Destiny 2 finally lets me wield a boss weapon in The Witch Queen

With his latest raid, Vow of the Disciple, determination 2: The Witch Queen finally does something other loot games have been doing for decades: it actually lets me loot the boss’s weapon.

Rhulk, student of The Witness and final boss of The Witch Queen‘s Raid, is popular for many reasons (in particular, it occurs on people who have spawned a lot of excessive memes). However, I love Rhulk for the giant glowing glaive he carries into battle. Because when he dies, he leaves the glaive to some lucky players.

I was one of those lucky players during Vow of the Disciple’s opening weekend when it was still extremely difficult to complete due to Bungie’s Competitive Mode modifier. And for the first time in almost ten years of playing Destiny, I decided to make a scene. I donned my new raid gear and displayed Rhulk’s massive weapon on my back while simply standing on the court and bowing. I scrolled through my phone to pass the time, and every time I glanced back at my monitor, a new guardian was standing nearby, staring at the unfamiliar object hanging from my back. It was the most shameless thing I’ve ever experienced in a Destiny achievement, and it made me feel great – I was one of only a few hundred players who got to cosplay as the new raid boss.

Image: Bungie over Polygon

Destiny has a long history of Guardians turning bosses into weapons. in the The Taken KingIn King’s Fall Raid, players used different parts of the boss to create the Touch of Malice scout rifle. But building something new out of the scraps isn’t as exciting as picking up your fallen enemy’s perfectly intact property and using it to beat their ass again the following week.

World of Warcraft understood that thrill since his early years. Illidan Stormrage dropped his Warglaive (a different type of Glaive than Destiny) years before the Demon Hunter class – inspired by Illidan and his weapons – came into play. Garrosh Hellscream drops a version of his corrupted ax, Blutehuh, in the Siege of Orgrimmar raid. The functionality behind a sticky purple ax with a bunch of eyeballs on it doesn’t really matter. All that matters to gamers like me is the ability to embody the boss you just beat the pulp out of.

Using a boss weapon is the essence of the Lootplay fantasy. It sure is impressive in those early days – and as the weapon ages it commemorates not just an accomplishment, but a great fight. Whenever I use Rhulk’s Glaive, I think of the Disciple’s Oath raid. Its neon light is already bringing back memories.

Looking through Destiny’s history, it’s easy to spot some clearly missed opportunities for impressive boss weapons: Oryx’s Taken sword, Atheon’s massive weapon, one of Riven’s claws, etc. But thinking about what could have been, isn’t as exciting as imagining the next boss weapon that might get my hands on it. Bungie has given players their first true taste of boss vanity. As a Warden, I’ve defeated many gods in countless raids, strikes, and dungeons – but picking up a boss’ weapon is the first time I feel like one myself.