Destiny 2‘s Season of Plunder added the Taipan-4FR to the world loot pool, and it packs a punch. In a damage meta that focuses on linear fusion rifles, the Taipan-4FR has been ranking consistently among the best of its competitors in DPS comparisons, with the benefit of being one of the easiest weapons to acquire in the game. Taipan can put some formidable competition against Reed’s Regret or Cataclysmic without the need to do Trials of Osiris or the Vow of the Disciple raid to obtain it.
The Taipan-4FR boasts a good perk pool with three top-tier DPS options on both the third and fourth column, making it a good choice for most content and an excellent option in activities with a Void burn. The cherry on top is the Veist Stinger origin trait, which has a chance of refilling your magazine when damaging an enemy. Though Reed’s Regret used to be the only linear fusion rifle with this origin trait, Taipan-4FR also has it (since it’s a Veist weapon). And it’s gunning for Reed’s crown.
The Taipan-4FR is available as part of the Foundry Shaping quest line, obtainable at the Enclave in Savathûn’s Throne World (though it’s technically on Mars, the Enclave is accessed through the Throne World node). This short, straightforward quest line will give you the patterns for both the Taipan-4FR and the Ammit AR2, two weapons that will serve you well throughout your journey.
Here is our PvE god roll for the Taipan-4FR. We’ll also break down our choices and highlight the differences between some of the perks here so you can tailor your god roll to your own preference and playstyle.
Taipan-4FR PvE god roll in Destiny 2
- Barrel: Corkscrew Rifling, Fluted Barrel, or Smallbore.
- Magazine: Liquid Coils or Enhanced Battery.
- Third column: Triple Tap (Honorable mentions: Clown Cartridge, Field Prep).
- Fourth column: Firing Line (Honorable mentions: Frenzy, Focused Fury).
There are three solid contenders on both the third and fourth columns. They are all serviceable and they all have their pros and cons, so choosing between them on your god roll is a matter of preference and playstyle. Here are the advantages of these perks.
Triple Tap vs. Field Prep vs. Clown Cartridge
These three options have the advantage of being extremely simple to trigger. Triple Tap will give you an extra round in the magazine if you land three precision shots in quick succession, with the enhanced version giving you a longer window. It’s easy to activate, and paired with the Veist Stinger origin trait, Triple Tap can make you fire for a long time without the need to reload. Additionally, Triple Tap gives you a free round on each proc instead of pulling it from reserves.
Triple Tap shines with the synergy with the Veist Stinger trait, allowing you to make the most out of it and keep firing at whatever is on the other side of the crosshairs. This is our choice of perk on our god roll, but both Clown Cartridge and Field Prep can also be good options.
Clown Cartridge acts similarly, also improving players’ ability to delay their reload. Every time they fill in a new magazine, Clown Cartridge has a chance of overflowing that magazine by up to 50 percent, with the enhanced version giving players better odds. This means a six-round Taipan can get up to nine rounds in the magazine with good RNG. Clown Cartridge has a simpler activation window than Triple Tap, though its results can vary. If you’re running Clown Cartridge, you may benefit more from Enhanced Battery to push the magazine to six rounds.
Field Prep does not delay a reload like its other two competitors, but its benefits are twofold. It vastly increases reload speed and stow/ready speed when crouched, and it also increases your reserves (the enhanced version gives you even more max ammo). The extra inventory size could be beneficial in higher-level content, where resist mods are more valuable, since resist and reserves mods compete for the same slots.
We went with Triple Tap to make the most out of the interactions with Firing Line or Focused Fury, since both of these perks benefit from landing crits (and since linear fusion rifles in general are made for critical damage). That said, the choice between these three is up to personal preference.
Firing Line vs. Focused Fury vs. Frenzy
Another fight between three excellent perks—this time, it’s between Firing Line, Focused Fury, and Frenzy. For group content and in perfect conditions, Firing Line will come out on top. Being near two or more allies will grant you 20 percent bonus precision damage, which makes it a staple in most DPS phases in raids, dungeons, or higher-tier Nightfalls. Its simple trigger is Firing Line’s main advantage over the competition, though solo-oriented players may not get much use out of it.
Focused Fury, on the other hand, gives players the same 20 percent bonus as Firing Line (to all shots, not just critical hits). The catch is that Focused Fury only activates after landing half your magazine as precision hits. In practice, this means you won’t get the extra buff on your first three shots. It’s a decent option for solo players or who don’t have allies nearby, though Firing Line will still outperform it in ideal circumstances.
Frenzy isn’t a bad choice either. Though its damage buff is slightly inferior (15 percent instead of 20), it adds some reload and handling that make the weapon more comfortable. Frenzy requires you to be in combat for 12 seconds before it activates and will deactivate within five seconds without dealing or receiving damage. If you’re heading into an encounter with Frenzy active, you’ll do more damage than with Focused Fury on your first magazine, though the gap between the two dwindles as the DPS phase goes on. If you head into a firefight without Frenzy active, however, it’ll be 12 seconds before the damage buff kicks in.
The choice between Firing Line, Focused Fury, and Frenzy is up to personal preference based on the triggers for each of them. In group content, Firing Line will get more bang for your buck, but if you’re commonly solo, then Focused Fury or Frenzy will give you more benefits.
Best starting perks to craft for Taipan-4FR
Though some weapons can present a myriad of solid rolls, Taipan-4FR only has three clear contenders on each column. The other choices pale in comparison to them, and since the Taipan-4FR is craftable, players may not need to wade through several of random rolls to get the one they want. Taipan’s level one perks are either Ensemble or Fragile Focus on column three and Snapshot Sights/Opening Shot on column four. We stuck with Ensemble and Snapshot until we unlocked the rest of the top-tier perks (level eight onwards) since none of the other choices are particularly brilliant. Choices outside of Ensemble/Snapshot Sights are situational at best and lackluster at worst, so if you’ve crafted it, hold onto that until you unlock Triple Tap and Focused Fury at level eight, then switch those for other perks you’ll prefer (or for their enhanced versions).
