The Gjallarhorn is the most famous weapon from Destiny, and it’s not just because of its sleek appearance. Early on, it established itself in Destiny 1 as a sort of overpowered weapon and eventually became the meta OP weapon par excellence. MeinMMO author Maik Schneider recalls the birth of the legend.
Destiny 1 hit me hard upon its release in September 2014. My studies were going on the side, Call of Duty had a low point with “Ghosts,” and I had been long looking for a game that would finally allow me to fully transition to the PlayStation 4.
Lots of free time and even more excitement for gaming. That’s when Destiny arrived.
By the end, I had logged just over 4,000 hours and many special experiences I will never forget. Who knows how many hours it would have been if my group hadn’t disbanded.
My Fungaming clan suddenly thrived again; everyone wanted to play this cool new shooter. Bought the Limited Edition and quickly jumped into the adventure.
I found Exotics particularly appealing right from the start. Back then, Exotics were only obtainable as loot, and I had proven in the first days that I had the right amount of luck to collect them all.
It even went so far that I did not buy a beautiful rocket launcher from this new, crazy vendor Xur. The thing was called “Gjallarhorn,” and one of my friends had already bought it from that strange ghost vendor.
“I don’t have to copy everything he does; I’d rather save my odd coins,” I thought to myself. That was the moment the Gjallarhorn legend began.
Gjallarhorn dominates PvE in Destiny
Xur had only been to the Tower for the second time at this point, and he generously distributed the good piece. It would take almost a year before the mysterious vendor distributed the Gjallarhorn again.
In the meantime, the rocket launcher became the benchmark for PvE. The damage was so severe that hordes of enemies, mini-bosses, and even raid bosses capitulated. No matter what you played back then in PvE – with Gjallarhorn everything went faster.
By the time of the expansion “The Taken King” and the introduction of the raid “Crota’s End,” it was the absolute meta. The rocket launcher was even considered essential gear in the raid.
In Norse mythology, the Gjallarhorn belongs to Heimdall, the guardian of the gods. Heimdall blows this horn to warn the gods when the last day approaches: Ragnarök.
If you didn’t have a group that played for the shared experience, it was extremely hard to find other players if you didn’t have a Gjallarhorn.
The nasty thing dealt such severe damage that raid mechanics were almost bypassed. You had to explain little to your teammates. You just shot, saw Crota suffer, one waved the sword, and you collected the loot. End of story.
Most foreign teammates simply wanted to get through the raid as quickly as possible, not explain anything further. So, players without Gjallarhorn were outright rejected.
The cult around the rocket launcher emerges
After the power of the weapon became known – as damage dealer and raid entry ticket – everyone wanted the weapon. And for the first time, it became apparent how difficult certain Exotics were to obtain.
Guardians hunted for months for the weapon, and not everyone had the luck to snag one. Some danced around chests, while others became truly desperate.
I myself was lucky, as often happens in Destiny. I got my Gjallarhorn just a few days after I had declined it from Xur.
But many in the community had to suffer, waited forever, and sometimes gave up hope. And then there was the “Holy Shit” moment:
On August 14, 2015, Xur had one of his best days. It is even said that some saw him smiling. Because Xur had the Gjallarhorn a second time – what a thing.
To this day, this day is celebrated, and August 14 is considered the Gjallarhorn Day in the community. The G-Day.
And even though the Gjallarhorn currently dominates activities in Destiny 2 – it will probably never be as bad again as when the rocket launcher was considered a content entry ticket.
I’m also interested in your stories around Gjallarhorn or other Exotics. For example, I was often called out for preferring to play the Thunderlord instead of the Gjallarhorn. Feel free to leave us a comment.
