“Holy Shit” wrote the gaming media about three years ago regarding Destiny. Because it was Gjallarhorn-Day!
What do you think of when you recall Year 1 of Destiny 1? The Glass Chamber? For sure! An incredibly bad story? Of course! Legendary weapons like the Fatebringer and the Black Spindle? Probably that too.
If you are like me, a few Exotics surely come to mind. My personal favorite Exotics were the Hawkmoon and the Thorn – two hand cannons I spent countless hours in the Destiny universe with.
And then there was an Exotic in Year 1 that was forever burned into the minds of all Year-1 Guardians: The G-Horn, the little horn, the golden crowbar, the one and only rocket launcher: the Gjallarhorn.
The Gjallarhorn was the best weapon in the game
What was special about the Gjallarhorn? The entire Guardian community was in Gjallarhorn fever for a year. Because the exotic rocket launcher was so powerful in Year 1 that it was the best choice for nearly every challenge.
Who needed tactics when you just had to place a Titan bubble and then chase the Gjallarhorn’s pack missiles at the enemy with full power? Upon impact, the weapon’s projectiles would split into homing rockets that dealt such devastating damage that the Gjallarhorn was the solution to all problems.
Whoever had the Gjallarhorn was the happiest Guardian. On social media and in LFG groups, this rocket launcher quickly became a prerequisite to even be allowed to play. Players without Gjallarhorn were basically considered second-class Guardians.
However, there was a problem. The Gjallarhorn was a rare random drop that many Guardians waited months for in vain.
Gjallarhorn Day in the Destiny Community
Those without a Gjallarhorn hoped for Xur: Therefore, many players placed their hopes on Xur, who could randomly bring the weapon. After all, he did this in the second week after the release. However, hardly anyone bought the Gjallarhorn back then, as they did not yet know that the weapon would become THE dominant gun in Year 1.
A mistake – because from then on, Xur was stingy with the Gjallarhorn. Once the hype gained momentum, Guardians eagerly checked every week to see if he would bring it this time. However, the noodle-faced vendor mercilessly disappointed the Guardians. For months, Xur had everything in stock – except for what the Guardians so eagerly awaited.
But on August 14, 2015, it finally happened. Xur liberated the Guardians. In the forums, all dams broke. The Gjallarhorn Day was born.
Holy shit, Xur sells Gjallarhorn!
Gjallarhorn Day as a media spectacle: Not only the reddit forum was in chaos that day, but also large gaming sites like Kotaku headlined the unusual incident with “Holy shit, Xur sells Gjallarhorn!”
The Guardians joyfully stormed to Xur and threw Strange Coins at him. I was among those Guardians. Having never had the luck to own Gjallarhorn before, I bought three of this Exotic right away. I had enough Strange Coins. Thus, Gjallarhorn Day was one of the happiest days in the Guardian careers of many players.
Since then, Gjallarhorn Day has been celebrated anew every year in the community. This weekend, on August 17, it marked its third anniversary.
How is Gjallarhorn Day actually celebrated?
- Guardians wish each other a happy Gjallarhorn Day.
- In the reddit forum, some forum rules are temporarily lifted – which the users happily exploit. So this year, there were again countless posts along the lines of: “With so many upvotes, I will do something crazy.” For example, if there are 7777 upvotes, one deletes all their characters.
- At least once, you listen to this Gjallarhorn song from the community that nicely summarizes the hype:
Was it actually a coincidence that Xur only brought back the Gjallarhorn so late in Year 1? Bungie repeatedly emphasized that Xur’s inventory was random. He was a mystery, and Bungie had no idea what he was selling.
This story was, of course, not believed by many Guardians. Because back then, the “Taken King” expansion was approaching, and it was suspected that Bungie wanted to draw attention back to Destiny with Gjallarhorn Day. Furthermore, the weapon lost its value in Year 2, which is why Xur probably could only bring it shortly before the end of Year 1.
What happened to the Gjallarhorn? In Year 2, the Gjallarhorn was left behind; it could not be brought up to the new max level. In Year 3, however, it returned, and there was even a special Iron Gjallarhorn. But it could never reach the power of Year 1.
What did Xur bring on this Gjallarhorn-Day weekend in 2018? Nothing special, the rocket launcher “Truth”. In Destiny 2, Xur has the Sunshot this time.
Were you there at the first Gjallarhorn Day in 2015?
