Why Destiny 2's Malfeasance Catalyst is a Game

With all the buffs that the Malfeasance Exotic hand cannon can currently benefit from, the new Catalyst takes things beyond the next level.

Destiny 2 finally introduced the highly requested Catalyst for the Malfeasance Exotic Hand Cannon in Lightfall's Season of the Deep. The Catalyst can be obtained by completing playlist activities, such as Strikes on any difficulty, Gambit, Crucible, and Trials of Osiris matches. The Malfeasance was already a top-tier weapon before Destiny 2's Season of the Deep, but the new Catalyst takes the weapon to the next level, especially in improving its effectiveness in endgame content.

As for how Exotic hand cannons in the Kinetic slot perform, the Malfeasance is one of the best in class for a variety of content in Destiny 2. Although, a few Legendary hand cannons could compete with the Malfeasance and even outperform the Exotic with the right perk rolls before the Exotic had its own Catalyst. Now that the Malfeasance has an Exotic Catalyst though, it has become the reigning champ of all Exotic and Legendary Kinetic hand cannons in Destiny 2.

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As an anti-Champion Exotic Weapon, the Malfeasance had plenty to offer players even before it received its new Catalyst. The Malfeasance is able to stun Unstoppable Champions just by landing a few shots, and the Exotic perk also gives the weapon a lot more range over other hand cannons. When Destiny 2 players land enough shots on a single target within a short amount of time the Malfeasance will then detonate all the projectiles in a high-damage explosion. This explosion deals a static amount of damage regardless of what range the players are at when the perk is activated. Since Kinetic weapons have infinite ammo, the Malfeasance's explosions are both incredibly useful and powerful.

Since this weapon is already an anti-Champion weapon it is incredibly useful for endgame content in Destiny 2, but the Exotic Catalyst and the current Seasonal Artifact mods are game-changers for the weapon. Even though Destiny 2 doesn't allow players to stack Champion counters on the same weapon, the Malfeasance is currently a special exception. Thanks to the Seasonal Artifact mods currently giving hand cannons an Unstoppable Champion counter, the Malfeasance can currently take advantage of two separate methods of stunning Champions. Players can use the Malfeasance's unique explosion effect to stun Champions or simply aim down sights for a brief period to load Unstoppable rounds.

The Exotic Catalyst for the Malfeasance hand cannon gives the weapon the Vorpal Weapon perk, which increases outgoing damage against mini-bosses, bosses, vehicles, and players in PvP who are using their Super ability. This weapon was already a contender for the best hand cannons in Destiny 2, so a 20% increase against powerful enemies in PvE is ridiculously overpowered. Not to mention, Champion enemies are included in the Vorpal Weapon damage boost.

Since hand cannons are a featured anti-Champion weapon in Season of the Deep, this means that in most activities these weapons also benefit from a universal damage surge modifier. On top of the Exotic Catalyst and featured weapon surges, the Malfeasance can further benefit from other sources that increase damage and weapon performance. Mixed in with the right armor mods in Destiny 2, the Malfeasance is an extremely powerful weapon when all the pieces come together.

On the PvP side, the bonus from Vorpal Weapon is closer to 40% increased damage against Guardians in their Supers. What makes the Malfeasance's Catalyst so powerful in PvP is the infinite ammo for Kinetic weapons, which means that Vorpal Weapon is incredibly easy to passively utilize. With these damage boosts, the Malfeasance is finally able to solidify its spot as a top-tier hand cannon in any seasonal meta in Destiny 2.

With the new Exotic Catalyst, the Malfeasance is now a jack of all trades in Destiny 2. Being able to take advantage of long-range, high damage, infinite ammo, and Unstoppable Champion stuns, there aren't too many situations anymore where the Malfeasance is a bad choice for occupying an Exotic Weapon slot.

Destiny 2 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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Anthony Bussing (he/him) has a BA in English, with a minor in journalism, achieved in 2022, from Adrian College. Throughout undergraduate school, Anthony wrote for the local student newspaper covering diverse news content as both a staff writer and editor, and in his last year of studies, pursued an opportunity to manage social media content for the school's emergent esports team. Also, during undergraduate school, Anthony briefly contributed to and edited a student literary magazine featuring local creative writing and art. Anthony's top picks for favorite games include Bethesda's RPGs, Arkane Studios’ stealth-action titles, and less specifically, looter-shooters, survival-crafting, and souls-borne game genres as a whole. Any game where Anthony can play a healer role is also a worthy contender, especially where fantasy/magic is involved. Outside of gaming, Anthony enjoys street photography, drawing, writing, and playing the cello. Anthony was born in late 1999, playing video games all throughout his life, and currently plays on a gaming PC, built by his older brother, also the Oculus/Meta VR, and Nintendo Switch.