TL;DR
- The Call is a devastating rocket-assisted sidearm available through Pale Heart activities and crafting
- Focus on Velocity for direct hits or Blast Radius for crowd control in PvE scenarios
- Demolitionist and Subsistence provide excellent uptime for grenade-focused and sustained damage builds
- PvP viability requires Beacon Rounds and Velocity optimization for limited but effective use
- Advanced techniques include hip-fire spam and strategic perk combinations for maximum effectiveness
Destiny 2’s latest expansion introduces The Call, a remarkably powerful rocket-assisted sidearm that has quickly become a fan favorite. This unique weapon represents only the second of its archetype to enter the game, following the dungeon-exclusive Indebted Kindness. What sets The Call apart is its accessibility combined with devastating damage potential, making it one of the most sought-after weapons from The Final Shape.
What makes this sidearm particularly exceptional is its combination of ease of acquisition and overwhelming firepower. The weapon’s rocket projectiles deliver exceptional stopping power, capable of eliminating most enemies in just one or two shots even in high-level content like raids and master difficulty activities. Once players obtain a well-rolled version, it frequently becomes a permanent fixture in their loadouts due to its consistent performance across various combat scenarios.
The Call offers extensive customization through its diverse perk pool and crafting capabilities. Multiple viable combinations exist depending on your preferred playstyle and build requirements. The ability to apply enhanced versions of selected perks through crafting further elevates its potential, creating opportunities for truly optimized builds that synergize with various subclass abilities and exotic armor pieces.
Most players will naturally obtain their first copy of The Call while progressing through The Final Shape’s campaign missions. This weapon belongs to the Pale Heart engram loot pool, which you acquire by completing activities within the new destination and increasing your reputation level with Ghost. Several specific activities, particularly the Alone in the Dark missions scattered throughout the Pale Heart, guarantee Deepsight Resonance (red border) versions of these weapons, enabling pattern unlocking for eventual crafting.
The most reliable method for farming additional copies involves focusing your Pale Heart engrams once you’ve collected five distinct weapons from this set. Achieving this threshold happens relatively quickly by finishing the main storyline and completing a few Alone in the Dark quest objectives. As you continue ranking up your reputation with Ghost, you’ll eventually access a weekly bonus that ensures your first focused weapon comes with Deepsight Resonance, significantly accelerating progress toward the craftable version.
Strategic farming involves prioritizing activities that yield multiple Pale Heart engrams simultaneously. Completing public events, lost sectors, and patrols while having the relevant reputation boosters active maximizes your acquisition rate. Many experienced players recommend saving your engrams until after unlocking focusing capabilities to avoid wasting potential red border opportunities.
The Call
While The Call demonstrates limited effectiveness in player-versus-player combat due to its slower projectile velocity and firing rate, it absolutely dominates in PvE environments. The weapon’s exceptional stopping power frequently results in one-shot eliminations against standard enemies and two-shot takedowns against more resilient combatants, even in endgame activities. Its diverse perk selection offers substantial build synergy opportunities and damage amplification potential. One particularly interesting trait is Beacon Rounds, which activates projectile tracking after securing kills and enhances this tracking with subsequent eliminations.
Tracking proves remarkably useful with this weapon, enabling effective crowd clearing by firing generally toward enemy groups or distant targets without precise aiming requirements. Utilizing The Call from the hip to indiscriminately devastate anything within your forward arc can be exceptionally effective in chaotic combat situations.
The Call PvE God Roll
- Barrel: Quick Launch / Volatile Launch
- Quick Launch: +10 Velocity, +15 Handling
- Volatile Launch: +15 Blast Radius, -5 Velocity, -5 Handling
- Magazine: Tactical Mag
- +3 Magazine size, +5 Stability, +10 Reload speed
- First Perk: Demolitionist / Subsistence
- Demolitionist: Kills from this weapon generate grenade energy. Activating your grenade ability reloads this weapon from reserves.
- Subsistence: Defeating targets partially reloads this weapon from reserves.
- Second Perk: Desperate Measures / One For All
- Desperate Measures: Weapon final blows grant bonus damage. Melee and grenade final blows grant a large damage bonus that can stack.
- One For All: Hitting three separate targets increases damage for a moderate duration.
- Masterwork: Velocity / Blast Radius
Virtually every configuration of The Call performs admirably, but certain perk combinations dramatically enhance its effectiveness when paired with complementary builds. Your initial decision should focus on whether to emphasize direct impact damage versus area-of-effect potential. While The Call fires rocket projectiles, their default explosion radius remains relatively modest; however, specializing for increased Blast Radius can significantly improve crowd control capabilities, particularly when utilizing perks like One For All. However, if you intend to employ it similarly to a long-range shotgun, prioritizing Velocity ensures projectiles reach their intended targets before enemies can evade them.
Perk selection largely depends on your intended usage patterns, but if you lack specific build requirements, either Demolitionist or Subsistence provides excellent performance. Demolitionist creates powerful synergy for rapid grenade regeneration, especially valuable since you’ll frequently use The Call to rapidly eliminate multiple enemies consecutively due to its exceptional utility. If grenade energy matters less to your strategy or you prefer maximizing weapon uptime without manual reloading, Subsistence continuously replenishes your ammunition with each kill—and since most eliminations require only one or two shots, you can maintain continuous firing.
Another excellent alternative in this slot: Lead from Gold. A common challenge with The Call stems from its overwhelming effectiveness potentially depleting your Special ammo reserves rapidly. Lead from Gold helps maintain ammunition sustainability if you frequently find yourself searching for additional rounds. Beacon Rounds typically doesn’t represent the primary choice but enables an entertaining playstyle where tracking functionality minimizes aiming requirements and assists with eliminating annoying enemies at extended ranges.
The second perk column contains numerous damage-enhancing options, and nearly all deliver solid performance, allowing selection based on your specific build requirements. Desperate Measures and One For All represent the primary contenders since both activate easily, particularly given The Call’s typical usage patterns. One For All provides marginally superior damage amplification if you can eliminate three enemies within approximately three seconds of each other, which aligns perfectly with this weapon’s primary function. However, Desperate Measures stacks with your melee and grenade abilities while offering extended duration. If you’re utilizing something like a Prismatic Hunter configuration featuring Combination Blow and Liar’s Handshake, Desperate Measures excels, delivering substantial damage increases whenever you initiate close-quarters combat.
The Call PvP God Roll
- Barrel: Quick Launch
- Quick Launch: +10 Velocity, +15 Handling
- Magazine: High Velocity Rounds
- +10 Reload speed, +10 Velocity
- First Perk: Beacon Rounds
- Final blows grant this weapon tracking. Dealing further damage extends the duration
- Second Perk: Vorpal Weapon
- Increased damage against bosses, vehicles, and Guardians with their Super active.
- Masterwork: Velocity
While The Call offers numerous perks that create excellent synergy in PvE environments where you consistently eliminate weaker enemies, most of its traits provide minimal benefit in Crucible matches where securing kills proves more challenging. In these scenarios, prioritize Velocity over Blast Radius since The Call’s utility derives from delivering substantial direct-impact damage against enemy Guardians, requiring projectiles to reach their destinations as rapidly as possible.
Limited compelling perk choices exist that you’ll consistently utilize effectively. Beacon Rounds likely represents your optimal selection, adding tracking capability to your projectiles after achieving a kill, potentially enabling follow-up eliminations when engaging multiple opponents simultaneously. The secondary column offers few reliable damage amplifiers for PvP combat. Vorpal Weapon serves as a reasonable choice specifically because it requires no activation conditions. If you’re consistently securing kills, you might consider alternative damage boosters like Desperate Measures, but most only activate after you’ve already succeeded in your current engagement, rendering them equally unattractive options.
Successful PvP utilization requires understanding the weapon’s significant limitations. The slow travel time of projectiles demands substantial lead time when engaging moving targets, making it poorly suited for reactive combat situations. Instead, employ it strategically around control points or in confined spaces where enemy movement becomes predictable and constrained.
Mastering The Call involves more than just optimal perk selection—it requires adapting your playstyle to maximize its unique characteristics. One effective technique involves utilizing the weapon’s hip-fire accuracy to maintain mobility while engaging groups of enemies. The generous projectile size combined with potential tracking from Beacon Rounds creates an exceptionally forgiving weapon for clearing adds while focusing on higher-priority targets.
Ammo conservation represents a critical consideration for extended engagements. Despite its Special ammo classification, The Call consumes ammunition rapidly due to its high damage output. Incorporating ammo-finding mods or utilizing the Lead from Gold perk can dramatically improve your sustainability during longer activities like raids or dungeon runs.
For optimal performance in high-level content, consider pairing The Call with primary weapons that cover its range limitations. Engaging at mid-to-close distances maximizes its effectiveness while minimizing exposure to long-range threats that can outrange your effective engagement distance.
Build integration significantly enhances The Call’s effectiveness. Grenade-focused builds benefit tremendously from Demolitionist, creating a powerful feedback loop of ability regeneration. Melee-oriented configurations, particularly those utilizing combination attacks or exotic armor synergies, can leverage Desperate Measures for substantial damage amplification.
Understanding when to utilize The Call versus alternative special weapons represents another advanced skill. While exceptional for add clear and major elimination, certain scenarios might benefit more from traditional sniper rifles or fusion rifles depending on encounter requirements and team composition.
Action Checklist
- Complete The Final Shape campaign to obtain your first copy
- Farm Alone in the Dark missions for guaranteed red border drops
- Unlock weapon focusing by collecting 5 different Pale Heart weapons
- Focus Pale Heart engrams weekly for guaranteed red border versions
- Experiment with different perk combinations before finalizing your crafted roll
- Integrate The Call into specific builds based on your preferred playstyle
No reproduction without permission:SeeYouSoon Game Club » Destiny 2 The Call God Roll Guide – How To Get It And God Rolls Master Destiny 2's powerful rocket sidearm with acquisition strategies, optimal perk combinations, and advanced combat techniques
