The Holy Triumvirate: The Last Word, Hawkmoon, and Thorn
What was so special about the hand cannons? Even today, Guardians get a little misty-eyed at the thought of The Last Word, Hawkmoon, or Thorn. Each of these weapons was unique in its own right:
- The Last Word was THE counter to shotguns. At its peak, it could take down other Guardians in an astonishing 0.2 seconds. The reason for this was the exotic perk that ensured maximum stability and increased damage when firing from the hip. If you could land two critical hits, the opponent was done for.
- Hawkmoon was regarded as an outstanding hand cannon, not just due to its exotic perk. It made it so that any shot could deal increased damage. The twist: The weapon had this perk twice. If you could trigger both abilities with one shot, you would take out opposing Guardians with a single hit.
- Thorn was an absolute monster at its peak. The range was extraordinarily high and even surpassed some pulse rifles. However, the poison damage was even more devastating, ensuring that two critical hits were enough for the exile. The poison damage also ensured to track enemy pathways (the damage was also visible through walls).
What happened to the weapons? In fact, the three hand cannons have a turbulent history. Not all were at their peak simultaneously; others were always strong but were ignored due to other weapon classes.
By the end of Destiny 1, only The Last Word remained a viable option in the Crucible, while Hawkmoon and Thorn had completely vanished from the scene. A major reason for this was the introduction of the Bloom mechanic.
What is the Bloom mechanic? A projectile fired by a weapon should ideally hit where you aimed. In the early days of Destiny 1, this was always the case.
When the Bloom mechanic was introduced, many Guardians were upset, as gunfights with opposing Guardians were now also subject to chance.
Imagine placing a funnel in front of the weapon’s barrel. The bullet no longer hits where you aimed; it can strike anywhere on the base of the funnel. The size of the funnel depends on the weapon’s range and the distance to the target.
But it wasn’t just the Bloom mechanic that troubled the Guardians:
- The Last Word had its range significantly cut, and the bonus damage when firing from the hip was also removed. The weapon remained playable, but it was no longer as potent as it had once been.
- Thorn lost massive range, and its poison damage was also weakened. To top it off, Bungie implemented an artifact that nearly completely negated Thorn’s poison damage. The weapon vanished from play, much to the dismay of many fans.
- Hawkmoon lost its unique selling point of taking out opposing Guardians with a single shot. Combined with the Bloom mechanic and further nerfs, this truly fantastic weapon became useless.
The Last Word was always a pure Crucible weapon, while Thorn and Hawkmoon were also viable for PvE areas. With the nerfs, that changed completely. Bungie completely buried the weapons, truly a drama in countless acts.
