Monte Carlo Catalyst: what it does and how to get it in Destiny 2

Destiny 2 players finally got their hands on the Monte Carlo Catalyst with the release of Season of the Witch. This weapon had been without a catalyst of its own for years, and it holds a special place in the arsenal of some guardians (especially those who want to use melee builds).

Exotic catalysts generally bring greater potential to a weapon’s unique effect. Some weapons are more than fine without them, as was the case of the nearly ubiquitous Anarchy grenade launcher before its untimely death by a thousand nerfs. Monte Carlo may have been closer to the “fine” end of the spectrum—in our experience, we’d love to see a bit more firepower in it, even if was just for style alone—but its new catalyst grants some extra flavor and oomph.

Whether you’re cooking up a melee build, just want to use this weapon again, or even want to show off the Deep Stone Crypt-esque ornament sold for Bright Dust last season, the Monte Carlo catalyst will make this weapon far deadlier. And if you’re playing the right activities, odds are you’ll find it without looking too hard.

What does the Monte Carlo Catalyst do in Destiny 2?

The Monte Carlo Catalyst will finally let players stab enemies with the (previously decorative) bayonet at the end of the weapon. With five stacks of the Markov Chain buff, the catalyst lets you switch between your melee attack and the bayonet. Landing a hit with the bayonet will give you some extra melee energy.

The bayonet hit also counts as a melee attack, as content creator Rick Kackis points out. Since melee kills give you five stacks of Markov Chain, you can chain bayonet hits as long as you’re taking down enemies with your melee attacks. It also activates Banner of War, the season 22 Titan Aspect, and gets the damage bonus from this Aspect, according to Kackis. This can make for a beast of a weapon with the right builds, especially against red-bar enemies (though we can’t recommend using them on higher-level activities since we wouldn’t want to be up close to enemies in a Grandmaster).

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It’s not like the catalyst’s effect came out of the blue, however. Fans have been requesting to use the bayonet at the end of the weapon for quite some time, especially since Monte Carlo is an older weapon. The interaction with the catalyst also works perfectly with the weapon: Monte Carlo’s defining trait is the synergy with melee builds, so the new catalyst leaning into that identity makes sense.

How to get the Monte Carlo Catalyst in Destiny 2

If you’re looking to finally put your bayonet to good use, Monte Carlo’s catalyst drops from playlist activities—namely from Vanguard Ops, Crucible, and Gambit, according to the Collections tab. This means you just need to engage with the core playlists for a shot at getting it to drop, though you’ll be at the mercy of RNG if you do so.

The core playlists have been the home of most newly introduced catalysts that bolster the power of older weapons. That has been the method of acquisition for catalysts such as The Fourth Horseman, Cloudstrike, and most recently Malfeasance, so it’s not entirely surprising that Bungie followed the formula with Monte Carlo.