Hawkmoon has finally arrived in Destiny 2. We show you what the exotic hand cannon has to offer in PvE and PvP and what the new Masterwork catalyst brings. Here are the best perks that you should farm.
This classic is about: Some weapons have burned themselves into the collective memory of the Guardians. This is especially true for the exotic weapons from the early days of Destiny 1. Exotics like Gjallahorn are known far beyond the game’s borders, but the hand cannon Hawkmoon is such an unforgettable classic.
Bungie brought back Hawkmoon for the Destiny players as part of the Season 12. This is not a 1:1 copy, but a reinterpretation of the classic.
MeinMMO takes a close look at the storied Exotic and explains to you why the revolver feels better in your hands now and has more punch than ever before.
This is what the weapon can do: Like before, Hawkmoon belongs to the 140 hand cannons. It positions itself in the middle range in terms of damage and fire rate. You equip the Exotic in the kinetic slot.
A look at the status values reveals: Nothing is in the middle here. You have the strongest base values of all comparable guns:
Especially strong are the hidden values aim assist (93) and recoil direction (96). But across the board, you have excellent values that ensure that Hawkmoon simply plays better than almost all other weapons. Only the small magazine (8) stands out negatively at first – this weakness, however, reveals itself as a strength upon closer inspection.
The two exotic perks are:
- Paracausal Shot: Kills and precision hits give you a stack of “Paracausal Charge” each. The more stacks you have, the more damage the final bullet in the magazine does.
- Transformative: Hawkmoon can come with random rolls.
How does Paracausal Shot work exactly with Hawkmoon?
Whenever you land a critical hit or take down an opponent, you receive a stack – you can see this on the left side of your screen.
- These accumulated stacks initially have no influence on the weapon or your damage. You can also switch weapons or use other abilities, the stacks remain saved.
- Only when you arrive at the very last shot in the magazine, you will hear a bird cry.
- This final bullet instantly consumes all stacks and converts them into bonus damage, whether you shoot or not. You are not allowed to switch the weapon now.
- The damage of the Paracausal Shot depends on the amount of precision hits or kills. At this point, let me say: No other primary weapon comes close to the damage.
- But remember, you cannot collect more than 7 stacks.
- If you miss with the final bullet, you waste all the extra damage.
Such is the damage: So you don’t have to guess how high the damage is with every stack, we have a table for you:
| PvE | PvP | |
| Normal shot | 2,793 | 70/47 |
| 1x Paracausal Charge | 10,945 | 91/61 |
| 2x Paracausal Charge | 11,198 | 93/62 |
| 3x Paracausal Charge | 12,291 | 102/68 |
| 4x Paracausal Charge | 15,231 | 127/85 |
| 5x Paracausal Charge | 21,435 | 178/119 |
| 6x Paracausal Charge | 32,717 | 272/181 |
| 7x Paracausal Charge | 51,292 | 426/284 |
In PvE you already see a huge jump with one stack and the maximum number of Paracausal Charges x7 causes more damage than 18 regular shots. In PvP, the damage increases significantly slower, but becomes enormous towards the end – keep in mind that a Guardian has about 190 to 200 health.
Now you know how the Exotic works. We now look at how Hawkmoon performs in its normal form in PvE and PvP. We will address the possible random rolls further below.
Hawkmoon is better than ever – This is what the Exotic can do
How good is Hawkmoon in PvE: First, you have a very good, but normal hand cannon. You collect Paracausal Charges at lightning speed through all the adds. Then you unleash your devastating final bullet against powerful mini-bosses or even bosses.
The small magazine size allows you to quickly reach the final bullet. By default, Hawkmoon has a “Rifled Magazine,” which greatly increases reload speed when you completely empty the weapon. And that’s what you want to do at all costs.
Check out Hawkmoon in action here:
Is it worth it? The question now is, is the extra damage (51,292) worth sacrificing the exotic slot? To help you visualize this, here are two comparisons:
- The best legendary special weapons – slug shotguns – deal about 30,000 damage with Vorpal weapon and fitting spec.
- The exotic sniper rifle Izanagi’s Burden deals 68,000 damage with catalyst and x4 sharpened edge.
- The new exotic sword The Lament deals 95,000 damage at x9 Banshee’s Wail.
Even in boss phases, you quickly reach a maximum stack of Paracausal Charges through the large crit spots. Even if the damage is incredible for a primary weapon, in most endgame situations, a power weapon in the exotic slot is more advisable.
If you want to use Hawkmoon, we recommend pairing the hand cannon with the new grenade launcher and the sword Falling Guillotine.
What can the weapon do in PvP?
In the Crucible, Hawkmoon is probably the easiest hand cannon to use. Only 180 revolvers come close to its ease of use. Due to the combination of stability, range, and aim assist, critical hits happen almost automatically – even with the controller on consoles.
In your first duel, you have a normal, but excellently performing hand cannon.
- As a 140, you have a standard TTK of 0.87 seconds.
- Usually you need 3 critical hits for that.
But what about Paracausal Shot? This is where it gets interesting:
- After just 3 critical hits or 2 critical hits and a kill, you have 3 stacks. Now you just need one critical hit and two body shots.
- At x5 you only need one crit and one body hit – this corresponds to an excellent TTK of 0.43 seconds.
- Starting at x6, one critical hit is enough to send an opponent straight to the virtual afterlife.
- If you are now wondering whether x7 is enough to take out an opposing super with just one shot, the answer is: yes. With maximum stack, even a body shot is enough to kill ordinary Guardians with one shot.
This is how you should play: Don’t focus too hard on accumulating the maximum stack of Paracausal Charges. And don’t stress, even though it’s incredibly important to hit with the final shot. Play with the weapon normally, because after just one duel, you have an advantage over nearly all weapons.
By the way, don’t reload too early, or use exotics like the Transversive Steps. Your beautiful accumulated damage will then dissipate. Also, make sure to use the very affordable hand cannon mods in the artifact from Season 12.
What can Hawkmoon as a Masterwork with catalyst?
Since January 20, Hawkmoon is one of the Exotics that you can upgrade to a Masterwork with a catalyst. This creates power spheres on quick kills and grants bonus effects that make the revolver even stronger.
As a Masterwork, Hawkmoon gets:
- A magazine expansion to 9 shots – Paracausal Charge x7 is still the maximum, but you have one more chance to increase your damage.
- Handling, range, and reload speed increase passively with every collected Paracausal Charge.
The catalyst therefore supports the playstyle you’re already using with Hawkmoon: collecting precision hits and then letting loose a powerful shot. With every crit (or kill), your next shot becomes easier, and the weapon becomes easier to handle.
Is the catalyst worth it? Definitely! The bonuses are noticeable, especially the added range. The effects are primarily geared towards PvP and combat against Guardians. In PvE, you get a weapon that feels good due to the catalyst, which plays a bit smoother – but this doesn’t make the revolver deadlier.
- The maximum effective range increases to about 35 meters (previously just under 30 meters). The weapon becomes noticeably more accurate, and the aim assist decreases significantly later.
- The handling increases how quickly you aim, switch the weapon, and readies the weapon after running – the differences are in the frame range (because the base value is already so high). You get the biggest jump already at Paracausal Charge x1.
- The reload speed with the catalyst nearly reaches cap at which you can’t reload faster. With this effect, you can also afford to go for negative reload speed in the perk selection.
You can watch all the comparisons frame by frame in this video:
This is how you get the Masterwork
By completing the mission “Omen,” you will guaranteed receive the Masterwork catalyst for Hawkmoon.
- From the chest after the boss fight, you will also receive exotic drops with random rolls.
- In the fairly tough Omen mission, you will also find hidden feathers that unlock Crow’s new exotic spaceship.
Here, MeinMMO has summarized everything you need to know about the Omen mission: How to get Hawkmoon with random rolls and its catalyst in Destiny 2.
You can level the catalyst from 0 to 100 in about 45 minutes. To do this, head into the “Last Wish” raid and wish directly for the encounter against Shuro Chi. Here you start the encounter and ideally have a Hunter with a bow.
These are the best random perks for Hawkmoon
Do you remember the second exotic perk Transformative? This allows random rolls. This is brand new; no other Exotic has the possibility to change its traits.
- The exotic perk Paracausal Shot and Rifled Magazine are always fixed.
- You can farm the barrel, a perk slot 1, and the grip according to your personal preferences.
You still can’t go hunting for your personal Exotic. However, players have already figured out how to obtain Hawkmoon with random rolls soon:
Focus on these perks in PvE:
- Smallbore (+7 stability and range)
- Murderous Wind (deaths grant temporarily increased mobility, range, and handling)
- Heavy Grip (+10 stability and -10 handling)
What you should use in PvP: In PvP, the choice is significantly harder. Here it depends on personal preference and also the platform you are playing Destiny 2 on. PC players tend to focus on range, while on consoles you want a good mix of stability and range.
- Corkscrew rifling (+5 stability, handling, and range) or Hammer-Forged Rifling (+10 range)
- First Shot, Murderous Wind, and Eye of the Storm all help you land those crucial critical hits much easier
- Smooth Grip (+5 stability and handling) or Heavy Grip (+10 stability and -10 handling)
With these combinations, you get a bonus on all important values without having to compromise on negative effects. The good increase in handling compensates for the lack of Fixed Grip or Snapshot Sights, and the Catalyst additionally helps you out. You also have perks like Aiming Aide and the random Hip Fire Grip available.
What about the random rolls? Through this loot luck factor, Bungie reinterprets the classic. In Destiny 1, individual random shots in the magazine dealt bonus damage. Now it’s always the last bullet. But through the random rolls, the characteristics remain intact somehow.
What do you think about this exotic return? Was the reinterpretation successful, or did you expect something different from Hawkmoon?
What’s coming up in Season 13 is summarized by MeinMMO here: Destiny 2 has revealed more about Season 13 than ever before – Here’s what we already know
