The Destiny community was in a frenzy this week when Bungie activated a quest for the elusive exotic heavy weapon Sleeper Simulant, a new exotic in Destiny: The Taken King. Now that the Sleeper Simulant is out in the wild, the question is, “Is it any good?”
Some would say no. Since a large portion of players secured the Sleeper Simulant a couple days ago, the weapon has received mixed reviews by members of the community, but a collection of videos online prove that the exotic heavy fusion rifle is quite powerful, especially against Destiny’s bosses.
Numerous videos have been popping up on YouTube, showing the Sleeper Simulant making quick work of some of Destiny’s greatest villains. Below, YouTuber ChadTheWedge and his fireteam return to the Vault of Glass to face Atheon and see how Sleeper Simulant fares. Pop Weapons of Light: check. Activate Time’s Vengeance: check. Melt Atheon: check. It only took twelve seconds, faster than a group of Gjallarhorns.
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Next up: Skolas, the big bad from Destiny’s last expansion, House of Wolves. Many players didn’t bother trying to take down the Kell of Kells back in House of Wolves, as the fight could sometimes be a drawn out and exhausting challenge. Others relied on Gjallarhorn to take him down. How does he fare against the Sleeper Simulant? Spoilers: He doesn't even last 30 seconds.
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The Pilot Servitor, another boss in the Level 35 Challenge version of Prison of Elders was also no match for a full fireteam wielding the Sleeper Simulant:
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Admittedly, players benefit from the fact that those bosses are now at a lower level than the current level cap. So, how does the Sleeper Simulant do against current bosses in The Taken King? YouTuber Violate and his fireteam headed into the King’s Fall raid to take on the Warpriest with six Sleeper Simulants.
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Impressive. Clearly, the Sleeper Simulant can put out some serious damage. Sleeper Simulant has been called the new Gjallarhorn before, but most scoffed at the statement once they obtained the weapon. But looking at the damage numbers, it's definitely up there.
Datto, known for his Destiny videos on YouTube, put out a video containing some rough math examining how much Damage Per Second (DPS) the Sleeper Simulant can achieve and compares that with the average DPS of rocket launchers. According to his analysis, the Sleeper Simulant does achieve higher DPS than that of a rocket launcher (although it’s important to note that is damage to a single target versus the potential splash damage a rocket launcher can deal to multiple targets), but it does not do as much average DPS as an exotic sword.
The Sleeper Simulant may not be as over-powered as Gjallarhorn was in Year One of Destiny, but it’s clearly capable of dealing massive damage to the game’s bosses. Need help getting the Sleeper Simulant for yourself? We have a guide walking you through all the steps.
Did you get the Sleeper Simulant? What do you think of it?