Introduction
Destiny 2’s latest DLC, The Season of Opulence, reintroduces the beloved Bad Juju pulse rifle. As a seasoned player, I have fond memories of using this weapon on my Voidwalker Warlock in Destiny 1. Bad Juju excels in everyday content such as strikes, patrols, and heroic missions, making it a personal favorite of mine.
Weapon Perks
Bad Juju’s intrinsic perk, String of Curses, offers a plethora of benefits. Firstly, kills refill the magazine, increase damage for a short duration, and grant Super energy based on the strength of String of Curses. In addition, the weapon fires in full-auto mode. This perk synergizes particularly well with certain subclasses and their respective exotic armor pieces, ensuring that you always have your Super ready when you need it. The duration of the String of Curses buff can be extended by approximately one second with the weapon’s catalyst, which is unlocked after obtaining Forty-Five tributes in the Tribute Hall.
Other notable perks include Hammer-Forged Rifling, which boosts the weapon’s Range stat by ten, and Steady Rounds, which increase Stability by fifteen at the cost of five points in Range. Hip-Fire Grip enhances Accuracy and Stability when firing from the hip, while Short-Action Stock improves Handling by fifteen.
Weapon Stats
Let’s compare Bad Juju to other Exotic Pulse Rifles like the Outbreak Perfected, the Vigilance Wing, and the Graviton Lance. Bad Juju’s Range stat of 41 is the lowest among the four, placing it in the same range as most Hand Cannons. However, it boasts a Stability rating of 65, which is second only to the Graviton Lance. In terms of Handling, Bad Juju ranks third, indicating a slightly sluggish readiness and aim down sights speed. It shares the same Aim Assist rating of 60 with the Vigilance Wing and Graviton Lance. Furthermore, the weapon possesses a solid Recoil Direction rating of 85, suggesting a primarily vertical recoil pattern. It’s worth noting that weapon recoil always contains an element of randomness, as Fallout Plays has pointed out in his video on recoil direction. This randomness can be advantageous for Bad Juju, especially when considering its full-auto firing capability.
Performance in PVP and PVE
In PVP, Bad Juju deals 16 damage to the body and 25 to the head without any stacks of String of Curses. Each stack of String of Curses increases the critical damage inflicted on Guardians, starting from 28 with one stack and capping at 38 with five stacks. In PVE, String of Curses amplifies Bad Juju’s damage by 20 percent with one stack, up to a remarkable 99 percent with five stacks. This represents a substantial 33 percent damage increase compared to Rampage in PVE scenarios.
Recommended Class and Exotic Armor Pairings
For Hunters, the Way of the Sharpshooter subclass combined with the Celestial Nighthawk exotic helmet meshes perfectly with Bad Juju. The synergy between String of Curses and the Practice Makes Perfect subclass perk, as well as the Celestial Nighthawk’s Hawkeye Hack exotic perk, ensures a powerful combination. However, there are numerous other potent combinations worth exploring. Solar Hunters using the Way of a Thousand Cuts subclass with the Shards of Galanor or Top Tree Nightstalkers with Orpheus Rig can also greatly benefit from Bad Juju. It’s particularly useful in mitigating the impact of the recent nerf to the Orpheus Rig.
Warlocks can take advantage of Bad Juju as well. Stormcallers running Crown of Tempests with the top or bottom tree, or those utilizing Geomag Stabilizers with the middle tree, will find it highly effective. Additionally, Attunement of Grace Warlocks, who were affected by the nerf to the Phoenix Protocol robes, can utilize Bad Juju to regain that much-needed utility in activities like Tier Three Reckoning. Top Tree Voidwalker Warlocks using Skull of Dire Ahamkara also benefit from the synergy between Bad Juju and their exotic armor piece.
For Titans, Sentinels using the Code of the Commander subclass and the Ursa Furiosa gauntlets are an obvious choice when pairing with Bad Juju.
Team Play and Solo Performance
While Bad Juju is an excellent weapon for solo players, its ability to generate more orbs enhances its effectiveness in team settings as well. By creating extra orbs with your multiple supers, you can help feed your fireteam’s supers, creating a powerful snowball effect in annihilating enemies.
Limitations and Conclusion
It’s important to note that Bad Juju is not a replacement for the current PVE meta weapons like Mountaintop and Recluse. During my initial attempts at solo, undying runs of the Bad Juju mission, I struggled when solely relying on Bad Juju. However, after switching to Mountaintop and Recluse, I successfully completed the mission without dying.
In summary, Bad Juju serves as an excellent weapon for players seeking to bolster their Super generation in PVE activities, be it solo or in a group. It effectively mitigates the adjustments made to our favorite exotic armor pieces, while maintaining a balanced approach in terms of damage output and Super energy generation.
Additional Resources
To further explore the capabilities of Bad Juju, check out the provided video review and quest guide.
