first Crucible match with a loadout full of blues and a heart full of optimism.
Then suddenly a ball of grease soars across your screen and melts you to death.
Welcome to Destiny 2!
What is Witherhoard?
That goop (to use the technical term) came from a very special firearm known as Witherhoard, a kinetic grenade launcher that saw a lot of use during the Season of Arrivals, and continues to be a prize in any player’s toolkit.
The exotic’s perks Primeval’s Torment, “Projectiles fired by this weapon blight the target or nearby area on impact,” and Break the Bank, “Blighted targets take damage over time and blight the nearby area on death,” make the gun a goop-spitting monster in both PvP and PvE.
Essentially, fire a goop AOE grenade which makes the ground toxic… denying enemy players ground while simultaneously doing some decent damage to both crowds and bosses.
In PvE, this means crowds of enemies are easier to dispatch, and since the AOE stays for a bit, you can set up perimeters of sludge to keep enemies from overwhelming the field. Also, with the arrival of Witch Queen, having such a versatile launcher is going to help you navigate whatever is out there in the hive swamps.
This thing is incredibly annoying in PvP, so of course you should use it! The AOE restricts the movement of enemy players (which is particularly good for point-capture focused modes like Control and Iron Banner). In other modes, having existing knowledge of map layouts and chokepoints will make this weapon shine even more.
Here’s a review video of Witherhoard in action:
How to Get Goopy (in Destiny 2)
Back in the day, the easiest way to get Witherhoard in Destiny 2 was to buy the season pass for the Season of Arrivals, which unlocked the weapon immediately.
Currently (if you lack access to a time machine), you can still get it in the later ranks with a little bit of elbow grease:
- Head over to the Monument to Lost Lights.
- You’re going to need an Exotic Cipher, an Ascendant Shard, 100,000 Glimmer, and 150 Glacial Starwort.
- And boom. Goop time!
But wait, there is a catalyst… and what kind of Guardian would you be if you didn’t unlock every last little bit and bob for that fancy new gun?
If you spend a little time grinding, your goop-llarhorn gains the Silent Alarm perk, giving it a boost in handling and auto-reload when stowed. It also spawns orbs on multikills and tracks kills.
Spiffy, right? Better get started, then.
The Witherhoard Catalyst
Step 1 – One Last Job
First, head to Banshee-44 in the tower for the “One Last Job” quest step for “the Bank Job,” the Witherhoard’s associated catalyst quest. Pick this up and it’s onto the next step: “High-Stakes Heist.”
You need to gather 50 Vault Keys for this step, which drop from kinetic or energy grenade launcher kills. Kills don’t guarantee keys, so the more grenades, the better. This gives you an opportunity to get a feel for Witherhoard, which will generate Vault Keys since it’s a kinetic weapon. Any other kinetic/energy launcher works if that feels more efficient for you.
Rapid kills mean a higher chance of grabbing a key, so launchers like Witherhoard, or those with quick reload perks like Slideshot (which reloads when sliding), are top picks. Other perks like Chain Reaction, which spawns explosions on final blows, are also solid choices for getting multiple kills in one shell.
Destiny 2 has a variety of activities for farming quests, but PvE activities like Strikes or seasonal activities offer opportunities to dispatch large crops of enemies.
Step 2 – Crime Spree
The next step, “Crime Spree,” may take a bit longer.
If you’re not a PvP sweat, the toughest part of “Crime Spree” is getting the 100 Guardian eliminations with a grenade launcher.
I hate to say it… but the Colony is a good choice. As terrible as it is to be on the other end of this thing, the projectiles track enemies, so it’s pretty easy to get kills with this heavy. Also, options like Fighting Lion will offer a bottomless source of ammo thanks to the primary ammo update. The biggest catch is that to farm guardian kills efficiently you have to actually be good at Crucible.
If needed, you can adopt more radical strategies like equipping a launcher into every weapon slot, having no other way to defeat opponents other than grenades, Light abilities, and pure rage. Or, a less nuclear option is to get a decent roll of a grenade launcher and farm Crucible.
However, if you’re the self-sabotaging type, there are always invader kills in Gambit.
Now that your Guardian kills are out of the way, the other parts of this quest step are relatively straightforward.
You need 200 grenade launcher multikills, so pick a good ad-cleaner like Witherhoard or the new Parasite. An efficient way to complete this step is to farm Strikes, Gambit, or other PvE activities.
Finally, you need 300 Filthy Lucre, generated through completing activities in Vanguard, Gambit, and Crucible playlists. Winning in Gambit, Crucible, and completing Nightfalls will get you Lucre the fastest.
Step 3 – Clean Getaway
Once you finish “Crime Spree,” all you need to do is claim the catalyst from Banshee-44 in the tower under the “Clean Getaway” quest step.
Weapon Pairings
Witherhoard takes up the kinetic slot and special ammo, so it pairs well with a more precise or rapid-fire primary. Handcannons are a Crucible staple and serve as a great way to pick off enemies (in your Witherhoard AOE) and as a backup for when you run out of special ammo. As for PvE, a rapid-fire option like an auto, pulse rifle, or SMG will make up for the slow fire rate of the grenade launcher.
All in all, Witherhoard is an excellent gun to have in your tool chest. The base gun is simple to acquire (and already pretty effective), but time spent on the catalyst may not be such a bad idea if you really enjoy the gun.
Go get em!
