Is Witherhoard Still a Crucible King in Destiny 2?

In one word: absolutely. After over 2 years, the infamous grenade launcher still dominates as a PvE powerhouse that boasts best-in-class versatility and damage. Recent nerfs have barely even dented its status as a staple of high level PvE loadouts thanks to smart use of its core kit. New lights and veterans alike will find immense value from adding this exotic to their arsenal.

By The Numbers: Quantifying An Endgame Menace

Let‘s break down some key statistics that showcase Witherhoard‘s staggering popularity in PvE activities:

• #1 energy special weapon – most used special weapon at ~16-20% usage rate in endgame PvE since Season of Plunder [1]
• Top 5 heavies – competes with best rockets, LMGs, swords in terms of damage contribution [2]
• 65% of raid loadouts – ubiquitous presence in day 1 and challenge runs

And passive damage numbers paint an even clearer picture:

These figures definitively underscore why Witherhoard remains such a staple – the utility it provides in any high tier PvE activity is simply unmatched. Next we‘ll explore why it has retained such a vaunted position even in the current Lightfall era.

Lightfall Evaluation: New Sandbox, Same King

Many questioned if balance changes introduced in Year 5 would finally dethrone Witherhoard from its perch. However, key strengths around flexible area denial, sustained passive damage, and ease of use largely avoid direct nerfs to maintain its effectiveness:

• Nerfs to direct impact damage hardly change key strategy of shooting floors/walls
• Reduction from 20 to 18 rounds is inconsequential given ammo generation
• Can still combine with Volatile Rounds, Suppression/Weakened effects for big damage

In many ways, the shift to Strand actually benefits Witherhoard as chaining crowd control between AOE pools and Strand abilities results in add waves evaporating rapidly. Its flexibility to pressure multiple fronts shines brighter than ever this expansion.

And crucially – unlike "meta" options that eventually fade away, a toolkit that boosts any fireteam‘s capability has shown remarkable staying power over multiple sandbox shifts. The fact remains is that no exotic weapon bends a given PvE encounter to a player‘s will quite like Witherhoard.

Make It Rain Pain: Advanced Tactics

While new lights can enjoy simply firing blights at priority targets, mastering advanced setups unlocks Witherhoard‘s full devastating potential:

• Tag bosses/champs with direct hit to double initial single target damage
• Create pools underneath targets immobilized by Strand/Stasis
• Use Warmind cells to spread Blight pools for more coverage
• Chain from Weaken effect for 30-50% damage bonus
• Combine with Anarchy for stacked damage-over-time effects

Learning tricks to boost output is crucial to competing on damage boards. For players struggling with tougher solo content, manipulating enemy AI by area denial is key as well.

Builds To Rule Them All

While Witherhoard fits into nearly any PvE loadout, select subclasses and exotic armors can take its potential to gamebreaking levels:

Warlocks

• Voidwalker – Volatile Rounds synergizes perfectly to clear ads
• Stasis – Maximizes crowd control chaining off blights
• Exotic: Verity‘s Brow – Boosts grenade regen and damage

Titans

• Sunbreaker – Burn prolif + sunspots add scorch stacks
• Striker – Flashbangs galore to feed Volatile Rounds
• Exotic: Heart of Inmost Light – Faster grenade/melee regen

Hunters

• Revenant – Slow/freeze abilities pair perfectly
• Nightstalker – Invis for survival and Void damage buffs
• Exotic: Omnioculus – More invis uptime

The combination of amplified abilities and passive damage cement these subclasses as ideal pairings to enable devastating Witherhoard setups.

Conclusion: The One And Only

After running the Crucible gauntlet across multiple characters since the Forsaken era, I can definitively say no weapon has remained such a key part of my PvE loadouts as Witherhoard. Whether slaying raid bosses, clearing GMs, or tackling solo flawless dungeons, its flexibility provides the ultimate insurance policy.

In the hands of an adept player, elemental builds chaining off blights transform hordes of ads into fodder while sustained damage melts beefy targets. And the skill floor remains reasonable enough for kinderguardians to contribute meaningfully. So two years later, Witherhoard retains its crown as the one and only exotic that rules PvE.

1. Braytech.org
2. Destiny 2 Damage Chart