In the shared-world shooter Destiny , the exotic auto rifle SUROS Regime is currently available from Xur. What can the white beauty show after the changes?
Until Sunday, April 12th, Xur will offer the SUROS Regime for 23 strange coins. It’s time for us to take a closer look at the weapon. By the way, it was previously named “Arcus Regime”, but now Arkus has become a separate elemental damage type and Suros a prominent weapon manufacturer in the Destiny universe.
The Reign of the White Queen
In the early months of Destiny, the motto in the Crucible was: “Either you have an auto rifle or you’re doing it wrong.” The SUROS Regime was especially the weapon of choice, proving to be significantly superior to other auto rifles due to its unique features. Additionally, Xur offered it in the 7th week when many players had already gotten a hint about the important role Xur would play. He also had it available in the 3rd week but then not again for a long time until today.
Therefore, the SUROS Regime was the number one choice in PvP for a long time and ranked high in corresponding surveys.
The Characteristics of the SUROS Regime
This is due to its ideal features for PvP. The SUROS Regime is actually a typical “pea shooter”; it fires a lot of rounds, but they don’t pack a punch, as they say. However, thanks to a special feature of the SUROS, the Fire Focus, this changes when zooming in on enemies. While this reduces the fire rate, it significantly increases the damage output compared to hip firing. The SUROS is also very easy to control, the recoil is predictable; it’s a weapon that is absolutely suitable for beginners and was somewhat labeled as a “noob weapon” in PvP. One could say it’s a hybrid between a machine gun and a sniper rifle.
The second decisive feature of the weapon is the perk “Suros Regime”, which grants additional damage to the lower half of the magazine, so one should be cautious about reloading. You want to deplete the weapon as much as possible. Such bonus damage, which can reduce the “time to kill”, is highly sought after in PvP.
The YouTuber Puzzles, who specializes in weapon reviews, presents the SUROS in detail; he swears by field choke for the sights:
But what can the SUROS do today?
With the weapon balance patch 1.1.1. the previously dominant auto rifles have been slightly nerfed; they are not supposed to be as strong at “long distances” as before and cause somewhat less damage. Since then, the SUROS is no longer considered an “over” weapon, but it is still suitable for fans of that play style. Overall, Bungie aims to specialize the weapons so that no single weapon is the best for every situation. Instead, they want different play styles for different situations. The SUROS as “PvP gun for all occasions” has therefore lost its absolute dominance, although it is still a very good choice.
In PvE, an exotic primary weapon without elemental damage is unfortunately not a great choice. The challenging tasks in Destiny are either the Nightfall, for which primary weapons with elemental damage are needed, or Raids, where primary weapons from the respective raids are most suitable. Therefore, the SUROS is a reasonable weapon in PvE, but there are definitely stronger alternatives.
Conclusion: Nowadays, strange coins are not nearly as rare as they used to be; therefore, most players will buy the weapon if they don’t already have it. Those who need to save coins should consider the SUROS when planning a career in the Crucible. However, it is no longer unmatched here either. Player preferences in the Crucible vary widely; some swear by pulse rifles, while others avoid them. The same goes for hand cannons, shotguns, and auto rifles.
Top Crucible players will not use any weapon for every situation. They are distinguished by choosing the right tool for every task. And since the auto rifle SUROS Regime was the right tool for so many situations for so long, it was nerfed. Bungie considers auto rifles to be “compromise” solutions for middle distances.
With the announced changes, it seems likely that primary weapons will become important again in the future. The balance carousel continues to turn. Those who want to play it safe will have a powerful option with the SUROS in their arsenal in the future.
