Destiny 2‘s second episode brought the powerful Bitter/Sweet grenade launcher to the fray, alongside a series of nerfs to some beloved perks. This weapon’s god roll helps offset those losses slightly while throwing some firepower into the equation.
Grenade launchers rose to prominence in the meta at last after a series of buffs in Lightfall and beyond. Bitter/Sweet is another name in this Destiny 2 trend, and it’s made a name for itself during its release in Episode Revenant.
Bitter/Sweet has numerous perks to watch out for, but they can’t all be gold. It’s easy to ignore some of the least popular contenders like Attrition Orbs, but it’s even easier to ignore them compared to the heavy hitters that can come as a god roll in this grenade launcher.
Bitter/Sweet PvE god roll in Destiny 2
- Barrel: Quick Launch or Linear Compensator
- Mag: Spike Grenades, Alloy Casing, or High-Velocity Rounds
- First perk: Envious Arsenal or Reverberation
- Second perk: Bait and Switch (Honorable mentions: Explosive Light and Frenzy)
Bitter/Sweet might be one of the new kings of grenade launchers, and it easily reigns supreme when it comes to heavy GLs that deal Arc damage. The competition for the shock-based element wasn’t all there in the first place, but Bitter/Sweet’s exceptional perk pool makes it an easy pick in most scenarios.
Aim for Envious Arsenal on your third column if you want to use it for boss DPS. The needless nerf to Auto-Loading Holster and Reconstruction in Revenant bumps up this perk’s usability; it lets you reload your heavy weapon from reserves just by shooting your other two guns at your target, which is a common part of retriggering Bait and Switch’s hefty bonus damage. If you want to take advantage of Envious Arsenal, go for Augmented Drum as your magazine instead.
Reverberation can work if you want to use this weapon for add-clear, and the rest of the contenders in this column aren’t exactly impressive. It’s a fight between Stats for All, Unrelenting, Perpetual Motion, Attrition Orbs, or Loose Change—and those perks in a grenade launcher are hardly anything to write home about.
The fourth column is where you make the damage numbers bigger, and Bitter/Sweet has a few meta options to choose from. The biggest is Bait and Switch, which is pretty much the best-in-slot perk for your heavy weapon DPS rotations. There’s nothing new here: Shoot all three of your guns to get a sizeable boost to damage. The addition of Envious Arsenal just makes it easier to feed your buff.
Explosive Light gets an honorable mention since it’s our second pick, assuming you can’t get a Bait and Switch roll. This perk brings a huge but short-lived damage buff, so you must constantly feed it Orbs of Power to get the most out of it. It’s easier to keep it running in group content or for burst damage, but Bait and Switch is generally more consistent. Frenzy is also a decent option, since it’s easy to activate and maintain.
Jolting Feedback is a new entry, so it’ll take some time until it settles in its place. Free Jolt procs are rarely bad, but when the opportunity cost is ditching one of the best damage perks, it’s bound to be a contested tradeoff. Likewise, Killing Tally might be good enough for add clear, but it disappears when you reload or stow your weapon. We’d take Explosive Light over it due to the bigger buff on all of Bitter/Sweet’s magazine.
Bitter/Sweet PvP god roll in Destiny 2
- Barrel: Quick Launch
- Mag: Spike Grenades or High-Velocity Rounds
- First perk: Reverberation or Perpetual Motion
- Second perk: Harmony or Explosive Light
For PvP, the choice is simpler. There’s nothing outright PvP-focused on Bitter/Sweet’s pool, and even Trials of Osiris’ Cataphract GL3 was better suited for PvE than the Crucible. That said, you can benefit from perks such as Perpetual Motion (mostly for easier handling) or Reverberation for a bigger blast before its effect runs out.
Likewise, Harmony can help you take bigger chunks of your enemies’ health if you don’t kill them, and on the off chance you get an Orb of Power to activate Explosive Light, that perk should also give you a bigger blast radius. Killing Tally might also be good if you don’t stow your grenade launcher after getting a kill or two. The key here is making the most out of the perk’s triggers so you can benefit from then in this game mode.
How to get Bitter/Sweet in Destiny 2
Bitter/Sweet is a seasonal drop from Episode Revenant, so you can engage with the seasonal activities for a chance to obtain it. You can also drink some of the episode’s Tonics to improve your chances of obtaining this weapon, either by focusing on it or by boosting your chance to get any seasonal weapon.
