Destiny 2 The Arms Dealer Grandmaster Nightfall Guide

by | Aug 6, 2022

Grandmaster Nightfalls are perhaps the most challenging endgame activity in Destiny 2. With an insane Power Level requirement and unforgiving modifiers, Grandmaster Nightfalls will challenge all but the top fireteams out there.

This guide will provide you with everything you need to tackle and conquer The Arms Dealer GM, including loadouts, preferred subclasses, tactics, and more.

NameGrandmasterLocationShieldsChampionsRequires

Loadout and Subclasses

MacticsThe following guide comes straight from friend of the channel Mac. His GM video guides are famous within the community for a reason, and we definitely recommend you check him out!

Loadout

With Barrier and Unstoppable champions, Void and Solar shields, and a Solar elemental singe, loadouts for this strike are simple with 2 players wanting Arbalest, a Solar Scout such as Staccato, and a Solar Rocket launcher such as Hezen’s Vengeance or Ascendancy, with the 3rd guardian wanting a Kinetic Sniper like the Succession, a Solar scout rifle like the other 2 guardians, and Gjallarhorn.

ArtWeaponTypeArchetypeRarityAmmoElementRequirementsIn loot pool?Ammo?Element?TierExcelsSourceCraftable?RequiresReleasedSlotCan be Crafted?Best of?Top Perk?
Destiny 2 Arbalest artArbalestLinear Fusion RifleExoticExoticSpecialKineticLightfallYesSpecial ammo Destiny 2 SpecialKinetic symbol Destiny 2 Kinetic
Best

S

PvEExotic QuestError icon V2 NoLightfall Preorder icon
Lightfall
Season 6KineticNoTop-tier
Gjallarhorn artGjallarhornRocket LauncherExoticExoticHeavySolar30th AnniversaryYesHeavy ammo Destiny 2 HeavySolar Solar
Best

S

PvE + PvPGrasp of Avarice DungeonError icon V2 NoDestiny 2 30th anniversary icon
30th Anniversary
30th Anniversary eventHeavyNoTop-tier
Succession Destiny 2 artSuccessionSniper RifleAggressiveLegendarySpecialKineticBeyond LightYesSpecial ammo Destiny 2 SpecialKinetic symbol Destiny 2 Kinetic
Best

S

PvE + PvPDeep Stone Crypt RaidCheckmark icon V3 YesBeyond Light Destiny 2 icon
Beyond Light
Season 12KineticCraftableTop-tierReconstruction
Staccato-46 artStaccato-46Scout RiflePrecisionLegendaryPrimarySolarFree-to-PlayYesPrimary ammo Destiny 2 PrimarySolar Solar
Strong

A

PvEGunsmithError icon V2 NoFree to Play Destiny 2 icon
Free-to-Play
Season 17EnergyNoTop-tierIncandescent
Ascendancy artAscendancyRocket LauncherPrecisionLegendaryHeavySolarFree-to-PlayYesHeavy ammo Destiny 2 HeavySolar Solar
Average

B

PvE + PvPExotic KioskError icon V2 NoFree to Play Destiny 2 icon
Free-to-Play
Season 15HeavyNo

Subclasses & Exotics

For class loadouts, Hunters either want to rock Moebius Quiver with Trapper’s ambush, Vanishing step, and Omnioculus or Blade Barrage with knock em down, on your mark, and Star-eater Scales or Aeons. Warlocks want to spec into Well of Radiance with Icarus Dash, Touch of Flame, and either Phoenix Protocol or Aeon Soul. Finally, Titans want to run Hammer of Sol with Sol Invictus, Roaring Flames, and Loreley Splendor, or Thundercrash with Cuirass of the Falling Star.

ArmorClassTypeRequirementsSourceReleasedRequiresExotic Perk
Aeon Soul Warlock Exotic Destiny 2 art

Aeon Soul

WarlockArmsFree-to-PlayExotic EngramsSeason 2Free to Play Destiny 2 icon
Free-to-Play
Exotic Perk: "Aeon Exotics have an additional mod socket which is used for Aeon Cult mods."
Phoenix Protocol Warlock Exotic Destiny 2 art

Phoenix Protocol

WarlockChestForsaken PackExotic EngramsSeason 4Forsaken Destiny 2 icon
Forsaken Pack
Exotic Perk: "Kills and assists you make while standing in your Well of Radiance return Super energy."
Omnioculus Destiny 2 art

Omnioculus

HunterChestBeyond LightLost SectorsSeason 13Beyond Light Destiny 2 icon
Beyond Light
Exotic Perk: "You gain a second Smoke Bomb charge and have damage resistance while invisible. When you make an ally invisible, they gain damage resistance while invisible and you gain melee energy."
Star Eater Scales Destiny 2 art

Star-Eater Scales

HunterLegsBeyond LightLost SectorsSeason 14Beyond Light Destiny 2 icon
Beyond Light
Exotic Perk: "You gain additional Super energy from Orbs of Power you pick up. While your Super energy is full, picking up an Orb of Power overcharges your Super, causing you to gain a burst of healing when cast and a bonus to your Super damage. At maximum overcharge, you also gain an overshield."
Cuirass of the Falling Star Titan Destiny 2

Cuirass of the Falling Star

TitanChestBeyond LightLost SectorsSeason 13Beyond Light Destiny 2 icon
Beyond Light
Exotic Perk: "Greatly increases your Thundercrash impact damage. Gain an overshield that lasts longer the farther you travel before striking a target."
Loreley Splendor Helm Titan Destiny 2 art

Loreley Splendor Helm

TitanHelmThe Witch QueenLost SectorsSeason 16The Witch Queen Destiny 2 icon
The Witch Queen
Exotic Perk: "When you have Sun Warrior, your Sunspots heal you. When you are critically wounded, create a Sunspot at your location."

As always, these are strictly recommendations, so if you have something in mind that you feel would work better, feel free to throw it on. With all that being said, let’s get into the strategy.

GM Power Level

If you’re interested in running this GM, you need to have a proper Power Level:

Nightfall Difficulty Required Level Adept drop rate
Grandmaster 1610 Common+

More Grandmaster guides for Season 19:

The Arms Dealer GM: A Step-by-step guide

Entrance

Begin the strike by dropping the barrier colossus and unstoppable Incendior along with the void shielded Incendiors and other trash mobs. Advance outside after the hack and take out the ship first, after which you can slowly work your way through everything else prioritizing the snipers on the left and at the back, as well as the unstoppable champions that arrive later in the phase.

After killing everything, grab the ball and advance where you’ll kill some dogs, 2 barrier Colossi, and the thresher ship to the right, after which you can dunk the ball and then knock out the trash mobs and unstoppable Incendior that spawn in front of you. Advanced to clear the small room with a few trash mobs, after which you’ll arrive outside. Hop on your sparrow and head to the lower left, where you can climb up and run across the rocks to skip past everything. Just make sure you turn around and kill the barrier colossus for platinum before you proceed.

The Arms Dealer GM guide

The Arms Dealer Grandmaster guide

Next room

The next room is made easiest by first killing the tank with special and heavy, but it’s perfectly fine to slowly work through some of the ads and unstoppable Incendior before going for the kill. After you work your way into the room, interact with the keypad on the right, after which you can clean up the rest of the mobs as well as the 2 barrier colossi up top. Next activate the keypad at the top left to spawn the tank. If you are fast, you can instaburn the tank with your special, heavy, and Supers, and then drop all 3 of the unstoppable Incendiors. If you want to take this a bit more slowly, however, feel free to drop down below the elevator where the tank can’t hit you while you deal with the unstoppables that will run to you.

Boss room

After clearing everything out, kill the dogs at the door and proceed through the hallway. In the new room, Work your way through the waves of enemies and take out the unstoppable incendior and 2 barrier colossi from range, being careful of the Scorpio turrets spawned by the boss. After clearing everything, you can interact with the keypad to bring down a cabal drop pod with a few legionaries, after which you can ride the elevator up to kill the boss. Few things to note here, you can send a player to climb up the chain which will make the boss spawn early, giving you more time to damage him as you ride the elevator up, just be careful as he can shoot back at you.

The Arms Dealer Grandmaster Nightfall

The Arms Dealer final boss

Be weary that wells will fall below the elevator if placed while moving, so wait until you get up top to use it if you must. The goal here is to simply cook the boss with your rockets until he dies. If you can’t get enough damage for the kill once you hit the top but got him to below half at least, kill all of the flame turrets and then head over to the northwest corner of the catwalk. He should jump right back down from the tower after jumping up, and run across the catwalk giving you an easy angle to beam him with your Linears, Snipers, and any extra rockets you might have for the kill.

About The Author

Ric Molina
Ric Molina
I've been covering gaming since 2012, and some of my work has been featured by large brands, including MSN.com, Forbes, Rock Paper Shotgun, and more. I've been obsessed with Destiny 2 (and now Diablo 4) for years now, and I hope to provide new and returning players with the guides and resources I wish I had when I first started.
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