Considered one of the best hand cannons in the game, Igneous Hammer returns to us with a reprised perk pool that is sure to shake things up in PvE. And as a Trials weapon, there’s only one place you can find it…
Today, we’ll go over how to acquire it, how it sits in the current meta, and god rolls for both PvE and PvP.
| 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? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Igneous Hammer | Aggressive | Legendary | Primary | Solar | Lightfall | No |   Primary |   Solar | Strong ❘ A | PvP | Trials of Osiris |   |   Lightfall | Season 13 | Energy | No | Top-tier |
How to get Igneous Hammer this Season
Much like before, Igneous Hammer is a Trials of Osiris exclusive weapon. In Season 22, Igneous is the reward for reaching Rank 16, but it can also drop from the Trials weekly challenge and from winning rounds or matches.
Trials of Osiris focusing, Destiny 2
The Adept version, as always, is only available through completing a flawless card and reaching the Lighthouse. Once either version is acquired, you can focus for more drops at Saint-14, but keep in mind that you can only focus for the Adept version the weekend it is available.
How good is Igneous Hammer
Hand Cannons, both in PvP and PvE, are starting to see a resurgence thanks to a swath of changes. In PvE, they are slowly becoming viable picks for all manners of content as a result of a sizable buff to its minor and major damage, and in PvP, changes to zoom and range have brought hand cannons back into the limelight.
Igneous Hammer couldn’t have come at a better time, it would seem, as the reprised perk pool lets it flex its strength in both areas. In PvE, Heal Clip and Incandescent can make for a perfect Solar build weapon, and in PvP, you have a variety of perks to aid in buffing range, reload, stability, and damage.
Overall, we consider it S Tier for PvP and A Tier for PvE.
Best alternatives:
| 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? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
  | Bottom Dollar | Aggressive | Legendary | Primary | Void | Free-to-Play | Yes | Primary |   Void | Average ❘ B | PvE + PvP | Playlist: Gambit | |  Free-to-Play | Season 13 | Energy | No | ||
 | Combined Action | Aggressive | Legendary | Primary | Arc | Free-to-Play | Yes | Primary |   Arc | Average ❘ B | PvP | World loot pool | | Free-to-Play | Season 21 | Energy | No | Voltshot | |
 | Targeted Redaction | Aggressive | Legendary | Primary | Void | Season 21 | Yes | Primary | Void | Best ❘ S | Seasonal activity |   |   Season 21 | Season 21 | Energy | Craftable | Top-tier |
Igneous Hammer God rolls, Destiny 2
Best Igneous Hammer Rolls for PvE and PvP
Igneous Hammer PvP god roll
- Barrel: Smallbore or Hammer Forged Rifling
- Magazine: Ricochet Rounds or High-Caliber Rounds
- Perk 1: Keep Away or Rangefinder
- Perk 2: Frenzy or Opening Shot
- Masterwork: Range or Stability
While Igneous Hammer dominated the meta for a while, its reprised perk pool and the nerf to crit damage on 120 RPM Hand Cannons has slightly reduced its presence. However, that’s not to say it doesn’t have a place. One part of Igneous’ dominance was its range, and so we’ll be boosting that alongside stability to give us the upper edge. To that end, Smallbore or Hammer Forged Rifling are the best Barrel picks. Smallbore equally boosts Range and Stability by +7, and Hammer Forged Rifling gives you +10 to Range at the cost of no Stability boosts. For Magazine, Ricochet Rounds or High-Caliber Rounds are the only viable choices. Both increase Range by +5, but only Ricochet gives an extra +10 to Stability.
While Rampage might be gone, the inclusion of Frenzy allows it to still have a damage buff while also boosting other stats, and Golden Tricorn x2 can let you hit those coveted 2 crit kills. If you want to forgo damage options, Eye of The Storm, Moving Target, and Opening Shot can help with dueling. With Keep Away, Rangefinder, or Fragile Focus in Column 3, you have some very strong options to boost your range, and the tried and true Rapid-Hit stuck around to help with some stability boosts. For a reprised PvP weapon, this one did not miss the mark.
Igneous Hammer PvE god roll
- Barrel: Fluted Barrel or Smallbore
- Magazine: Flared Magwell or Appended Mag
- Perk 1: Rapid-Hit or Heal Clip
- Perk 2: Incandescent or Golden Tricorn
- Masterwork: Reload Speed or Handling
Thanks to the Hand Cannon buffs, Igneous Hammer is now a solid PvE option thanks to its high base damage and synergistic perks. However, it suffers in its slow reload speed and handling, which is what we are going to improve with the Barrel and Magazine. For that, Fluted Barrel and Flared Magwell is the go-to combo. Fluted Barrel ups your Handling, Flared Magwell ups your reload speed, and both give minor increases to Stability. You could opt for Appended Mag if you want a larger magazine with no reload speed penalty, but given that it’s only two more, the trade-off comes down to user preference.
As mentioned earlier, Igneous Hammer can roll with very synergistic perks for Solar subclasses, specifically Heal Clip in Column 3 and Incandescent in Column 4. These perks dip into Solar’s subclass verbs of Cure and Scorch, respectively, and are even strong enough on their own to where you don’t need to use Solar in order to see benefits. If damage is the name of the game, then Golden Tricorn’s buff is sure to be the pick for you. While this one does require a Solar subclass, one cannot deny the raw power of a 50% damage buff to all targets. On certain builds, this could be an extremely viable option for even end-game content.
Igneous Hammer: Is it worth farming?
Short answer? Yes. Long answer? Yes, if you are willing to brave Trials of Osiris, that is. PvP is not everyone’s cup of tea, so it’s understandable the hesitation some may have in trying their hands at getting a roll. But with the improved drop rates and loot acquisition system, there’s never been a better time for non-PvP players to take a chance and hop in to try and secure that god roll. And just remember, you don’t need to win to get to Rank 16, though it will make things go quicker.
Interested in more top-tier Trials of Osiris weapons? You should definitely check out the new Cataphract GL3 grenade launcher.
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