Due to its incredibly powerful Exotic perks, Cloudstrike has enjoyed immunity to the ailing fortunes of Sniper Rifles as an archetype in Destiny 2 and remains a popular option in PvE and PvP.
As it was introduced with evergreen expansion Beyond Light in 2020, Cloudstrike, unlike seasonal Exotics, is still obtained via its original method, meaning it can’t be obtained for an upfront cost from the Tower’s Monument to Lost Lights.
That being the case, you’ll still be required, as a bare minimum, to own the Beyond Light Pack – the campaign and Stasis subclass are free – and to have completed the campaign before you can start the quest to hunt the Sniper Rifle down.
However, once those prerequisites have been met, you’ll want to visit the Exo Stranger on Europa to get started.
How to complete A Hard Rain Falls and farm Cloudstrike
Below is the full list of quest steps required to unlock the Empire Hunts playlist and the ability to farm Cloudstrike.
- Speak with the Exo Stranger on Europa and acquire the “A Hard Rain Falls” quest.
- Subdue the plans of House Salvation by thinning their ranks and completing public events and patrols in the current Eclipsed Zone (changes weekly). Powerful combatants and Heroic public events grant the most efficient progress.
- Players will need to reach a threshold of 1000 points to complete this quest step by killing enemies and completing public events, patrols, and Lost Sectors.
- Report your success and findings to the Exo Stranger.
- Unlock the Europan Explorer 1 (Tier 1) and Europan Explorer 2 (Tier 2) nodes in Variks the Loyal’s Sabotage menu by completing their associated objectives.
- Unlocking these nodes will grant the player access to a new Empire Hunts playlist that includes various difficulties and corresponding modifiers.
- Farm the new Empire Hunts playlist at the preferred difficulty level (Adept being the best choice for faster completions) until receiving Cloudstrike as a reward
Each completion of any Empire Hunt has a chance of dropping Cloudstrike.Cloudstrike perks & Catalyst
- Archetype: Arc Sniper Rifle
- Exotic Perks: Mortal Polarity, Stormbringer
- Barrel: Fluted Barrel
- Magazine: Alloy Magazine
- Stock: Hand-Laid Stock
Cloudstrike’s power lies in its two Exotic perks, Mortal Polarity and Strombringer. Not dissimilar to Thunderlord, the former perk generates high-damage lightning bolts on precision kills as well as granting stacks of Bolt Charge.
Stormbringer doubles down on that power fantasy by conjuring lightning storms at the point of impact after scoring rapid precision kills. That might sound tough to pull off with a sniper rifle, but Cloudstrike’s Catalyst – obtained as a random drop from any ritual activity completion – makes that feat a lot easier by granting Triple Tap.
Cloudstrike’s Catalyst grants it the Triple Tap perk.That’s everything you need to know about how to farm Cloudstrike, but if you’re looking for more Destiny 2 content, check out our breakdown of Iron Banner’s refreshed Peacebond sidearm and one of the best Trace Rifles to date in Warlord’s Spear.
