New Pacific Epitaph god roll and best perks in Destiny 2

The first Wave Frame grenade launcher in the kinetic slot.

A new dungeon is in Destiny 2 and that means there's a whole lot of new dungeon loot. Ghosts of the Deep takes Guardians into the depths of Titan's sunken Arcology, and the weapons found within reflect that location in more ways than one. One of the most intriguing of these new guns is a grenade launcher: New Pacific Epitaph.

Wave Frame grenade launchers have been the talk of the town for years now. Their ability as Special weapons to clear out large groups of enemies is unparalleled, with the wave of damage it creates being both wide and easy to aim.

However, until now, they’ve had one key drawback—only the energy slot has ever had Wave Frame grenade launchers in it.

New Pacific Epitaph changes this, as it is the first Stasis Wave Frame grenade launcher, which means its home is in the kinetic slot. This opens up a wide variety of new opportunities, as a Wave Frame has never been able to be complimented by a Primary weapon in the energy slot before. The perks in its pool might be unconventional and weaker at first glance, but its unique position and energy type means it's a must-have even despite its unordinary appearance.

Related: Here is the Ghosts of the Deep dungeon loot table in Destiny 2

A lack of the hits such as Ambitious Assassin, Rampage, Chain Reaction, or Envious Assassin might make it daunting to figure out a god roll to go for.

We have you covered, with a good selection of recommended Destiny perks as well as god roll suggestions of our own to get you started.

It's tough to say what the definite PvE god roll for New Pacific Epitaph is.

Without more traditional combinations with universal effectiveness like Ambitious Assassin and Rampage here, every single effective perk combination is hitting a niche of its own. What niche you prefer to focus on will be dependent on the type of player you are, so it's important to pick the perks to chase accordingly.

Redirection is probably the most powerful perk in the fourth column. You’re already going to be clearing out a lot of minor enemies with the gun's sizeable damage waves, and this perk gives you anywhere between 20 percent and 100 percent more damage against major and boss enemies just for dealing damage to the rank-and-file. Wave Frames have traditionally struggled against those targets with larger health bars, so this perk might be a perfect solution that will allow you to cut through those beefier targets like butter.

Kill Clip, as well as Adrenaline Junkie, are your more classical damage buffing perk choices in that same column. Go for these if you want to have a more consistent buff active that can also apply against the smaller enemies that make up the majority of the PvE hordes.

For the third column, the options are equally tough. There are ultimately three perk choices that each provide a different, great benefit: Lead From Gold, Unrelenting, and Demolitionist. Lead From Gold will help a lot with your ammo economy—Wave Frame grenade launchers burn through your Special ammo reserves and New Pacific Epitaph is no different.

Unrelenting is a survivability choice, giving you an easy source of health regeneration in tougher content such as dungeons and raids. Demolitionist is the ability-oriented alternative, and it synergizes perfectly with Adrenaline Junkie if you choose to take up that combination. All three perks are equally effective, but it's pertinent the player picks the one that best suits their planned playstyle with the grenade launcher.

Wave Frame grenade launchers serve a very niche, but very infamous role in the Crucible. Getting a kill with one is hard, but getting chip damage that can be finished off with a hot swap to a Primary weapon is a deadly strategy. The wide reach of the wave it fires out makes hitting the target easy, and then it's just down to having a weapon with high handling that can be swapped to in an instant to clean up the remaining sliver of health your enemy has.

Because you aren't focused on getting kills with New Pacific Epitaph, the perks you’re picking out from its pool aren't really serving that purpose. Quick Launch is buffing its handling, and perks like Perpetual Motion and Shot Swap buff that handling even further. Perpetual Motion is the more reliable option of the two, but Shot Swap has potential if you’re able to make use of its rapid weapon-swapping functionality.

The fourth column is even harder as the majority of the perks there are centered around buffing New Pacific Epitaph's damage off the back of kills with the weapon. This makes Harmony stand out as it will only buff the damage of the launcher after getting kills with other weapons. This allows you to get a kill with your Primary weapon and then have a 20 percent damage boost on your next Wave Frame shot when you encounter your next enemy Guardian.

Related: Here are the No Survivors god rolls and best perks in Destiny 2

Pugilist, Collective Action, and Adrenaline Junkie are all possible alternatives too but come with their own sets of issues.

Pugilist will only proc on kills, and you more than likely won't reliably be getting any with this gun. Collective Action has some promise as an alternative 20 percent damage boost to Harmony, but will only be an effective perk if you are running a build where elemental pickups will be consistently generated (like Stasis Titan). Adrenaline Junkie similarly has promise but requires a heavy-hitting grenade ability build to get the most out of in PvP.

A freelance journalist from the United Kingdom. I transitioned into writing about the industry in 2021 after spending a number of a years as a professional esports player in both Halo and Paladins: Champions of the Realm. Now, I provide coverage for a variety of titles such as Destiny 2, Halo Infinite and Apex Legends.