Destiny 2: Lightfall offers my favorite Exotic in years, but it costs $100

100$ for Early Access to A Destiny 2 Exotic? It’s not. But eight years spent in Destiny — after shooting every Dreg, boss, and god that Bungie has thrown at me, using every weapon I’ve been offered — Quicksilver Storm is already one of my favorite Exotics of all time after only two days. Do you find that this sentiment changes your mind?

That’s been the question raging inside my brain since Destiny 2Season of Plunder: Tuesday, February 10th: The Quicksilver Storm: Exotic or Not? It is reallyWorth pre-ordering an edition worth $100? Even as someone who doesn’t recommend pre-ordering games, it’s harder to answer than you might think.

It’s been a big week for Destiny 2. A 2022 Destiny 2 Showcase, Bungie revealed the game’s 2023 expansion, Lightfall, Season of Plunder, the return of the beloved King’s Fall raid, in-game loadouts and group-finder, the end of sunsetting expansions, and more.

There is nothing like the thrill of connecting instantly to a new Exotic Weapon. That was exactly what I felt when I connected to my Titan on Tuesday, and I picked up Quicksilver storm. Lightfall Exotic auto rifle that is also a rocket launcher… and a grenade launcher.

Quicksilver Storm fires as a regular auto rifle by holding down the trigger. Every couple of bullets that hit enemies causes Quicksilver Storm to launch a micromissile. This hits targets and explodes. That’s already pretty sweet, but each rocket that connects also loads a grenade into my Quicksilver Storm for later use. Once I have at most one grenade in my Quicksilver Storm, I can push the Reload button and transform it into a grenade rocketer. It does some impressive damage, considering Quicksilver Storm has an unlimited amount of ammo.

I’ve barely unequipped Quicksilver Storm since I got it. I’ve used it in old raids, new seasonal content, and even a Master difficulty run of the new Ketchcrash activity. I’ve shredded individual enemies and blasted small groups with rockets across the Sol System. And I’ve used the grenade launcher to devastate minibosses without the need to switch to a special weapon. It’s just so damn fun, versatile, and sleek as hell. It’s the perfect Exotic, and I’m already in love with it.

Image: Bungie via Polygon

There’s just one small problem: Quicksilver Storm is locked behind the $99.99 pre-order for Lightfall’s Annual Pass, which contains the expansion as well as the four seasons and two dungeons coming to Destiny 2By 2023

This isn’t an uncommon practice for Bungie, but it is a slightly different approach. The studio typically offers exclusive access to special expansion Exotics — like No Time to Explain in Beyond Light or Osteo Striga in The Witch Queen — that are only accessible for Annual Pass owners. These weapons are usually available with an Annual Pass, but not as part of the pre-order. That’s a key change, as players could still upgrade to the Annual Pass after the expansion launched to get their cool gun. For example, you could jump into the base version of The Witch Queen when it launched in February, fell in love with it (because it’s excellent), and decided you wanted to invest further in Destiny 2, you could’ve upgraded to the annual pass and gotten Osteo Striga as a reward.

Quicksilver Storm however has no limitations. Lightfall to judge — to get the gun now, you need to operate on faith alone. Recently, Bungie is slaying it with Destiny 2 getting better and better year after year, and there’s nothing in the Lightfall reveal that has me worried about the game taking a nosedive in 2023 — quite the opposite, in fact. But confidence in a studio isn’t enough to tell friends, family, or even you, dear reader, that you should drop 100 bucks on the next unproven year of Destiny 2Exclusively for Early Access to Exotics

You already plan to play if you know. Destiny 2Let me say it: Quicksilver storm in 2023. Fucks, and you’re gonna love it. But if you’re the kind of Destiny player that needs me or Datto to tell you it’s good enough to pre-order, then you probably shouldn’t. You can play Lightfall You can upgrade to the Annual Pass first. Enjoy the next six months knowing your wallet is a bit thicker, and — if Bungie meets expectations — that you have one of the coolest Exotics in Destiny 2History is waiting for February.