Destiny 2 has received a new version of the legendary weapon Hung Jury SR4 in the Season of the Splicer. Is the Guardian favorite still as strong as it used to be and what does the new God-Roll look like?
About this cult weapon: Just before the start of the current Season 14, Bungie heavily pressed the nostalgia button and announced that Hung Jury SR4 is coming back. The legendary scout rifle is also known to many by its English name “Hung Jury”. It is one of the most famous weapons from Destiny 1 and was a staple part of many Guardians’ loadouts.
- The popularity of Hung Jury is partly due to its cool appearance. The typical “Dead Orbit” look with its black and white designs was a fashion staple in Destiny.
- On the other hand, the weapon was really strong in PvE. Thanks to good damage, powerful explosions, and the ability to automatically reload ammunition, Hung Jury earned a good reputation.
- Guardians have been eagerly waiting since the announcement to see if Hung Jury will live up to its good reputation upon its return.
MeinMMO takes a look at the iconic returnee and tells you where to get the weapon and whether the scout still packs as much punch as in Destiny 1.
How to get Hung Jury SR4 in Destiny 2 Season 14
Here’s how to obtain Hung Jury: In the Season of the Splicer, you can only earn Hung Jury through the Nightfall: The Ordeal. The weapon can drop randomly after the end boss of each strike.
However, you can give your drop luck a boost: The higher the difficulty of the ordeal, the more likely you are to receive Hung Jury. Some Guardians also swear by the Ghost mod “Prosperity (Vanguard)” to improve the chance – it certainly can’t hurt!
However, keep in mind: Hung Jury is just one of 3 new Nightfall weapons in Season 14. All these weapons rotate and are available for one week before the next gun temporarily takes its place.
- Hung Jury will be available as a reward until May 25, 2021.
- From May 25 to June 1, the sniper rifle Uzume RR4 will be available.
- From June 1 to June 8, the fusion rifle Plug One.1 will be available in the Nightfall.
- Hung Jury will then be available again from June 8 to June 15.
What about the Master version? Like all weapons from the Nightfall, Hung Jury can also drop as a Master version. However, this is only possible on the truly challenging “Grandmaster” difficulty. These weapons gain access to exclusive mods and, as a leveled masterwork, provide a +3 to stats as well as a special skin (shader).
But don’t stress, the Grandmaster difficulty will only be available later in Season 14. Only then can you hunt Hung Jury in its final form. By the end of the season, the 3 Nightfall weapons from the previous Season 13 should also return to the loot pool.
What does the cult weapon bring to the table?
Hung Jury is a 180 RPM scout rifle with kinetic damage. This allows it to shoot accurately by itself and has solid stats. The magazine, with a standard 16 shots, is average. However, the magic happens in the two perk slots.
Slot 1:
- Reserve: Defeating enemies automatically reloads the magazine from reserves
- Quickdraw: Precision hits increase stability and reload speed (stacks)
- Moving Target: Aiming increases movement speed and aim assist
- Heating Up: Kills improve stability, recoil, and precision
- Bottomless Grief: Increases the magazine size – as the last living member of the team, kills reload the weapon
- Surplus: Better stability, handling, and faster reload speed for each ability charged
Slot 2:
- Explosive Payload: Rounds create a small explosion on impact
- One for All: Hitting 3 enemies increases the weapon’s damage
- Swashbuckler: Precision kills create a larger solar explosion and improve reload speed
- Adrenaline Junkie: Grenade kills grant the weapon bonus damage and better handling
- Aim Control: Aiming for a moment grants the first shot extra range and precision damage
- Origin Serial: Kills grant energy for your abilities
This is the God-Roll of Hung Jury SR4
The good news is: no perk is really bad, every ability is usable on its own. But as a God-Roll, only 2 variants are suitable for PvE:
- In Slot 1: Reserve or Quickdraw
- In Slot 2: Swashbuckler or One for All
What about the explosion? Swashbuckler brings back memories of Destiny 1 and is significantly better than the previously known ability on legendary weapons, Vorpal. Swashbuckler is about as strong as Vorpal + Vorpal Spec mod.
On top of that, you’ll find the mod “Energy Accelerant” in the seasonal artifact, which further increases the damage of Swashbuckler. But beware, currently the mod is disabled due to a bug. We actually know Swashbuckler from the exotic weapon Pikass. Alternatively, Explosive Payload is also decent, but falls short against the easily triggered bonus damage from One for All.
Reserve has been buffed and finally reduces the annoying reload time without shrinking your ammo reserves. Quickdraw increases stability and speeds up reload time. Surplus is noteworthy, but usually one wants to use their strong abilities and not hoard.
Why do experts say “just a scout”?
Unfortunately, what we feared at MeinMMO before Season 14 has come true: Hung Jury doesn’t quite live up to the hype. The weapon is trying its best, but scout rifles are simply not as strong or necessary in the current sandbox of Destiny 2 as they were in the Destiny 1 days.
Hung Jury is quite good for a scout and can even utilize the exceptionally strong Warmind Cells as a kinetic weapon due to Swashbuckler. However, most of the time you don’t need the safe distance that scouts provide. Against champions in higher difficulties, Hung Jury can shine, but as a kinetic weapon it lacks damage against shields, and almost all scouts lack the damage to quickly kill adds at this level.
Experts say:
- That’s why well-known pros like Datto say: “Hung Jury is not good” and “only worth it for nostalgics” (via YouTube).
- Ehroar titles: “Hung Jury is literally just a scout with Swashbuckler” (via YouTube). The criticism isn’t directed at Hung Jury itself but at scout rifles in general.
- Rick Kackis notes that due to Aim Control you have a situationally strong weapon in PvP, but in PvE the archetype Hung Jury hinders (via YouTube).
Have you fought your way through the Nightfall: The Ordeal and earned a roll of Hung Jury? What do you think of this returnee: for a scout rifle really strong, or would you have preferred to keep the weapon in nostalgic memory? Let us know in the comments.
