If you want a powerful, easy-to-use gun to bring into Destiny 2‘s PvP arena, the Crucible, it’s hard to go wrong with Thorn. The hand cannon is great because it hits hard and poisons opponents, dealing damage over time. It’s even better this season, thanks to a new Exotic catalyst you can earn for the gun that boosts its stats and capabilities. However, you’ll have to find the catalyst in order to unlock it and make the most of Thorn.
Here’s everything you need to know about Thorn’s Exotic catalyst, how to get it, and what benefits it rewards once you do.
How to get the Thorn Exotic catalyst
Like many other Exotic catalysts, Thorn’s catalyst isn’t one you can earn through a quest or mission–instead, it comes as a random drop from playing the game. You can earn it from Ritual activities: Strikes, Gambit matches, or Crucible matches.
There’s no guaranteed way to get the Thorn catalyst, which means you’re going to have to grind for it. The good news is that you can get it from any of these three events, so you can chase the Thorn catalyst while doing other things like advancing your Vanguard reputation.
What the Thorn catalyst does
The Thorn Exotic catalyst is a major boost to the gun’s performance across a bunch of areas. First, it boosts Thorn’s stats, offering a large increase to Range and a decent boost to Stability. Range gets boosted by 20 points, bringing it up to 69, and Stability receives a boost of 10 points, bringing it to 65.
Even better, however, is the change to Thorn’s intrinsic trait. Killing an enemy with Thorn creates a Remnant, a little sprite you can pick up, which automatically refills Thorn’s magazine. With the Exotic catalyst, scoring a kill or picking up a Remnant also gives you a temporary boost to Range and Stability, as well as to your overall mobility. That means that Thorn becomes even more effective as you score kills, on top of its already high degree of lethality thanks to its auto-refill capabilities and the damage-over-time element of its ammunition.
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