The Swarm in Destiny 2 is back. Much like The Palindrome and Shadow Price, this is another gun brought in from Destiny. That means you’re going to get something that is a bit different from what it used to be. This version is a 360 RPM Machine Gun that does Arc damage, making it pretty solid for all game modes. The biggest downside is that you will have a very low fire rate compared to the other guns in this category.
The biggest problem with this grouping of weapons is that it’s not really good for killing bosses. The fire rate and damage get too low for a single target. You may focus it a bit with certain perks, but generally, there are better weapons for bossing. This weapon is exceptional for clearing though when you need a lot of explosive destruction.
How to Get The Swarm
You can get The Swarm as a random reward at the end of any Nightfall activity. The drops are randomized a fair bit, so the tougher Nightfalls are the ones you want to aim for. These Nightfall weapons are on a set rotation. So one week, you’re going to get the Palindrome in Destiny 2, and the following week you will get the Shadow Price or another weapon.
If you can take them on, the tougher 1300+ Legend and Master Nightfalls have a Common drop rate for the gun. You will have a much harder time without a solid group though. You can go for the 1230 Power variants if you want to get an easier time. These Hero missions take the drop rate into Uncommon or worse, so it will take longer to farm the weapon you want.
Best Rolls for The Swarm
The Swarm PVE God Roll
- Fluted Barrel or Polygonal Rifling
- Tactical Mag
- Surplus
- Dragonfly or Vorpal Weapon
Polygonal Rifling will give you some stability to keep your rounds flowing on target. Some players may prefer to go for Fluted Barrel for a more Handling-focused build. This will make it much easier to keep things on target while dealing with having to move around the map. Other addons you want include Surplus. Surplus will boost the effectiveness of your abilities, always good in PvE. Tactical Mag is the best general mag perk. If you just want raw ammo buffs, Appended Mag can work here too.
Perks are pretty situational. Vorpal Weapon is best for bossing while in PvE. For generic mobs you will have a bit more general buffs from something like Dragonfly to get that nice explosive clear for big packs. In most cases, use Dragonfly. You just need to get headshots, which is easier than it might seem thanks to the slow fire rate.
The Swarm PVP God Roll
- Hammer-Forged Rifling or Corkscrew Rifling
- Accurized Rounds
- Killing Wind or Dynamic Sway Reduction
- Tap the Trigger
The Swarm’s stability and range for PVP are already pretty good, but we can make them better.
Corkscrew Rifling will give you plenty of chances to do that. The bonuses to stats that make it very easy to get on target are very helpful at range. Hammer-Forged Rifling is another option, if you want more range and can deal with the sway and other instability. Accurized Rounds is a must here as you need that extra chance to hit your target. Regardless of what barrel perk you pick, this is a must-have option.
When you boost that range, you will then be able to shoot faster than some of the slower weapons, but you need more range. To avoid getting shredded by more powerful weapons, you need to keep them far away. These two perks combined with similar boosts can be very effective.
Your specific perks depend a bit on your playstyle. If you tend to hang around with the group and swoop in to steal kills, go for Killing Wind. The other option, Dynamic Sway Reduction, will give you a more general buff, which is nice when not trying to snipe easy kills. Most players will probably opt for the latter option. The biggest downside is that Killing Wind has to be triggered to apply, and with a low ammo count, that can’t always be counted on. Your final perk should definitely be Tap the Trigger. This perk offers a general buff that synergizes with our other suggestions really nicely. And pretty much any PvP build will likely be using it.
