The Destiny universe is built upon its selection of unique and memorable Exotic weapons, one of these weapons is a Hand Cannon named “Thorn.” Thorn is one of the most iconic weapons in the entire Destiny universe including Destiny 2. It is incredibly useful in both PvE and PvP, something that is almost unheard of in most weapons since both of these activities require different things. The gun is fantastic and feels great to use, but what exactly is it? What’s the story behind one of the most iconic Hand Cannons in all of the Destiny universe? What does its Exotic perk do and why is it so good? Well, stick around, because I’m about to teach you everything you need to know about the Exotic Hand Cannon, Thorn.
What is Thorn?
Thorn is an Exotic Hand Cannon that initially came from Destiny 1. It’s actually one of the Weapons of Sorrow that was born from the Hive’s forbidden power and perverted by Dredgen Yor after he became obsessed with the dark Hive mysticism. Originally it was acquired by completing an Exotic weapon bounty called “A Light in the Dark,” but is now only available through legacy engrams in Destiny 1. In Destiny 2, however, acquisition of Thorn is a little different. Before Beyond Light took away many of the destinations in the game, which led to a change in the way players obtain Thorn, you had to:
- Finding a camp in the Salt Mines on the EDZ
- Talk to Banshee-44 in the Tower
- Complete destination bounties on Io, defeat Warlocks in Crucible, or complete Nightfalls
- Complete destination bounties on Titan, defeat Titans in Crucible, or complete runs of the Blind Well
- Complete destination bounties on Mars, defeat Hunters in Crucible, or complete waves of Escalation Protocol
- Defeat Guardians in Crucible using Void weapons or Hand Cannons
- Talk to Tyra Karn at the Farm
- Complete a reprisal of the Savathun’s Song strike
Yeah, it was a very long quest for a lot of people. Luckily, now all you have to do is get some resources and materials and purchase Thorn outright at a kiosk in the tower. This is because most of the destinations required for the quest like Titan, Io, and Mars are no longer in the game, so there’s no way to actually complete those quest steps anymore.
Thorn Perks
The perks available on the Destiny 1 version of Thorn are as follows:
- Accurized Ballistics (More range and impact, increased recoil)
- Field Choke (More range and impact, increased recoil)
- Aggressive Ballistics (More predictable recoil, enhanced impact, shorter range and more recoil)
- Final Round (The last round in a magazine deals bonus damage)
- Snapshot (Aiming this weapon is incredibly fast
- Send it (Increases range and accuracy, harder to handle, decreases carried ammo capacity)
- Perfect Balance (This weapon has extremely low recoil)
However, the perks available on the Destiny 2 version of the weapon are a little bit different:
- Corkscrew Rifling (Slightly increase range and stability, slightly increases handling speed)
- Accurized Rounds (Increases range)
- Soul Devourer (Absorbing a Remnant strengthens Mark of the Devourer and partially refills the magazine)
- Textured Grip (Greatly increases handling speed, slightly decreases stability)
The Exotic perk on Thorn known as “Mark of the Devourer” is the same on both versions of the weapon, however the Destiny 2 version does have a bit of an added bonus that goes hand-in-hand with the Soul Devourer perk. Mark of the Devourer states that rounds pierce targets and deal damage over time, but in Destiny 2, kills with this weapon leave behind Remnants. This is what the Soul Devourer perk utilizes.
Thorn Catalyst
Unfortunately, there isn’t a Catalyst for Thorn quite yet, although it does exist somewhere in the database, according to dataminers. However, we can speculate what the Thorn Catalyst may offer if it ever comes to the game. I can imagine that it will probably provide us with an increase in stability and handling, but I think it would be nice if it also included a bonus for the Remnants. Maybe picking up a Remnant loads an extra round into the magazine? Maybe give the gun a version of Overflow that allows you to overfill the magazine based on the number of Remnants you pick up? I’m not sure how likely that last one would be, but it would definitely be interesting.
I think that’s about all you need to know about Thorn in Destiny 2 (and Destiny 1), if you’re curious about more of the lore on the weapon, I highly suggest reading the Lore anthology books here and taking a look at the in-game lore tab for the weapon. Let me know if I forgot anything important about the weapon and, as always, eyes up Guardians.Destiny 2
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