Horror’s Least is back with a fresh quality-of-life pass, an actual Power Level, a new Adept variant, and a suite of shiny new perks. Horror’s Least was reissued as a Nightfall reward whenever it’s available, finally providing players with a non-sunset version of the Dreaming City pulse rifle.
The loss of Ambitious Assassin and Dragonfly (present in the fourth column of the sunset version) came with other damage-boosting perks like Frenzy and Vorpal Weapon. Though PvP players may mourn the loss of Rangefinder and Moving Target, the reissued Horror’s Least can find solid options in Perpetual Motion and Heating Up, and it still has a spot in PvP as a solid 540rpm pulse rifle.
Here are our god rolls for Horror’s Least for both PvE and PvP, with a breakdown of its perks so you know what’s best to pick—and what should become Legendary Shards.
Horror’s Least PvE god roll
- Barrel: Arrowhead Brake
- Mag: Accurized Rounds, Tactical Mag, or Flared Magwell
- First perk: Perpetual Motion, Heating Up (Honorable mention: Zen Moment)
- Second perk: Kill Clip, Frenzy, or Vorpal Weapon (Honorable mention: Focused Fury)
Horror’s Least PvP god roll
- Barrel: Arrowhead Brake
- Mag: Accurized Rounds
- First perk: Perpetual Motion or Heating Up (Honorable mention: Steady Hands)
- Second perk: Kill Clip
For our god roll, we went with the universal Kill Clip for both activity types, but PvE players may also get some benefit out of Frenzy or Vorpal Weapon, which aren’t as common in the Crucible. The first perk also takes advantage of the ever-versatile perks Perpetual Motion and Heating Up, with each activity type having its own preferences. Arrowhead is the best choice for each column due to the base recoil direction of 55 in Horror’s Least, meaning Arrowhead can push it to 85 (and Heating Up or a Counterbalance Stock mod push it to an even 100).
That said, god rolls are a matter of personal preference, and some players can find perks that fit their playstyle better than other meta perks. Here’s a breakdown of our choices for the best perks in Horror’s Least and why they work, as well as which perks you should avoid.
First perk (third column)
Perpetual Motion, Heating Up
These are the two undisputed best perks in our Horror’s Least god roll, regardless of activity type. Perpetual Motion grants this weapon stability, reload speed, and handling while you’re moving, meaning it has some tremendous uptime. On the other hand, Heating Up diminishes recoil direction, improves stability after a kill, and can stack up to twice. If you have Arrowhead Brake on your weapon, Heating Up will get you to 100 recoil direction without the need for a Counterbalance Stock mod on your Horror’s Least, and it can be particularly deadly in the Crucible.
Zen Moment (PvE)
Zen Moment comes as an alternative to Heating Up for PvE. Though both will get you good benefits, Zen Moment’s effectiveness scales better for higher-end content since it only requires you to deal damage to get its benefits. And with how sturdy even red-bar enemies can be in Grandmasters, keeping a Zen Moment roll in your pocket may not be a bad idea. For PvP, however, you’re better off with Heating Up due to how easier it is to activate.
Steady Hands (PvP)
A solid perk for the Crucible, Steady Hands grants you a hefty bonus to handling across all weapons after a kill, which makes it perfect for fast ADS and quick weapon swaps. Choosing between the perks here is up to personal preference, but Steady Hands can provide enough utility to make it into our god roll.
Less than ideal: Compulsive Reloader, Under Pressure
Compulsive Reloader and Under Pressure are at the bottom of our list of best perks for Horror’s Least. Compulsive Reloader has an unforgiving threshold and needs some tweaks to be viable, but players who do reload often (and early into the magazine) can get some benefit out of it. Under Pressure, on the other hand, takes the weapon in a different direction, benefitting from not reloading often.
Even if those choices fit your playstyle, however, the price of running either of those is steep since you’ll have to miss out on Perpetual Motion/Heating Up/Zen Moment. These are usually a dismantle, especially with a bad second perk.
Second perk (Fourth column)
Kill Clip
One of the monarchs of damage-boosting perks, Kill Clip is the most versatile perk in the fourth column for Horror’s Least. It’s a great choice for either PvP or PvE due to its universal trigger—just reload after a kill and enjoy the benefits.
Frenzy vs. Vorpal Weapon
These two perks are also some of the most coveted perks in PvE. Frenzy grants players a 15-percent damage boost after being in combat for 12 seconds and dispels after five seconds of inactivity. Vorpal Weapon is a 20-percent damage boost against Champions, bosses, and guardians with their Super active. Focused Fury gives you that same damage bonus after dealing half your magazine as precision damage.
Focused Fury (PvE)
Focused Fury stands out more in slow-firing, higher-damage weapons like sniper rifles or linear fusion rifles due to how easier it is to activate it on those weapons. That said, in Horror’s Least, it can be a solid choice in some scenarios—particularly in Grandmaster Nightfalls, where you may not get kills as often to maintain good Kill Clip uptime. Frenzy has a slower activation but is more forgiving of mistakes, and Vorpal Weapon doesn’t work against red bars. If you’re looking for your run-of-the-mill easy PvE activities, Focused Fury probably won’t be your best bet, but there’s some merit to it in higher-end content.
Less than ideal: Turnabout, High-Impact Reserves
Turnabout and High-Impact Reserves also suffer from the same fate as Under Pressure. Turnabout grants you an overshield whenever you break an opponent’s shield with this weapon, but its utility isn’t exactly great. The overshield you receive will be broken quickly in higher-level content, and you don’t really need it in lower-level activities. High-Impact Reserves, too, takes too long to kick in, and both of their benefits are negligible compared to what you’d get from running Kill Clip or Frenzy. Even Focused Fury will give you more benefit and quicker than High-Impact Reserves since after it’s activated, it lasts for 10 seconds.
