Destiny 2 Dead Man’s Tale: How to get it and God rolls

Dead Man’s Tale is a 120 RPM Exotic Scout Rifle and one of few Exotics able to drop with random rolls. Available from Exotic Mission Rotator, Dead Man’s Tale is a unique weapon with several variants to suit your playstyle.

Today we will break down the best perk combinations available and how to get the best out of this powerful Scout Rifle.

Art	Weapon	Archetype	Rarity	Ammo	Element	Requirements	In loot pool?	Ammo?	Element?	Tier	Excels	Source	Craftable?	Requires	Released	Slot	Can be Crafted?	Best of?	Top Perk?
	Dead Man's Tale	Exotic	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Beyond Light	Yes	Primary	Kinetic	Strong ❘ A	PvP	Presage		Beyond Light	Season 13	Kinetic	Craftable	Top-tier

How to get Dead Man’s Tale this Season

You can acquire the Dead Man’s Tale by completing the Presage Exotic mission on any difficulty setting. Presage is part of the Exotic Mission Rotator, and with three Missions in rotation, you can farm Presage every three weeks.

Art	Raid	Location	Power Level	Loot	Requires
	Presage	Legends tab	1800	Dead Man's Tale	Lightfall

Acquiring Dead Man’s Tale does require ownership of either the Beyond Light DLC or Season of the Chosen.

You can find the Exotic Mission Rotator schedule for Season of the Witch below.

Dead Man’s Tale is now craftable

Now that Dead Man’s Tale doesn’t need to be purchased from Xûr anymore, it can be obtained for free when completing the Presage Exotic mission. Even better, Dead Man’s tale is craftable. As explained by Bungie:

• First completion of the mission on Normal or Legendary difficulty will award the Exotic Deepsight weapon associated with the mission. Extracting or dismantling this Deepsight weapon will grant the pattern.
• Each completion of the Normal or Legendary version of the Exotic mission will award an intrinsic upgrade that can be used when crafting the Exotic weapon.

How good is Dead Man’s Tale this season?

Dead Man’s Tale features a unique Exotic perk and archetype that set it apart:

• Cranial Spike: Chaining precision hits grants bonus target acquisition and range.
• Killing Wind: Final blows grant increased mobility, weapon range, and handling for a short duration.

Plus, as a craftable weapon, every trait can be fine-tuned and enhanced.

Dead Man’s Tale has been reworked to receive improved stats and an increased rate of fire instead of the plain increased damage it used to offer. While this lowers the potency of Dead Man’s Tale, it remains a powerful option due to its high damage per shot and incredible range. This versatile Scout Rifle currently stands out more in PvP than PvE. But even when considering its best perk combinations, there are currently better options for the same slot in PvE and PvP.

Dead Man’s Tale God rolls for PvP

• Barrel: Fluted Barrel
• Magazine: Ricochet Rounds
• Trait: Moving Target (also good: Vorpal Weapon)
• Stock: Fitted Stock

PvP is where Dead Man’s Tale shines. Fluted Barrel and Ricochet Rounds are the best combination to keep the reticle sticky with added Range, shots accurate with Stability, and the extra Handling is great for fast swaps and usage from the hip.

Moving Target is the best possible trait with its added aim assist and movement speed, making you harder to hit in duels which also feeds into Dead Man’s Tale’s Exotic perk if you are accurate. Fitted Stock then finishes off this PvP roll giving Dead Man’s Tale the best recoil control, which is key when dueling your opponents.

Dead Man’s Tale God rolls for PvE

• Barrel: Fluted Barrel
• Magazine: Ricochet Rounds
• Perk 1: Vorpal Weapon
• Stock: Composite Stock

Dead Man’s Tale has some solid base stats, so enhancing the full package works best in PvE. Fluted Barrel gives a large boost to Handling, giving a snappier feel while adding Stability to help keep your shots accurate.

Ricochet Rounds further pushes the Range and Stability, adding to its great advantage at distance.  Round this off with Vorpal Weapon increasing damage by 20% to higher-end enemies and vehicles. Composite Stock then adds an extra bonus of Stability and Handling.

Dead Man’s Tale Catalyst: Where to find it

Dead Man’s Tale Catalyst can also be acquired from Presage. As also confirmed by Bungie:

• Each completion of the Legendary version of the Exotic mission will award a Catalyst upgrade for the crafted Exotic weapon.

Name	Type	Slot	Catalyst Rank	Catalyst Source	Available?	Requirements	Catalyst	Tier	Source ❘ DLC	How to unlock	Catalyst effect	Released
Dead Man's Tale	Scout Rifle	Kinetic	S › Best	Presage Quest on Legendary	Yes	Beyond Light	Dead Man's Tale | Scout Rifle	Best ❘ S	Presage Quest on Legendary Beyond Light	► Get 800 kills	► Adds Dark-Forged Trigger perk: Removes hipfire accuracy penalties and increases rate of fire from hip. Stacks of Cranial Spike increase hip rate of fire further.	Season 12

How to unlock the catalyst?

To fully unlock the Catalyst, you’ll need a hefty 800 Targets Defeated. The fan-favorite method of farming Shuro Chi in the Last Wish Raid is an effective way to get it done.

Before you go…

If you’re looking for top-tier exotics, you should definitely aim for a God roll Osteo Striga SMG or the Conditional Finality shotgun.

Post written by RiseOfBacon