Meta Destiny 2 Exotic’s new “S-Tier” Catalyst has made it even more powerful

Destiny 2 The Final Shape introduced a powerful, new Catalyst to an already meta Exotic weapon, and the result is that an already top-tier gun has somehow gotten even better.

In addition to a thrilling narrative conclusion, innovative activities like Overthrow, and all kinds of new Exotic weapons and armor, Destiny’s latest expansion also quietly added a Catalyst for Final Warning – String Theory.

String Theory provides the following benefits when equipped to Final Warning: “Hits against marked targets deal increased damage and have a chance to refund ammo to the magazine.”

This unexpected addition to the Exotic Sidearm went largely unnoticed, but now the Destiny community is catching on. Popular content creator Aztecross praised the Strand weapon’s Catalyst in his breakdown video uploaded on June 19.

“We expected this weapon to still be fantastic, but I don’t think any of us expected an Exotic Catalyst, but here we are, looking at an already S-Tier weapon that now has an S-Tier Catalyst,” Aztecross opened, thoroughly impressed by String Theory.

Revealing exactly what makes Final Warning’s Catalyst so good, Aztecross explained, “[String Theory] is a stacked Exotic Catalyst. Bungie is amping an already S-Tier weapon, but the last thing I expected on a Catalyst for an Exotic Weapon that hits as hard as Final Warning is for it to deal more damage.”

Tested against Shayotet Partisan, better known as Carl, Aztecross revealed that while Final Warning dealt 4,520 per shot or 10,562 on precision hits before The Final Shape, the Strand Sidearm now 4,746 per shot or 11,090 on precision hits with the Catalyst equipped.

That equates to a flat 5% damage buff to all damage dealt while Pick Your Poison is active. That might not sound like a huge buff, but Final Warning already dealt a lot of damage. Even small buffs like this make a huge difference when the base damage is so high. Also, this increase is larger against non-boss enemies, with Red Bars taking 10% more damage instead.

The new Catalyst also has a secondary effect that refunds ammo after landing shots. While this isn’t as powerful as comparable perks like Rewind Rounds, it helps Final Warning be a little more consistent.

While Final Warning’s new Catalyst is incredible, it can be difficult to acquire. The Strand Sidearm’s Catalyst can only be received as a drop from ritual activities. Depending on luck, String Theory could be received on your first strike of The Final Shape, or take hundreds of runs.