One of many Trials weapons pulled from Destiny 1, The Messenger has a long history behind it, and its iteration in Destiny 2 is by far its most powerful.
Refreshed several times, the god roll has more or less stayed the same, but this recent iteration has some new perks that might have you reconsidering the one sitting in your vault.
 Name: The Messenger | Type: Pulse RifleArchetype: High-Impact | Ammo:  PrimaryElement:  Kinetic | Craftable:  NoReleased: Season 13 | Source: Trials of OsirisRequires: Lightfall |
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How to get The Messenger
The Messenger is available as a reward from Trials of Osiris, the weekend-long 3v3 Crucible mode. It can drop from match completions, turning in engrams at Saint-XIV, or focusing. Additionally, Adept versions can be earned in several ways: by going flawless and opening the Lighthouse chest, by turning in a flawless card, or by hitting 7 wins on a Passage of Persistence.
Note that, even if the Persistence says flawless, going to the Lighthouse requires 0 wins removed, which will happen on a loss. We cover the Trials weapon this week here.
How to get The Messenger, Destiny 2
You can find all of our D2 God Rolls here.
How good is The Messenger
Since its reintroduction in Season 13, The Messenger has been a staple of the Crucible. Though its frame has seen a few nerfs here and there, it’s still one of, if not the, best pulses rifles in PvP. Excellent range, relatively stable, and with a suite of perks to help offset any shortcomings, it’s no wonder this has been so sought after. While Aggressive Frames are slowly creeping up on it, it still holds a solid place in the meta.
On the PvE side of things, The Messenger is not something I’d personally recommend. It lacks any truly strong PvE perks and the low handling makes it clunky to use against hordes of enemies. Its range is decent, but at that point, most would opt to use scouts. And while it does get Kinetic Tremors, taking almost 4 bursts to activate it isn’t the best, especially given how slow it fires.
Best alternatives:
 | Psi Hermetic V | Pulse Rifle | Primary |  Stasis | Lost Sector |
 | Relentless | Pulse Rifle | Primary |  Strand | Prophecy Dungeon |
The Messenger God Rolls and Perk Pool
The Messenger Pulse rifle can roll with the following perks:
- Perk 1: Perpetual Motion, Rapid-Hit, Outlaw, Under-Over, Moving Target, Offhand Strikes, Discord
- Perk 2: Kill Clip, Desperado, Kinetic Tremors, Headseeker, Harmony, Encore, Keep Away
- Origin Traits: Alacrity, One Quiet Moment, Wild Card
The Messenger God rolls, Destiny 2
The Messenger PvE god roll
- Barrel: Arrowhead Break
- Magazine: Appended Mag
- Perk 1: Rapid-Hit
- Perk 2: Kinetic Tremors (also good: Kill Clip)
- Origin Trait: Wild Card
- Masterwork: Stability or Handling
As previously stated, pulse rifles, especially High Impact ones, rarely see use in PvE. This is especially true when they aren’t one of the season’s anti-champion weapons. However, The Messenger can be a decent rifle for putting down larger targets thanks to its range. To make sure we’re hitting those shots, go for Arrowhead Break, as this heavily boosts the low recoil while also raising your handling. Appended Mag is great as it gives you two extra bursts without touching the reload speed.
For perk 1, Rapid-Hit is probably the only choice one can recommend. Bumping both reload speed and stability with each crit, it’s a no-brainer. Outlaw is fine, but a kill activated perk is going to struggle in higher-end content. Kinetic Tremors is your best perk 2. While it might take some time to activate, it’s free damage for simply hitting a target. Kill Clip is also nice, but again, kill based perks aren’t the best in level capped content. Use a minor or major mod to bump the damage even more.
The Messenger PvP god roll
- Barrel: Arrowhead Break
- Magazine: Ricochet Rounds
- Perk 1: Rapid-Hit
- Perk 2: Desperado or Headseeker
- Origin Trait: Alacrity
- Masterwork: Stability or Range
While The Messenger has excellent base range, it is hindered ever so slightly by the low recoil direction and stability. To make up for that, the tried and true combo of Arrowhead Break and Ricochet Rounds will bump both of those stats a fair amount while also providing buffs to handling and range, respectively. You can opt for Chambered Compensator if you feel like having more stability and throw on a Counterbalance Stock mod, but Arrowhead is the only way to hit 100.
Perk 1’s best option remains Rapid-Hit. By landing just one crit burst, your stability raises by 14, which makes all the follow up shots as accurate as can be. For perk 2, Desperado or Headseeker are both viable options, depending on the intent. Desperado is perfect for chaining kills as it knocks your TTK down to half a second, but Headseeker can help keep your shots consistent. Find what works best for you!
Before you go…
Interested in more top-tier weapons from Trials of Osiris? You should definitely check out these The Summoner God Rolls.
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