The Wendigo GL3 has returned to Destiny 2 with a few new tricks up its sleeve and some old favorites in tow. This once-glorious weapon could return to the spotlight after its rerelease, even if just for nostalgia’s sake.
Grenade launchers aren’t exactly topping the DPS charts in Season of the Seraph, but the post-Lightfall sandbox will bless Heavy grenade launchers with a 20-percent buff to damage and nerf linear fusion rifles. If the buff is enough to trim linears’ power and make grenade launchers hit hard enough, this weapon class could come up for air and break off a long streak of being scoffed at in terms of damage output. And if that’s the case, the Wendigo will reign comfortably among grenade launchers—provided Lightfall doesn’t crown a successor.
The Wendigo boasts a plethora of options when it comes to finding a god roll. Its first perk column brings a whopping five viable options out of six perks in the column (sorry, Steady Hands), and you also have a few options for damage in the other perk column.
The Auto-Loading Holster/Explosive Light combination, which gave the Wendigo GL3 its reputation, is back in the grenade launcher’s reissued version. It still packs a decent punch, the Wendigo GL3 also brings other good perk combinations. The shoot-and-swap potential is definitely present thanks to Auto-Loading Holster/Explosive Light, with Explosive Light being one of the top contenders for the weapon’s fourth column. Players can also try Cascade Point for some extra flavor and burst damage, though, and Chain Reaction continues to be an excellent perk for add clear. Frenzy and Golden Tricorn round out the pool of viable choices, with Full Court being gimmicky at best, especially when compared to Explosive Light.
While the Wendigo has a stacked perk pool, it’s still a Heavy grenade launcher. This weapon class has been in dire need of firepower for a while—not counting the time Bungie accidentally doubled their damage during Season of Plunder—but the Lightfall changes could skyrocket this old weapon into prominence once more. If it does, there’s no better time to future-proof your arsenal and grab a god roll of the Wendigo GL3—especially since it’s in the week of Warden of Nothing, one of the easiest Nightfalls to farm in the pool for Season of the Seraph.
Wendigo GL3 PvE god roll in Destiny 2
- Barrel: Quick Launch or Hard Launch
- Casing: Spike Grenades (Honorable mention: Alloy Casing)
- First perk: Auto-Loading Holster for damage or Chain Reaction for crowd control (Honorable mentions: Field Prep, Clown Cartridge, Impulse Amplifier)
- Second perk: Explosive Light for damage or Golden Tricorn for crowd control (Honorable mentions: Cascade Point, Frenzy)
Your god roll for Wendigo will depend on what role you want the weapon to perform. You can use it as a boss/champion slayer, which will aim for practicality and heavy numbers, or you can use it as a crowd-control tool. Anti-boss damage is bound to be the most common scenario, though, and the Wendigo seems made for it.
If you’re looking for a weapon that can dump heavy on a target and swap back to a different weapon, Auto-Loading Holster is almost a must, and you can pair it with Explosive Light to revive the classic Wendigo GL3 combo. If you’re not planning on swapping, Field Prep can give you some quick reloads and extra reserves. Cascade Point offers some extra options for burst DPS, allowing you to quickly dump Wendigo’s six-shot magazine on an enemy once it’s activated, though it doesn’t directly benefit damage like Explosive Light or Frenzy. And if you’re going for crowd control, there’s always Chain Reaction.
The god roll has a clear top contender, but the third column also has several neutral perks that will benefit different playstyles. Field Prep gives nearly free reloads and adds some ammo capacity, while Impulse Amplifier also makes for quick reloads and adds projectile speed. Clown Cartridge will overflow your magazine if you reload, which is a solid addition.
Though the third column has plenty of options, Explosive Light has a hold on the fourth column for boss/Champion damage, provided you’re pumping yourself with orbs. Pair it with Auto-Loading Holster for a timeless combination or with any of the other perks to unload as much damage as you can. You can also go with Auto-Loading Holster/Cascade Point if you want a higher rate of fire (and some flavor) instead of damage, or pick up Frenzy as a backup, but Explosive Light continues to top the charts. Full Court, on the other hand, is circumstantial at best. It’s a 25-percent damage boost at 50 meters away, but Explosive Light provides more benefit as long as you have good uptime on it—and that’s before you even find and hit a boss that’s 50 meters away.
For add clearing, Chain Reaction will make more explosions after your explosions, but you can also aim for Clown Cartridge Golden Tricorn will give you a nearly constant damage bonus, but getting an Arc ability kill will bring that boost to 50 percent for 10 seconds, which you can refresh with another Arc ability kill. Frenzy is certainly not bad either, giving you extra damage and a tri-stat boost just for being in combat for 12 seconds. Golden Tricorn could also have a spot for boss/champion damage provided there are adds around, but it’s an easy choice for general add clear in PvE.
Wendigo GL3 PvP god roll in Destiny 2
- Barrel: Quick Launch or Hard Launch
- Casing: Spike Grenades or Proximity Grenades
- First perk: Impulse Amplifier (Honorable mention: Chain Reaction)
- Second perk: Golden Tricorn or Rangefinder
For PvP, you’re looking at a similar barrel and casing as PvE to avoid any downsides to handling and to still make the most out of the Wendigo GL3’s damage. Spike Grenades are essential if you can land direct hits, with Proximity Grenades surfacing as a solid option to make it easier to land your grenades at the expense of some valuable blast radius.
For the Wendigo GL3 perks, Impulse Amplifier gives you more projectile speed, which is always helpful when it comes to the fast-moving targets in the Crucible. Chain Reaction will make an extra explosion on a final blow, which allows you some extra clearing potential in huddled targets. Steady Hands may also be a somewhat niche choice if you want to get some extra handling after a kill, allowing you to swap to different weapons more quickly, but it may not top the god roll.
As far as the fourth column goes, there isn’t much that’s outright PvP-focused for players to chase. Golden Tricorn helps deal more damage after a final blow (and even more damage after an Arc kill), but Rangefinder will give you even more projectile speed. The choice is up to the player’s preference.
How to get Wendigo GL3 in Destiny 2
Wendigo GL3 drops from Nightfall completion in weeks when it’s the Nightfall weapon. The Wendigo GL3 is bound to be available for two or three weeks each season, depending on its placement on the six-week Nightfall rotation, and will be obtainable as long as it’s on the Nightfall weapon pool. Since the Wendigo GL3 isn’t craftable, getting a god roll of it depends entirely on luck and RNG since players can only farm it by running the Nightfall repeatedly when Wendigo is on rotation.
