'Destiny 2' Guide: How To Get Cloudstrike Exotic Sniper Rifle

The Cloudstrike sniper rifle is an interesting weapon choice for Guardians who prefer to play marksman in “Destiny 2.” Its high innate single-target DPS from being a sniper rifle can get boosted even further thanks to its Thunderlord-like perk that hits over a wide area.

While this gun isn’t exactly meta-breaking, it’s still a fun weapon to use for those who want to explore new loadouts or try out different mod combinations. Keep in mind, however, that while getting Cloudstrike isn’t complicated, it will require plenty of time and effort.

Here’s a quick guide on how to get this exotic sniper rifle in “Destiny 2.”

How to get Cloudstrike in “Destiny 2”

Getting Cloudstrike is relatively simple because it does not come with its own exotic quest. Instead, it has a random chance of dropping from Empire Hunts.

“Destiny 2” players will have to complete the “Beyond Light” main campaign and unlock Empire Hunts by completing Variks’ Sabotage quests across the planet, along with some other quests that appear around the map after the campaign.

Before farming for Cloudstrike, players must complete the following quests:

1. Old Secrets, New Challenges at Bray Exoscience
2. A Hard Rain Falls from the Exo Stranger
3. Europa Explorer 1 and 2 from Variks

The first quest will have players complete an Exo Challenge, while the rest mainly involve defeating enemies around the map or in Empire Hunts. Complete all of these to gain access to Elective Empire Hunts.

Farming for Cloudstrike

This is where most of the real work begins. Cloudstrike only has a small chance to drop as a reward from completing Empire Hunts. These hunts can be completed alone, but expect it to be harder than usual. For the quickest results, make sure to go in with a coordinated fireteam and plan accordingly as hunts change every week.

Cloudstrike’s drop rate does not increase on higher difficulties, so clearing hunts on Adept is the most efficient way to farm for this weapon.

The weapon is great for taking out major enemies like champions and mini-bosses or large targets like Ogres, Servitors and Abominations due to their large weak spots.

Cloudstrike can spawn thunderbolts after every precision kill, and every three precision hits will call down a lightning storm around the target’s area, causing even more damage against everything caught in its radius.