The Destiny community’s main focus as of late has been solely on Rite of the Nine and The Edge of Fate, but there’s a surprising amount more to be invested in.
With the game’s most recent update, Bungie added additional weapons to a variety of playlists, including a pulse rifle available from Nightfalls: Cruel Mercy. Let’s take a look at how strong it is.
 Name: Cruel Mercy | Type: Pulse RifleArchetype: Heavy Burst | Ammo:  PrimaryElement:  Arc | Craftable:  NoReleased: Episode 3 | Source: Nightfall: The OrdealsRequires: Free-to-Play |
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How good is Cruel Mercy
Cruel Mercy offers a solid amount that other arc pulses don’t contain. Even so, the weapon fails to be truly meta due to its somewhat lackluster frame, especially when considering the current meta.
In PvE, Cruel Mercy is rather strong, especially when compared to similar options. That said, hand cannons and other shorter-range options will continue to dominate the primary ammo field for the foreseeable future, making pulse rifles as a whole a rather inefficient choice.
Cruel Mercy’s main competition in The Crucible is Joxer’s Longsword. Luckily, Cruel Mercy has most of the perks that made Joxer’s so popular and also boasts a smaller, more focused perk pool. As a result, Cruel Mercy ends up being a rather solid choice to farm for if you’re looking for a new PvP pulse. Cruel Mercy is A-Tier for PvE and A-Tier for PvP.
Best alternatives:
 | Corrasion | Pulse Rifle | Primary | Arc | Echoes Activities | Voltshot |
 | Joxer's Longsword | Pulse Rifle | Primary |  Void | Playlist: Crucible |
Cruel Mercy Perks and God Rolls
The Cruel Mercy arc pulse rifle can roll with the following perks:
- Perk 1: Dragonfly, Demolitionist, Eddy Current, Fourth Time’s the Charm, Keep Away, Lone Wolf.
- Perk 2: Rolling Storm, Adrenaline Junkie, Headseeker, Frenzy, Kill Clip, Desperado.
- Origin Trait: Stunning Recovery, Vanguard’s Vindication, Omolon Fluid Dynamics.
Cruel Mercy God Rolls, Destiny 2
Cruel Mercy PvE god rolls
| PvE Roll: All-Around | |
|---|---|
| Barrel | Fluted Barrel |
| Magazine | Flared Magwell |
| Perk 1 | Dragonfly (also good: Keep Away) |
| Perk 2 | Frenzy (also good: Rolling Storm) |
| Masterwork | Handling |
| Origin Trait | Omolon Fluid Dynamics or Vanguard’s Vindication |
As is typical at this point, we’ll start our PvE roll with Fluted Barrel, Flared Magwell, and a handling masterwork. This grants a nice sweep of handling, reload speed, and a bit of stability as well.
Dragonfly paired with Frenzy makes for a nice general roll that excels in pretty much all areas of PvE. If you’re instead looking for a bit of arc synergy, Rolling Storm is an easy swap to make in the final column. We’d also recommend opting for Keep Away in this case, since you’ll lose out on the stat bumps from Frenzy.
Cruel Mercy PvP god rolls
| PvP Roll: All-Around | |
|---|---|
| Barrel | Arrowhead Brake |
| Magazine | Ricochet Rounds |
| Perk 1 | Lone Wolf or Keep Away |
| Perk 2 | Desperado or Headseeker |
| Masterwork | Stability |
| Origin Trait | Omolon Fluid Dynamics |
Arrowhead Brake, Ricochet Rounds, a stability masterwork, and Omolon Fluid Dynamics make this weapon feel significantly smoother in The Crucible.
From there, column one of the main perks is a toss-up between Lone Wolf and Keep Away—we recommend opting for whichever gives the stats you value more. The final column sees a similar debate: Desperado is great if you don’t mind getting the precision kill to trigger it, while Headseeker is great as a more consistency-focused option.
How to get Cruel Mercy
Cruel Mercy is a part of the Nightfall weapon pool. When featured, the weapon can drop from Nightfall activities or can be purchased from Zavala for 1 Vanguard Engram and 1 Nightfall Cipher (Adept). Additional copies can be purchased from Zavala at any point for 5 Vanguard Engrams and 25,000 Glimmer. You can find the Nightfall weapon this week here.
How to get Cruel Mecy, Destiny 2
Before you go…
Interested in other top-tier Nightfall weapons? You should check out these Lotus-Eater God Rolls.
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