The Ruinous Effigy exotic quest has gone live in Destiny 2. The energy trace rifle has some novel features attached to the weapon that strays from previous exotic abilities. In the gameplay video above we show the Ruinous Effigy in action across various activities both in the open-world PvE environments, as well as in the Crucible against other guardians.
The way the rifle works is fairly simple. You defeat enemies using the trace rifle beam, which will then convert the enemy into a purple orb that can be picked up by you or any member of your fireteam. Grabbing this orb will give you three different options in how to wield it: You can swing the weapon as a melee attack; use the orb to leap up in the air and slam the ground causing a massive area of effect ring of damage that will destroy most minor enemies and can one-shot enemy guardians; or create a massive void wall around you which will siphon enemy life and restore your health.
Exotic weapons in Destiny 2 usually have some neat mechanic that allows it to shine, but the Ruinous Effigy--alongside the seasonal exotic Witherhoard--showcase there's a renewed effort from Bungie to create novel exotics. Although they might not be the new DPS meta, they're certainly a lot of dang fun to use, which is always welcome.