Gonna make this brief before getting into it - We can all agree that having just a stat boost is a pretty lame idea for a catalyst, right? Especially when nowadays exotics are getting whole new perks instead. With that in mind, I'd like to list some of my ideas for catalysts that would be more fun than the ones we have now.
Are they all balanced? No, probably not. Would they be more fun than +10 stability on a gun with very little recoil to begin with? 100% yes.
Sweet Business: Glass Half Full & Under Pressure - This weapon gains increased [b]stability, accuracy, and damage[/b] as the magazine gets lower.
Graviton Lance: Event Horizon - Cosmology multikills [b]overcharge[/b] this weapon, allowing it to fire[b] 2 black holes[/b] per trigger pull for 10s. While Event Horizon is active, non-precision kills activate Cosmology. Precision kills while Event Horizon is active [b]pulls[/b] nearby enemies close together.
Riskrunner: Golden Age Insulator - Superconductor activates after reaching critical health from [b]ANY[/b] source. Additionally, this weapon gains [b]damage resistance[/b] against the element that broke the Guardian's shield.
Crimson: Iron Will - Kills while critically wounded grant a temporary [b]boost[/b] to weapon damage and sprint speed for 10s.
Sturm & Drang: Dynamic Duo - Sturm's overcharged rounds [b]stagger[/b] unstoppable champions. Kills with Sturm's overcharge rounds grants bonus attack speed, range, and [b]overload rounds[/b] to Drang.
Telesto: Harbinger's Echo - In addition to deeper reserves, enemies killed by the sticky projectiles [b]launch[/b] more projectiles in [b]all directions[/b].
Prometheus Lens: Godflame - Enemies killed by this weapon [b]explode[/b], and Prismatic Inferno afflicts enemies with a [b]burn[/b].
Coldheart: Omolon Ingenuity - Precision hits with this weapon return ammo to the magazine from reserves. Increases [b]maximum power[/b] of Longest Winter.
Fighting Lion: Mother of Monsters - Enemies hit by this weapon take [b]increased damage[/b] from Kinetic weapons. Defeating enemies afflicted with Mother of Monsters grants [b]2 Unstoppable grenades[/b] to the magazine.
Hard Light: Pocket Energy Matrix - This weapon [b]automatically[/b] adapts to the shield type it is currently damaging. Breaking elemental shields returns some ammo to the magazine and [b]disorients[/b] any nearby enemies.
Borealis: V4.1 - This weapon is fitted with [b]Anti-Barrier rounds[/b], capable of stunning Barrier Champions. Breaking champion shields with this weapon activates Ionic Return. Additionally, breaking enemy shields afflicts them with [b]Kinetic damage weakness.[/b]
Sunshot: Supernova - Defeating 7 enemies in quick succession with this weapon creates a massive explosion, [b]obliterating[/b] enemies nearby and burning survivors. Supernova explosions are highly effective against [b]Unstoppable champions[/b].
Merciless: Bloodthirsty AI - Defeating enemies with this weapon grants [b]increased reload speed and stability[/b]. Enemies that survive 8 consecutive shots from this weapon are [b]prioritized[/b] by the onboard AI, and attacking priority targets grants health to the user. Defeating prioritized targets [b]reloads[/b] the magazine.
Huckleberry: Bullrider - In addition to reloading the full magazine after a kill, this weapon [b]heals[/b] the user after multikills. This weapon gains [b]overload rounds[/b] after firing for 2+ seconds.
The Jade Rabbit: Peerless Mischief - [b]Removes[/b] the cap on bonus damage granted by Fate of all Fools. Hitting a precision shot at 6+ stacks of Fate of all Fools [b]overflows[/b] the magazine to 20, and grants [b]Anti-Barrier[/b] rounds until the weapon is stowed. Kills while Peerless Mischief is active [b]disorient[/b] nearby enemies for 5s.
Vigilance Wing: Turn The Tide - This weapon fires in full auto. This weapon gains [b]adaptive anti-champion rounds[/b] while the user is the last Guardian standing. Reviving an ally as the last Guardian standing restores the user to full health, and grants [b]25% damage reduction[/b] to both Guardians for 5s.
Tractor Cannon: Eureka! - This weapon carries more ammo in reserves. This weapon gains increased [b]damage range[/b] and can [b]stun Overload champions[/b] while The Scientific Method is active.
The Legend of Acrius: Emperor's Ascent - This weapon is able to [b]stun unstoppable champions[/b]. Defeating powerful combatants grants this weapon increased range, damage, and reload speed for 10s. Single-shot multikills [b]refund[/b] ammo to the magazine.
The Prospector: Gold Rush - Getting direct hits with the entire magazine [b]automatically reloads[/b] 50% of the magazine, and [b]increases the damage[/b] of the next shots.
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Most of these weapons are very rarely seen anywhere in Destiny 2. I truly feel that any of these changes would put these weapons back on the radar. Anti-Champion effectiveness seems to be the future of good weapons. There are few things more heartbreaking than loving a certain exotic and not being able to use it in Nightfall activities because your Anti-Champion mod isn't on the artifact. The other changes are just some fun ideas I had in mind and would make these weapons some pretty strong picks. Is there something wrong with exotics being considerably stronger than legendaries? I don't think so. With how tanky enemies can get in Grandmaster Nightfalls, I'd like to cut through them by utilizing my exotic primary's ability rather than swapping to a special weapon or heavy instead just keeping my primary for anti-champion uses.
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Some of these are really cool! I love the idea of Sturm overcharges stunning unstoppable champions and making drang stun overloads. Some of these definitely wouldn't be balanced, and I don't agree with making exotics far outclass legendaries in too many situations just because they're exotics, but some of these do seem fairly balanced, and the ones that aren't are still cool ideas that could just use some tuning or cutting down. PS, you forgot Skyburner's Oath. I mean come on, bonus range on a scout rifle with explosive rounds? I would much rather it be handling to switch between ADS and hipfire faster, plus unstoppable rounds when hipfiring and anti-barrier rounds when ADS (note that unstoppable and anti-barrier make the most sense because Cabal have both of those champion types).