The Royal Executioner fusion rifle was released into Destiny 2 back during Season of Defiance at the end of February to very little fanfare, but the gun has had a second shot at the spotlight in Season of the Witch.
Nothing changed about Royal Executioner itself—it’s still a solid Adaptive Frame fusion rifle with a perk pool that leaves a few things to be desired in comparison to contemporaries such as Techeun Force. However, what Royal Executioner also has is Envious Assassin. In season 22, Envious Assassin got a pretty big buff: the time limit was removed and the perk now activates even if the magazine is overflowed.
This means that Royal Executioner is capable of overflowing the magazine by over double its usual capacity with ease. Because of how Reservoir Burst works—a perk the fusion rifle can pair with Envious Assassin in the fourth column—Reservoir Burst’s bonus damage and explosive proc on kills will work on every shot fired above the regular magazine capacity.
This kind of constant uptime on a perk that was designed only to work on a single shot at the top of a full magazine is what’s making the synergy of this combination turn a lot of heads this season. With how lackluster the current suite of seasonal weapons are proving to be in Season of the Witch too, it makes the draw of Royal Executioner all the more enticing as players look to what to grind for.
Where to get Royal Executioner in Destiny 2’s Season of the Witch
Royal Execution is a fusion rifle from Season of Defiance, and it’s available to earn as an activity reward from the Defiant Battlegrounds playlist in the H.E.L.M. Players can also focus Defiant Engrams into it at the War Table and, with enough War Table upgrades, will even give you a guaranteed Deepsight drop of the gun once per week.
You will need to have purchased Season of Defiance or the annual pass with Lightfall in order to have access to this weapon.
Related: How to get Opaque Cards in Destiny 2’s Season of the Witch
We recommend working on getting the crafted version of this weapon, especially now that weapon levels can be purchased with Glimmer and Enhancement Cores to breeze through the ranks toward the Enhanced perks you want to put on the gun. Royal Executioner is a pretty common drop from Defiant Battlegrounds in our experience, and if you played at all during the season and unlocked the Deepsight focusing upgrade at the War Table, it will only take you a maximum of five weeks to complete Royal Executioner’s pattern.
