Currently, many Guardians are hunting for a new exotic weapon in Destiny 2 – the combat bow Leviathan’s Breath. But how does this weapon exotic actually perform in practice? Is it worth using or just a dust magnet?
This weapon is about: Since October 22, the exotic bow Leviathan’s Breath has been available for all owners of the Season Pass for the Season of Undying (Season 8). Buyers of the Shadowkeep expansion receive this Season Pass included.
The Leviathan’s Breath is the first bow for the Power slot. Accordingly, many Guardians were curious about how this new exotic weapon plays.
How to get Leviathan’s Breath: The Leviathan’s Breath is tied to the exotic quest “Make bows, not war.” You can find out how to get the bow here:
As some players had problems with the first quest step “Back Entrance”, we have explained the step explicitly in a separate guide:
What the new weapon exotic Leviathan’s Breath can do in practice
What distinguishes the Leviathan’s Breath: This exotic bow is used in the Power slot, requiring heavy (purple) ammunition. The Leviathan’s Breath also deals Void damage and has a long draw time of 1328.
What makes this weapon exotic special are its two perks: Big Game Hunter and Leviathan’s Sigh. Here’s what they do:
- Big Game Hunter: Fires an extra-heavy bolt that knocks back unshielded combatants. Strong against Unstoppable Champions. Each bolt deals significant damage and can take away a considerable amount of health from a boss or kill an elite enemy with just one shot.
- Leviathan’s Sigh: Fully drawn, the bolt causes a large concussive explosion that knocks back enemies. In addition to the extra explosion damage taken, enemies are pushed back by up to 10-15 meters.
How the new bow performs in PvE: What can a bow in the Power slot with an enormous draw time do in PvE? Could it be a new super weapon?
In short: No. The bow is a solid choice for certain situations but cannot compete damage-wise against other alternatives for the heavy slot like Grenade Launchers when it comes to boss fights.
Due to its extremely long draw time, it is most comparable to the exotic Linear Fusion Rifle Sleeper Simulant, which has a similarly long charge time (1024) and mechanism-wise is very similar to the bow. However, against the Sleeper, the bow comes up short – both in critical damage and body shots.
For comparison, the damage numbers (without buffs/debuffs):
- Leviathan’s Breath: 40,233 damage + 2,043 damage (explosion) with a critical hit. 25,103 damage + 2,043 damage with body shots.
- Sleeper Simulant: 42,513 damage with a critical hit. 35,251 damage with body shots.
- While the Sleeper only deals 1% more damage with critical hits, it deals a full 30% more with body shots.
- For example: The Sniper Izanagi’s Burden deals nearly 86,000 damage with a 4-stack of Honed Edge.
The Leviathan’s Breath heavily relies on critical hits and requires the Perfect Draw (a specific time the bow is held drawn) to achieve this. If you enjoy this playstyle, you can confidently continue to rely on the Sleeper Simulant and be better served – at least in most situations.
Although there are many better alternatives for the exotic weapon slot, the new bow can still shine in certain situations in PvE – specifically where it was essentially designed for: in combat against Unstoppable Champions, which you encounter in the new Nightfall “Dusk: The Trial of Fire”.
Against Barrier or Overload Champions, the bow offers no advantage, but the aggressive Unstoppable enemies, such as the extremely annoying ogres, can be directly stopped and stunned by a bolt. With a second bolt, you can often finish them off. This is very situational, but the Leviathan’s Breath performs fantastically here – even without corresponding Artifact Weapon Mods as a means against the respective Champion types.
So for those who enjoy the new Trial of Fire nightfalls (especially on higher difficulties) or activities with the Champion mechanic, this new weapon exotic can indeed be a worthwhile option. However, there are hardly any areas in PvE where the bow justifies the use of the coveted exotic slot over other common alternatives.
What the exotic bow can do in PvP: In the Crucible, the bow can indeed convince – although it will certainly not shake up the meta since it cannot do anything that other weapons cannot do.
Additionally, you also deal with an extremely long draw time in PvP. But if you can handle a Sleeper, you should quickly get used to the heavy bow.
The big advantage of the new bow in PvP: You can kill everything and everyone with one shot – even any active super can be taken down with just one bolt. It doesn’t matter if you hit critically or just graze the little toe of the opposing Guardian. Whatever the bolt touches, dies.
Although the Sleeper can do that as well, it also deals significantly higher damage than the Leviathan’s Breath (it can kill an active super with one shot even in a Titan bubble) – but the bow has a very generous hitbox and decent aim assist, making secure kills with it after a few attempts no big problem for even average players.
What about the masterwork catalyst for Leviathan’s Breath? The exotic catalyst is expected to improve the Leviathan’s Breath bow, but exact details are not yet known. There are speculation that the catalyst should reduce the draw time of the bow, but until this is officially confirmed, you should take this info with caution.
It will be interesting to see how much the draw time decreases if it really is the correct effect of the masterwork upgrade. If it falls below 1,000 and approaches other exotic bows, the new bow could become more interesting and competitive for some players.
Conclusion: Who is Leviathan’s Breath worth it for? The quest is relatively easy and can be completed quickly. Therefore, ultimately, everyone can obtain the weapon – whether they actually use it or just get it for their collection.
Leviathan’s Breath can be particularly worthwhile for new PvE players who lack top weapons like Izanagi’s Burden, Divinity, Anarchy or the Sleeper Simulant. Because as mentioned – the new bow can be quickly obtained with comparatively little effort.
If you already possess these weapons, then you need the bow in PvE either for your collection or situationally for specific enemies in some activities, where the Leviathan’s Breath can indeed show its strength.
In PvP, the bow performs solidly, but there are also strong alternatives like the Rocket Launcher Truth, the Wardcliff Coil, or the Hammerhead Machine Gun, which probably suit many guardians better than this new exotic. The Leviathan will not define the new meta in the Crucible either.
It remains interesting to see what the masterwork catalyst will do with the bow and how the weapon will play afterwards. Currently, however, the Leviathan’s Breath embodies nothing that you should break a leg for. We will keep you updated on this.
Have you already obtained the bow and gathered your first experiences with it? What is your impression of this new weapon exotic?
