In Destiny 2, the exotic sniper rifle Cloudstrike suddenly shows that it is one of the strongest weapons in the game. Even the new raid boss stands no chance against it.
This is the Exo weapon: Destiny 2: Beyond Light brought Guardians over 10 new exotic toys. One of them is the sniper rifle “Cloudstrike”.
- So far, the elegant Arc sniper has been dismissed for your special slot as “Yeah, pretty nice” or simply overlooked – powerful Exotics like the sword “The Complaint” or the rocket launcher “Eyes of Tomorrow” have taken all the attention.
- However, after extensive testing, even Destiny professionals are surprised at how strong the new sniper truly is.
MeinMMO shows you that Cloudstrike leaves all other special weapons behind and how it performs in PvE as well as PvP. If you are into high damage numbers, you will find them in this article as well.
What makes Cloudstrike so special? The exotic sniper rifle belongs to the 140 family. It shoots very quickly, but deals slightly less damage per bullet. The stats are impressive, and the handling and stability support the fast playstyle excellently.
The Exotic magic occurs in the two special perks:
- Deadly Polarity: Precision kills cause a lightning strike at the location of the recently defeated enemy.
- Stormbringer: Rapid precision hits create a storm at your target.
Think of it this way: You take down a target and everything within about 5 meters gets shocked. The Arc damage from the lightning is not insignificant, but corresponds to that of a critical sniper shot.
Normally, sniper rifles are not used to take down masses of enemies, but only against single, distant targets. However, due to its very high area damage, Cloudstrike is an exception.
Every normal enemy falls immediately, and even opposing Guardians are defeated instantly at full health. The second exotic perk surprises even experienced professionals with its effect.
That’s why Cloudstrike suddenly is the strongest sniper in Beyond Light
How strong the storm really is: Shortly after the Exotic’s release, the first reviews were published.
- The testers assumed that the perk “Stormbringer” would unleash a storm after 3 rapid precision hits.
- This deals good damage, and after 3 more hits, the lightning strikes again.
- Thus, there should be a storm 2 times per magazine.
This turned out to be completely wrong. Every 3 shots trigger the storm. There is no reset after 3 hits. If you hit all 7 shots in rapid succession, you trigger the lightning rain 5 times.
The well-known Destiny expert Ehroar from the Redeem clan immediately published a video correction. The clip is titled “Cloudstrike is WAY BETTER than I thought…” (via YouTube).
In it, it is also noted that the exotic sniper currently outperforms all other special weapons in terms of damage.
This is how high the damage is: It gets really exciting when looking at the storm’s damage. It corresponds to more than a critical hit: In total, the lightning deal 1.6 times the damage of a precision hit.
- 1 magazine corresponds to 157,400 damage
- The DPS value is therefore 61,400
- Even the best “normal” special weapons can’t keep up – slug shotguns reach just over 41,000 DPS
- Other sniper rifles range at 30,000 DPS
- Only the exotic “The Fourth Horseman” can deal more damage in a burst than special weapons. However, the weapon is then empty and not really suitable for boss fights as you have to get extremely close to the enemy.
Note: To get the maximum damage out of Cloudstrike, you should release your 7 shots quickly, but wait a tiny moment between the shots. Otherwise, the game sometimes doesn’t register all hits correctly and you could miss a storm.
How you can squeeze even more damage from the new exotic sword is shown to you by MeinMMO here: Destiny 2 has a new, strongest weapon – You’re just using it wrong
Cloudstrike takes down even the new raid boss in just one phase
This is how good the exotic is in the new raid: Against the final boss of the Deep Stone Crypt, Cloudstrike shows how high the damage is in practice. Since Taniks usually flies at a certain distance, popular power weapons like swords can’t do much against him.
5 people with Cloudstrike combined with a Divinity are enough to take down the villain in just one phase. There is hardly anything special to consider.
- By shooting with Divinity, a large sphere appears under the boss, onto which you shoot wildly with the sniper (keep in mind the minimal pause).
- Every hit counts as enhanced and critical – so you easily trigger the storm.
- Briefly stomp Taniks, reload.
- If you visit a Titan bubble in between or stand in a well (ideally with Lorelei Splendor Helm), the kill in just one damage phase is achievable by any team.
This is what it looks like in the video:
How does Cloudstrike perform in Destiny 2’s PvP?
Cloudstrike has its moments in PvP, is a lot of fun, but does not belong to the elite. In the Crucible, the exotic sniper rifle has to take quite a beating. This is due to 3 factors:
- What hardly matters in PvE is very important for many Guardians in PvP: Cloudstrike has a zoom of 50. This means you zoom in very closely, but lose sight of your surroundings. Previously, snipers with 35-40 zoom were the meta.
- Despite the good handling, the exotic lacks perks. “Snapshot Sights” or “Quickdraw”. Combined with the high zoom, this makes the weapon feel a bit sluggish compared to other snipers against the fast Guardians.
- Due to the recent changes to 140 sniper rifles, you now need 3 body shots for the kill – 1 critical hit is enough, however. This means the weapon punishes missing precision very harshly.
Nevertheless, the PvP crack Aztecross says:
Cloudstrike gives you [in PvP] such fear standing next to a friend.
Aztecross via YouTube
Because if you send an opponent to the virtual afterlife with a critical hit, the lightning strike will take out all Guardians in the vicinity. You can take out hand-holding enemies or stacked campers in a double or triple pack.
It’s an extremely rewarding feeling and looks pretty cool. You feel like Thor, sending down his punishing lightning from the sky.
What do you think about the new Exotic? Did you also underestimate Cloudstrike and can it hold its own against strong competition?
If you want to see what it looks like when crazy players defeat the new raid boss even without any weapons, check it out here: Destiny 2: Players destroy new raid bosses solo and completely without weapons
