In Destiny one weapon stands out like no other: The exotic rocket launcher Gjallarhorn is sung about, longed for, and cursed.
Recently, we received a message in our Facebook folder with no introduction or greeting: “Why do you not get a Gjalla after 1200 hours of gameplay?” and that was not the first message of this kind. The exotic rocket launcher “Gjallarhorn”, also known as “The weapon whose name must not be named“, “the horn“, “I-Win-Horn“, or “The damn thing that just won’t drop” is undoubtedly the most sought-after weapon in the MMO shooter Destiny. Xur had it on offer only once, in the second week when hardly anyone knew him. Since then, there have been rumors that it has disappeared from his loot table. Rumors, which, by the way, make no sense.
It even has its own reddit subforum, aptly named “I didn’t get my Gjallarhorn”. If Bungie wants to annoy the Guardians, they fill a whole vault with it and when a Bungie employee recently spoke at a conference about the nuances of game design, one of the attendees stood up and asked the designer why on earth he still didn’t have a Gjallarhorn after so many hours in the game! Undoubtedly, a cult has formed around the weapon. There are podcasts that only deal with how to pronounce it correctly (Gat-larr-horn). It has even been made out of Lego and now it even has its own song.
The exotic rocket launcher is incredibly sought after because it deals so much damage in such a simple way. With the “Wolfpack Rounds”, cluster rockets, one “rocket” from the Gjallarhorn does as much damage as two rockets from a “normal” rocket launcher. Though there are in-game substitutes, like Crota’s Hunger, the rocket launcher from the boss. However, many do not want to settle for that.
Furthermore, the G-Horn is considered a “ticket” for some elite raids, Atheon has already been pulverized with it in seconds, most spectacular Crota kills involve a strong G-massage to ensure the fiend is indeed on his knees within seconds.
But not everyone wants the weapon. Some say, perhaps out of envy of the non-owners, that the weapon is so strong that it takes the fun out of playing Destiny. Others say they only continue to play Destiny to obtain this weapon.
What makes it so desirable, is surely also the randomness of its appearance. Often questions arise: Where can I find the Gjallarhorn? Why doesn’t it drop? How can I get it more easily? There are no definitive answers to these questions. Because exotic weapons in Destiny are not really farmable but can only drop from certain raid bosses or in treasure chests with increased probability: Like from the Gorgon chest and Atheon himself in “The Glass Chamber” or from the last two bosses in the raid Crota’s End.
Every Tuesday, players therefore set out, trying their luck in the Nightfall or in the raids in the hope of finding something. Some YouTubers are now also offering the service to take players directly to the treasure chest in the Glass Chamber for a chance at their exotic.
It is amusing the cult that has developed around the weapon, Gjallarhorn has become the focus of many memes or gags.
Who among you is still looking for the Gjallarhorn? And who among you has it and can say whether it is really worth all the fuss?
