With Destiny 2’s release of retroactive catalysts for its catalog of old Exotic weapons in recent years, players have been dreaming of finally getting one for one specific auto rifle. The Monte Carlo has been a powerful weapon since launch, but its one great failing—that the bayonet under its barrel is tragically unusable—has never been addressed.
That’s about to change in season 22, though, according to information released today via a weapons preview blog ahead of the launch next week. Not only is Monte Carlo finally getting a catalyst, but it’s also the exact catalyst players were hoping for that makes the gun’s bayonet functional. According to Bungie, it’s “mechanically the most complex” catalyst the devs have ever done but will at last allow Guardians to skewer their opponents for devastating melee damage.
“We finally did it,” the blog triumphantly reads, with the announcement of the Monte Carlo catalyst pinned to the top of the section on Exotic weapons. “It was mechanically the most complex catalyst we have ever done, requiring a host of custom animation work and a lot of things we have never done on a weapon before, but we hope you enjoy it.”
Attached beneath it is a video showing off the new catalyst in action inside the Duality dungeon. Based on the clip, it appears to require a toggle to activate and that toggle may only become available after getting Monte Carlo’s intrinsic Markov Chain stacks to proc. Against one of Duality’s Nightmare Bellkeeper enemies, the bayonet strike does an impressive 116,000 damage, which would allow it to quickly dispatch of the majority of enemies in PvE.
Whether or not it will meaningfully shift the needle when it comes to Monte Carlo’s place in the PvE meta is a different question. But for those who already main the auto rifle, it’s an addition that strikes at the core of the gun’s power fantasy.
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Monte Carlo’s new catalyst steals the spotlight, but it isn’t the only bullet point on the updates to weapon catalysts coming in season 22 of Destiny 2. The Two-Tailed Fox catalyst is getting a slight rework so that the third rocket it adds to the magazine now fires after the second rocket instead of at the same time. This comes after Bungie noted that the weapon’s performance “was just a little bit off,” and the hope is that this will better lean into the “Three Tails fantasy.”
Wicked Implement, the Exotic scout rifle released in Season of the Deep, also got a buff to its catalyst already, which adds the Headstone perk to the weapon alongside its other benefits. Bungie admitted it took a “conservative approach” with this weapon on release, but that Headstone on top of the new ability to activate Tithing Harvest by destroying Stasis Crystals should make the experience of activating its perks easier.
Players will be able to experience this suite of changes when they go live on Aug. 22 alongside season 22. On the same day, Bungie will be hosting its annual Destiny 2 showcase to reveal more about the season and the upcoming expansion: The Final Shape.
