Locus Locutus god roll and best perks in Destiny 2

Despite some lackluster base stats—a running theme in Season of the Witch’s loot pool—Destiny 2’s newest sniper rifle, Locus Locutus, has all the right perks available to make impressive god rolls possible that find success in both PvE and PvP environments.

Available through seasonal activities and focusing seasonal Engrams, Locus Locutus is an Adaptive Frame sniper rifle specifically—putting it in good company with other fan favorites such as Adored and Beloved. As we previously alluded to, the weapon does struggle to live up to the stat packages that those weapons had, even if its lower natural zoom stat does give it a small edge when it comes to crafting the perfect roll for the Crucible.

On top of that, Locus Locutus benefits from the inclusion of newer perks in its perk pool that were only introduced to Destiny 2 after the release of many of the most popular Adaptive Frames on the market. Perks like Keep Away, Discord and Firing Line aren’t consistently available on weapons like this, and that means that despite its weaknesses, there’s good reason to secure the pattern for Locus Locutus and craft one to keep close by.

Whether you want something for boss damage or for a devastating opening gambit in your Trials of Osiris matches, Locus Locutus has a god roll for everyone.

Locus Locutus PvP god roll in Destiny 2’s Season of the Witch

• Barrel: Fluted Barrel
• Magazine: Accurized Rounds
• First perk: Keep Away
• Second perk: Opening Shot

Bungie bestowed a gift upon the playerbase with the perk combination of Keep Away and Opening Shot here, allowing Locus Locutus to reach its full potential thanks to the stat-buffing benefits all five columns can provide. With Fluted Barrel, Accurized Rounds, Keep Away and Opening Shot all active, you’re looking at that aim assistance value increasing up to 81, the range increasing to 93, and stability and handling feeling a little more consistent with the other weapons in its subfamily.

This god roll does mean you’re hinging on that first shot landing and taking out an enemy, but this is par for the course with sniper rifles in Destiny 2’s PvP arenas. There aren’t many better combinations you can build with the perks Locus Locutus has available, unless you want to experiment with Discord in the third column—a perk that can buff its accuracy and aim-down-sights speed if you get a kill with another weapon first. It’s all about personal preference.

Related: Eleatic Principle god roll and best perks in Destiny 2

Even less experimentation is possible with the barrel and magazine choices, as both handling and range are too crucial to a sniper rifle’s success to ignore in favor of alternatives. Both Arrowhead Brake and Corkscrew Rifling also provide similar handling benefits, but Fluted Barrel gives the most possible and with no drawbacks to other stats.

Locus Locutus PvE god roll in Destiny 2’s Season of the Witch

• Barrel: Fluted Barrel
• Magazine: Extended Mag
• First perk: Overflow
• Second perk: Firing Line

Locus Locutus isn’t a weapon many players will plant to use in PvE, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t rolls that you can craft for a scenario when sniper rifles are needed—either now, against a boss with a large crit spot, or in the future, when sniper rifles get more noticeable buffs. Extended Mag, Overflow and Firing Line isn’t a particularly new or exciting combination of choices for a god roll but that doesn’t mean they aren’t effective in what they do.

The additional ammo and the free damage bonus when near allies means it will give you the maximum output possible during a boss damage phase in raids or dungeons. Pair that with Fluted Barrel to make the weapon a little more stable and a little bit quicker to ready, and you’ll be kitted out for raid day with your team.

However, not every player is picking out a sniper rifle for use exclusively in a prolonged damage phase, and for those players, there are some more consistent neutral game alternatives. When crafting Locus Locutus, look to try out perks like Discord in the third column, as well as Box Breathing in the fourth.

Locus Locutus is a Stasis sniper rifle at its core too, so Stasis subclass users can enjoy the benefits and synergy Headstone provides if they wish to use the gun in regular encounters.

Related: Bungie to ditch Destiny 2’s seasonal model for new system after The Final Shape

Our advice for the PvE god roll is just to not overthink it. Locus Locutus isn’t going to reinvent the wheel when it comes to sniper rifles in PvE, so there’s no shame in relying on what has worked on every sniper rifle that came before.