Destiny 2 Exotic is nuking enemies after huge damage buff

Kurt Perry
Dead Man's Tale promo art.

A huge buff to Aggressive Scout Rifles in Update 8.0.5 has turned a fan favorite cowboy Exotic into one of Destiny 2’s best primary weapons for dealing with Minor combatants.

Destiny’s latest major patch, released on August 6, 2024, saw Aggressive Scout Rifles given a 30% damage boost in all PvE content. This change affects all enemy types, from red bars to bosses, and is universal to every weapon in the archetype, including Dead Man’s Tale.

Additionally, DMT receives a further 40% damage boost against minor combatants due to it being an Exotic weapon. With this boost applied on top of the universal buff, it now deals 19,608 damage against red bars in dungeon-level content. This is increased by 25% when Cranial Spike is procced, resulting in Special ammo levels of DPS on a primary.

Even better, the Exotic Scout Rifle has a boosted fire rate of 140 RPM when fired from the hip. This improves DPS by a further 16% and is amazing for spamming shots at enemies with larger critical spots like Ogres and Shriekers. This strategy is even effective against certain Champions, with Unstoppable Scout Rifle featuring in Echoes’ artifact.

Here’s the Dead Man’s Tale god roll you’ll want to craft to get the most out of it in PvE:

  • Barrel: Arrowhead Brake
  • Magazine: Accurized Rounds
  • Perk 1: Outlaw
  • Perk 2: Dark-Forged Trigger
  • Stock: Hand-Laid Stock
Dead Man's Tale exotic scout rifle in Destiny 2.

Before you can craft Dead Man’s Tale, you’ll need to first unlock the weapon’s pattern. This can be acquired by completing Presage when it is featured in the Exotic Mission Rotator. You can expect Presage to be next featured on September 17 and remain in rotation until the following weekly reset on September 24.

To acquire its catalyst, you’ll also need to complete at least one run of Presage on Expert difficulty. This can be a somewhat tricky mission as it has a timer, so it’s recommended to complete it with a full fireteam. However, experienced players should be able to solo the activity with practice.

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