The Queenbreaker is a gun that needs no introduction at this point. The Foresaken-era Linear Fusion Rifle has recently had a new breath of life, with a new catalyst, seasonal perks, and buffs that have put it at the top of the metagame. At this point, it’s even the default way to take out the Witness, let alone other high-end bosses.
But, is it here to stay? After all, the Particle Reconstruction buff is doing so much to boost its damage, but will we care about The Queenbreaker once the season ends?
I’m here to answer that question, and in this article, I’ll go over why I personally think that The Queenbreaker isn’t going anywhere, even as we make our way into the era of The Edge of Fate.
Overview
Type: Linear Fusion Rifle
Element: Arc
Ammo: Heavy
Magazine: 5
Reserves: 27
Charge Time: 633
Perks:
- Wire Rifle: [Alternate Weapon Action] to swap between scopes and alter this weapon's firing behavior.
- Hip-Fire Grip: Increases accuracy, stability, and precision hit targeting when firing from the hip.
Catalyst: Rewind Rounds: When this weapon's magazine is empty, it refills from reserves based on the number of hits.
PvE Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
PvP Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
How to Obtain The Queenbreaker
The Queenbreaker is only generally available from Exotic Engrams, meaning that if you want one, you’ll have to roll engrams and pray until you’ve gotten it.
However, sometimes Xur will have it available for purchase for 23 Strange Coins. This will occur randomly, though, so make sure you check Xur every week to make sure you don’t miss when he does have it.
PvE
The Queenbraker is simply one of the best DPS options in the game right now. Especially when combined with the seasonal Particle Reconstruction debuff, it’s so easy to do tons of damage without having to put much effort into it.
With the three-round burst firing mode, you simply have to point and shoot. It’s as easy as that, which is part of why it’s so popular. Unlike Whisper of the Worm, where you have to hit every single shot to be able to keep damage up for a whole phase, The Queenbreaker is far easier to use and far less punishing. It even has Hip-Fire Grip, to make it even easier to aim without ADSing.
For fights where you have to stay alive, something like The Queenbreaker is a godsend, as it’s pretty low maintenance, and you just need to aim decently well and hold down the trigger to make the most of it. Sure, there are better options at a closer range, but at the effective range of The Queenbreaker? It’s well and far ahead of its opposition.
So, it’s safe to say that The Queenbreaker is one of the essential Destiny 2 weapons to have right now for PvE.
PvP
Heavy weapons aren’t very important in PvP, as your ammo for them is generally limited. As far as they go, The Queenbreaker isn’t terrible. It’s an okay weapon for PvP, and you would do fine with it in your heavy slot, but there are better weapons that can take advantage of that heavy ammo a little better, and better exotic weapons, too.
Whether you want to give up a good exotic like Vex Mythoclast or Conditional Finality to use this is another question, as generally I wouldn’t use this unless I had the free exotic slot and didn’t care what I was putting in. But, I would generally pick Finality’s Auger over it anyway, so I don’t really know if it matters.
Would I use it in PvP? Probably not. Would I be bothered if I saw you using it in PvP? Probably not. It’s fine, as fine as any other heavy. But, there are better options out there. (And, a lot of heavy exotics fall into this category.)
Here to Stay?
The interesting thing about The Queenbreaker is that it’s arrived at a perfect time. Linear Fusion Rifles are doing great right now because of Particle Reconstruction, which provides a 27.6% buff to your damage with sustained fire. So, obviously, this might look like The Queenbreaker’s success will only remain for as long as Particle Reconstruction is around, right?
Well, I don’t believe so. I think that The Queenbreaker is still going to remain the best ‘easy’ ranged DPS strategy in the game until something either overtakes it, or it’s eventually nerfed. The buff provided by Particle Reconstruction is nice, but even without it, The Queenbreaker still puts up better sustained damage than any of its peers.
And, don’t just take my word for it — I did some damage testing on The Witness to compare The Queenbreaker to other similar sustained damage options, and the difference is night and day:
- The Queenbreaker (+ Particle Reconstruction, + Well of Radiance): 3,648,443 damage
- The Queenbreaker (+ Well of Radiance): 2,756,712 damage
- Whisper of the Worm (+ Well of Radiance): 2,144, 234 damage
- Microcosm (+ Well of Radiance): 2,134,445 damage
- Scintillation (+ Bait and Switch, + Extra shots from other weapons to activate BnS, + Well of Radiance): 2, 104, 618
As you can see, the difference is massive even between the non-Particle Reconstruction damage tests and the other weapons, with an over 500 damage deficit. And, Whisper of the Worm is much more difficult to use than The Queenbreaker, meaning that you’re probably going to do less DPS on average with it.
Ultimately, this shows that unless something changes, even after this season, The Queenbreaker will still have its place in the metagame, and nothing else even comes close.
Closing Time
The Queenbreaker is easily one of the best weapons in Destiny 2 right now, and that’s not looking to change anytime soon. With the ability to put out massive DPS numbers while not requiring much else than holding down your mouse button, why would you ever want to look anywhere else?
Pick up The Queenbreaker from Xur if you do end up reading this before reset, otherwise keep an eye out for it in his offerings. It’s not super uncommon, so here’s hoping you’ll get it sooner rather than later. And, while you’re here, check out our guide on another great DPS weapon.
In any case, thank you for your time, and I’ll see you in space.
