We clarify why the long wait for the final Exotic from Season 11 in Destiny 2 was worth it. The Exotic hand cannon “Traveler’s Chosen” even surpasses its early praise.
This is the weapon: The third and final Exotic of Season 11 is the Traveler’s Chosen hand cannon. The weapon deals kinetic damage and belongs to the 300 archetype, just like the popular Drang. The Traveler’s Chosen looks like our first broken weapon that we found after the defeat against the Cabal – but it’s significantly more powerful.
The stats are impressive:
- Most notably, the astronomical range of 87 surpasses all cousins by nearly double
- The handling is enormous at 89
- The magazine holds 15 rounds, which can penetrate shields and enemies thanks to “Armor-Piercing Rounds” and have increased range
Even the hidden values like aim assist (85) and recoil control (85) impress immediately.
Here you see a compact summary of the stats – keep in mind that the positive effects of the perks have not yet been calculated:
Destiny 2 has a new Exotic that feels unique
These are the exotic abilities: The Traveler’s Chosen offers two Exo perks inspired by our large, round Guardian in the sky:
- Light Collection: By getting kills, you collect Light stacks that you can consume at the press of a button (reload button). This grants you melee, grenade, and class ability energy
- Gift of the Traveler: Each collected and not consumed Light stack passively increases reload speed, handling, and aim assist
This provides interesting options. The Exotic can be played actively or simply grant passive bonuses through the Light stacks. Let’s take a closer look at this new mechanic.
How do Light stacks work?
- In PvE, a kill also grants you a Light stack
- In PvP, each defeated Guardian grants 3 Light stacks
- The maximum amount of stacks is 10
- You always consume all accumulated stacks at once, so you cannot just take a small bite and save the rest
- The accumulated charges do not expire on their own and remain active when changing weapons or after using your super – however, if you die, the stacks will disappear
If you consume all 10 stacks, all melee, grenade, and class abilities are fully restored. Normally, however, 8 stacks are sufficient if you have minimal energy left.
Here’s how to get the new Exotic: The Traveler’s Chosen is a guaranteed quest reward from Zavala. You only need to evacuate half of the solar system for this. Here’s how you can do that, as found here on MeinMMO:
What can the new weapon Exotic from Season 11 do in practice?
The Traveler’s Chosen has been showered with early praise by experts even before its release in the game . Because the base stats and exotic perks have been accessible in the databases for months. So how does the Exotic actually perform?
How powerful is the Exotic in PvP: In the Crucible, the Traveler’s Chosen should establish itself as a staple. This is due to three factors: its excellent stat values, the 300 archetype, and the enormous boost from the exotic perks.
In summary, it looks like this:
- A headshot deals 51 damage, a body shot 35
- This results in an optimal TTK of only 0.6 seconds – the dominant 600 auto rifles like Grash of Malice (0.7 seconds) and 150 hand cannons like Not Forgotten (0.8 seconds) cannot keep up
- The high base stats increase enormously due to passive bonuses
- Since you immediately accumulate 3 Light stacks in PvP, you feel the effects significantly right away
- Especially on controller, the aim assist becomes really sticky
- At distances of up to about 20 meters, few weapons can compete with you
Whether you rely on the enormous passive bonuses and wield one of the smoothest weapons in hand, or actively charge up about a third of all abilities, every playstyle benefits from the Traveler’s Chosen.
Check out gameplay of the latest Exotic from Season 11 here:
The only real downside mentioned by PvP expert Aztecross was the distracting glowing effects that can obstruct vision. However, due to the high recoil control, this is just an optical problem; the gun fires where it should, even under sustained fire.
How does this look in PvE? If you are looking for a weapon for high damage numbers and quick boss kills, you should equip a different Exotic. The Traveler’s Chosen cannot compete with raw DPS values and damage output but excels in another way.
Having your abilities instantly back at the press of a button or effectively using them twice is invaluable. In Destiny, many abilities deal more damage than shots, and even the largest raid bosses can be debuffed.
This new Exotic is aimed at players who love flashy effects, cherish space wizards, or enjoy experimenting with builds.
If you additionally focus on the “Charged with Light” mechanic – which functions very similarly but must be powered separately through mods – you can create a powerful build. This way, you can easily acquire the missing extra damage. You don’t need to do anything actively; you just enjoy a true feel-good weapon – but could you ever go back?
Have you already successfully completed the evacuation and experimented with your new Exotic weapon? Especially concerning the skill-intensive Stasis supers from Beyond Light, the Traveler’s Chosen is likely to become even more popular in the fall.
