Published , by Rise of Bacon
Published , by Rise of Bacon
Season of the Witch not only brings a seasonal story but also a revamp to the Iron Banner loot pool. This season sees the return of a former Ritual weapon, Point of the Stag. For the first time in Destiny 2, Point of the Stag will be farmable.
Point of the Stag is an Arc, Precision Frame, Combat Bow, and now comes with random rolls. This unlocks new potential not seen before as the previous version had only a single roll for players to earn.
Point of the Stag can be first obtained by leveling up your Iron Banner rank to four by playing Iron Banner matches. You gain increased rank points by wearing Iron Banner armor and an Iron Banner emblem. You must then go to Lord Saladin to collect Point of the Stag when you hit the right level. If you’d like to maximize your Iron Banner reputation gains, check out our Shacknews Iron Banner guide.
Once Point of the Stag is obtained, it can be directly focused using Iron Banner engrams with Lord Saladin. Point of the Stag can also be a post Iron Banner match drop.
Although from a PvP source, Point of the Stag leaves a lot to be desired in PvP but that’s no fault of its own. Bows, in general terms, are not near the top for competitive play due to the strength of other options. That being said, if you play smart you can still do some great things for your team using Point of the Stage with this roll.
| Point of the Stag - PVP | |
|---|---|
| Bowstring | Agile Bowstring (Stability +5, Handling +15) |
| Arrow | Compact Arrow Shaft (Reload +10, Handling +10) |
| Perk 1 | Archer’s Tempo (On precision hit: 0.75x Draw Time multiplier for three seconds) |
| Perk 2 | Eye of the Storm (at low health: Handling +40, Accuracy Cone size -40 percent and, Accuracy Cone growth -17 percent) |
| Origin Trait | Skulking Wolf (While at low health, Guardian final blows grant enhanced radar and remove you from opponents radar for 10 seconds) |
| Masterwork | Target Acquisition (+10 when fully masterworked) |
| Mod | Targeting Adjustor (Aim Assist +5) |
Start off with Agile Bowstring to increase the snappy feel and Stability to keep Point of the Stag straight when firing. Compact Arrow Shaft then adds to the Handling, essential with a Bow for quickly swapping to suit the engagement.
Archer’s Tempo is a top-tier perk; the Draw Time increase is significant when duelling with an opponent and can be the difference maker in winning the fight. Eye of the Storm pairs up with this to great effect. If your opponent lands some shots, Point of the Stag becomes even more accurate. This gives you the edge to come out victorious.
A worthy mention should go to Swashbuckler in the final perk slot. The reason it’s not the top choice is due to it requiring too much setup to get the full benefit. If you want to go for it, there is potential to one-tap opponents when at full x5 power.
Point of the Stag is a great utility option for PVE players. If you can lean into its stats, it ends up being a good mob-clearer and can even dish out damage to tougher combatants.
| Point of the Stag - PVE | |
|---|---|
| Bowstring | Elastic String (Accuracy -10, Handling +5, Charge Time +20, Draw Time -72) |
| Arrow | Compact Arrow Shaft (Reload +10, Handling +10) |
| Perk 1 | Archer’s Tempo (On precision hit: 0.75x Draw Time multiplier for three seconds) |
| Perk 2 | Golden Tricorn (On weapon kill: 15 percent increased damage for seven seconds. Can be refreshed with a weapon kill. Matching grenade and powered melee kills strengthen the damage increase to 50 percent for 10 seconds. Can be refreshed by getting another matching ability kill) |
| Origin Trait | Wild Card (Final blows with this weapon have a chance to create experimental submunitions at the target's location) |
| Masterwork | Handling or Reload (+10 when fully masterworked) |
| Mod | Minor or Major Spec (7.7 percent damage increase) |
With PvE enemies not being as mobile, we can start with Elastic String to boost Charge Time and reduce Draw Time. The negative to accuracy is not a big hit as enemies in general are easier to hit than in PvP. Compact Arrow Shaft ensures a light feel when swapping to Point of the Stag and the Reload boost gets arrows ready to fire quickly.
Archer’s Tempo rewards precision hits with speed, chaining not only from hits but from kill to kill. This leads into Golden Tricorn in the final perk slot: every kill refreshes its damage buff but if you then stack an ability kill in there, Point of the Stag receives a massive 50 percent damage boost. Paired up with Arc Surge mods, this pushes Point of the Stag to make some serious impact when facing down powerful enemies.
Point of the Stag reminds players why it was a Ritual weapon by showing off its power across all Destiny 2 game modes. For more Season of the Witch information and weapon guide content, be sure to check out the Shacknews Destiny 2 complete strategy guide.