Especially Hunters. Namely, Gunslingers.
Thorn is the first Xbounty I completed. Yes, it sat in the vault for a little while but when I started using my Hunter and reading through all the GunSlinger skills, I realized how much of a perfect fit it is.
Since I'm not a [i]total[/i] douche, I will share my findings. Tell me what you think.
If you want to take a look of my Hunter (She's my 3rd character), you'll see that the skills I use are meant for accurate, efficient Handcannon users.
[b]Chain of Woe[/b]
If you are good with HandCannons, that means you know that accuracy is key. Chain of Woe rewards your accuracy with a reload speed boost. It stacks up to three times, but continues to reset the 3rd stack every time you get a precision kill. That's every time, right? Right, because you're already awesome at Handcannoneiring. This boost makes a huge difference, especially if you get the chain up to 3x. You're looking at the Thorn reloading in about a second, a HUGE change from that 3 or so second reload time without it.
[b]Gunslinger's Trance[/b]
I have only, [i]just[/i] started using this little perk, but it makes a hell of a difference as well. Trance and Woe are not mutually exclusive (meaning you can have both), so your accuracy can be further rewarded with stability boosts, Now you may be thinking "I'm already the best HC shot in the Tri-Planet Area. I don't really need the added stability." To that I say, you're absolutely right. It's not a necessity, you might find better use with the Keyhole perk and I don't fault you for that, but I enjoy the perk, I now won't have to use as much time with target acquisition and can speed up the genocide process.
[b]Gear[/b]
If you're going to be an exclusive Handannonier, you might as well go all the way, get gear that compliments your weapon choice. Dead Orbit has a set of Hunter boots that give more weapon ammo, the Hunter Vanguard has Greaves that speed up HC reloads, and there are chest and helmet armors that have HC boosts as well. I can't tell you where because RNGsus blessed me with my chest-piece and I got my helmet from Noodleface last week.
[i][b]Thorn[/b][/i]
[b]Send It[/b]
This perk provides a significant boost to your range, very useful if you are you and can shoot both eardomes off a Dreg from 343m. If you're using Gunslinger's Trance, you wouldn't really need the Perfect Balance perk that comes after it,
[b]Mark of the Devourer[/b]
"[u][b]Rounds pierce targets[/b][/u] and cause lingering damage over time."
This is more useful than just the poisony-green glow it gifts your enemies. If you are patient good at lining up your targets (and you are, because you're you), you can land multiple critical kills at once. That right, your awesomeness sharpens the thorns on the bullets (side note, Thorn actually does fire thorn balls) and keeps the rounds moving until they connect with something they can no longer feed on...like the planet/moon itself. And all those skulls/bellybuttons, you line up count as separate kills. Meaning you can easily get a x2 or x3 bonus for Chain of Woe or Gunslinger's Trance with one kill.
"Rounds pierce targets and cause [u][b]lingering damage over time.[/b][/u]"
As underwhelming as this may sound to most, you are a master of strategy, you know the true meaning of war. You know that every bit of damage counts. Did you not get that OHKO? Maybe someone bumped you while you were playing? Maybe your cat bumped the remote and pushed the trigger button before you were ready? Maybe ISIS was making a statement and hacked your console and glitched the Critical Hit box? It definitely had nothing to do with you as a marksman. Doesn't matter, move on to the next guy, the thorn has already claimed its victim. [b] If[/b] that poor thing somehow manages to survive all that and doesn't run away with what's left of his luck, there are no rules against Overkill. That'll learn 'em.
[u][i][b]It sounds awesome![/b][/i][/u]
I mean, seriously, have you HEARD it? Cuz I have and that's one of the first things I fell in love with. Other than the [i]pew pew[/i] or [b]pow pow[/b] or bang bang you get from the other mediocre handbeasts, you get the sexiest of all, the [i][b]BA-KLING[/b][/i] and the sound of everything it touches hissing and evaporating.
Did I mention that Jaren Ward was a Hunter? Because he was. Rumor has it, that he had The Last Word and it was corrupted and became Thorn. (This rumor has been debunked, Thorn and the Last Word shouldn't exist in the same time or place if it were tru.) If that's not enough for you, I don't know what is.
So, why do you hate Thorn again?
[b]TL;DR[/b] Read it.
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The reason I don't like the thorn: mag size + reload speed. The perks on the gun are great and it's actually not a bad gun, but it was clearly limited in development with PvP in mind. I find it perfectly usable in pvp but in PvE the limited ammo/reload I terrible.
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Because it's ugly as sin.
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There's nothing to really outright "hate" about Thorn, but as far as Exotic Hand Cannons go, it's the weakest of the 3 by far. Compare it's critical hit value to many Legendary and even some RARE hand cannons and it simply doesn't stack up. Lingering damage may indeed get you the kills, but you get far less precision kills at the end of a match using Thorn versus using Last Word or Hawkmoon, as a result of that poison damage. Stack that against Hawkmoon's 13 shots per mag, and it doesnt matter how damn fast the reload stacks, I can still fire twice as many shots +1 before having to reload once. If you have other high end hand cannons, Thorn doesn't stack up as an Exotic, and that is why many people bag on it.
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Thorn works great with my defender, after a melee kill I have a perk that reloads weapon super fast for a while. One second reload. Wish it had a bigger clip tho
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Spoiler alert: last word kills thorn in the lore and thorn used to be a rose and still has rose impact holes when they hit.
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totally agree with the OP, got this after finally biting the bullet & getting the PVP part done - and please for any of you like me who spend most of their time in PVE ---- just give it a try! honestly, I just used a blue (rare) shotgun with void damage in clash matches and it took me 4-5hrs (my K/D ratio was fairly crap 0.94). I won't be going back to PVP though... sorry Bungie nice try getting me to dip my toes in but its not for me. I don't have The Last Word or Hawkmoon so can't compare really - But, can confirm the Thorn just feels like an awesome weapon... not sure if its the sound it makes, similar to patience and time (sought of satisfying thud/squelch when getting head shots with it) v v cool. The only weapon I enjoy using more is Super Good Advice and I don't care what anyone says about the accuracy I get to act like arnie for 5 mins and totally mow down fallen + the Super Good Advice perk means pretty much all my missed shots go straight back into the magazine prolonging that 'hosing' of the opposition!
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I love thorn. I'm using it on a Warlock though but, after this great post I will definitely send it to my hunter and start working on my gunslinger. Thanks for the advice.
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Thorn was my first exotic ever, I love that weapon in both PvP and PvE and I never really thought it got hate from anybody
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For me it's a good gun which I enjoy in PvE but not PvP. Chain of woe is good but I prefer the second knife. Also I think people wish it had more rounds, think 8 would be good and maybe a bit more stability and reload speed. I consider this the hardest bounty yet it needs some kind of buff. Still awesome sounding gun and can't wait to level it!
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No thankx, i preffer to spray my luv to all the enemies with my AR.
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They are not worthy of its presence. Thorn is only a true weapon in the right hands...
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We don't all hate Thorn! Some of us are in a clan centered around it! Come and join [url=http://www.bungie.net/en/Clan/Forum/511412/0/1/0]Thorny Guardians[/url] today!
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Thorn is just annoying to get. Mainly the void damage points when you don't do pvp at all. The strike in the end presents a challenge but not too hard. Just elite enemies everywhere. (Yellow Health bar with high shield protection and resistances)
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Edited by Coyote_x_Starrk: 11/6/2014 1:49:33 AMPeople don't like Thorn because it doesn't live up to their HIGH expectations and imaginings that they had from when they first saw the gun. They thought that it would be the be all end all handcannon and that is simply not the case. There are other handcannons that do everything better than Thorn at the moment.
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Edited by SINISTAR707: 11/6/2014 12:01:04 AMOnly reason I don't use it is because my Devil is already fully upgraded, and is a complete monster. 12 in the cylinder, great range and stability, good damage, high crits. All from my legendary The Devil You Know. The Thorn is exotic, and takes forever to upgrade. It only gets to be an attractive option for me very late into the upgrade tree. Why bother with something that only has six in the rotation and isn't too good out of the box, when I have one that goes twice as hard for twice as long, and leaves room for another exotic in my special weapons or heavy category? Its not that I hate it, just that its not practical until very far down the line. Not to mention I'm more than a little disappointed in its overall performance after all the effort needed to acquire it. But if you like it, that's your deal. To each, their own.
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I find it ugly to be honest.
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Its good but if u had two more shots and a little faster of a reload the gun would be great and could be compared to other exotic handcannons
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I hate when people think that when the get the exotic bounty they deserve it from the get go. You gonna earn it.
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Edited by OminousGryphen: 11/6/2014 12:57:15 AMThe reload time is my issue with it
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I just hate being forced to play PvP to get it. Once I got to that part of the bounty I dropped it.
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Only issue it has is reload speed or alternatively the clip size. Have had mine maxxed forever and that's my only complaint.
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Excellent post. I'll have to dust off my Thorn and give it a try.
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Read it all. I love thorn, just wanted to read the hate and laugh at anyone who doesn't recognise the beauty of this beast. Actually turned out pretty well. Didn't get to the hate but reaaaaaaaally looking forward to finishing my second thorn bounty now :) thanks bud
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Good thread, exactly the kind this forum needs. I am steadily upgrading my thorn, but man it takes some effort over other exotics.
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I use it in the crucible on my hunter. It's way too much fun. Two head shots and they can run where ever they want. It's to late buahaha. The recoil can be hard to adjust to, but once you get the feel for it the gun rocks. Last Word is just a beast. I almost feel like it would be less fun to use it lol. It reminds me of the golden gun from Goldeneye
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Edited by TenYearPlan: 11/6/2014 12:03:11 AMCompare it to legendary hand cannons (lord high fixer or the devil you know) or to hawkmoon.