The Exotic “The Complaint” is one of the best weapons from Destiny 2. It even has the highest damage. Many people play the sword wrong and never see the absurd damage numbers.
Update 30.04.2021: This article was originally published in November 2020 and has now been adapted to the conditions of Season 13.
Is the Exotic sword worth it? Oh yes! Since its release in Destiny 2: Beyond Light, the exotic sword “The Complaint” has earned a fixed slot in the Guardians’ loadouts. The usage statistics from Season 13 show that The Complaint is even the most popular weapon in the entire game.
Still, many of you are not using the weapon to its full potential. Because if you play the weapon incorrectly, neither the damage is justified, nor is there a noticeable difference compared to legendary swords like the popular Falling Guillotine.
However, with the right gameplay, The Complaint achieves the highest damage value of all weapons currently in the game. Additionally, the Exotic is made for heavy content, where you otherwise fall over in just moments.
MeinMMO explains to you here
- what makes the Exotic so special
- how to play The Complaint correctly
- why you should never carelessly use the new flip attack
- and how it performs in duels against its competitors
How to obtain the new sword is summarized for you here in the guide:
Using The Complaint correctly without breaking your fingers
You can unleash light attacks with The Complaint, sprinkle in heavy attacks in between, and play the thing like a normal sword. However, you shouldn’t do that, as you don’t need to waste an Exotic slot for that – it would be wasted. Moreover, the damage won’t be that high.
What makes The Complaint special: The uniqueness of The Complaint is the unique perk “Banshee’s Lament.” If you look at the description in-game, you will be greeted by a whole wall of text.
We break down the individual functions of the exotic perk:
- By holding the block button for a second, you activate the true, destructive form of the chainsaw sword.
- You will now have a red aura around you for a short time – if you hold the button longer, the aura will last longer.
- You will immediately notice that you move more slowly in this state.
- Your light attacks have increased range and can hit up to 3 times.
- As a heavy attack, you perform a cool flip and hit enemies multiple times with your sword.
- If you hit enemies while holding the block button or shortly after, you collect stacks for “Banshee’s Lament” – up to a maximum of 9.
- Additionally, this state activates other bonuses such as shield penetration and damage resistance.
It is essential to note that even your light hits will consume sword energy as long as “Banshee’s Lament” is active. This energy is also consumed when blocking with swords instead of ammunition.
But wait, the sword can do even more: Hits with the Exotic sword grant you health, and this is true even outside of “Banshee’s Lament.”
- Every hit with the oversized blade returns a little bit of health. The harder you hit, the more health you get back.
- If you are aggressive enough, you can keep carving through enemy fire like a madman. This allows for a power fantasy that many Guardian classes do not know – unless you are playing, for example, with the Voidwalker.
Playing The Complaint “correctly” in Destiny 2
Follow this approach: When fighting against groups of adds, you can slice through with the normal sword form. The damage is sufficient, you heal constantly and generate ammunition with every second kill.
When you encounter stronger enemies, activate “Banshee’s Lament” and use light attacks – the enemies should melt. If bosses or champions join in, you need the flip attack for maximum damage.
Maximizing Damage from the Exotic Sword The Complaint
You can now play The Complaint like a normal sword or secure a new moveset and other bonuses by pressing the block button. With all the options available, the question arises: What deals the most damage?
This combination is the strongest:
- Activate “Banshee’s Lament” by holding the block button,
- then perform 3 light attacks
- and follow up with a heavy flip attack.
- In principle, no enemy can withstand this unless you have a strong end boss before you or are in a raid.
After the 3 hits against a larger target, you directly receive the x9 stack. The whole sequence must happen in a fluid motion, as otherwise the buff quickly fades. “Banshee’s Lament” only lasts a very short moment.
This may seem a bit tricky in the initial attempts and almost feel like a combo from a fighting game like Tekken, but it is definitely worth it.
How much damage does it actually do? Tests by professionals have shown that The Complaint achieves the highest DPS value of all weapons with the strongest combination.
- The Complaint deals 169,950 damage with its combo and requires 4 hits (3 light and 1 heavy hit).
- The new Exotic rocket launcher Eyes of Tomorrow can exceed this value in buffed condition (50% extra damage): If all 6 rockets hit a target, deal 181,600 damage.
- However, if you buff The Complaint with the mod “Glowing Blade”, you gain 35% extra damage. That is then the combo damage: 229,400.
However, keep in mind that the rocket launcher must eliminate 4 enemies first and consumes significantly more ammunition. However, it can also hit enemies in the air, against which The Complaint has major problems.
What weapons you should still have with you, read here:
The Complaint vs. Falling Guillotine – which sword is better?
For many Guardians, the legendary sword “The Falling Guillotine” is firmly rooted in their inventory. Is a switch worth it?
What speaks for The Complaint: The Exotic sword was designed to tackle heavy content. In addition to healing, it also has the ability to cut directly through enemy shields.
To penetrate the protection, you do not need the heavy attack. You also bypass Void and Arc shields. Solar shields will explode upon impact.
This directly brings to mind the annoying champions. And again, The Complaint is extremely strong – basically the perfect anti-champion weapon: High burst damage, penetration of their shields (without requiring a corresponding mod!), healing while dealing with the powerful enemy.
What speaks for The Falling Guillotine: One significant advantage is that the Falling Guillotine is not exotic – so you have the valuable slot free. Moreover, the playstyle with the legendary sword is simpler.
You only need to chain light attacks together and then carelessly unleash the heavy vortex strike after a few hits. In many activities, this is sufficient. Additionally, you also generate Orbs of Power with the masterpiece – something The Complaint (yet) cannot do.
Conclusion: The Complaint is definitely worth its exotic slot. You survive longer and deal the highest damage in the game. However, you also have to commit to the Exotic and master it.
If you are not frequently in endgame activities or have another Exotic you prefer to play with the Falling Guillotine, then you do not necessarily have to change your playstyle.
How does the damage of the two swords compare?
We look at how a godroll of the Falling Guillotine performs against the new Exotic.
The Guillotine increases its damage through “Whirlwind Blade” up to 5 times (WW). The Complaint is shown once as a regular sword and when “Banshee’s Lament” (BW) is active.
| The Complaint | The Falling Guillotine | |
| Light Attack (reg.) | 14,450 | 13,200 |
| Light Attack (BW) | 21,700 | |
| Light Attack (max.) | 26,500 (BW x9) | 17,200 (WW x5) |
| Heavy Attack (reg.) | 49,400 | 52,100 |
| Heavy Attack (BW) | 26,500 | |
| Heavy Attack (max.) | 95,200 (BW x9) | 64,500 (WW x5) |
Bungie announced in April 2021 that they would be dampening the massive damage output and ammunition costs of the two swords: Destiny 2 nerfs your best weapons in the “endless pursuit of balance”.
Very important: It is crucial to note that you should never use the heavy attack of “Banshee’s Lament” unless you land light hits first. This is essentially one of the key lessons of this article.
Did our tips for The Complaint help you? Are you using the exotic sword yourself, or do you find it too complicated?
If you’re looking for an endgame activity to try out the sword, we recommend the new Lost Sectors: Here you can find the 6 new Exotic armors from Beyond Light
