Forsaken has introduced a completely new weapon type to Destiny 2 after years. Although she was initially skeptical, Micha now believes: The bow is the best thing that could happen to the shooter.
Why should Guardians pick up a bow when they have an arsenal full of powerful weapons at their disposal? Because this new weapon type is incredibly fun and feels great with Forsaken!
Can a bow work in SciFi? At the first announcement of the new weapon category, I was skeptical whether a bow would even fit into a science fiction environment. After all, the Guardians have a vault full of powerful weapons and their Light, which they can use to unleash their massive abilities.
However, ever since Petra Venj handed me her legendary bow “No Turning Back”, no other primary weapon comes into consideration for me.
Bow brings a new gameplay experience to Destiny 2
Bow promotes a fluid playing style: It is immediately noticeable that the bow plays much smoother than other weapons. Loading, aiming, shooting, all happens in one go and quickly stays in memory after a brief adjustment period. This is also due to the intuitive controls.
The bow’s handling is incredibly simple: When you press the shoot button, a simple arrow is fired, but it doesn’t fly very far and doesn’t deal much damage. This shot is mainly suitable for short distances to stop approaching opponents.
However, if you hold down the shoot button, the bow is fully drawn. This results in a much stronger shot. If you keep the shoot button pressed, the arrow will be fired automatically after a while.
The bow also has a targeting mode, which is activated like with other weapons using the left trigger. However, the bow can also be comfortably fired “from the hip”.
Why the feedback and acoustics impress: As the developers announced during the presentation of the bow, they engaged with the real-world counterpart when implementing the weapon in Destiny 2. And you can really tell.
Anyone who has ever held a bow in real life will appreciate the handling of the Destiny 2 counterpart: The drawing of the bow does not happen instantly but takes its time. Players hear the creaking of the string and the glide of the metal arrow over the bow.
Players who have already dealt with bows in other games will immediately adapt to the flight trajectory of the projectiles. Others will likely need some time to assess the behavior of the flight.
This is how the bow plays
Perfect at distance: The bow feels best at medium and long distances. The weapon can also be used with a quick shot in immediate surroundings. However, since the bow only has one shot at a time and reloading takes time, it is better to choose a different weapon at close range.
Because with some practice, the bow can be incredibly precisely fired even from the hip, Guardians gain more freedom of movement. This makes the entire fight more enjoyable and action-packed.
I currently use my bow together with a hand cannon and a grenade launcher, which is a lot of fun for me. Taking out individual enemies with the bow, eliminating incoming foes with the hand cannon, and mowing down groups with the grenade launcher.
Is it also a hit in PvP? I cannot say how the bow performs in PvP yet. Due to the TTK being reduced in the Crucible, the bow with only one shot and a long reload time would currently not be my first choice.
However, the exotic bow Wish-ender could be an alternative for stealth players: When using the targeting device with a fully drawn bow, enemies are marked behind walls. Additionally, multiple targets can be pierced. Wonderful for ambushing enemy Guardians behind walls.
The bow has already given me a new gameplay experience in Destiny 2. Because of all the fun I had with the new weapon type, the exotic bow Wish-ender has shot to the top of my personal loot wishlist.
