The Riskrunner submachine gun is a fun weapon to use in Destiny 2. Thanks to its Arc Conductor perk, players who take Arc damage will see a boost in damage and can blast enemies with chain lightning. It can even be triggered with a well place (or rather, poorly placed) Arc Grenade.
Fortunately, if the player is committed to getting the Riskrunner, they’ll automatically receive the Riskrunner Catalyst. It’s an involved questline with a lot of moving parts for players how haven’t tackled it yet. To get players on the right footing, here’s what they need to know about the Riskrunner Catalyst.
Updated on September 28, 2021 by Ben Baker: The Riskrunner is a ludicrously fun weapon to use in combat thanks to the ability to fire chain lightning. How to get Riskrunner Catalyst also makes this weapon appealing because getting the gun automatically grants the Riskrunner Catalyst. For players to understand this weapon’s true potential it seemed necessary to mention the stats. This guide has also been updated to give insights into the best way to use the Riskrunner Catalyst in combat. Even if players have a better weapon against ads in PVE or players in PVP this weapon is still worth getting and using for those casual farming sessions.
What the Riskrunner Catalyst Does
The Riskrunner Catalyst gives the exotic submachine gun a single benefit.
- The weapon’s range is increased by 27.
The added range on a submachine gun is always a luxury and helps the Riskrunner be more useful in a variety of situations. The fact that the Riskrunner Catalyst comes as a package deal with the gun also makes it a nice perk for little effort — for the Catalyst at least.
Weapon Stats With The Riskrunner Catalyst
- Impact – 20
- Range – 55
- Stability – 60
- Handling – 51
- Reload Speed – 42
- Rounds Per Minute – 900
- Magazine – 37
- Arc Conductor – When the player receives Arc Damage this weapon increases in damage and causes Arc damage reduction. Kills extend the time this lasts.
- Superconductor – While Arc Conductor is active any shots fired have a chance to become chain lightning and refund ammo.
How To Find The Riskrunner Catalyst
Obtaining the Riskrunner Catalyst requires completing the quest A Spark of Hope. This is the same questline that rewards the player with the Riskrunner weapon and does not require a second playthrough to get the catalyst. The quest breaks down into seven parts.
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Part 1: Power From The Past
To start this quest players will need to complete the new version of the New Light quest if they haven’t already. Afterward, A Spark of Hope will be available. To get things rolling, players need to speak with Commander Zavala in the tower.
Part 2: Empirical Analysis
Commander Zavala sends the player to speak to Ikora Rey. Fortunately Ikora is in the same Tower, so this part of the quest isn’t too hard.
Part 3: Hide And Seek
Once the player has spoken to Ikora, they will be sent to speak to Devrim Kay. Devrim isn’t in the Tower but is still located in the European Dead Zone. Specifically, he’ll be on the top floor of the church that’s near the landing area.
Part 4: Turnabout
Finally, the player will be challenged to kill something rather than talk to somebody. For Turnabout players need to clear out three Lost Sectors located in and around the church:
- Widow’s Walk
- Atrium
- Terminus East
All three are filled to the gills with Fallen. This part will only be completed once the player has killed the Fallen Captains guarding them and reclaimed their fragments.
Part 5: Members Only
Once the player has killed the last of the Fallen Captains and cleared out the Lost Sectors, it’s time to go back to Devrim. He’ll direct the player to the next section of the quest, which is arguably the most fun part.
Part 6: Risk Mitigation
Devrim will charge the player with completing the mission Risk/Reward located in the Cosmodrome. It’s not terribly complicated, though the Chasm section can be a bit annoying for platforming reasons. Once crossed, the player needs to find the Arc Conductors. These will reward them with the Riskrunner weapon and the Riskrunner Catalyst.
Afterward, the player can use both to test the new chain lightning ability on the Fallen nests in the area. Obliterating these nests is one hundred percent worth it, as the player will find out later.
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Part 7: Successful Mitigation
To finish the quest players simply need to return to the Tower and speak to Commander Zavala.
Upgrading The Riskrunner Catalyst
The reason it was worth taking out the Fallen nests during the A Spark of Hope quest is because of the upgrade. Upgrading the Riskrunner Catalyst requires two things:
- Get 300 regular kills with Riskrunner.
- Get 300 kills using Riskrunner’s Superconductor chain lightning attack.
That comes to 600 kills, and those Fallen nests have quite a few enemies. Players should try to get the chain lightning kills there if possible. Otherwise, the player should farm a few PVE areas with enemies that deal Arc damage or carry plenty of Arc Grenades.
Advice On Using The Riskrunner Catalyst
The Destiny 2 Riskrunner Catalyst makes an already fun gun even more absurd to use in combat. In PVE this weapon is capable of frying entire groups of ads thanks to its chain lightning ability. The key to exploiting this weapon’s potential is for the player to intentionally harm themselves with their own Arc grenade.
In PVP this can be a bit tricky unless the enemy is using Arc weapons themselves. Then the true potential of this weapon becomes apparent as not only does the perk activate, but the player receives less Arc damage. The caveat is that the damage potential requires enemies to be grouped together which doesn’t happen often if they know what they’re doing.