Destiny Rising's latest update delivers two major additions. Crota's End hard mode is back after community outcry, and a new event brings the Jade Rabbit exotic scout rifle to the game.
Crota's End Hard Mode Returns
Bungie listened. After frustration spread through the community, Crota's End hard mode has been reinstated. The developers acknowledged feedback in the patch notes, confirming the return came from fan requests.
Better Drop Rates
Hard mode now offers better rewards than normal difficulty.
Drop rates sit at 30% for exotic mods and 3% for the exotic ghost shell. Normal mode offers just 21% and 1% respectively. A solid bump for anyone willing to tackle the tougher content.
Fair Play Still Active
Not everything about the return has been well received. Fair Play restrictions remain active, and some aren't happy about it.
The criticism centers on timing. Fair Play makes sense during leaderboard rushes and competitive race periods when everyone needs a level playing field. Once those events wrap up, critics argue, the restrictions just make hard content harder to access for no real benefit.
Hard mode mechanics already present a serious challenge on their own. Adding Fair Play on top raises the barrier higher than many feel is necessary outside competition windows.
Future Possibilities
Community discussion has shifted toward potential changes. Some hope hard mode raids might eventually rotate into a bi-weekly reset system like Expanse and Calamity Ops, potentially offering Alluvium Leaves and other valuable rewards. No official word on this yet.
Jade Rabbit Arrives Through Forging Event
The Jade Rabbit exotic scout rifle is now available through a limited event called Instantaneous Flash. Instead of a standard drop or quest, the weapon comes through a forging system using event currency.
Earning Exotic Ingots
Exotic Ingots fuel the forging system. A few different methods exist for stacking them up.
Logging in during the event grants 10 Exotic Ingots immediately. Event challenges offer more through objectives like completing activities as Kabr (a Mythic Arc Defense character), defeating 50 combatants with the Jade Rabbit, finishing High Value Bounties, spending Pinnacle Energy, and participating in Adventures.
Daily challenges provide steady income as well. Simple tasks like defeating three combatants of any race with the Jade Rabbit keep the Exotic Ingots coming.
How Forging Works
Each forge attempt can improve the Jade Rabbit in multiple ways: raising gear level, increasing enhancement level, activating catalyst components, triggering Catalyst Boosts, and granting progress rewards.
The first forge hands over a trial version usable in all activities, plus a Superposed Photon. That Photon matters. It's one of the rarest endgame materials in Destiny Rising, used for powering up Exotic catalysts. Getting one just for starting the event is a nice bonus.
The trial version shows a "Limited Time" tag with a 13-day countdown. At six forges, the Jade Jester ornament unlocks, giving the scout rifle a pink look. Maxing out the forge progression awards a gear level 80 Jade Rabbit with +10 enhancement, Catalyst 1 active, Catalyst Bands 0 and 1 unlocked, and Catalyst Boost 1 ready to go.
Forging costs scale up over time. Early attempts are cheap, but later forges require more currency (14 Exotic Ingots was noted for one attempt partway through). Any rewards left unclaimed when the event ends get sent to the mail automatically.
Jade Rabbit Stats and Perks
The Jade Rabbit fires at 150 RPM, putting it in the slowest scout rifle category alongside Polaris Lance. It hits hard per shot but won't win any fire rate contests.
Fateful Fools (Intrinsic Perk)
Landing precision shots in a row activates Fateful Fools. Three consecutive headshots trigger the perk, which lasts about 10 seconds. Continued precision hits keep refreshing the timer.
The perk adds bonus damage to body shots and returns ammo to the magazine. Every three precision hits refunds one round, similar to Triple Tap. With Catalyst Band upgrades, that becomes two rounds per three hits.
Fortune Favors the Fool (Exotic Perk)
While Fateful Fools is running, precision damage increases at what the game calls a "non-stable rate." Headshot damage numbers jump around quite a bit in practice.
Testing showed precision hits landing anywhere from 6,000 to over 9,000 damage with the perk active. Base precision damage without Fateful Fools sits around 4,985. Body shots remain more consistent at roughly 2,400.
Catalyst Upgrades
The first Catalyst adds even more precision damage when Fateful Fools triggers.
Catalyst Band 1 bumps the ammo return from one round to two per three precision hits. This makes a real difference for sustained fire.
The final Catalyst Band tackles the biggest weakness head on. It increases rate of fire to 180 RPM while Fateful Fools is active, letting the damage flow faster when the perk is running.
The forging system unlocks Catalyst Bands through progression rather than requiring multiple weapon drops. No need to farm duplicate Jade Rabbits to access upgrades.
Combat Performance
Damage Numbers
Base damage without Fateful Fools active:
- Precision hits: roughly 4,985
- Body shots: roughly 2,400
With Fateful Fools running, precision damage becomes variable (6,000 to 9,000+ range) while body shots stay consistent.
Strengths
Large targets with easy crit spots play to the Jade Rabbit's strengths. The perk uptime stays high when landing headshots is simple, and the damage stacks up quickly.
Against Shinkas (elite enemies with powerful shields, similar to Champions in Destiny 2), the scout rifle broke shields in about four shots. Solid output for a primary.
Weaknesses
The 150 RPM base fire rate feels sluggish, especially for those used to faster scout rifles like Symmetry. A 15-round magazine limits extended engagements, though the ammo return helps offset this somewhat.
Enemies without crit spots create real problems. Fateful Fools requires precision hits to activate, so anything that can't be critted shuts down the damage loop entirely.
Some have also reported the aim assist feels unusual, though this may come down to personal preference and scout rifle familiarity.
The Exotic Slot Tradeoff
Scout rifle fans often run strong exotic heavies. Using Jade Rabbit means giving up that slot, which forces a choice. The damage output needs to justify losing access to exotic power weapons for specific activities.
Early impressions suggest the base version feels average. The fully upgraded Jade Rabbit with all Catalyst Bands, especially the 180 RPM boost, may shift things once the forge progression is done.
Exotic Scout Rifle Competition
Destiny Rising now has several exotic scout rifle options competing for attention.
Symmetry offers higher RPM for those who prefer faster fire rates. Polaris Lance shares the same 150 RPM archetype as Jade Rabbit. Each fills a different role, and the fully upgraded Jade Rabbit with its rate of fire buff during Fateful Fools may hold its own once the forge progression is complete.
Other Update Notes
Morgan's Hunt Returns
Morgan's Hunt is back alongside the Jade Rabbit event, adding more content to chase during this update window.
Armed Enclave Bulwarks Changes
Recent patches have made Armed Enclave Bulwarks much harder. Community feedback indicates the mode now requires specific weapon loadouts to clear, shrinking viable build options compared to before. Certain exotic drops remain critical for success, making it tough for anyone missing key gear pieces.
Bottom Line
This update tackles a major community request with Crota's End hard mode while introducing fresh content through the Jade Rabbit event. The improved drop rates in hard mode give raiders better incentive, though the Fair Play debate will likely continue.
For the Jade Rabbit, the forging system offers a clear progression path without traditional exotic upgrade hassles. The scout rifle shows promise, particularly once fully upgraded. That final Catalyst Band bumping RPM to 180 during Fateful Fools looks like it could fix the main complaint about the slow base fire rate.
The event runs for 13 days. Prioritizing event challenges and daily objectives will maximize Exotic Ingot gains for anyone looking to fully unlock the Jade Rabbit before time runs out.
