The Waking Vigil is an Arc Adaptive Frame hand cannon from the reprised Dreaming City weapon set that’s been reintroduced in Season of the Wish. The weapon was a crowd favorite for some time in PvP and continued to be so well after its initial release.
Waking Vigil was my favorite weapon from the Dreaming City set. It served me well up until the Season of the Haunted at which point Austringer returned and dominated much of the PvP scene. I haven’t had a chance to pick it up since then. Fast forward to now and it’s better than ever. And that’s mostly due to the new Origin Trait – Advanced Reflexes.
How to Get Waking Vigil in Destiny 2
The weapons from the reprised Dreaming City set, like the Waking Vigil, can be acquired from chests inside Season of the Wish activities, most notably during runs of the Coil. You can get a near-guaranteed random roll from the set if you access the side chamber with the hidden chest inside.
To access the side chamber, you’ll need to collect enough glass shards in the traversal sections until you get a message on the side of the screen telling you that the hidden chest has appeared. Equipping a treasure finder mod to allow you to see the exact location of the chest. Be careful not to fall for the booby-trapped chest. It’ll lead to a spikey end.
Best Waking Vigil PvP God Rolls
- 1st Column: Hammer-Forged Rifling
- 2nd Column: High-Caliber Rounds
- Range Masterwork
- Freehand Grip
- Rapid Hit + Opening Shot
- Perpetual Motion + Opening Shot
- Rapid Hit + Kill Clip
There are a few routes to go for PvP but almost all of them require Rapid Hit in the 3rd column. Once upon a time, Rangefinder would have been the essential perk in the 3rd column. But times have changed since then and we’re now forced to look for alternatives. Rangefinder is still good if you’re into long-distance fights but Waking Vigil won’t reach these ranges. It’s more of a dueling weapon now.
Opening Shot is a great all-around PvP perk that can be used in 3v3 and 6v6 lobbies. The same goes for Kill Clip but you’ll have to play more aggressively to get more value out of it. The Perpetual Motion roll is an always active one that gives you a direct advantage before the opening shot of an encounter.
Whatever you do, make sure you get a roll with High-Caliber Rounds. It makes all the difference in gunfights at range.
Best Waking Vigil PvE God Rolls
- 1st Column: Smallbore
- 2nd Column: Light Mag
- Reload Speed Masterwork (Range as an alternative)
- Backup Mag Mod
- Rapid Hit + Voltshot
- Outlaw + Dragonfly
As much as I like Waking Vigil as a PvP weapon, there are a couple of reasons why you should consider it a PvE weapon as well. For one, it being a 140 means that handling is a breeze. This is important for precision perks like Rapid Hit, Outlaw, and Dragonfly. And although Voltshot’s not as good as it once was when Arc 3.0 was introduced, it can still clear a room all the same albeit less flashy.
Not too long ago, it would have been folly to bring a hand cannon into any high-tier PvE content. They didn’t have the stopping power necessary to deal with anything, even red bars. That all changed when Bungie buffed the damage against red and orange bars. Nowadays, it’s not so bad bringing a 180 to a legend lost sector. Even more so if they’re Malfeasance or Thorn. What I’m trying to say is that there hasn’t been a better time to use hand cannons in the sandbox. It’s ok to bring Waking Vigil into a Coil run without fearing for your life.
How good is the Waking Vigil?
Waking Vigil has not lost a step since I last frequently used it way back when. The addition of the Advanced Reflexes Origin Trait makes this already snappy shooter even better in the stats that matter most for a hand cannon. There were times when I went, “How did I get that kill?” in some duels I had no business winning, against more meta hand cannons.
Of course, this comes with the caveat that I had the jump on my opponent and fought in my optimal range. Despite getting a new Origin Trait, Vigil’s range is still lacking compared to some of the newer hand cannons in recent weapon sets. If you want to make something out of this classic, you’ll have to find ways to maintain distance while avoiding long-range engagements.
These are the Waking Vigil base stats before any perks are applied:
- Impact: 84
- Range: 37
- Stability: 43
- Handling: 63
- Reload Speed: 56
- Zoom: 14
- Rounds Per Minute: 140
- Magazine: 12
The first iteration of Waking Vigil had a deep perk pool, many of which are still used to this day. The reprised version’s perk pool is more focused in terms of what you need it to do in PvP and PvE. The gun is meant to be a crowd-control option but with Unstoppable hand cannon not going away for a very long time, it may see use as a stun option against Unstoppable Champions.
3rd Column Perks:
- Rapid Hit
- Rangefinder
- Outlaw
- Envious Assassin
- Shoot to Loot
- Perpetual Motion
4th Column Perks:
- Kill Clip
- Dragonfly
- Opening Shot
- Voltshot
- Attrition Orbs
- Collective Action
And that’s everything I have for this reprised Waking Vigil god roll guide. If you’ve ever picked up the first iteration of this gun and liked it, there’s no reason why you wouldn’t like this one as well. You might want to invest a little more in range but other than that, it’s just as good as it was back then, maybe a little bit better. Good luck and have fun out there, Guardians.
Check out our list of reprised Dreaming City god rolls:
