June 04, 2019
Hello and welcome to my breakdown of the Penumbra weapons, here you can find a links to my past articles for Forsaken, Black Armory, and Joker’s Wild. Below are the weapon’s base stats and my thoughts and opinions on their best rolls.
Machine Guns
Name - Bane of Sorrow - Heavy / Crown of Sorrow
Rate of Fire: 360
Impact: 70
Range: 71
Stability: 29
Handling: 45
Reload Speed: 43
Mag size: 38
Aim Assist: 30
Recoil Direction: 69
Curated Roll:
Corkscrew Rifling / High-Caliber Rounds / Outlaw / Dragonfly
Recommended PvE Perks:
Sights: Arrowhead Brake, Fluted Barrel, Corkscrew Rifling
Magazine: Appended Mag, High-Caliber Rounds, Extended Mag
Perk 1: Feeding Frenzy, Under Pressure, Eye of the Storm
Perk 2: Rampage, Demolitionist
Recommended PvP Perks:
Sights: Extended Barrel, Chambered Compensator, Hammer Forged Rifling
Magazine: Ricochet Rounds, High-Caliber Rounds, Appended Mag
Perk 1: Tap the Trigger, Eye of the Storm, Feeding Frenzy
Perk 2: Demolitionist, Rampage, Mulligan
Last season with 21% Delirium we got our first rapid-fire frame machine guns, now we have the hard hitting aggressive frame machine guns. The Bane of Sorrow curated roll is certainly trying to get you to be accurate. It's the only way to get Dragonfly on this weapon, so not the worst roll. I would recommend Arrowhead Brake or Fluted depending on your comfort level with the weapons recoil direction and handling. Increasing the magazine is almost a must to compete with Overflow on the 21%. The other way to complete with 21% or Hammerhead is to simply out damage it with Rampage or Demolitionist and more grenades.
In PvP this will be an interesting weapon to go against, I can imagine a very fast TtK. The perks to look for here are ones that increase your lethality at a range. Extended Barrel and Ricochet Rounds are my top choices. Tap the Trigger is criminally underrated for PvP and on this slower firing machine gun will feel like its not even moving. Eye of the Storm is also another good choice for when you're taking damage. Finally Demolitionist and Rampage for obvious reasons, but Mulligan isn't an instant-dismantle because it can help you extend your heavy pickups if you're even a little off target.
Name - Fixed Odds - Heavy / Menagerie
Rate of Fire: 360
Impact: 70
Range: 66
Stability: 35
Handling: 37
Reload Speed: 37
Mag size: 35
Aim Assist: 33
Recoil Direction: 66
Curated Roll:
Hammer-Forged Rifling / Armor-Piercing Rounds / Feeding Frenzy / Rampage
Recommended PvE Perks:
Sights: Arrowhead Brake, Fluted Barrel, Corkscrew Rifling
Magazine: Appended Mag, High-Caliber Rounds, Extended Mag
Perk 1: Feeding Frenzy, Quickdraw
Perk 2: Rampage, Surrounded
Recommended PvP Perks:
Sights: Extended Barrel, Chambered Compensator, Hammer Forged Rifling
Magazine: Ricochet Rounds, High-Caliber Rounds, Appended Mag
Perk 1: Quickdraw, No Distractions
Perk 2: Tap the Trigger, Rampage, Rangefinder
The Fixed Odds is another great option with a roll more akin to most Guardian's god rolls. In PvE the only better option is more ammo and potentially a better barrel. But that can come down to how these weapons feel.
In PvP, again range is important. Being able to use heavy as efficiently as possible will be your saving grace. No Distractions is unique to this machine gun and will allow you to win more often than not against weapons with High-Caliber Rounds. Finally Tap the Trigger makes another appearance, as does Rangefinder for more space between you and your enemies.
Rocket Launchers
Name - Shining Sphere - Heavy / Iron Banner
Rate of Fire: 20
Blast Radius: 75
Velocity: 54
Stability: 45
Handling: 45
Reload Speed: 45
Mag size: 1
Aim Assist: 58
Recoil Direction: 60
Curated Roll:
Volatile Launch - Quick Launch / High-Velocity Rounds - Implosion Rounds / Snapshot Sights / Quickdraw
Recommended PvE Perks:
Sights: Volatile Launch, Confined Launch, Linear Compensator
Magazine: Impact Casing, Black Powder, Alloy Casing
Perk 1: Field Prep, Auto-Loading Holster
Perk 2: Tracking Module, Demolitionist
Recommended PvP Perks:
Sights: Volatile Launch, Confined Launch, Linear Compensator
Magazine: Black Powder, Alloy Casing, High-Velocity Rounds
Perk 1: Auto-Loading Holster
Perk 2: Tracking Module, Demolitionist
The Iron Banner rocket makes a return. Nothing can beat Cluster Bombs for dps, and unfortunately the Shining Sphere cannot roll Cluster Bombs. It can get everything else for a decent, more casual D1 vibe if you'd prefer. Volatile Launch for the most blast radius, and Impact Casing for more impact damage. Field Prep for more ammo, and Tracking Module for some ease of use.
In PvP it's hard to recommend a legendary rocket launcher, but Tracking Module for some fire-and-forget, as well as Auto-Loading Holster for even more forgetting might just make you forget to use this weapon. Seriously, there are better options.
Swords
Name - Death’s Razor - Warlock? / Menagerie
Swing Speed: 46
Impact: 61
Range: 55
Defense: 55
Efficiency: 55
Ammo Capacity: 62
Curated Roll:
Honed Edge / Infinite Guard / Energy Transfer / Whirlwind Blade - Counterattack
Recommended PvE Perks:
Sights: Hungry Edge, Tempered Edge, Jagged Edge
Magazine: Heavy Guard
Perk 1: Energy Transfer, Relentless Strikes, Tireless Blade
Perk 2: Whirlwind Blade
Recommended PvP Perks:
Sights: Hungry Edge, Tempered Edge, Jagged Edge
Magazine: Heavy Guard
Perk 1: Energy Transfer, Relentless Strikes, Tireless Blade
Perk 2: Counterattack, Assassin's Blade
Name - Goldtusk - Hunter? / Menagerie
Swing Speed: 82
Impact: 40
Range: 28
Defense: 55
Efficiency: 55
Ammo Capacity: 64
Curated Roll:
Jagged Edge / Swordmaster's Guard / Energy Transfer / Whirlwind Blade - Counterattack ?
Recommended PvE Perks:
Sights: Hungry Edge, Tempered Edge, Jagged Edge
Magazine: Heavy Guard
Perk 1: En Garde, Relentless Strikes, Tireless Blade
Perk 2: Surrounded, Whirlwind Blade
Recommended PvP Perks:
Sights: Hungry Edge, Tempered Edge, Jagged Edge
Magazine: Heavy Guard
Perk 1: Energy Transfer, Relentless Strikes, Tireless Blade
Perk 2: Assassin's Blade, Surrounded
Name - Throne Cleaver - Titan? / Menagerie
Swing Speed: 10
Impact: 83
Range: 64
Defense: 55
Efficiency: 55
Ammo Capacity: 58
Curated Roll:
Tempered Edge / Heavy Guard / Shattering Blade / Whirlwind Blade - Counterattack
Recommended PvE Perks:
Sights: Hungry Edge, Tempered Edge, Jagged Edge
Magazine: Heavy Guard
Perk 1: Shattering Blade, Relentless Strikes, Tireless Blade
Perk 2: En Garde, Counterattack, Whirlwind Blade
Recommended PvP Perks:
Sights: Hungry Edge, Tempered Edge, Jagged Edge
Magazine: Heavy Guard
Perk 1: Energy Transfer, Relentless Strikes, Tireless Blade
Perk 2: Assassin's Blade, Counterattack
I'll be lumping all the swords together because swords aren't in the best of spots right now. And it's unclear whether these swords are still class specific. One thing to note is Energy Transfer is exclusive to the curated Goldtusk, but can roll randomly on the Death's Razor. as well as Counterattack is omitted from the curated Goldtusk, so we'll see how these weapons are as well as the damage buff form counter attack. On Titan with the Stronghold exotic I can almost see some fun police builds around Counterattack.
If you would like more articles like this check out my breakdowns on Penumbra's new Pinnacle, kinetic, and energy weapons. Happy hunting Guardians!