There’s not a Destiny player around that doesn’t know the name of the game’s most powerful weapon. Affectionately known as the Ballerhorn or Giggerhorn, the Gjallarhorn rocket launcher is unquestionably the strongest PvE (player versus environment) weapon in Destiny. A single shot is enough to decimate a horde of enemies, and an ammo synthesis worth will beat the stuffing out of a boss, put the stuffing back in, and beat it out all over again. The Gjallarhorn is the uncontested king of end-game activities, and thanks to Xur and his latest weekend inventory, it’s now in the hands of virtually all players.
Veterans who could never find a way to woo RNGesus into dropping them a Gjallarhorn today joined eager newcomers in a mad dash to find out what they’d been missing. It’s an almost celebratory time, as though everyone simultaneously struck gold, but in a way that doesn’t diminish any individual’s rewards. Finally, every Raid member will be on equal footing. No more elitist recruitment posts, or drawn-out boss fights; everyone can melt everything.
Unsurprisingly, however, not everyone is happy about Xur’s latest sale. A vocal minority has taken to social media and the Destiny forums to voice their outrage toward the Gjallarhorn’s newfound prevalence. “This game is now ruined,” one thread reads. “If you hate those who bought gally from xur, sign here,” propositions another, to a disconcerting turnout. The inelegance of the wording varies, but the message emblazoned on the banner of naysayers is the same: we earned our Gjallarhorns, yours were handed to you.
Behold, a potential Gjallarhorn.
The argument that purchasing Gjallarhorn is in some way unfair to players who received it as a drop is fallacious, but also understandable on a basic level. Seeing someone accomplish in a moment what may have taken you months of raiding can be frustrating, but it’s all up to RNG. Worse still, it’s up to Destiny’s RNG, which plays with some of the most loaded die in RPG history.
It’s impossible to earn most exotics in Destiny due to the way loot is assigned. In fact, the only weapons which can truly be earned through skill are the Adept versions of the Trials of Osiris primaries, which are awarded to players who achieve a flawless 9-0 run, or activity-specific drops like the Vex Mythoclast, which at least requires a specific difficulty, though it is still randomly assigned. The same is somewhat true for Exotic bounties, which also require activity completion, but they too are affected by RNG.
Elsewhere, in Raids and Strikes and so on, all players can do is earn the opportunity to have any loot drop for them. But in this case getting a Red Death is no more impressive than looting Gjallarhorn, or any Legendary or crafting material for that matter. We have no control over the outcome, so if we do nab a Gjallahorn, or whatever exotic we’re after, it just means we got lucky. Rolling every exotic in the game inside a month is just as possible as getting none, and both are equally independent from skill. You could even run out, get a fistful of Legendary engrams off basic enemies, and decrypt multiple exotics. It’s not likely, but it is possible, and it wouldn’t be impressive if it happened.
It was this system that led to Xur’s creation. In order to establish a middle ground between obscenely unlucky and extremely fortunate, Bungie created a merchant that would guarantee access to exotic gear. This gave unlucky players a consistent way to expand their exotic arsenal, and the lucky ones a way to target specific pieces, if only for a better stat roll. And while Xur’s stock isn’t random, it is out of player hands, so it may as well be.
There are very few things in Destiny deserving of prideful attachment. Then again, the argument against Xur-bought Gjallarhorns isn’t a matter of pride or even entitlement, but jealousy, needless apprehension toward the perceived threat posed to something you possess. But even that’s illogical; Xur selling Gjallarhorn has no impact on those already in the game, other than the apparently horrifying possibility of feeling less special when using one.
If anything, widespread Gjallarhorns are a boon for Destiny. Players now have equal access to the best weapon in the game, meaning the average power of PvE teams has spiked considerably. I’d say that it also means Bungie will finally be forced to admit how broken the thing is, overpowering all other rocket launchers by an excess of 250 percent, but the upcoming Weapon Tuning 2.0 patch already seems to address that.
