This week saw Bungie kick off its 30th Anniversary celebrations inside of Destiny 2, adding new gear and weapons that were inspired by the developer’s legacy to the arsenal of its cosmic sandbox. One of those new weapons is the return of Destiny’s Exotic Gjallarhorn rocket launcher, reforged and redesigned for Destiny 2.
The original weapon was a highly-prized tool that could clear out entire rooms with its explosive payload, looked wonderfully ostentatious, and was essential for some of Destiny’s most challenging activities. For Destiny 2, Bungie wanted to retain that legendary allure with relevant updates, such as the new Wolfpack rounds perk that can be shared with every Guardian in a fireteam who happens to be carrying a rocket launcher. Bungie’s goal was to create a new Gjallarhorn that looked great, operated well, and felt great to use.
“My primary focus was to drive the design and provide players feedback to their actions,” visual effects artist Mark Flieg explained to PS Blog. “If people are focusing on the VFX after the first few shots, however, I’ve missed my mark – my intention is to help you feel your shots, without taking away from the action.”
Flieg and the rest of the team who worked on Gjallarhorn made certain that Gjallarhorn’s handcrafted appearance was kept intact while its perks were reengineered, while sound designer Noah Sitrin worked on making the rocket launcher sound more impressive with both overt and covert audio work.
“We wanted to make the weapon feel as special and powerful as players remember when they first got ahold of it in D1,” Sitrin said. “We also wanted to distill the weapon’s audio theme and spread it across every sound it makes. This meant leaning heavily into the ornate, wolfish, and larger-than-life qualities of the Gjallarhorn.”
“This is my Gjally. There are many like it but this one is mine.”
The end result is possibly the best version of Gjallarhorn yet, marking the return of the fabled rocket launcher with an explosive debut in Destiny 2. If you’re looking to grab the mighty rocket launcher, we’ve got a guide on how to unlock Gjallarhorn in Destiny 2 that you can check out. It’s worth doing as well, because all players who unlock the weapon will be given early access to preorders for a limited edition Nerf gun replica of Gjallarhorn.
For more reading check out our explainer on why Gjallarhorn is so great, our guide to grabbing the Forerunner sidearm, and how to find the rest of the Halo-inspired weapons in the 30th Anniversary content.
Source: Gamespot
