Thorn not being brought to Y2 is kind of a let down, but hardly surprising given the amount of controversy involved with that particular weapon. As a compromise, I feel like that it could be brought in, but just not as Thorn and instead as something else.
Thorn’s story is tied to the story of its master, the infamous Dredgen Yor. A revered and respected Guardian that eventually succumbed to the darkness. In short, he traveled around destroying pretty much everything he could. Any time he bothered to help anyone was simply to cultivate hope that he would eventually destroy anyway, simply because it provided greater satisfaction. Thorn mimicked this tendency, anyone killed by it would be beyond hope of any sort of restoration, even Guardians, as Thorn would devour the Light from its victims. One of its most famous victims of Thorns appetite was a Guardian by the name of Jaren Ward, the original owner of The Last Word. Yor only ever showed mercy three times. The first was when he forced his Ghost to leave, the second was Shin Malphur, the second owner of The Last Word, while he was still a child, and the third was Jaren Ward's Ghost.
But before all of that, Yor was known as a hero, respected by all who knew him. He was, as the Grimoire states, a beacon – hope given form, someone to stand against the darkness and inspire other to follow. His weapon of choice: Rose, the form Thorn possessed before the corruption. Not much else is known about him, other than the fact that he was a Guardian who accomplished great deeds. Not even his name survived.
Given how Thorn essentially mimicked its master’s tendencies, it would not be unreasonable to assume that Rose would have as well. Since the good version of Yor put others ahead of himself, it might be possible that Rose would have also somehow been able to benefit others with its use, spreading the hope to those around it, possibly with some sort of healing or damage reduction factor, or by increasing the offensive capabilities of other players. Given how Thorn does Life drain effects, the opposite would be some form of minor healing effects. But since the Lord of Wolves exotic shotgun already does something similar, Rose could do something else instead, as long as it involves helping other players.
What I propose is this: a Quest to restore Thorn to its true former glory, the Rose. All connections to the Hive have already been severed so that part has already been taken care of, but there is still some additional work that needs to be done. To properly cleanse Thorn, it would need the Light of its former master, Yor, from before his corruption. One possible way to do that would be to expose it to a spark of Yor’s Light, the kind he wielded before his corruption, something Thorn would recognize. This poses a problem as Yor was killed by Shin Malphur long after his corruption, so no chance getting it from the original source. After that, the only way any of his Light survived is if his Ghost took some before it was lost. The next step then would be to find Yor’s Ghost but the only lead on it is a remark from one of the Grimoire cards of a conversation between Yor and his Ghost before they separated: “I will not abandon you.” “You will. Or I will carve the Light from your shell and leave the carcass of my first and last friend in the dirt of this dull, red world for no one to find.” This tells me that that the first place to start looking would be on Mars, but that's just a guess. After that, who knows?
On top of that, it would be kinda nice to fill the gap of Yor’s original name, as every card has had his name redacted.
So how about it? A new exotic, a quest to unlock it, a bit of lore, and something otherwise productive to do with a Year 1 weapon.
Thoughts/opinions?
Edit: Potential for Exotic Perk. A stackable effect for restoring a portion of health to all nearby allies. Each precision(maybe) kill with Rose would heal 10 health (out of roughly 200 average full health bar) and add one stack to the total. It would work like this: first kill 10 health back, second kill 20 health back, third kill 30 health back, subsequent kill while 3 stack is active 30 health back. Each kill adds a stack (max 3) and resets the stack timer. The timer would be short (no longer than the Crowd Control timer). Added effect: Firefly. The kicker: the wielder would NOT receive the healing benefits. Perk name: Full Bloom.
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Thorn year two! Thorn year two!Thorn year two! Thorn year two!Thorn year two! Thorn year two!Thorn year two! Thorn year two!Thorn year two! Thorn year two!