Biting Winds is a Legendary Kinetic Combat Bow introduced with the Beyond Light expansion in Destiny 2. It uses Primary ammo and cannot be crafted using Patterns; therefore, you may have to farm for it quite a bit to get one with the god roll perks. It is one of the game’s most underrated weapons, despite performing surprisingly well in PvP game types like Crucible and Trials of Osiris. Let’s look at how to obtain the Biting Winds bow and its god rolls to help you get on some winning streaks!
How to Get Biting Winds in Destiny 2
There are currently two ways you can acquire the Biting Winds Combat Bow in Destiny 2:
- Defeating High-Value Targets on Europa.
- Completing the replayable ‘Dark Priestess’ Empire Hunt quest obtained from Variks.
To unlock Empire Hunts, you need to:
- Complete the Beyond Light campaign in its entirety.
- Complete the post-campaign missions assigned by Variks: Reclaiming Europa and Empire’s Fall.
The Biting Winds bow is a guaranteed reward for completing the ‘Dark Priestess’ quest. So, once you’ve unlocked Variks’ Empire Hunts, you can keep farming this replayable mission till you get the bow with the desired perks – which brings us to the God Roll for the Biting Winds:
Biting Winds God Rolls in Destiny 2
Biting Winds PvE God Roll
While the Biting Winds is better suited for PvP game modes, it is not entirely worthless if you enjoy using bows in your PvE missions! While farming Legendary Lost Sectors, I found it useful to stun Anti-Barrier Champions by equipping the ‘Piercing Bowstring’ armor mod on my Hunter’s Gauntlets. Here are the PvE god rolls for Biting Winds:
- Bowstring: Polymer String
- Arrow: Fiberglass Arrow Shaft
- Trait #1: Surplus
- Trait #2: Explosive Head
- Masterwork: Draw Time
- Mod: Targeting Adjuster or Major Spec
Biting Winds is a compound bow with a ‘Precision Frame,’ which compromises draw time and accuracy for high damage. Both Polymer String and Fiberglass work to improve this shortcoming. Surplus will improve the bow’s handling, stability, and reload speed at the expense of having all three of your abilities completely charged for the maximum bonus. Explosive Head is the natural choice as the second trait, as it is a straight damage increase in PvP. Finally, the Draw Time masterwork will reduce the lengthy draw time.
Note: The ‘Rapid Hit’ trait might be better than ‘Surplus’ if you are confident about hitting precision shots every time you shoot your bow. I do not recommend Rapid Hit because it resets the buff every time you miss a critical hit. Surplus, however, can be maintained by simply having your three abilities up at all times. Since I use a melee build with the ‘Assassin’s Cowl’ Exotic Helmet on my Hunter, I can proc the buff quite effectively.
Biting Winds PvP God Roll
PvP is where Biting Winds really shines. Try to get these rolls on your Biting Winds to dominate every fight:
- Bowstring: Elastic String
- Arrow: Fiberglass Arrow Shaft
- Trait #1: Moving Target
- Trait #2: Swashbuckler
- Masterwork: Draw Time
- Mod: Icarus Grip
Elastic String significantly decreases the draw time of the bow, which is a crucial stat while up against other Guardians. Fiberglass compensates for the loss of accuracy caused by Elastic. Moving Target provides +10 Aim Assist and allows you to move more quickly when aiming down sights. This trait was often the decisive factor in whether I won or lost a duel in Crucible. The most important perk for this build’s ‘one-shot’ aspect is Swashbuckler, which grants the bow a massive 33% boost in damage after every melee kill. Hip-firing an opponent with the bow and immediately following up with a melee is almost always a guaranteed kill, making this trait easily proc’able. Draw Time masterwork is a no-brainer for practically any Combat Bow since you need to fire shots as rapidly as possible, and Icarus Grip will help you land your arrows when jumping or gliding.
Note: Swashbuckler synergizes exceptionally well with builds that use ranged melee attacks, like Hunter’s ‘Weighted Throwing Knife’ with the ‘Athrys’s Embrace’ Exotic Gauntlets. You can one-shot an opponent with your throwing knife, which will give you a 4.5-second window to one-shot a second target with Biting Winds. Remember to always go for the head!
If you’re done with the PvP meta in Destiny 2 and are looking for fresh methods to destroy your opponents in Crucible, you should definitely give Biting Winds a shot! As always, all the best with the grind, Guardian! May the RNG Gods bless you with the best rolls for your gear.
Destiny 2 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.