Destiny 2 Dead Messenger: How to get it and God rolls

One of a few exotic weapons that can utilize multiple elemental damage types, Dead Messenger has seen a solid amount of popularity since its release in Season of the Risen. While it was unobtainable for a short while, this exotic wave frame grenade launcher now comes from the Exotic Mission Rotator.

In this article, we’ll cover how to get all the bells and whistles for Dead Messenger and the best perk combinations you should be looking out for.

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 Messenger	Exotic	Exotic	Special	Void	The Witch Queen	Yes	Special	Void	Best ❘ S	PvE	Vox Obscura		The Witch Queen	Season 16	Energy	Craftable	Top-tier

How to get Dead Messenger this Season

Dead Messenger is obtainable via the Vox Obscura exotic mission on either difficulty level. This mission is a part of the Exotic Mission Rotator, meaning you can only farm Vox Obscura and Dead Messenger every three weeks.

Art	Raid	Location	Power Level	Loot	Requires
	Vox Obscura	Legends tab	1800	Dead Messenger	Lightfall

Acquiring Dead Messenger does require ownership of either the Witch Queen or Season of the Risen.

Vox Obscura Exotic mision, Destiny 2

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

Dead Messenger is now craftable

After a segment of time where Dead Messenger was flat-out unobtainable, it now can easily be obtained by simply completing Vox Obscura. Better yet, Dead Messenger is now craftable. According to 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.

Dead Messenger Exotic, Destiny 2

How good is Dead Messenger this season?

While Dead Messenger has recently declined in popularity due to the removal of the Match Game modifier in most endgame activities, its new perk options have given it a second life.

• Trinary Vision: One-shot handheld Grenade Launcher. Projectiles release a fan of three energy waves on contact with the ground.
• The Fundamentals: Changes this weapon’s damage type, cycling between Solar, Arc, and Void. Grants different stats based on your selected damage type.
  • Solar – Increases reload speed and aerial effectiveness.
  • Arc – Increases handling and range.
  • Void – Stability and aim assist.

Wave frame grenade launchers have always been a top-tier pick for PvE. Compared to other weapons in the same archetype, Dead Messenger covers more ground (quite literally) through its three energy waves as opposed to just one.

That said, Dead Messenger competes directly with Forbearance, arguably the best special weapon for PvE. It takes a near-perfect situation to warrant using your exotic slot on Dead Messenger, but when the time comes, nothing else compares.

Dead Messenger God rolls for PvE

• Launcher: Quick Launch
• Magazine: High-Velocity Rounds
• Trait: Demolitionist (also good: Thresh)
• Stock: Short-Action Stock

Dead Messenger doesn’t contain all that much for PvP players. Nearly everything it can do is done better by legendary wave frame grenade launchers, making this not worth the exotic slot.

That said, there are still ways to improve Dead Messenger’s performance in The Crucible. To do so, we’ll spec into handling by going for Quick Launch, High-Velocity Rounds, and Short-Action Stock.

The selectable trait here is up to you and comes down to your preference of either extra grenade or super energy. Both Thresh and Demolitionist won’t do all that much, but they’re miles better than Unrelenting here.

Dead Messenger God rolls for PvP

• Launcher: Quick Launch (also good: Hard Launch)
• Magazine: Quick Launch
• Trait: Demolitionist (also good: Unrelenting)
• Stock: Short-Action Stock

Dead Messenger excels a bit further in PvE, where you’re more likely to use both The Fundamentals and its other column of selectable traits.

As we did for The Crucible, we want to spec into handling first. Therefore, you’ll want to farm for Quick Launch, High-Velocity Rounds, and Short-Action Stock. As for the main perks, we suggest either Demolitionist or Unrelenting. Demolitionist grants grenade energy and free reloads, while Unrelenting provides substantial jumps in health regeneration.

Dead Messenger Catalyst: Where to find it

As with the other exotics available through the Exotic Mission Rotator, Dead Messenger’s Exotic catalyst comes from the Legendary version of Vox Obscura:

• 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 Messenger	Grenade Launcher	Energy	A › Strong	Vox Obscura Quest on Legendary	Yes	The Witch Queen	Dead Messenger | Grenade Launcher	Strong ❘ A	Vox Obscura Quest on Legendary The Witch Queen	► Get 200 Solar kills, 200 Void kills, 200 Arc kills	► Adds Turnabout perk: Using this weapon to break the shield of a combatant or a Guardian using their Super will grant you an overshield.	Season 16

How to unlock the catalyst?

After grabbing the catalyst from Vox Obscura, you’ll need to get 200 kills with Dead Messenger with each elemental mode (600 kills total). While farming Shuro Chi is as effective as ever, you’ll gain extra progress by doing these objectives in the Throne World or the Vox Obscura mission itself.

Before you go…

If you’re looking for more top-tier exotics, you should definitely aim for the Tessellation Fusion Rifle or the Necrochasm Raid Exotic.