Destiny 2 players have been wanting a battle axe as an Exotic for years, and Bungie finally delivered. This time, it comes as the Wolfsbane Exotic axe—not as a relic, like the scythe from Season of the Haunted.
While you had to part with the scythe in Haunted, you can take Wolfsbane almost anywhere with you as your heavy weapon. This battleaxe uses light attacks to build up quicksilver nanites, which you can use to unleash a heavy attack or to charge up Wolfsbane for even more damage. And offense is key: unlike a regular sword, this weapon doesn’t have any guarding capabilities, providing damage reduction instead.
Wolfsbane is also craftable, meaning it’s possible to tweak some parts of the weapon to keep it closer to your favorite playstyle. Here’s where you can get it.
How to get the Wolfsbane Exotic axe in Destiny 2
You can get Wolfsbane as a reward for your first clear of Heliostat, the Exotic mission from the Ash & Iron update. Your first clear of the mission has a standardized difficulty and is guaranteed to drop a Wolfsbane with Deepsight, letting you bring it to the Enclave to (re)shape it. Further runs of Heliostat take place through the Portal, embedding Destiny 2‘s core power grind systems into the activity.
What does Wolfsbane do in Destiny 2?
Wolfsbane’s light attack fill up its guard meter, which lets you unleash a heavy attack when it’s full. The animation is similar to the scythe in Season of the Haunted. Using light attacks also charges up the weapon’s Nano-Assault gauge, which improves the damage of your regular swings and adds a Solar tornado at the end of your heavy. Here are its key points:
- Resurgence Scandal IV (Intrinsic): “Light attacks generate sword energy and have the chance to spawn seeking Quicksilver nanites that heal the wielder upon attaching.”
- Unyielding Handle (Trait): Disables guarding for more offensive play. Being in combat for a short duration grants damage reduction.
- You can reshape Wolfsbane at the Enclave to adjust the amount of damage reduction and how long it takes to trigger, though you must have found some of its intrinsic upgrades before.
- Nano-Assault (Trait): Quicksilver nanites overcharge the blade upon attaching to the wielder. Press reload when fully charged to overclock this weapon, making light attacks deal more damage and allowing fully charged heavy attacks to create a “flaming Quicksilver swarm-nado,” similar to a Burning Maul’s heavy attack.
Wolfsbane also relies on four catalysts, each with some type of utility. Three are existing perks (Attrition Orbs, Relentless Strikes, and Burning Ambition), while the Subroutine: ~Resurgence makes your nanites heal you more based on how full your Nano-Assault gauge is. While the overdrive mode is active, taking damage may spawn nanites near you. They’re scattered around the Heliostat mission.
