There are dozens of year one Destiny 2 exotics that have been forgotten over the years. Guardians that joined the community after one of the major expansions may have never even seen any of the first year legendary and exotic items. In year 2, Bungie decided to balance a few of the popular exotics from the first year. One of these newly-balanced exotic armor pieces was the Celestial Nighthawk.
The Hunter armor proved to be one of the most powerful exotics in the game. However, this immense power also comes with a high risk. This guide will cover where to get the Celestial Nighthawk, and explain the proper way to use the exotic.
Updated on September 19, 2021 by Payton Lott: Now that guardians know how to get the exotic helmet, they will need a build to maximize the potential of bottom tree Gunslinger. Players should look to the end of this guide for the best weapons and mods to use with the Hunter exotic. The most efficient way to get super energy is by getting Charged With Light. This build will help people get as much super energy as possible while increasing damage after every kill. Utilize the build at the end of this updated guide for the most dominant Celestial Nighthawk build.
How To Get The Celestial Nighthawk
Like many of the old exotics, there are only two ways to get the item. The first is though Xur, who provides weekly exotic items for purchase, as well as exotic engrams. The second is by completing the weekly Cipher quest.
Purchasing From Xur
Those that get lucky will be able to purchase the item directly from Xur's inventory, which updates every week. Gamers will have a better chance attempting to get the exotic by opening exotic engrams, as there is a small chance that the Celestial Nighthawk will drop from any exotic engram. Every week, guardians can use their shards to get one exotic engram from Xur. Each one will set players back 97 legendary shards.
Cipher Quest
Anyone that completes the weekly Cipher quest can turn in the reward for an extra exotic engram. Thus, Xur is a reliable option for two exotic engrams every week. Guardians can find him at the Tower, although he does move from week to week. Look for our Xur updates every Friday to figure out where he is at all times.
Celestial Nighthawk Usage & Stats
Once players have this exotic in their inventory, they need to learn the ins and outs of its features to make the most of it in battle.
Intrinsic Trait
The Celestial Nighthawk's intrinsic trait improves the Golden Gun super of the Hunter Gunslinger tree. Instead of firing multiple shots, Hawkeye Hack makes the gun fire a single high damage shot that eliminates almost any enemy. Landing the shot grants super energy in return. The super buff will recharge about 25 percent of the total bar. However, a miss wastes the super ability, and grants no energy back. No other super has a higher DPS, but the tradeoff is that players have no second chance after a missed shot.
Use Bottom Tree Gunslinger & Knock 'Em Down
Guardians will want to use bottom tree Gunslinger to maximize damage output. Specifically, players will want to unlock Knock 'Em Down, which does more damage while the super is active. Knock 'Em Down's effects continue for 20 seconds after the super is activated. This means that hunters will have a weapon stability and handling buff for a few seconds after the super is used.
If gamers use Line 'Em Up, the Golden Gun will have a precision hit, increasing damage output even more. Each precision hit will generate orbs of light as well. With Celestial Nighthawk and Line 'Em Up, the Gunslinger super can recharge almost instantly with the additional orbs of light.
PVP vs. PVE
Use In PVP Play
In PVP, the exotic will decimate enemies with one blow and ensure a one hit kill. However, players must take easy shots to make sure they do not use their super without getting a kill. People should not expect to rack up multiple kills because of the exotic, but it can ensure one free kill in PVP.
The exotic is certainly fun to use, but its effectiveness is limited against other guardians. In all honesty, there are a number of better options for PVP, as the base Gunslinger super will eliminate enemies with one blow anyway.
Use In PVE Play
The Celestial Nighthawk shines in PVE against enemies with a lot of health. No other hunter exotic provides a comparable DPS, and the intrinsic trait will deal massive damage to bosses while speeding up the super recharge rate tenfold if players hit their shots.
Those that aim carefully will inflict damage in the thousands. It is okay to take extra time and line up shots to capitalize on the potential of Hawkeye Hack against bosses.
Ranking Celestial Nighthawk In The Hunter Class
As a PVP option, the exotic ranks somewhere in the C or D tier. The potential of the intrinsic trait is not realized when using Gunslinger against other players in PVP. DPS is irrelevant if an enemy goes down, and the basic Gunslinger super can kill far more enemies while active.
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In PVE, though, Celestial Nighthawk ranks unquestionably in A tier. In a pinch, the Golden Gun will decimate most high level AI. Bottom tree Gunslinger will give hunters multiple buffs that reduce the time needed for super regen and increase damage output exponentially. Despite being a relic of the past, Celestial Nighthawk is still an incredible option for raids and Nightfall.
Best Build
Because of how powerful the Gunslinger Super is with the Celestial Nighthawk, this build will focus on super energy almost exclusively. Gamers can use a number of weapons, but the Bad Juju pulse rifle is a good choice. Kills with the gun refill the weapon's magazine and increase damage for a short period. Additionally, stringing together kills increases the super energy granted for each kill.
Secondary And Heavy
Players will want to have a shotgun in their back pocket with a Thresh Mod roll. The Thresh mod grants a small amount of super energy for every kill. It is quite a common mod, so people have a number of shotguns and SMGs to choose from. For the special or heavy slot, gamers will want to get their hands on a launcher with Thresh. Salvenger's Salvo is one of the best in the game right now, so those with access to it will want to wield it.
Mods
To complete the Celestial Nighthawk build, people will want to have the following mods activated on their gear:
- Argent Ordinance: While Charged with Light, readying or firing a Rocket Launcher grants it increased damage and reload speed. Damaging a combatant with a rocket consumes one stack of Charged with Light.
- Taking Charge: Become Charged With Light by picking up orbs of power.
- Blast Radius: Become Charged With Light by rapidly defeating multiple combatants with Grenade Launchers or Rocket Launchers. With this build, guardians will be able to get their Nighthawk shot in less than one minute. Every weapon increases damage, while simultaneously charging the character with light. The build will barrel through adds and provide the insanely powerful super when it is needed most.