Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk and Omnioculus are two of the most popular Hunter exotics in Destiny 2 for PvP and PvE respectively. Both provide powerful bonuses to the Nightstalker subclass in particular. Choosing between them often comes down to whether you want to focus on offense or support.
What does Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk do?
Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk is an exotic chest armor that was introduced in Season of Plunder. Its main perk, Voltaic Mirror, triggers when you go invisible. For 10 seconds after turning invisible, your Arc weapons do bonus damage and jolt targets they damage.
This allows Nightstalker Hunters to amplify the power of Arc weapons tremendously. The jolt effect also spreads Voltaic Fulmination, a short chain lightning effect. This exotic strongly promotes an aggressive playstyle, rushing in to attack while under invisibility.
Key Perks
– Voltaic Mirror – Gain Voltaic Mirror while invisible. Voltaic Mirror: Your Arc weapons jolt targets and deal increased damage while you are invisible.
– Enhanced Joltshot – Jolting enemies spreads Voltaic Fulmination to nearby targets.
What does Omnioculus do?
Omnioculus is an exotic chest armor focusing on team support. Its Heart of the Pack perk creates Orbs of Power for allies when you go invisible. It also provides damage resistance while invisible.
This exotic extends Nightstalker invisibility uptime dramatically, allowing you to repeatedly refresh invisibility through smoke bombs and finishers. The near constant invisibility results in many orb creations for your fireteam. Omnioculus is highly valued in hard PvE content like Grandmaster Nightfalls.
Key Perks
– Heart of the Pack – Entering invisibility grants you and nearby allies damage resistance. Defeating enemies while invisible generates Orbs of Power.
– Enhanced Resistance – Increases your damage resistance and the duration of invisibility effects.
How does Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk perform in PvP?
Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk is extremely strong in the Crucible thanks to the current dominance of Arc 3.0 builds. The ability to boost Arc weapon damage after going invisible synergizes perfectly with Nightstalker. Here are some of the reasons it excels in PvP:
- Shotguns like Riiswalker and Found Verdict become deleting machines with the damage boost.
- SMGs like Tarrabah and Funnelweb reach lethal TTKs from greater ranges.
- The bonus damage makes cleaning up kills after a smoke bomb easy.
- Jolt spreads Voltaic Fulmination to entire groups from just one shot.
- You can stealthily reposition for optimal angles during the damage boost.
This exotic is commonly used by top Nightstalker players in Trials of Osiris and Survival. The ability to quickly eliminate key targets and collapse on weak groups is highly valuable. Gyrfalcon’s is less effective in 6v6 modes where long range primary gunfights are more common. But its aggressive capabilities shine in 3v3s.
Strong Gyrfalcon’s PvP Build
– Aspects – Vanishing Step, Stylish Executioner
– Fragments – Obscurity, Exchange, Instability
– Weapons – Arc Shotgun, SMG/Sidearm, LFR/Scout Rifle
– Mods – Powerful Friends, Radiant Light (100 Mobility, 100 Strength)
How does Omnioculus perform in PvE?
Omnioculus is one of the top support exotics for high-end PvE. Its ability to generate Orbs of Light and provide damage resistance is invaluable. Here are some key benefits it provides in difficult PvE activities:
- Frequent Orb generation helps your team spam supers and heavy weapons.
- The damage resistance enables safe revives of teammates in dangerous spots.
- Near constant invisibility gives you total freedom of movement and repositioning.
- Smoke bomb weakening enables Focusing Lens boosted damage for your fireteam.
- You can safely solo objectives like Capture Plates while invisible.
Omnioculus is a fixture in loadouts for Grandmaster Nightfalls, Day 1 raids, solo flawless dungeons, and other hard PvE content. The Nightstalker support and survivability it provides is essential when every bit of damage and positioning matters.
Strong Omnioculus PvE Build
– Aspects – Vanishing Step, Stylish Executioner
– Fragments – Obscurity, Exchange, Dilation
– Weapons – Blinding Grenade GL, Scout/Pulse Rifle, LFR/Rocket Launcher
– Mods – Particle Deconstruction/Sundering Glare, Reaping Wellmaker, Well of Tenacity
Comparing Exotic Perks
Let’s directly compare the unique perks provided by Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk vs Omnioculus:
| Perk | Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk | Omnioculus |
|---|---|---|
| Core Perk | Voltaic Mirror | Heart of the Pack |
| Benefit | + Weapon Damage + Jolt Enemies |
+ Damage Resistance + Orb Generation |
While both exotics enhance your invisible state, Gyrfalcon’s is focused on offense while Omnioculus aids survival and support. Which one you choose depends on your gameplay priorities and needs.
Exotic Armor Stats
The overall stats and stat distribution on your exotic armor roll also affects its performance. Let’s compare the potential stats for these two exotic chest pieces:
| Stat | Gyrfalcon’s | Omnioculus |
|---|---|---|
| Mobility | 2-16 | 2-16 |
| Resilience | 2-16 | 2-16 |
| Recovery | 2-16 | 2-16 |
| Discipline | 2-16 | 2-16 |
| Intellect | 2-16 | 2-16 |
| Strength | 2-16 | 2-16 |
| Total | 12-96 | 12-96 |
As you can see, both exotics can roll anywhere from 12 to 96 total stats, distributed in any combination across the six stats. This means the potential stat rolls are identical. You’ll want to try to get a high overall stat roll, preferably 65+ total.
For distribution, Gyrfalcon’s wants Strength and Mobility. Omnioculus can benefit most from Recovery and Intellect. But aim for overall high stats rather than an ideal split – a 70 total with a bad split is better than a 60 total with a perfect split.
Champion Mod Compatibility
Season 19 introduced three new Champion mods:
– Anti-Barrier Auto Rifle
– Overload Hand Cannon
– Unstoppable Fusion Rifle
Both Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk and Omnioculus can equip all three of these mods. Exotic chest armor has the advantage of compatibility with all Champion mods. This is a key benefit over exotic weapons or helmets that can only take one of the three new mods each season.
You’ll need to equip the proper Champion mods that match the requisite Champion types in high-end PvE content like Nightfalls and Legend/Master Lost Sectors. Fortunately, you don’t have to compromise your exotic choice based on Champions.
| Champion Mod | Gyrfalcon Compatible | Omnioculus Compatible |
|---|---|---|
| Anti-Barrier Auto | Yes | Yes |
| Overload Hand Cannon | Yes | Yes |
| Unstoppable Fusion | Yes | Yes |
This season, an ideal Nightfall build would use Anti-Barrier Autos and Unstoppable Fusions to stun those shields. You can equip both mods with either exotic chest piece.
Conclusion
In summary, Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk and Omnioculus are both top-tier Hunter exotics for PvP and PvE respectively. Gyrfalcon’s enables deadly aggressive flanks with bonus Arc damage after invisibility. Omnioculus provides constant uptime on smokey invisibility, buffing resist and cranking out Orbs.
Which one you choose depends primarily on your gameplay environment and team role:
- For PvP, Gyrfalcon’s lethal offense is superior.
- For high-end PvE, Omnioculus support and safety reigns supreme.
- Gyrfalcon’s benefits pure solo play more with its damage perks.
- Omnioculus is preferable when coordinating with a team in hard content.
Aim for a strong overall stat roll on whichever you use. With the right subclass setup and mods, both exotics are top tier options. Take advantage of Gyrfalcon’s offense in the Crucible or Omnioculus survivability in Grandmasters to excel as a Nightstalker with either option.
