No Time to Explain is one of the most unique weapons in Destiny 2 when it comes to its origin story and capacity. It’s a take on the Stranger’s Rifle from Destiny, Elsie Bray’s personal weapon which she gifted to the Guardian (as well as Destiny’s version of No Time to Explain). And one of its powers involves bending the actual laws of time.
No Time to Explain is one of the most cryptic weapons in Destiny 2. It’s existed in multiple versions and at multiple points in the timeline—even though parts of it “shouldn’t yet exist,” according to Ishtar Collective’s entry on the Stranger’s Rifle in Destiny. That Vex-like ability to transcend time is what makes No time to Explain unique, both in its lore and in its capacity.
Its Exotic perk, Rewind Again, will rewind bullets to your magazine whenever you land precision shots or shots against slowed or frozen combatants. Each rewind gives you one stack of Rewind Again, and at 10 stacks, the weapon activates its Time-Slip perk, which opens a small interdimensional portal that shoots bullets from other versions of this gun spread across time. In practice, it’s as if your weapon had a portable Arc Soul that’s extended by precision hits.
No Time to Explain’s high stats and built-in full-auto fire mode are the icing on the cake for an extremely well-rounded and extremely unique weapon. Here’s how you can get your own copy of No Time to Explain.
How to get No Time to Explain in Destiny 2
No Time to Explain is available after completing the Beyond Light campaign and talking to the Exo Stranger (also known as Elsie/Elisabeth Bray). She will award you with No Time to Explain, as well as a quest called “Soon.” This means you need to own (or have access to) Beyond Light to get this pulse rifle. No Time to Explain used to be temporarily exclusive to the Deluxe version of Beyond Light, but now it’s available to all players who complete the campaign.
How to get No Time to Explain’s catalyst in Destiny 2
When you obtain the weapon, Elsie will also give you the Soon quest, which will award you with the No Time to Explain catalyst. Here’s what you need to do to complete the quest.
First, you’ll have to defeat combatants inside BrayTech, which is located in the westernmost part of Cadmus Ridge. After you’ve finished your onslaught of Vex, return to Elsie so you can get the next step in the quest and learn a little bit more about the weapon in the process.
After that, you’ll have to defeat Vex in Nexus, Well of Infinitude, and the Glassway Strike using No Time To Explain. Nexus and the Well of Infinitude are located to the east of Asterion Abyss, which is also where the Glassway Strike takes place. Pick your poison when it comes to the best activity to complete this in, then return to Elsie once you’re done to receive No Time to Explain’s catalyst.
Is No Time to Explain good in Destiny 2?
No Time to Explain is an excellent weapon for most activities. With it being a pulse rifle, it’s a great Exotic option that has consistent access to Anti-Champion mods. It also benefits from the 40-percent buff Exotic primaries received with The Witch Queen, which makes it deadly against red-bar enemies even in higher content. Its intrinsics also help boost its damage, and it’s easy to stack Rewind Again (particularly on beefier targets) since it fires in a burst. Lastly, its native full-auto functionality makes for a comfortable and accessible weapon, especially in higher-level content where enemies take several bursts to die.
That said, No Time to Explain also precludes you from using other Exotic options across the rest of your slots. You can’t use another Exotic like Arbalest or Le Monarque (which have intrinsic Anti-Champion mods), and players who prefer to use their Primary to match enemies’ shields will either have to give up on that or run two Primaries (which isn’t the optimal strategy in higher-level content). Though this doesn’t break No Time to Explain’s viability, players should take that into account when settling on their loadout.
No Time to Explain is also a tremendous choice in PvP content. This pulse rifle allows you to fight at range without much of a problem, and it also deals plenty of damage to enemies, especially when landing headshots. If you can play to your range advantage (or if you’re just faster than your opponent on the draw), No Time to Explain can easily help you dominate in the Crucible.
