The last word gun

Knew this day would come, and with it, one last lesson…

There’s an end to all things, kid. Good and bad.

Sure, the best times seem small, and the bad tend to linger, but the only permanent is eternity.

I’m off to meet it.

If you’re lucky, someday you will too.

For now, though, you’ve got road yet traveled and lives yet lived.

I know you got hate in you. Most do. Trick is to use it, ‘stead of it usin’ you.

But you know this—vengeance is a motivator, not the motive.

Meant to—hoped to—say these words to you one last time in person, but writin’ ’em down seems the safe bet with the prey we’re trackin’.

Worst part about bein’ a good guy? As much as you may want it, you can’t always win. But that truth don’t bother me. We do the right thing, ’cause the right thing needs doin’. So, when another does harm—casts their shadow upon you or your kin—you go ‘head and hunt for the justice needed to answer any sins inflicted.

Don’t hunt ’em ’cause you been wronged.

Hunt ’em ’cause what they did was wrong.

There’s a world of difference there, kid.

One makes you selfish. The other makes you a hero.

And I see a hero in you.

And with this last good lesson, a gift. I know it feels right in your hand—its weight easy, its trigger smooth. Use it as you will—I know you’ll use it right.

It’s yours now, ’til the last flame dies and all words’ve been spoken.

‘Til that time.

Safe journeys. Straight aim. And good huntin’.

J.

—A letter to Shin Malphur from his third father, Jaren Ward, written before Ward’s ill-fated showdown with the infamous Dredgen Yor in the wooded hollow beyond Beggars’ Gulch

For the Year 2 hand cannon, see The Last Word (Year 2).

The Last Word is an exotic hand cannon. In Year 1, it could be purchased from Xûr or obtained as a random completion reward. It can currently still be obtained as a random drop from Year 1 activities and legacy engrams.

Sources[]

The Last Word can be retrieved from one of the following activities/vendors:

	Crota’s End
This item can drop during the Crota’s End Raid.

This item was also previously obtainable from one of the following sources:

	Unknown
This item can drop in situationally dependent ways.

	Nightfall
This item can drop from Nightfall activities.

	Strike
This item can drop as a Strike reward. Exotic items can only drop from the most challenging Strike playlist.

	Crucible
This item can drop as a Crucible match reward.

Upgrades[]

The Last Word can be upgraded with the following perks:

Column 0[]

		Kinetic Damage
This weapon causes kinetic damage.

		Fan Fire
The weapon can be fired quickly and continuously.

		Ascend
Increases the Attack value of this weapon to the highest available in Year 1.

Column 1[]

		Soft Ballistics
Less recoil. Penalty to Impact.

		Smart Drift Control
Predictable and controllable recoil. Penalty to range.

		Aggressive Ballistics
More predictable recoil. Enhanced Impact. Shorter range and more recoil.

Column 2[]

		Hip Fire
This weapon has bonus accuracy while firing from the hip.

Column 3[]

		Upgrade Damage
Increases Attack Power, allowing this weapon to cause more damage.

Column 4[]

		Single Point Sling
Switch weapons faster. Move quicker while aiming.

		High Caliber Rounds
Oversize rounds built to stagger targets and leave them reeling. Their mass makes a weapon harder to handle.

		Perfect Balance
This weapon has extremely low recoil.

Column 5[]

		Last Word
Improved stability and target acquisition when firing from the hip.

Column 6[]

		Upgrade Damage
Increases Attack Power, allowing this weapon to cause more damage.

Column 7[]

		Upgrade Damage
Increases Attack Power, allowing this weapon to cause more damage.

		Upgrade Damage
Increases Attack Power, allowing this weapon to cause more damage.

		Upgrade Damage
Increases Attack Power, allowing this weapon to cause more damage.

Trivia[]

• During a Bungie podcast, The Last Word was labeled as the «yang» to its «yin» in the Destiny universe.^[1]
• When a player readies The Last Word, the character twirls the gun on their finger.
• While shooting this gun, the character fans the hammer.
• «Yours…not mine» was also said by Jaren Ward to Magistrate Loken.^[2]
• The Last Word from Year 1 had Blue Lights, and The Last Word from Year 2 has Green Lights. However now both versions have the Green Lights.

Gallery[]

References[]

1. ↑ (2013-09-24) Bungie.net: The Bungie Podcast, September 24, 2013 22:40. Retrieved 30 Sep. 2013.
   
2. ↑ Bungie (2014) Destiny, Grimoire: Ghost Fragment: The Dark Age 2 Activision.
   

The Last Word. The hand cannon that can very much make or break how great your Destiny experience will be. To all those who have been graced with rotating, yellow, square frames depicting a third of the very model of the Golden Gun itself, I say, you don’t know it top to bottom, with its ins-and-outs deeply engraved in your inner-Guardian. Not as much as me. And prove me wrong, because if by the end of this guide you are not using your Last Word as if it’s your last gun, quit this game. Bungie doesn’t want ungrateful swine (they deal with enough, cough). And for those who haven’t, one way or another, you will obtain one.

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Seeing as how there are no confirmed stat values or hitbox systems from Bungie, these won’t be 100% accurate, and might even be mistaken. However, it is data taken directly from gameplay, so it will give you a gist of things. For instance, percentage differences will not line up with damage values, but they may rely upon certain factors such as armor or range differentiation. I am not an expert on Destiny’s gun mechanics, so just use this as a guideline. I simply decided to choose actual damage values from in-game, rather than tweak percentages down to their finite decimal value. Besides, the only time a few damage points make a difference is in PvP, but I will get into that as well.

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Perk Rundown

• soft ballistics (SB) — ~66% impact, ~14% range, ~40% stability

• smart drift control (SDC) — ~70% impact, ~6% range, ~50% stability

• aggressive ballistics (AB) — ~75% impact, 9% range, ~25% stability

• hip fire — bullets simply stay within the outer-most frame of the reticle

• single point sling (SPS) — reduces the gun spin animation time by 50%, can sprint immediately after switching weapons (delayed without)

• high caliber rounds (HCB) — 3% boost to impact, stagger on flinching mobs

• perfect balance (PB) — 33% boost to stability

• last word — bonus damage and stability (see below for numbers). it seems to be that a random bullet does bonus damage, given the ADS headshots sometimes having a bonus

Damage Values

tested on Level 28 Elite Cabal Phalanxes/Legionaries in Nightfall, all shots are point-blank

• SB: ~515 body shot; ~915 ADS head shot; ~1208 hip fire headshot

• SDC: ~538 body shot; ; ~962 ADS headshot; ~1268 hip fire headshot

• AB: ~592 body shot; ~1057 ADS head shot; ~1395 hip fire headshot

To Stability or Not to Stability (in both PvE and PvP)

The absolute lowest stability on TLW is around 25% (AB + no PB). With both SDC + PB on, it will give you around ~83% stability, and the difference is quite noticeable. Standing from a wall about 10-12 meters shows that a full clip with SDC + PB covers approximately half the height of AB + no PB.

While the difference is noticeable in these two comparisons, interchanging perks to give you anywhere between 40-60% total stability do not suffer too much more from any noticeable recoil than having max (83%) stability. If I could pick out anything from my testing, it would be that the first 3-4 shots were in a slighty tighter spread, but the rest of the clip would follow the same height. My recommendation is to not use PB if you can spare because of how entirely useful the other perks can be in certain situations and game modes. If you are a huge fan of the «shoot first, ask later» style of FPS, by all means equip some gauntlets that increase HC reload speed on your Gunslinging Hunter, and max the stability to fully enjoy the fan-fire perk. If you are a selective shooter that peeks and hides and prefers to ADS while manually shooting each bullet, put the High Caliber Rounds on, because those few damage points in the Crucible will be the difference between kills, deaths, and assists. I cannot stress this enough, but like I said, useless for those who like to shoot at any cost, which is completely suitable for a gun like TLW. And if you are a Bladedancing Hunter who switches from gun to gun in CQC, the Single Point Sling will also be the difference between kills, deaths, and assists. The gun is designed to tailor to your hand cannon needs.

Range Values

• dropoff at ~6/11/18 meters, and about 3 damage points every step back

So how do I own with this thing

In PvE you want to obviously equip gear that is beneficial to hand cannons, and you want to hip fire as much as you can. Bump up your armor and recovery and watch ultras fall like level 4 dregs. The downside of hitting more body shots are easily accounted for in its near 50% damage boost on hipfire headshots, and it expands on what this gun adds to your gameplay. It does take some time to get used to the higher sensitivity of hip fire aim, but it will improve you in more ways than one when you switch back to any other primary weapon. Just remember, this gun can be played in pretty much any way you like and you still won’t have as much trouble as shooting an Unwilling-Soul with no stability/accuracy perks on it. It can act as a very short range scout rifle, and even if the range seems to be nonexistent on this gun, the impact will surprise you. At the same time, it can act as a mini-Invective, so just be open to the powers at your disposal.

In PvP you rarely want to hip fire, but that does not mean you shouldn’t try. It is much more effective when it is aimed down sights, simply because it whops for 50+ damage at a very decent range, and the stability is surprisingly controllable, as stated above. With TLW, shooting once every half second will net you many more kills than holding the trigger down. This isn’t to say that this gun is limiting, because you very well can net a frag by unloading 6 quick bullets, but unless you’re playing very conservatively, you won’t be netting more multi-kills, which are already near impossible to get with this clip already. Single out targets, use your recovery, and be aggressive! Only the Invective and fusion rifles can challenge this gun, and even then, you are given many more options to counter. Plus, the few times here and there where you do net a 2-shot kill (yes, it is possible) will give you more satisfaction than any number of Exotics weapons and gear can amount to.

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The un-upgraded gun is blatantly and famously strong, but its perks provide a lot more fun than you would expect. It also has its uses in every game mode. So go wild with it! Because from my experience, I still have not found as much fun in this game with any other gun, even pre-patch Suros Regime.

The Draw is a lengthy quest in Destiny 2: Black Armory. However, the reward is worth all the hassle, as players will earn the famous The Last Word hand cannon for themselves when they finish it.

For players who never tried out the first Destiny, The Last Word is a short-to-medium range hand cannon with automatic fire. Best shot from the hip, this was a fan favorite gun in Destiny’s Crucible, and has finally made it into Destiny 2.

Due to its Crucible focus, The Last Word quest does require a bit of PvP to earn, but it should be doable, even below-average players. That said, the grind will take significantly longer the worse you perform.

Here’s everything you need to know to earn The Last Word hand cannon for yourself.

1. Tainted Artifact

To start The Last Word quest, you’ll need to go talk to The Drifter. He’ll give you a Hive artifact that needs some cleansing. Naturally, you’ll have to kill some Hive to get started.

2. The Cleansing

Bungie

To cleanse the artifact, you’ll need items dropped from Hive, solar kills against Hive, and to kill three Hive bosses. The easiest way to do this is to go to Mars and start playing some Escalation Protocol. Equip a solar subclass, a solar energy weapon, and a solar heavy. Play the mode until you complete the quest. As long as you’re killing quickly and finishing rounds to get those boss kills, it shouldn’t take you more than 20 minutes.

3. A Cleansed Artifact

The Drifter wants to check up on his investment. Head back to him to get the next leg of the quest.

4. The Temptation

This section of Crucible play should be fairly achievable for most players. All you’ll need to do is get more kills than you do deaths. Kills and assists grant one percent, with kills subtracting one percent. Streaks seem to increase percentage as well.

Keep fighting and play safe. Use a pulse rifle and stay back instead of rushing in with a shotgun.

Alternatively, play Mayhem (if it’s active) and unload supers whenever possible. Blade Barrage hunters will have an especially successful time here.

5. The Damnation

After you get your Crucible kills, head over to Titan to take on some serious Hive enemies.

Your mission will take you into the Cargo Bay 3 Lost Sector to take out a special Hive Acolyte. This mission is pretty standard. The boss will have a shield until all their Guardian Wizards are taken care of. Kill the Wizards, attack the boss, repeat when their shield comes back up.

Once the room has been cleared, you’ll need to head back to The Drifter.

It sounds like this step will take you to Titan to complete a mission there for the Drifter.

6. A New Jagged Purpose

Take the helmet — pierced by the mysterious bullet — back to The Drifter. Have a chat with him, and he’ll send you on a much longer quest than the last few.

7. Sullied Light

The Hive weapon master is creating new Weapons of Sorrow. You need to stop it. Gather powerful objects to sully your Light and complete the ritual.

• Collect Etched Crystals from Lost Sector wanted escapees.
• Earn multiple “Best served cold” and “Blood for blood” medals in the crucible.
• Defeat Hive with precision damage to collect larvae.
• Sacrifice Hive bosses summoned in witches’ rituals.

This is where things get a bit tougher for players who don’t love to PvP in Destiny 2. You’ll need to earn several medals in PvP multiple times: Blood for Blood and Best Served Cold.

You’ll earn Blood for Blood when you avenge an ally by killing an enemy that just killed your buddy. You’ll earn Best Served Cold from killing someone who recently killed you. You’ll need to earn 25 medals total.

To get this done, jump into team modes in Crucible and play with these goals in mind. While you could be a jerk and let your allies die to earn Blood for Blood, we recommend just playing to win each time. You’ll eventually get it.

If you don’t want to think too hard and Mayhem is active, you’ll nab a bunch of these medals just by raining down supers on your foes.

There are also PvE elements to this step. You’ll need to venture into Lost Sectors and kill some Hive bosses. You’ll also need to kill Hive with headshots, so go to Titan or Mars, as well as the Hive areas of the Tangled Shore or Dreaming City. You can kill two birds with one stone by running the Core Terminus Lost Sector on Mars or Cargo Bay 3 on Titan.

We found Cargo Bay 3 to be by far the fastest, but both will work nicely.

Completing the “Summoning Ritual” event is also required. Jump into these Public Events whenever they show up, and be sure to check on them regularly. They’re rare and only appear on Titan and Mars. We recommend doing all the other stuff here and checking to see if a Summoning Ritual is coming up between every activity or Crucible match.

8. Sorrow’s Road

When you finally finish that last step, you’ll need to head back to The Drifter. He’ll send you to hunt down Enkaar in one final quest.

Bungie

9. The Conversation

Make your way to the mission start in the Tangled Shore. Once it starts, stay back, as the Suppressed Light perk is on and you’ll only be able to regain health by picking up wells from defeated enemies.

Defeat the wave of enemies until a big Ogre appears. Kill it, and quickly carry the worm to the blocked door — if you take too long, it’ll explode. Walk into the big room with the crystal, and kill all three of the Wizards. If you have Jotunn, it does some serious work on their shields and blinds them. Destroy the crystal when they’re all dead.

Jump down the hole and stand on the plate. Wait for it to charge up until you see the prompt “Draw!” Grab The Last Word with “Draw!” and wait for Enkaar to lift its weapon. Use The Last Word to shoot the gun out of the Hive’s hand. It’ll teleport away. Make your way to forward.

You’ll need to clear all the enemies before the next plate will activate. When you start preparing to draw again, two copies of Enkaar will appear. Watch the order they spawn in. Use “Draw!” and watch for Enkaar like last time. They’ll ready their aim in the order they appeared. Shoot the gun out of both hands quickly, or you’ll have to start over from the beginning.

Move up to the third plate just like last time and clear enemies as you go. This time, three will spawn. Shoot them in the order they appear like last time, and you’ll defeat Enkaar and claim The Last Word for yourself.

10. A Darker Path

Go show off The Last Word to The Drifter, and he’ll reprimand you playfully. He’ll also pass along some lore for the weapon you just earned.

Congratulations Guardian. Now go slay some Guardians with your new toy.