The Trials of Osiris have returned to Destiny 2 in Season of the Seraph, and as has become customary of the endgame PvP gauntlet, it has some brand new loot to chase that is best in class for the Guardians that dare to hunt for it.
Exalted Truth is a new Void hand cannon that comes as part of that new loot drop. Its base stats already beat out its compatriots, holding a stability and range score to match The Palindrome but with handling, reload speed, and airborne effectiveness to outclass it and other popular hand cannons such as Eyasluna. Rose—another 140 RPM hand cannon released this season—will no doubt be some of its more fierce competition, but Exalted Truth gets a running start with better range and stability even before we start to consider perks.
The perk pool for Exalted Truth is the dictionary definition of stacked. Incredibly rare perk combinations such as Rangefinder and Kill Clip are possible on this gun, something previously only obtainable through the likes of Eyasluna.
Yet it’s the new combinations that really draw the eye thanks to the presence of Encore and Repulsor Brace in the fourth column compared to their usual home in the third. Having the opportunity to double up on perks that provide significant stat boosts can turn Exalted Truth into one of the most powerful hand cannons in Destiny 2 without a single damage perk being utilized. A roll dedicated to range bonuses can even match or exceed the previous top dogs in the 140 RPM category when it came to maximum range.
When it comes to Exalted Truth’s god rolls, there’s little that you can do wrong, but here’s a guide on some of the best combinations with perk qualities that synergize into something truly special in both PvP and PvE.
Exalted Truth PvP god roll in Destiny 2
- Barrel: Hammer-Forged Rifling
- Magazine: Accurized Rounds
- First perk: Killing Wind or Rangefinder
- Second perk: Encore or Kill Clip
- Origin Trait: Suros Synergy
Exalted Truth PvE god roll in Destiny 2
- Barrel: Fluted Barrel
- Magazine: Tactical Mag
- First perk: Outlaw
- Second perk: Kill Clip or Frenzy
- Origin Trait: Suros Synergy (Honorable mention: Alacrity in solo play)
You can’t go wrong with Kill Clip, even after the nerf this season that brought its damage boost down to 25 percent, but playing into this weapon’s unique rolls is too good of an opportunity to pass up. Killing Wind and Encore are a rare pair to be permitted to put together on one gun, and their combined boosts to stability, range, accuracy, handling, and movement speed will make each killing blow empower Exalted Truth to a yet unseen level.
Barrel and magazine picks tend to be more personal choice than a required element for most god rolls, but in PvP, you should try and lean into options in these slots that further improve the weapon’s range. Every additional meter counts when it comes to your damage falloff and your damage output in combat, and when Exalted Truth has the potential to out-range the rest of the 140 RPM hand cannons in the game, there’s no reason to not build into that potential.
Guide to Exalted Truth’s god roll and best perks: third column
Rangefinder
Rangefinder is a consistently popular perk choice on hand cannons for very good reason. Range is everything in mid-range battles where the weapon archetype is on the cusp of its damage falloff minimum, and Rangefinder can be the bump needed in ADS to maintain your optimal damage. The aim assist falloff distance increase while in ADS is a nice addition too. This can be great to pair with any of the damage perks or even Encore if you’re feeling spicy.
Outlaw
With Outlaw being the only perk on Exalted Truth focused on improving your reload speed, it’s an easy recommendation for any build that’s destined for PvE usage. Outlaw and Rampage has been a perk combination beloved by players ever since its first incarnation on a hand cannon with Midnight Coup, and both that and Outlaw with Kill Clip work great here.
Killing Wind
As popular as Rangefinder for PvP gameplay, Killing Wind offers up noticeable bonuses to range, handling, and mobility which are all statistics that greatly benefit a hand cannon’s weapon feel. Pairing it with Kill Clip will be the traditional route to take, but an Encore combination can net you an impressive 30-range bonus on each kill at minimum.
Shot Swap
Shot Swap won’t be a common perk by any means but has some pleasant quality-of-life elements to it that some players will no doubt appreciate on a primary weapon. Hand cannon mods are expensive to slot on armor nowadays, so Shot Swap allowing you to quickly stow and draw Exalted Truth free of any expensive mods will be a blessing if you need to pull it out in an emergency.
Perfect Float
Perfect Float is a perk that will appeal to a very specific type of PvP player, but it’s a difficult one to recommend with balance changes we know are coming in the Lightfall expansion. This perk provides 30 airborne effectiveness and flinch reduction after being in combat for six seconds, an attainable requirement in the Crucible, and some effects that will be a great bandaid over the current difficulties facing airborne gunplay.
But with Primary weapons getting a significant bump to airborne effectiveness in Lightfall to not require much building into the stat anymore, Perfect Float will more than likely end up being a wasted perk slot.
Slickdraw and Under-Over
These two perks struggle to make an impact in the face of better options available in the slot. Exalted Truth isn’t a hand cannon in need of many improvements to its handling, and certainly not enough to warrant Slickdraw’s sacrifice to target acquisition in order to provide you with a handling boost. Under-Over simply functions in too few scenarios, shooting overshields or combatant shields, for its slight damage boost to feel worthy.
Guide to Exalted Truth’s god roll and best perks: fourth column
Encore
An intriguing perk to see in the fourth column, Encore’s utility was underrated even before Bungie gave it a sizeable buff to try and entice players into using it more. Range, stability and accuracy bonuses off of a single buff are not something you will usually see and all three stats are effectively the golden trifecta when it comes to hand cannons. Kill Clip, Rampage and Frenzy will more than likely see more usage by the player base, but don’t sleep on Encore for PvP.
Kill Clip
It may only give players a 25 percent damage boost now compared to the 33 percent it did prior to Season of the Seraph, but Kill Clip is still a great damage perk nevertheless. With its ability to refresh now with every reload after a kill, its consistent uptime will be a boon in modes such as Iron Banner or Control with a 6v6 team setup. The perk also has just as many uses in PvE, as you ultimately can’t go wrong with more damage per bullet in any scenario.
Rampage and Frenzy
Both of these are amazing perk choices but ultimately compete against one another for the spot on the leaderboard as the best PvE damage perk for Exalted Truth. What you take here will be down to personal preference: a more significant damage boost or a wider set of bonuses. Rampage’s 33 percent damage boost is far greater than Frenzy’s 15 percent, but Frenzy additionally provides significant bumps to both reload speed and handling.
Repulsor Brace
Repulsor Brace has been talked about a lot more this season compared to when it was first introduced, as players gradually see its potential in more challenging PvE content.
Repulsor Brace grants players a small amount of overshield when they kill a currently Void-debuffed target, something that has become far easier for all classes to do with the prevalence of Volatile Rounds. Running Repulsor Brace with something like the Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk Exotic on Hunter in Legend Lost Sectors or Nightfalls can significantly improve your survivability.
Eye of the Storm
Eye of the Storm as a perk feels low on the priority list for Exalted Truth, but it’s by no means a bad perk option here for the players that want to take it. Most gunfights that you’ll get into in PvP will put you down into critical health territory, and getting a major buff to your accuracy and handling in those moments can be a big way to make sure you’re the one who lands the killing bullet and comes out victorious.
Gutshot Straight
A 20 percent damage bonus to body shots is nothing to scoff at with Gutshot Straight, but with both that effect and the decrease in your target acquisition that the perk causes, it feels like a self-fulfilling prophecy. Ideally, you should build into improving the weapon’s accuracy and hitting consistent headshots for PvP, but Gutshot Straight can be there if you aren’t confident in your aim and want to give a flat buff to body shots instead.
How to get Exalted Truth in Destiny 2
Exalted Truth is a hand cannon that is only available through the Trials of Osiris activity in the Crucible. Trials of Osiris is live exclusively on the weekends, from reset on Friday through to reset on Tuesday, and offers different rewards each time it returns.
To get Exalted Truth, you’ll either need to earn it as a reward through winning games and rounds on a weekend where it is the earnable weapon or get lucky by opening up a Trials Engram with Master Rahool in the Tower. Once you have earned the weapon at least once, you can then focus Trials Engrams at Saint-14 to try and get the roll of your dreams for it.
