While their popularity ebbs and flows with time, pulse rifles always seem to be near the top of Destiny 2’s meta. With this in mind, it makes sense that the pulses from the most difficult of activities are typically highly sought-after.
While it never received the same rise in popularity as some of its competition had, Smite of Merain has an extremely interesting perk pool that’s more than worthy of dissecting. Let’s look at all of what Smite of Merain has to offer, from its usefulness in PvE and PvP to its god rolls in all scenarios.
| Art | Name | Archetype | Rarity | Ammo? | Element? | Requirements | In loot pool? | Ammo | Element | Tier | Excels | Source | Craftable? | Requires | Released | Slot | Can be Crafted? | Best of? | Top Perk? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Smite of Merain | Adaptive | Legendary | Primary | Kinetic | Free-to-Play | Yes |  Primary |  Kinetic | A › Strong | PvE | King's Fall Raid |  Yes |  Free-to-Play | Season 18 | Kinetic | Craftable | Top-tier |
How to get Smite of Merain
Smite of Merain is one of six legendary weapons available exclusively from the free-to-play King’s Fall raid. In the case of this pulse rifle specifically, it can be obtained from the Warpriest, Daughters, and Oryx encounters. You may purchase additional copies of the weapon from the end-of-raid vendor for 20 Spoils of Conquest as well, but your first copy must come from a random encounter drop.
As with all recent raid weapons, Smite of Merain also has an Adept (Harrowed) version. This adept variant comes with better stats, enhanced perks, and the ability to slot unique mods. We cover the entire Destiny 2 King’s Fall loot table here.
How to get Smite of Merain, Destiny 2
You can find all of our D2 God Rolls here.
How good is Smite of Merain
When first looking at its available perks, veteran players will see that Smite of Merain is relatively unique compared to its competition. However, in the end, this weapon comes out as merely average.
With Focused Fury and Demolitionist both in the first column, it’s clear that Smite is a more than capable weapon in PvE. But even with this (and a host of top-tier perks in the final column), Smite of Merain has never caught on. This is primarily for two reasons: the lack of an elemental affinity, and its mediocre adaptive frame.
As for The Crucible, Smite of Merain continues to strive for only average. While it feels outstanding to use, the weapon is simply outclassed by its strong competition.
Because of the above, Smite of Merain is a B-Tier weapon in both PvE and PvP. While it won’t do you wrong, there are significantly better options available in the game currently.
Best alternatives:
| Art | Name | Archetype | Rarity | Ammo? | Element? | Requirements | In loot pool? | Ammo | Element | Tier | Excels | Source | Craftable? | Requires | Released | Slot | Can be Crafted? | Best of? | Top Perk? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | No Time to Explain | Exotic | Exotic | Primary | Kinetic | Beyond Light Pack | Yes | Primary | Kinetic | A › Strong | PvE + PvP | Beyond Light Campaign |  No |  Beyond Light Pack | Season 12 | Kinetic | No | Top-tier | |
 | Insidious | Aggressive Burst | Legendary | Primary | Arc | The Witch Queen | Yes | Primary |  Arc | A › Strong | PvE + PvP | Vow of the Disciple Raid | Yes |  Witch Queen | Season 16 | Energy | Craftable | Top-tier | Bait and Switch |
Smite of Merain Perks and God Rolls
The Smite of Merain pulse rifle can roll with the following perks:
- Perk 1: Ensemble, Moving Target, Pugilist, Well-Rounded, Focused Fury, Stats for All, Demolitionist
- Perk 2: Eye of the Storm, Gutshot Straight, Swashbuckler, Adrenaline Junkie, Vorpal Weapon, One for All, Firefly
Smite of Merain God rolls, Destiny 2
Smite of Merain PvE god roll
- Barrel: Hammer-Forged Rifling
- Magazine: Tactical Mag
- Perk 1: Demolitionist (also good: Focused Fury)
- Perk 2: Adrenaline Junkie (also good: One for All)
- Masterwork: Range
Despite its inability to compete with top picks (especially 4-bursts), Smite of Merain has a couple of great perk combinations that are both potent and easy to use.
We’ll begin with Hammer-Forged Rifling, Tactical Mag, and a Range masterwork to round out the weapon’s stat package. From there, two main ways to build this weapon up come to mind: either the always-extraordinary combination of Demolitionist and Adrenaline Junkie, or Smite of Merain’s unique ability to roll with two damage perks (Focused Fury and either One for All, Adrenaline Junkie, or Swashbuckler).
As a whole, Smite of Merain is inarguably unique, but its diverse aspects simply don’t compare to recent competition. Unless you want something that only excels in high damage-per-shot, there are likely better options out there.
Smite of Merain PvE God Roll (d2foundryGG)
Smite of Merain PvP god roll
- Barrel: Hammer-Forged Rifling
- Magazine: Accurized Rounds
- Perk 1: Moving Target
- Perk 2: Eye of the Storm
- Masterwork: Range
Smite of Merain hits relatively the same mark in PvP as it does in PvE. In fact, realistically, Smite is nearly an even slightly weaker option here than in PvE activities.
We’ll start again by rounding off Smite of Merain’s stats by opting for all things range: Hammer-Forged Rifling, Accurized Rounds, and a range masterwork.
From here, the best option is simply the one that provides the most consistency to your shots—Moving Target and Eye of the Storm. While better options will continue to simply outclass Smite of Merain, having shot consistency on your side is your best bet.
Smite of Merain PvP God Roll (d2foundryGG)
Before you go
Interested in more weapons from King’s Fall? You should definitely check out these Defiance of Yasmin God Rolls.
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