How to unlock Cloudstrike in Beyond Light: Destiny 2 exotic sniper guide

Julian Young
Destiny 2 Beyond Light Cloudstrike Exotic Sniper Rifle

After the first completion of the new Deep Stone Crypt raid in Beyond Light, several new items were unlocked for players to obtain. Here’s how to acquire the new exotic sniper rifle in Destiny 2: Cloudstrike.

Exotics are some of the most coveted items in Destiny 2. Each time new exotic weapons and gear are released by Bungie, players scramble to obtain them.

The new Beyond Light expansion has already seen the release of several new exotic weapons. After the game’s new raid – the Deep Stone Crypt – was beaten for the first time, even more exotics became available for players to chase.

Alongside the new exotic sword The Lament, a new sniper rifle is also available for Guardians to acquire. Here’s how players can get their hands on the new Cloudstrike weapon.

Destiny 2 Beyond Light No Time to Explain Pulse Rifle
Cloudstrike joins other Beyond Light exotics like No Time to Explain.

Cloudstrike: exotic sniper rifle perks

Cloudstrike is one of the new exotic weapons unlocked by the completion of the Deep Stone Crypt raid. With several sniper rifles being removed from the loot pool or sunset in Beyond Light, Cloudstrike provides a new alternative for players to use.

It has some useful perks that sniper rifle users will be happy to see – as well as some interesting intrinsic perks to make the weapon unique:

  • Fluted Barrel: greatly increases handling speed, slightly increases stability
  • Alloy Magazine: faster reloads when the magazine is empty
  • Hand-Laid Stock: increases stability
  • Stormbringer: rapid precision hits create a lightning storm at the point of impact
  • Mortal Polarity: precision hits and final blows create lightning

The special perks are similar to those of Thunderlord, an exotic machine gun that also generates lightning strikes.

If players are able to land multiple precision shots, especially against high-health enemies in PVE, Cloudstrike can deal out additional damage to the target and other enemies around it.

Destiny 2 Thunderlord Exotic Machine Gun
Cloudstrike’s unique weapon perks are similar to those of the Thunderlord machine gun.

How to acquire Cloudstrike in Destiny 2

With several new exotics now available for players to obtain, many will want to know how they can get their hands on the game’s newest weapons.

Here’s how Guardians can acquire the Cloudstrike exotic sniper rifle:

  1. Speak with the Exo Stranger on Europa and acquire the “A Hard Rain Falls” quest
  2. Subdue the plans of House Salvation by thinning their ranks and completing public events and patrols in the current Eclipsed Zone. Powerful combatants and Heroic public events grant the most efficient progress
    • Players will need to reach a threshold of 1000 points to complete this quest step by killing enemies and completing public events, patrols, and Lost Sectors
    • The current Eclipsed Zone on Europa is the Eventide Ruins. The zone will likely change with each weekly reset, so players should check their maps to see which part of Europa has the Eclipsed indicator
  3. Report your success and findings to the Exo Stranger
    • Return to the Exo Stranger to complete the quest, and receive a new Europa sidearm, High Albedo, as your reward
  4. Unlock the Europan Explorer 1 (Tier 1) and Europan Explorer 2 (Tier 2) nodes in Variks the Loyal’s Sabotage menu by completing their associated objectives
    • Unlocking these nodes will grant the player access to a new Empire Hunts playlist that includes various difficulties and corresponding modifiers
    • Each difficulty level lists Cloudstrike as a reward for completion, but it appears that higher difficulties do not increase your drop chance for the exotic
  5. Farm the new Empire Hunts playlist at the preferred difficulty level (Adept being the best choice for faster completions) until receiving Cloudstrike as a reward
Destiny 2 Beyond Light Cloudstrike Bungie Trailer
Players can acquire Cloudstrike by farming the new difficulty-enabled Empire Hunts playlist on Europa.

Another new sniper option in Beyond Light

Alongside Adored as the Season of the Hunt’s pursuit weapon, Cloudstrike provides players with another sniper rifle option to use in new content that requires a higher power level.

The new sniper has the potential for high damage output with its lightning-based perks, and it is a worthy addition to any Guardian’s arsenal in Beyond Light.

About The Author

Julian is a former writer at Dexerto, located in the United States (East Coast based). He covered general gaming, esports and entertainment news, but has a soft spot for Destiny in particular.