Nightfalls can be one of the most challenging activities in Destiny 2 on higher difficulties. Luckily for Guardians, they come with rewards to match. Each week, at least one Nightfall weapon will be 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.
Season of the Deep continued Lightfall’s proposed push toward a higher difficulty in Destiny 2. This season, players can expect a couple of troublesome Nightfalls in the form of The Lightblade and The Corrupted, with a new Battleground activity in the mix. PsiOps Battlegrounds: Moon (from Season of the Risen) is debuting as its own Nightfall, following Heist Battlegrounds: Mars’ appearance last season. Fallen S.A.B.E.R., The Disgraced, and The Devil’s Lair wrap up the challenges for this season.
Each week, clearing a Nightfall has a chance of bringing a weapon from the Nightfall pool, with Season of the Deep bringing another duo of reprised weapons: BrayTech Osprey (Void rocket launcher) and Loaded Question (Arc fusion rifle). To round out the Nightfall offerings this season, all the weapons that were in stock during Season of the Defiance (with the exception of the Militia’s Birthright and the Mindbender’s Ambition) are still available.
Here is the Nightfall weapon for this week.
Destiny?2 Nightfall weapon this week: Aug. 1 to 8 (season 21 week 11)
- Weapon: Loaded Question
- Nightfall: Fallen S.A.B.E.R.
- Champions: Barrier, Overload
- Threat: Arc
- Surge: Arc, Strand
- Overcharge: Fusion Rifles
Nightfall weapon this week: Loaded Question
Loaded Question is back as a Nightfall weapon, and there couldn’t have been a better week for it. Players can get Adept versions of it this time around, and this week is also bringing one of the easiest Nightfalls this season (Fallen S.A.B.E.R) with double Nightfall rewards and double Vanguard rep.
Loaded Question continues to have access to Auto-Loading Holster and Reservoir Burst, which makes for a tremendous combination. Overflow and Envious Assassin also present as good options in the third column, while players can pick up the new Controlled Burst perk (which increases damage briefly when landing every shot in the burst) and Frenzy. All in all, it’s a nice weapon to have, especially if you’re a fusion rifle fan.
All Nightfall weapons in rotation in Season of the Deep
Each season, six Nightfall weapons are in the rotation. Completing a Nightfall has the chance of awarding players with a random roll of the Nightfall weapon for that week, with higher difficulties improving your odds. If you’ve reset your rank with Zavala, your weapons may drop with additional perks on either the third or fourth column (or both), depending on how much reputation you’ve acquired with him.
The six Nightfall weapons in Season of Defiance are:
- Hung Jury SR4
- BrayTech Osprey (reintroduced)
- THE SWARM
- Loaded Question (reintroduced)
- Buzzard
- Wendigo GL3
Ranking up with Commander Zavala also provides you with Vanguard Engrams, which you can decode for a chance at a random weapon in the pool or focus into a Nightfall weapon, whether it’s in the pool or not. This doesn’t apply to the Palindrome and other older weapons, however.
What are the Nightfalls in Season of the Deep?
The Nightfall pool will see a couple of old veterans and a series of new additions. The rotation kicked off with season 13’s Proving Grounds, followed by the debut of last season’s dreaded Heist Battlegrounds: Mars as a Nightfall. The Vex will also appear as part of the Nightfall pool with the return of The Glassway and the addition of the new HyperNet Current. Two old favorites, Arms Dealer and Lake of Shadows, come back with some twists to round out the lineup.
Related: What is the Ascendant Challenge this week in Destiny 2?
Here is what the Nightfall rotation will look like in Season of Defiance:
- The Devil’s Lair
- The Corrupted
- The Disgraced
- The Lightblade
- Fallen S.A.B.E.R.
- PsiOps Battlegrounds: Moon
Nightfall weapons available through Focused Decoding at Commander Zavala
If you have some Vanguard Engrams to spare, The Focused Decoding section of Zavala offers the possibility to focus the current Nightfall weapons, as well as Vanguard weapons that were introduced to the loot pool after Beyond Light and can still drop. These include:
- Nightfall weapons: The Militia’s Birthright, The Mindbender’s Ambition, Wendigo GL3, Hung Jury SR4, THE SWARM, Buzzard
- Vanguard weapons: Xenoclast IV, The Third Axiom, Royal Entry, Empty Vessel, Punching Out, Fortissimo-11, Strident Whistle, Pure Poetry, Prolonged Engagement
Nightfall weapons available through Legacy Focusing at Commander Zavala
If you missed some of the old Nightfall weapons, you can spend some of 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 great, 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 good 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 you can still do some damage with it if you have 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 both 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.
- 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.
- Duty Bound: If you don’t have a good workhorse weapon, Duty Bound will give you a hefty perk pool in a comfortable package that can deal plenty of damage.
- 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 out 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 gains 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 also 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 hard to estimate exactly what the “common” drop rates mean. In our experience, though, completing a Grandmaster with a Platinum score has consistently yielded us at least one Ascendant Shard or an Exotic armor piece.
