Thorn is an Exotic hand cannon and one of the Weapons of Sorrow. It is most likely named after the thorn-like spikes on it. The weapon is sleek, dark black, with many spikes or “thorns” adorning the sides, facing the front of the weapon. The projectiles shot from it also resemble giant daggers or “thorns”.
Gameplay
Thorn, like every exotic in Destiny, has a “signature perk”. Thorn’s is called “Mark of the Devourer”, which allows rounds fired from the weapon to pierce the target and cause lingering damage over time, which, in PvP, could potentially prevent a fleeing Guardian’s shield from regenerating quickly enough for a kill-shot to be delivered. This perk has since been nerfed from its Year 1 iteration.
Perks
- Mark of the Devourer: Rounds pierce targets and cause lingering damage over time.
- Column One
- Accurized Ballistics: More range and impact. Increased recoil.
- Field Choke: More range and impact. Increased recoil.
- Aggressive Ballistics: More predictable recoil. Enhanced impact. Shorter range and more recoil.
- Final Round: The last round in a magazine deals bonus damage.
- Column Three
- Snapshot: Aiming this weapon is incredibly fast.
- Send It: Increases range and accuracy. Harder to handle. Decreases carried Ammo capacity.
- Perfect Balance: This weapon has extremely low recoil.
Lore
“To rend one’s enemies is to see them not as equals, but objects—hollow of spirit and meaning.” —13th Understanding, 7th Book of Sorrow
“The Weapons of Sorrow are not the endgame, but a road map. Each evolution, every advance in the delivery of pain and the mastery of destruction feeds the Hive’s hateful weapons research. They will map every scream, harness every aggression, until they understand every method by which to ravage the hearts, minds, and flesh of man. And in doing so, they will turn us against ourselves—feeding our lust, our greed, our fear, until we become a threat unto ourselves like none we could imagine. So, wield these, angry reaper. Strive to know the darkness in your own heart. Walk in the shadows of fallen heroes. And know that you are an enemy of hope.”
—a warning
How to obtain?
Thorn is a fan-favorite PVP weapon in Destiny 2 but the requirements for unlocking it have changed quite a bit over the years since it was introduced back in Forsaken.
In order to unlock Thorn, you’ll need to collect the following pieces:
- 1x Exotic Cipher
- 1x Ascendant Shard
- 125,000 Glimmer
- 200 Dusklight Shard
While Glimmer can be collected passively, there are a couple of options for Dusklight Shards.
You can either purchase Dusklight from Spider’s rotating planetary material stock on the Tangled Shore or you can head to the EDZ and hunt them down yourself. The shards grow on tall white plants all over the entire region.
If you’re in a rush, you could always pick up some bounties from Devrim Kay to speed up the process, as they each reward you with 10 shards on completion.