What is the Nightfall weapon this week in Destiny 2?

Nightfalls can be one of the most challenging activities in Destiny 2 on higher difficulties. Luckily for gamers, they come with rewards to match. Each week, at least one Nightfall weapon is in rotation and can drop from Nightfall completions.

Higher difficulties have better odds, and guardians brave enough to face Grandmasters will get an Adept version of whatever weapon is on tap that week.

The Final Shape and its first episode didn’t bring any of the Defiant Battlegrounds to the Nightfall pool, which is welcome news for some players. Guardians can also see the overhauled Nessus Strikes as Grandmasters this season, and the new Liminality mission also enters the pool.

Here is the Nightfall weapon for this week in Destiny 2.

Destiny 2 Nightfall weapon this week: July 23 to 30

• Weapon: The Slammer
• Nightfall: Liminality
• Champions: Barrier, Unstoppable
• Threat: Void
• Surge: Arc, Void
• Overcharge: Machine Guns

Nightfall weapon this week: The Slammer

It’s been a bit since The Slammer appeared. It’s one of the newest weapons in the pool, introduced on the March 5 Update before Into the Light, which makes this a somewhat refreshing chase when weapons like the Uzume RR4 are in the pool.

The Slammer brings some unique traits to the table—including the Cold Steel perk, which was exclusive to the Zephyr sword (from the Dawning) before The Slammer released. If you don’t want Cold Steel, this weapon can roll Bait and Switch on the fourth column. The third column also has amazing choices like Eager Edge, Relentless Strikes, or Chain Reaction.

All Nightfall weapons in rotation in The Final Shape

The Nightfall weapons in Echoes are: 

• Warden’s Law
• Pre Astyanax IV
• Undercurrent
• Uzume RR4
• The Slammer
• Wild Style
• Scintillation (new Strand linear fusion rifle)
• Shadow Price

What are the Nightfalls in The Final Shape?

Here is what the Nightfall rotation will look like in Echoes:

• The Glassway
• Warden of Nothing
• The Disgraced
• Fallen S.A.B.E.R.
• Liminality
• Exodus Crash
• PsiOps Battlegrounds: Cosmodrome
• The Insight Terminus
• The Devil’s Lair

Nightfall weapons available through Focused Decoding at Commander Zavala

The Focused Decoding section of Zavala offers the possibility to focus on the current Nightfall weapon. Vanguard weapons introduced to the loot pool after Beyond Light can also still drop. These include:

• Nightfall weapons: Loaded Question, BrayTech Osprey, Warden’s Law, Pre Astyanax IV
• Vanguard weapons: Royal Entry, Empty Vessel, Punching Out, Fortissimo-11, Strident Whistle, Pure Poetry, Prolonged Engagement, Nameless Midnight, Positive Outlook, Luna Regolith III

Nightfall weapons available through Legacy Focusing at Commander Zavala

If you missed some of the old Nightfall weapons, you can spend your hard-earned Vanguard Engrams to obtain these weapons for the first time, even though they’re no longer obtainable through normal means. Older weapons, such as the Palindrome and Shadow Price, aren’t available through this method.

Here are the former Nightfall weapons you can decode in Destiny 2:

• The Hothead (Rocket launcher, Arc): A great rocket launcher that will reign as long as rocket launchers continue to be good DPS options.
• Duty Bound (Auto rifle, Kinetic, 600rpm): A great Kinetic auto rifle with a litany of good perk choices.
• Silicon Neuroma (Sniper rifle, Kinetic, 72rpm): A hard-hitting, Kinetic 72rpm sniper rifle made better by a perk pool with Triple Tap potentially paired with Firing Line or Focused Fury.
• D.F.A. (Hand cannon, Kinetic, 140rpm): A 140rpm that can take your slot if you don’t have anything better, but it can potentially be outclassed by other options.
• Horror’s Least (Pulse rifle, Arc, 540rpm): A pulse rifle that’s better for the Crucible than for PvE, but it can still do some damage with the right rolls.
• The Militia’s Birthright (Grenade launcher, Kinetic, Breech-Loading): A solid grenade launcher with access to good perks. It can be outclassed by the competition, but its accessibility is where it shines.
• The Mindbender’s Ambition (Shotgun, Solar, Aggressive Frame): A once-glorious shotgun that has returned without most of its former glory.
• PLUG ONE.1 (Fusion rifle, Arc): A good general-use fusion rifle with access to Reservoir Burst and other damage/charge time perks.
• Uzume RR4 (Sniper rifle, Arc), 90rpm: A good PvE sniper with access to Triple Tap and Clown Cartridge, as well as Vorpal Weapon and High-Impact Reserves.
• The Comedian (Shotgun, Void): A shotgun that wasn’t that great to begin with, but has been quickly power crept.

Best Nightfall weapons worth farming in Destiny 2

• The Hothead: One of the best rocket launchers for sheer damage, which becomes even better when a Gjallarhorn is involved. 
• The Militia’s Birthright: A serviceable Kinetic grenade launcher with a decent perk pool and access to Blinding Grenades. If you don’t have any weapon to fit that slot, the Militia’s Birthright can be more than enough.
• Hung Jury SR4: Will continue to be a great option for scout rifles as long as they excel at range and continue to get Champion mods.
• Buzzard: A good Kinetic sidearm worth tracking down because of Overflow and Kinetic Tremors, though veterans may have a few alternatives on their vaults.
• Horror’s Least: Rapid-fire pulses may not hit the hardest in PvE, but if you like them, Horror’s Least is a solid choice—and an even better addition to any PvP player’s arsenal since it lets them fight comfortably at range.

What are the Grandmaster Nightfall rewards in Destiny 2?

Grandmaster Nightfalls are the hardest challenge in Destiny 2, but they give you some of the most coveted rewards in the game. Completing a Grandmaster Nightfall will drop an Adept version of that week’s weapon, which can use Adept mods and gain slight bonuses to other stats when masterworked.

In addition to the Adept weapon (the crown jewel of GMs), players also have a shot at obtaining Ascendant Shards and Exotic armor upon completing a GM, with a Nightfall Memento on the table.

The rewards for Grandmaster Nightfalls are:

• Adept Nightfall Weapon (Common, but guaranteed with a Platinum completion)
• Exotic Gear (Common)
• Ascendant Shards (Common)
• Nightfall Cipher (Common)

Bungie doesn’t share the exact drop rate for Nightfall weapons, so it’s tough to estimate exactly what the “common” drop rates mean. In our experience, though, completing a Grandmaster with a Platinum score has consistently yielded at least one Ascendant Shard or an Exotic armor piece.