Destiny veterans can spot a familiar weapon in Destiny 2. The Hothead made its way to the sequel during Season of the Lost, and it brought a few additions that make it a prime candidate for farming. And though it’s been years since its addition, it’s still one of the most coveted rocket launchers in Destiny 2.
The Hothead has access to Explosive Light, which pairs well with the rampant generation of Orbs of Power in the post-Lightfall sandbox. It was one of the few rocket launchers to have so at the time, and it has definitely maintained a favorable spot in the meta after changes to rocket launchers in The Witch Queen, which boosted Adaptive and Aggressive rocket launchers’ damage by a whopping 10 percent.
Related: The Hothead god roll and best perks in Destiny 2
Being an Adaptive Frame helps it deal more damage, and Explosive Light is definitely a bump to the Hothead’s firepower, but that’s not everything this rocket launcher has to offer. It also boasts a stacked perk pool with tremendous options across both perk columns—Field Prep, Demolitionist, Impulse Amplifier, Auto-Loading Holster, and Tracking Module on the third column alone—making it hard to get an outright bad roll of it. And the cherry on top is that it launched with an Adept variant for guardians brave enough to try Grandmaster Nightfalls.
Though Bungie has changed how to get the Hothead since its removal from the loot pool, there’s still one way to obtain this weapon—which potentially gives it some great staying power. Here’s how you can add this weapon to your arsenal.
Getting The Hothead in Destiny 2, explained
The Hothead doesn’t drop from Nightfalls anymore, but players who progress enough with Commander Zavala can still snag some timeless Hothead rolls for themselves. The Hothead is available through Legacy Focusing with Commander Zavala, costing Vanguard Engrams and some miscellaneous materials.
The Legacy Focusing is home to a series of vendor weapons that no longer drop naturally, including older Vanguard weapons such as The Hothead, Duty Bound, or even Horror’s Least (no need to struggle too much with Cursebreaker). Bungie has made previously unobtainable items accessible through different means—for instance, in the Monument of Lost Lights—so you can potentially get Hothead for some time without worrying about its drop source.
Vanguard Engrams are also easy to come by. Each rank-up with Commander Zavala grants you an Engram, and if you really want to farm those, you can always pick a week with double Vanguard rewards and keep a streak going. In our experience, though, the weapons obtained through Legacy Focusing don’t come with extra perks upon vendor resets.
