Mindbender’s Ambition: God Rolls and How to get it

The Mindbender’s Ambition is a Solar Aggressive frame Shogun from the Forsaken era. It used to completely dominate the PvP meta until it was sunset last year. And now, more than a year later, the Mindbender’s Ambition has finally returned to us as a Nightfall-exclusive weapon.

In this guide, we cover where to find the weapon, how to farm it, and what are the best rolls for 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?
	Mindbender's Ambition	Aggressive	Legendary	Special	Solar	Free-to-Play	Yes	Special	Solar	Average ❘ B	-	Nightfall: The Ordeals		Free-to-Play	Season 18	Energy	No

How to get the Mindbender’s Ambition in 2023

The Mindbender’s Ambition was reintroduced into the loot pool in Season 18 as a Nightfall-exclusive weapon. This means it can only drop from Nightfall completions and only during the weeks it’s on rotation.

Nightfall Weapon rotation for 2023

There are 14 Nightfall-specific weapons in total, and as of Season of Plunder (S18), only 6 out of the 14 total weapons are currently on rotation, with only one dropping each week. This means you can only farm the Mindbender’s Ambition once every six weeks!

Nightfall weapon rotation this season

Week	Art	Weapon	Type	Element	Ammo	Week #
23 May 2023		Buzzard	Sidearm	Kinetic	Primary	Week 1
30 May 2023		Hung Jury SR4	Scout Rifle	Kinetic	Primary	Week 2
6 June 2023						Week 3
13 June 2023						Week 4
20 June 2023						Week 5
27 June 2023						Week 6
4 July 2023						Week 7
11 July 2023						Week 8
18 July 2023						Week 9
25 July 2023						Week 10
1 August 2023						Week 11
8 August 2023						Week 12
15 August 2023						Week 13
22 August 2023						Week 14

This guide will always highlight the Nightfall weapons this week, as well as the schedule for the coming weeks.

How good is the Mindbender’s Ambition today

The Mindbender’s Ambition was every shotgun-lover go-to back in Year 2 until it was sunset with the launch of the Beyond Light expansion. With its return, it’s missing all of the best shotgun perks out there, including Opening Shot, Quickdraw, and Slideshot.

The lack of these perks makes it quite hard to recommend the Mindbender’s Ambition when shotguns such as Found Verdict and Wastelander M5 exist as alternatives. For those reasons, we consider this a B-Tier weapon:

• B Tier – Average: A decent choice that can be lethal in the hands of a skilled player.

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?
	Found Verdict	Aggressive	Legendary	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Special	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvP	Vault of Glass Raid		Free-to-Play	Season 14	Energy	No	Top-tier
	Wastelander M5	Lightweight	Legendary	Special	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	Special	Kinetic	Strong ❘ A	PvE + PvP	Dares of Eternity		Free-to-Play	30th Anniversary event	Kinetic	Craftable	Top-tier

Best Mindbender’s Ambition Rolls for PvE and PvP

Once you’ve identified the right week to farm, you’ll want to run as many Nightfalls (and at the higher difficulty possible) to increase your chances of finding a god roll. Among the several strong possible rolls out there, these are our favorites, the combinations we consider god rolls.

A Mindbender’s Ambition roll, Destiny 2

Mindbender’s Ambition PvP god roll

In terms of PvP rolls, you should go for high Range and high Handling. Therefore, Barrels such as Smallbore, Corkscrew Rifling, and Barrel Shroud can all be solid picks. For the Magazine, Accurized Rounds is the best option, however, Assault Mag is also a solid choice. For the first perk, you should go for Threat Detector, and for the second perk, you should aim for Fragile Focus. Snapshot Sights and Well-Rounded are decent picks as well.

• Barrel: Smallbore, Corkscrew Rifling, or Barrel Shroud
• Magazine: Accurized Rounds
• Perk 1: Threat Detector
• Perk 2: Fragile Focus

Mindbender’s Ambition PvE god roll

For PvE, your Barrel and Magazine won’t matter as much, however, Barrel Shroud and Assault Mag are the best available options. For the perks, you should go for Lead from Gold or Auto-Loading Holster on the first slot, and One-Two Punch or Incandescent for the second slot.

• Barrel: Barrel Shroud
• Magazine: Assault Mag
• Perk 1: Lead from Gold or Auto-Loading Holster
• Perk 2: One-Two Punch or Incandescent

Mindbender’s Ambition Adept

If you’re courageous enough to tackle Nightfalls on Grandmaster difficulty, you could earn an Adept version of the Mindbender’s Ambition. On top of serving as bragging rights, Adept variants of weapons have more perks per column, give even more stats when Masterworked, and can accept unique Adept mods.

Be aware that Grandmaster Nightfalls are only available during the second half of the season.