May 02, 2019
Hello Guardians, my name is PandaPax with r/sharditkeepit. Since Forsaken dropped and random rolls were added Bungie snuck in a treat for us to find. Curated rolls were added as sort of exotically rolled legendaries. They were added in as potential Nightfall rewards, loot drops, and now with Gambit Prime you can get a curated roll by completing a synth worthy action.
The biggest question is, what defines a curated roll?
A curated roll is a roll made by Bungie similar to a Pinnacle Weapon. It comes fully masterworked and has one set roll.
Typically when I do these sorts of breakdowns I include the base stats for the weapon. However, since the curated weapons are static I decided to show the stats you would get for that curated weapon. To help make this easier I organized each curated weapon into their respective encounters, and they will be listed alphabetically in the order of Kinetic, Energy, and Power. I have also included where you can get them.
I have also done other breakdowns on Forsaken weapons and Black Armory weapons.
Happy hunting Guardians!
Gambit Prime
Lonesome (Kinetic Sidearm) - The Swords
Rate of Fire: 260
Impact: 51
Range: 71
Stability: 57
Handling: 40
Reload Speed: 11
Mag size: 15
Aim Assist: 86
Recoil Direction: 90
Precision Frame / Polygonal Rifling / Extended Mag / Overflow / Swashbuckler / Range MW
I have not had the pleasure of getting the Curated Lonesome. However, I do have a Lonesome with Swashbuckler and on a melee focused build via An Insurmountable Skullfort or Claws of Ahamkara or Ophidia Spathe I can see this being an ultra aggressive build. Any melee kill ramps up Swashbuckler to 5 stacks which can two tap in PvP and do more damage than Rampage in PvE. The issue is surviving after a melee kill in PvP and the lack of range sidearms have. The range masterwork certainly help, but I find sidearms a little lackluster in PvE. With Overflow and Extended Mag you will have the ammo to completely spray down enemies which is certainly a plus.
Night Watch (Kinetic Scout Rifle) - The Swords
Rate of Fire: 200
Impact: 60
Range: 48
Stability: 46
Handling: 82
Reload Speed: 44
Mag size: 19
Aim Assist: 69
Recoil Direction: 57
Lightweight Frame / Corkscrew Rifling / Extended Mag / Overflow / Explosive Payload / Handling MW
The Curated Nightwatch takes the best thing about the Manannan SR4 and gives it 500% more ammo. Via Overflow and Extended Mag you’ll be able to keep the flinch for much longer than your year 1 memories. The only thing I dislike about this is how vanilla it feels. Overflow and more ammo is nice, and the only way to get Overflow is on the Curated version, but it doesn’t feel overly special. In PvE you will be able to keep that flinch and damage at longer ranges and for longer. Whereas in PvP a better roll might be able to surpass MIDA, but the only real draw is the flinch. You’ll rarely find a need for all those bullets.
Spare Rations (Kinetic Hand Cannon) - The Swords
Rate of Fire: 150
Impact: 80
Range: 48
Stability: 50
Handling: 74
Reload Speed: 69
Mag size: 14
Aim Assist: 92
Recoil Direction: 100
Lightweight Frame / Hammer-Forged Rifling / Appended Mag / Overflow / Explosive Payload
Potentially a weapon to dethrone the GOAT, the Midnight Coup. The Rampage / Outlaw combo has been coveted and replicated ad nauseum since Forsaken, however, only now do we have a year 2 version to equip mods to and have a chance for better rolls. The Curated Spare Rations won’t dethrone the Midnight Coup but will give it a run for its money. Overflow is really nice with hand cannons low ammo count and Appended Mag is the second best mag perk for PvE. Explosive Payload is just consistent and is a reason why Guardians used Better Devils for so long.
Bug-Out Bag (Solar Submachine Gun) - Reaper Synths in Prime
Rate of Fire: 900
Impact: 20
Range: 49
Stability: 50
Handling: 57
Reload Speed: 61
Mag size: 32
Aim Assist: 46
Recoil Direction: 88
Adaptive Frame / Corkscrew Rifling / Alloy Mag / Slideways / Multikill Clip / Reload Speed MW
On PC I can see this being a potential contender for add clear. On controller I cannot recommend this weapon; the sights, the recoil, the way it feels, it’s all not worth it. Slideways is nice for a quick ammo bump to finish off the last enemies and Multikill Clip can destroy beefier majors. The reload speed masterwork and Alloy Mag both help as you’ll burn through ammo, but if you like 900 RPM SMGs then use Recluse, it’s leaps and bounds above the Curated Bug-Out Bag in all activities.
Gnawing Hunger (Void Auto Rifle) - Likeness of Oryx
Rate of Fire: 600
Impact: 21
Range: 53
Stability: 49
Handling: 85
Reload Speed: 61
Mag size: 48
Aim Assist: 65
Recoil Direction: 54
Adaptive Frame / Arrowhead Brake / Appended Mag / Overflow / Rampage / Handling MW
The Curated Gnawing Hunger is arguably the best adaptive frame auto rifle. Arrowhead Brake to help the poor recoil direction. Appended Mag and Overflow for maximum bullets; and Rampage for tearing through enemies. Think of the Curated Gnawing Hunger as an energy Hammerhead. Take all the best things about the Hammerhead and shrink it down into an auto rifle. The issue is autos aren’t top tier in PvP and the only notable one in PvE is Breakneck. For lower leveled PvE content I can see this doing well.
Last Man Standing (Solar Shotgun) - Sentry Synths in Prime
Rate of Fire: 55
Impact: 80
Range: 47
Stability: 41
Handling: 32
Reload Speed: 47
Mag size: 4
Aim Assist: 26
Recoil Direction: 47
Aggressive Frame / Smoothbore / Assault Mag / Auto-Loading Holster / Full Auto Trigger System / Reload MW
Part of me is very frustrated with the Curated Last Man Standing (LMS), and another part understands the reasoning. A high damage shotgun with minimal downtime between full magazines. Auto-Loading Holster and the reload masterwork will keep you topped off at all times, whereas Full Auto Trigger System and Assault Mag will keep the damage going at a faster pace than its fellow aggressive frame shotguns. This is also increased by the new Intrinsic Frame of aggressive frame shotguns where the rate of fire increases after a kill. You won’t be able to beat the RPM of a rapid-fire shotgun, but the Curated LMS will certainly out DPS it. The issue I have is Smoothbore. In every activity Smoothbore is a bad idea. Increased pellet spread means less pellets hit the target resulting in a loss of damage. You cannot get Full Auto Trigger System on a random roll, but you can get Swashbucker, Rampage, and One-Two Punch which are all better options than this.
Outlast (Solar Pulse Rifle) - Likeness of Oryx
Rate of Fire: 540
Impact: 23
Range: 46
Stability: 61
Handling: 29
Reload Speed: 42
Mag size: 35
Aim Assist: 78
Recoil Direction: 60
Rapid-Fire Frame / Hammer-Forged Rifling / Tactical Mag / Zen Moment / Kill Clip
Similar to the Curated Horror’s Least the Outlast will keep your damage out further with the same barrel, and has the added benefit of a damage dealing perk. The only thing I wished for on the Curated Horror’s Least. Zen Moment will keep your bullets where you want them, and Tactical Mag is the best in slot for stats and boosting the magazine size. The intrinsic rapid-fire frame will allow minimal downtime between magazines to keep Kill Clip up.
Sole Survivor (Arc Sniper Rifle) - Invader Synths in Prime
Rate of Fire: 90
Impact: 70
Range: 60
Stability: 47
Handling: 39
Reload Speed: 71
Mag size: 4
Aim Assist: 50
Recoil Direction: 80
Adaptive Frame / Extended Barrel / Flared Magwell / Outlaw / Snapshot Sights / Reload MW
The Curated Sole Survivor isn’t anything special. It won’t be the best for PvE activities melting bosses. It won’t be the best for PvP besides having Snapshot. But it is just solid for all activities, Outlaw / Flared Magwell / reload masterwork means that no matter how you get your reload off it will be fast. Snapshot gives it utility in PvP allowing for better ADS speeds than the competition. A random rolled Sole Survivor might be best for specializing into PvE with Triple Tap and Firing Line, but you can also get some really nice rolls for PvP. Depends on what you wish to use this weapon for. The Curated isn’t a bad roll, it just doesn’t do one thing particularly well.
Doomsday (Arc Grenade Launcher) - Likeness of Oryx
Rate of Fire: 120
Impact: 18
Range: 52
Stability: 39
Handling: 60
Reload Speed: 49
Mag size: 6
Aim Assist: 54
Recoil Direction: 78
Adaptive Frame / Hard Launch / Proximity Grenades / Auto-Loading Holster / Full Court / Handling MW
The Curated Doomsday is interesting. Proximity Grenades gives it some good flexibility in PvE and PvP, and Auto-Loading Holster will give ease of use without the hassle of reloading. Full Court is a new perk and very interesting. The further the grenade travels the more damage it does. In PvP you don’t want fluctuations in damage. But in PvE it can come in handy to completely obliterate bosses and major enemies. You just have to remember to keep your distance, in which case, why not use a rocket?
Just in Case (Solar Sword) - The Swords
Swing Speed: 46
Impact: 71
Range: 46
Efficiency: 28
Defense: 83
Ammo Capacity: 40
Adaptive Frame / Honed Edge / Burst Guard / Assassin’s Blade / Shattering Blade / Impact MW
The final Curated weapon in the Season of the Drifter is the Just in Case sword. Nothing crazy except for the Shattering Blade perk which is extremely situational. It’s like the sword equivalent of High-Impact Reserves but you can’t reload afterward. Kind of like a last hurrah at the end of your ammo. It’s certainly nice, but using your sword just to uppercut at the tail end for the bonus is less impressive than the Stryker’s Sure-Hand where the perk is active for the entire ammo count as long as you have enemies around you. Using a sword is extremely CQC, so being surrounded isn’t as hard as purposefully wasting ammo to use Shattering Blade.