Adhortative vs. Darkest Hour: Which is the better Legendary Pulse Rifle in Destiny 2?

Adhortative and Darkest Before (Image via Bungie)

Both Adhortative and the Darkest Hour are great Destiny 2 Pulse Rifles in their own right. Both have separate archetypes for players to work with, each providing benefits for different game modes, enemy types, and activities. Both these weapons can be farmed by running two different PvE activities in the game, one being seasonal and the other slightly on the endgame side.

This article will guide you through the basics of the two weapons mentioned above, and help you decide which ones to get for specific activities.

Note: Some aspects of the article reflect the writer's opinions.

Adhortative Pulse Rifle guide in Destiny 2

Adhortative is an Adaptive Framed weapon that sits in the energy slot of the inventory with the Solar element. You can pick this weapon up from the Riven vendor of Season 23, or get enough red-border drops to craft the perfect god roll. Regardless of the perks, Adhortative is a perfect weapon to be used against enemies in both PvP and PvE.

Its Adaptive Frame balances damage, range, and stability, while the perk pool with Incandescent, Headseeker, and Heal Clip, can be considered in all game modes.

However, one of the biggest cons of Adhortative is its inability to gun down bosses and elites. The Solar Pulse Rifle lacks anything that can quickly drain the life of a yellow-bar enemy, making it only viable for add-clearing (minor enemies).

Darkest Before Pulse Rifle guide in Destiny 2

Unlike the Adhortative, the Darkest Before Pulse Rifle is less accessible due to it being associated with the Prophecy Dungeon's loot pool. Darkest Before is not a craftable weapon as well, since players will need to run the Dungeon in the hopes of getting a god roll. Lastly, this is a Rapid Fire Framed weapon, making it a great choice to melt enemies in PvP.

Darkest Before perks in Destiny 2 (Image via D2Gunsmith)

The only similarities that Adhortative and the Darkest Before Pulse Rifle share are their weapon type, alongside the element. The perk pools can be said to be quite similar, with the involvement of Kill Clip in Darkest Before.

Hence, the Darkest Before can have the lethal combination of Heal Clip and Kill Clip, or Heal Clip and Incandescent, both of which are recommended for PvP and PvE, respectively.

Adhortative vs Darkest Before in Destiny 2: Which one is better?

Based on the accessibility and usage, Adhortative takes the win in our books. You can easily slot in enhanced perks by crafting the weapon, which is also easy to do given the current drop rate of seasonal deepsight weapons. The Adaptive Frame is also a good balance for all game modes, as opposed to Darkest Before's Rapid Fire, which can be good only for PvP.

Note that the Adhortative Pulse Rifle will become unavailable, as all seasonal vendors will be vaulted with The Final Shape launch on June 4.

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