Destiny 2‘s Season of Defiance is bringing a new set of weapons that take inspiration from some old Season of the Lost weapons. They have more than just models in common, though: They were both involved in Awoken-themed seasons. Of course, Season of Defiance’s arsenal brings new tricks up its sleeve—including the new Perpetualis auto rifle.
Perpetualis takes the skin of its predecessor, the 360rpm Chrysura Melo, and morphs it into something better. Not only does this Strand-element 600rpm auto rifle shed its sibling’s archetype and gets a more comfortable one in its place, but Perpetualis also brings some new and unique perks, with the Strand element as the neon-green icing on the cake. You can find several inefficient combinations in Perpetualis, but get your god roll right and this Strand auto rifle can become a beast.
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Perpetualis doesn’t have some of the flashiest perk combinations, and you won’t exactly see established traits in its pool. Staple perks such as Rampage and Outlaw give way to different alternatives, which add some variety despite potentially shedding some efficiency. This auto rifle can be a great addition to any Strand builds (especially if you don’t have a copy of Rufus’ Fury) and a good general weapon for PvE, and it has just enough flavor that you may want to secure a god roll or two of it. You’ll be at a bigger disadvantage bringing Perpetualis to the Crucible, though—in part because of its archetype and in part due to a meta that doesn’t really favor it.
Here are our god rolls for Perpetualis in Destiny 2.
Perpetualis PvE god roll in Destiny 2
- Barrel: Arrowhead Brake (Honorable mentions: Corkscrew Rifling, Polygonal Rifling, Smallbore)
- Magazine: Appended Mag, Tactical Mag, or Flared Magwell.
- First perk: Envious Assassin, Zen Moment, or Keep Away.
- Second perk: Hatchling, Target Lock, Golden Tricorn, or Demolitionist.
Perpetualis is a good all-around weapon thanks to its solid perk pool and 600rpm rate of fire, but its low recoil direction can definitely harm its case. Arrowhead Break is a must for it, since it pushes its base, unpredictable 53 to a more manageable 83 out of 100 (with the Counterbalance Stock mod bringing that to a precious 98). The buffs to auto rifles in the Season of Defiance midseason patch also lent Rufus even more firepower, giving it a privileged spot in the early Strand meta.
Like the Lightfall and Season of Defiance weapons, Perpetualis comes with a bit of a shrunk-down perk pool, but it also brings some good options. Envious Assassin is one of the new kids on the block, offering an alternative to its older sibling, Ambitious Assassin. This perk can come in handy if you’re swapping weapons often, but if you’re using your primary and abilities for everything (which becomes less and less frequent as the difficulty goes up), you might not get as much mileage out of it.
If you’re looking to make Perpetualis more stable, going with Zen Moment on the third column can also help rein in its recoil, especially if you don’t have Arrowhead Brake. While Zen Moment may not always get some time in the sun in PvP, it’s not up against hard-hitting choices that can come in auto rifles, such as Outlaw, Triple Tap, or Perpetual Motion. This means Zen Moment rises up the ranks against the competition, and it’s not a bad choice to make Perpetualis extra stable and keep the reticle on your target.
Keep Away also emerges as a potentially good option. It’s easier to play within its area of activation on an auto rifle (compared to, for instance, the lower range on the Synchronic Roulette SMG), and the benefits it brings include some free range and reload speed.
Depending on how you spec into your Perpetualis, Keep Away works better in PvP unless you really need the extra range in PvE. That said, the lack of competition here also works in this perk’s favor: The other choices are either situational (Hip-Fire Grip, Elemental Capacitor) or PvP-oriented (Killing Wind, Perfect Float). It’s a third option, but it’s also leagues ahead of the rest of the perks (unless you don’t mind the variance in effects from Elemental Capacitor).
The fourth column is where Perpetualis really shines, and the choices in god rolls here are fairly plentiful. Hatchling becoming the first flagship Strand perk as soon as Lightfall landed already grants it some flavor, and it’s always worth keeping it on the back burner if Bungie ever buffs Threadlings. You can also double down with Strand and aim for Golden Tricorn if you want even more damage. Kill a target with Perpetualis for a damage buff, then kill another target with a Strand ability for an even bigger boost.
Demolitionist is one of those perks in Destiny 2 that is rarely bad, and it continues to shine in Perpetualis. If you’re using Strand builds and want some extra grenade energy to pair with Thread of Generation, Demolitionist can be the play (though at the expense of some damage).
Target Lock is also a somewhat new perk since its introduction in Season of the Seraph, and it can help with Perpetualis’ damage output. It works better against sturdier enemies, since the bonus increases based on how much of your magazine you’ve spent. Weaker enemies will likely benefit from Golden Tricorn since they’ll probably be dead before Target Lock kicks in, though.
Perpetualis PvP god roll in Destiny 2
- Barrel: Arrowhead Brake
- Magazine: Accurized Rounds
- First perk: Killing Wind, Zen Moment, or Keep Away
- Second perk: Golden Tricorn, Target Lock, or Eye of the Storm
The Perpetualis PvP god roll opens up a few different options when it comes to perks. Arrowhead is arguably even more important in PvP than in PvE, and Accurized Rounds will give you a small bump in range to help you fight within Perpetualis’ range.
The range is Perpetualis’ biggest weakness. While it gives you some room against shorter-range weapons, it can still get outgunned by weapons that operate in a similar range. As content creator CoolGuy puts it: Once it hits outside of the maximum range, “You’re in real trouble. When you’re in its range, you’re still in trouble.”
As far as perks, you can go with the established Killing Wind for even more range and some mobility after you get a kill. Zen Moment, on the other hand, makes it easier to land shots, which is always welcome in PvP. Keep Away is another avenue to mitigating Perpetualis’ range, while Elemental Capacitor can help give your weapon a stat bump (depending on what subclass you’re running)—though odds are you’ll get more consistent benefits out of the other two choices.
Perpetualis doesn’t have any outright PvP-focused perks in the fourth column other than Eye of the Storm, which can come in handy when you’re at a disadvantage. That said, if you’re looking to boost your damage, you can make do with Golden Tricorn or Target Lock. Your choice will hinge on your preferred trigger, though: Golden Tricorn procs after a kill, while Target Lock will proc after you’ve shot some of your magazine at your target. Golden Tricorn is more forgiving, though.
