Destiny 2 Scalar Potential God Roll: Best PvP & PvE Perks

The market for rapid-fire pulse rifles is a crowded one. A new seasonal weapon needs to impress to the point that players will consider not using Oversoul Edict or an Adept Horror’s Least. Fortunately for the Scalar Potential, it delivers on all fronts.

Despite what I stated in my intro, the more I tested this weapon, the more I compared it to two of my favorite rapid-fire pulses in PvP, the Autumn Wind and Piece of Mind. Both these pulses were terrors in their heyday before range was normalized and we all had to make adjustments. Scalar gave off that same consistent vibe. What sets it apart, however, is its Origin Trait that’s leaps and bounds better in PvP compared to most other rapid-fires.

How to Get Scalar Potential in Destiny 2

The Scalar Potential pulse rifle is part of the Season of the Wish seasonal weapon set. As such, the only way to get access to it is to take part in the seasonal story and activity. Additionally, at the end of the weekly story segment, Riven will reward you with a weapon. One of them can be the Scalar Potential. Completing seasonal activities and decoding Wish engrams at Riven will grant you more random rolls. You can also progress the battle pass to the point where you get a free roll of the weapon.

There is a chance for red borders to drop with your Scalar Potential. Once you have 5 red borders collected, you can go to the Enclave on Mars and craft your perfect Scalar Potential that suits your playstyle.

Best Scalar Potential PvP God Rolls

• 1st Column: Arrowhead Brake
• 2nd Column: Accurized Rounds
• Stability Masterwork
• Counterbalance Stock Mod
• Keep Away + Golden Tricorn
• Overflow + Focused Fury

Keep Away and Golden Tricorn is this weapon’s S-tier pairing in PvP. Get one kill from medium to long range and you’ll become a greater threat than you were originally. Throw in a lightning grenade and you have something that’ll make your opponents respect your long sight lines and close-quarter spamming power.

The Overflow + Focused Fury is the most unique pairing this gun has to offer. The reason is that Focused Fury works so perfectly with Scalar’s Origin Trait. If you get into critical health or an ally dies, the Origin Trait kicks in as well as Focused Fury since the reset doesn’t count until you press the reload button. I’ve run a few tests in 6v6 lobbies, and as long as you maintain your awareness, you can take full advantage of Focused Fury to melt Guardians in a burst or two.

• 1st Column: Extended Barrel
• 2nd Column: Accurized Rounds
• Range Masterwork
• Counterbalance Stock Mod
• Keep Away + Headseeker

The Headseeker variant should be familiar to most players who use adaptive frames. The thing that some players don’t know is that If the stability of your pulse is too good, then the shots will group up. You don’t want your pulse to get headshots from the first bullet. Instead, you’ll want to aim at the upper torso ever so slightly so that the eventual kick-up and headshot become the fatal blow.

Scalar feels very good in PvP. The sights are clean and the burst doesn’t blind you half the time. Yes, I still haven’t gotten over how they did my boy, Stay Frosty, dirty. But don’t just take my word for it, try out one of the god rolls above for a few rounds.

Best Scalar Potential PvE God Roll

• 1st Column: Smallbore
• 2nd Column: Flared Magwell
• Stability Masterwork
• Backup Mag Mod (Or any of the damage-boosting mods)
• Enlightened Action + Golden Tricorn

Rapid-fire frames are workhorses in PvE for their crowd control potential. Unfortunately, Scalar’s PvE offering is a bit subpar. The best you can get is a pairing that has a fast reload and good handling. It’s not a bad god roll but it lacks that certain explosive damage needed for higher-level content, particularly the Majors. It will carry you through the seasonal activities, so there’s that.

How good is the Scalar Potential?

Scalar Potential is a must-have weapon in the current state of Trials of Osiris. If you’re keeping up with reports, you’ll notice that its usage rate has gone up significantly during Trials weekend. But it doesn’t mean that it’s the next meta. Players are looking for new strategies to work around Check Mate’s increased health and zero energy ammo at the start of the match. Scalar Potential just happens to work for a lot of competitors.

It will not replace an Adept Oversoul Edict with Sword Logic, that much is certain. But it being a seasonal weapon means that it is far more accessible than a raid weapon. Horror’s Least is also another Nightfall weapon that’s no longer part of the rotational loot pool. Players will have to decode it as legacy gear from Zabala if they want to farm for a good one.

The Scalar Potential’s perk pool is more of a showcase of the new season’s perks, for better or for worse. There is potential in a perk like permeability but the rest are questionable at best or may need a rework down the line.

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And that’s everything I have for this Scalar Potential god roll guide. I don’t know if Scalar can carve a niche for itself in Trials. There are many more established guns vying for supremacy and it’ll be hard to stand out. The last time we were confronted with a shake-up to the meta was when the sidearm meta briefly took hold. That didn’t last too long. It’s going to take the community some time to figure out what the best equipment is.

In the meantime, we can all discuss whether or not primary weapons and delayed specials are the way to go for Destiny 2. It didn’t work at the start of Destiny 2. Makes you wonder how Bungie will make it work. Good luck and have fun out there, Guardians.