Beyond Light might be the big news for Destiny fans this week, but don’t forget that there’s also a brand new season coming on Tuesday for both free-to-play and paying players. Called Season of the Hunt, you’ll help The Spider to track down some bizarre Hive growths that are probably trying to summon a Hive god to destroy all known existence. You know how the Hive are.
Along with the new Season comes a new Seasonal Artifact. You can grab it in Zavala’s office in the lower sections of The Tower. It’s just sitting there on one of Zaval’s new war desks, apparently brought to him by Osiris.
The Fang of Xivu Arath is the broken tooth of an old Hive God of War, which seems like a dangerous thing to stuff into a jar and siphon power from, but Beyond Light is all about communing with dark and poorly understood powers.
As with previous Seasonal Artifacts, you’ll have 12 mods to unlock as you progress through the tiers. However, things are a bit different with the Fang of Xivu Arath. Anti-Champion mods necessary for completing Nightfalls are all slotted into your arm armor mod slots rather than onto weapons themselves. Additionally, the usual tier of glimmer/resource gathering mods has been replaced by an expanded selection of unflinching, reload, dexterity, and ammo-finding mods.
Column 1: Anti-Champion Mods
All the mods in the first column require one energy and are slotted into your arms. This means you’ll be able to take a maximum of two anti-champion weapon mods, so choose wisely before you head into a Nightfall.
- Overload Rounds (Auto Rifles) - Sustained hits cause Disruption, reducing enemy ability cooldowns and damage output. Staggers Overload Champions and grants bonus damage for you and your fireteam.
- Unstoppable Hand Cannon - Aim down the sights for a few moments to load a powerful explosive shot that staggers unshielded opponents. Staggers Unstoppable Champions.
- Anti-Barrier Pulse Rifle - Will take down Barrier Champion shields, staggering them. Staggered Barrier Champions take additional damage from all sources.
- Overload Rounds (Scout Rifles) - Sustained hits cause Disruption, reducing enemy ability cooldowns and damage output. Staggers Overload Champions and grants bonus damage for you and your fireteam.
- Anti-Barrier Submachine Gun - Will take down Barrier Champion shields, staggering them. Staggered Barrier Champions take additional damage from all sources.
Column 2: Requires 1 Unlock
These mods improve your usage of certain weapons. All require one energy to use in various armor mod slots.
- Hand Cannon Targeting (Helmet) - Improves target acquisition, aim-down-sights time, and accuracy for hand cannons.
- Unflinching Pulse Rifle Aim (Chest) - Reduced flinch while wielding pulse rifles.
- Scout Rifle Targeting (Helmet) - Improves target acquisition, aim-down-sights time, and accuracy for scout rifles.
- Shotgun Dexterity (Arms) - Improved ready and stow speed for shotguns.
- Grenade Launcher Load (Arms) - Improved reload speed for grenade launchers.
Column 3: Requires 4 Unlocks
Replacing previous season’s glimmer/resource finger mods, this column provides an expanded selection of mods that improve certain weapons. They all cost one energy.
- Unflinching Hand Cannon Aim (Chest) - Reduced flinch while wielding hand cannons.
- Pulse Rifle Loader (Arms) - Improved reload speed for pulse rifles.
- Unflinching Scout Rifle Aim (Chest) - Reduced flinch while wielding scout rifles.
- Shotgun Ammo Finder (Helmet) - Improved odds of finding ammo for shotguns.
- Grenade Launcher Scavenger (Legs) - Get extra reserves for grenade launchers from ammo pickups.
Column 4: Requires 7 Unlocks
These mods typically improve cooldowns for your abilities and have a lower energy requirement than the last column. All of these are slotted into your Class Item.
- Momentum Siphon - 1 Energy - Recharges melee ability whenever you or a fireteam member staggers a Champion.
- Surge Eater - 1 Energy - Recharges grenade ability whenever a Champion is staggered by you or your fireteam.
- Unstoppable Schwarzschild Condenser - 2 Energy - Void melee ability staggers unshielded enemies as well as Unstoppable Champions.
- Thermal Overload - 2 Energy - Solar and Stasis grenades cause Disruption, delaying ability regeneration and lowering enemy damage output. Staggers Overload Champions.
- Spoils of War - 6 Energy - Finishing Champions grants heavy ammo for you and your fireteam.
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Column 5: Requires 10 Unlocks
These mods have the most powerful effects available in the Seasonal Artifact that can really define your build. You only get two of these at most, so choose wisely.
- Unstoppable Shotgun - 7 Energy, Arms - Aim down the sights for a few moments to load a powerful explosive shot that staggers unshielded opponents. Staggers Unstoppable Champions.
- Pyretic Embrace - 4 Energy, Class Item - Regain full health and shields upon casting your super.
- Berserkers - 6 Energy, Class item - Gain a temporary boost to weapon damage after your super ends. The duration and strength of this bonus increases depending on the number of kills you got with your super.
- Abyssal Charge - 2 Energy, Combat Style Armor Mod) - Gain a stack of Charged with Light after getting a kill with void melee abilities.
- Thermal Blooming - 2 Energy, Arms - Rapid defeats with Solar, Stasis melee abilities produces Orbs of Power for you and your fireteam.