We're just going to start this by letting you know that Bungie plans to buff Destiny 2's Sunshot when Shadowkeep is released next month. So, while the energy hand cannon isn't a popular choice among the Destiny faithful, it could be more desirable pretty soon, with the expansion set to be released on October 1.
What Is The Sunshot And How Do You Get It?
The Sunshot is a neat weapon, especially for PvE - it's not that great as a PvP weapon, the perks are hardly useful in those realms - as it deals damage to more than one enemy with every shot. There's not much in the way of criticism as it relates to the incendiary blast itself, at least where we're concerned. However, players aren't pleased with the fact that it only packs eight rounds at a time as opposed to the 12-13 that other hand cannons tend to carry.
The weapon isn't that difficult to come by and is one of the first on offer to new players with the Warmind expansion. You could get it from an Exotic Engram obtained after the completion of various activities, a Luminous Engram from weekly milestones, or as a reward after completing the Asher Mir's Sacrilege mission. You can also pick it up from Xur in exchange for 29 Legendary Shards.
You will also have the Graviton Lance energy pulse rifle and the Riskrunner energy submachine gun as options to choose from after finishing the mission mentioned above.
As for the lore behind the Sunshot's creation, it was forged by Titan Sunbreaker Liu Feng of the Sunbreaker order on Mercury. She has only been mentioned in Destiny 2 but her Exotic is very tangible and was crafted with the sole purpose of lighting enemies up (quite literally).
The Sunshot's Stats & Perks
The weapon's perks include the Sunburn, an intrinsic attribute that sees it shoot explosive rounds and highlight targets that get hit. The Sun Blast perk works remarkably well as it causes damage to surrounding targets by having the initial target explode. So, when enemies are grouped up, it's possible to take all of them out with a single shot.
Impact - 80
Range - 47
Stability - 50
Magazine - 8
Reload Speed - 75
Handling - 92
The Sunshot's Mods (And How To Get Them)
The Masterwork for the weapon increases range and stability, making it even more dangerous with precision hits, something that means the Sunshot Catalyst is easily the best mod. The Catalyst can be obtained by getting 500 kills and 1,000 with the Sun Blast perk. Once that's done, you get +30 range and +20 stability, which is actually pretty sweet as the aim assist for the cannon is nothing to brag about.
You could rack those kills up pretty quickly by heading to Mars and picking off Thrall after triggering an Escalation Protocol. You could also head to Nessus, jet to the Hallows and make your way down the large hole in the wall. If you keep right, you'll find a spawn point and you'll only need to wait until Fallen start coming out to pick them off.
A few of the missions on Mars take you a long way into racking up these kills, so you probably won't need to put too much effort into getting your Catalyst outside of the story.
So. is the Sunshot the best energy or exotic weapon available in Destiny 2? Certainly not. As mentioned above, it's pretty great for PvE and it's quite fun to take out several enemies with a single shot when they're charging you down. There should be more to it when Shadowkeep comes out too, so even more reason to have one.