Thorn

Exotic #2: Thorn

This is a weapon that has been subject to a lot of abuse by many Guardians. However, it's not quite as bad as your initial disappointment may tell you it is, although still not worth the completion of that bounty. 

How to Obtain:

   Complete A Light in the Dark.

At first glance, Thorn is an impact-focused hand cannon offset with a slow rate of fire, slow reload and high recoil. However, when first using the weapon, you may feel that it lacks sufficient power to actually make up for these drawbacks. Thorn's aesthetic, its feel and sound, make you feel as if its a brute force weapon designed for nailing enemies to walls with single, powerful shots. However, its 6-shot magazine, combined with a not overly impressive damage output, and slow reload, means that you will struggle in firefights where, as to often in Destiny, you are outnumber. Now, in Patrol, and in most Strikes, you will be fine, as you'll either have no penalty to respawn and usually have plenty of space to manoeuvre in. However, in darkness zones, and on Raids, this handcannon is not a viable option. 

Rather than a selection or slight modifier or existing abilities, Thorn's Exotic ability is unique to weapons. Mark of the Devourer, aptly named, cause enemies to suffer a damage tick after taking damage from one or more shots. Simply, if you shoot an enemy with Thorn, it causes more damage over time. Now, this is actually a hugely useful ability. It means that when facing enemies with shields, which is far too often on higher difficulties, no matter if they're behind a obstacle, the tick means that their shields cannot recharge. Often high level missions require a concentrated team effort so that they are killed before their shields go back up and you have to begin again. However, this tick allows teams to back off and reload, before engaging the enemy again. It also means that enemies you so nearly kill with one shot will succumb to the Mark if you leave them for half a second.  

The main drawback is that the Mark of the Devourer doesn't do enough damage to make it a primary focus for the gun - you simply cannot shape your playstyle around this ability, as you can do with some Exotics. Without this ability, Thorn is a fairly average handcannon that is easily comparable with Lord High Fixer, or the Chance. It simply doesn't stand up to its rivals; Hawkmoon and The Last Word. 

Practicality: 6/10

Abilities: 7/10

Stats: 6/10

Ossim Possim: 8/10

The Ice Breaker

Exotic #1: Ice Breaker

As a weapon that was recently for sale, I feel as if the Ice Breaker, as a highly valuable exotic special weapon, is well worth a post. 

How to Obtain:
   Purchase from Xur, 17 Strange Coins.
   Reward from Legendary Engram
   Reward from Nightfall Strike
   Reward from Raid Chests

Even without its abilities, the gun's stats by themselves render it a valuable addition to your armory. Impact-heavy snipers are fairly rare to come by. Not to mention that fire is a versatile element that allows you to effectively combat Wizards, the bane of Guardians at higher levels, Centurions, and Shanks. While the weapon's recoil is fairly significant, its sheer power more than makes up for it. 

Its abilities are also unique and quite possibly among the best. The Ice Breaker does not suffer from spare ammunition and the curse of having magazines/reloading, something I thought they would have solved a few hundred years in the future. However, the Ice Breaker stands apart from the crowd in that its ammo regenerates. Neither Ammo Synths nor Special Ammo pickups make any difference, and while this may be an inconvenience in times of emergency, at most times, the constantly regenerating ammo, that stacks up to 6 shots, that can be fired as fast as the fire rate allows, is a blessing. It allows you to take on any bosses in a strike without concern of ammo; your primary, heavy, grenades and super can all be used to take on minor enemies while you use your ice breaker to hammer away at bosses' health. The ammo regen rate could be considered slow, but if you have patience, or even occasionally switch to a primary or heavy while the ammo regenerates, then it's barely noticeable. Provided you aren't just pulling the trigger all the time, with properly aimed shots, you can fire roughly nine times, not 6, before having to wait some time. 

What is unfortunate is that the Ice Breaker's main ability, that makes its 'victims spontaneously combust,' is a huge disappointment. Not only does the explosion have no noticeable or worthwhile visual effect, but it has a very small blast radius. Also, it plays against the weapon's strengths. This is a weapon best for focusing on individual, high value targets, that usually require a fireteam's concentrated fire to take down. 

Despite its main ability, both Mulligan (missed shots have a chance to be returned to the magazine) and its ammunition regen, combined with the gun's element and very high Impact stat, make the Ice Breaker an essential addition to your Guardian's armoury. 

Practicality: 9/10

Abilities: 8/10

Stats: 9/10

Ossim Possim: 9/10