Acolyte's Staff

Acolyte's Staff

"A foreboding staff bearing engravings of Hive runes and bound with mystical charms"

— Artifact Description

The Acolyte's Staff is the Seasonal Artifact for Season of the Witch.

Seasonal Artifact Mods

Column 1

• Anti-Barrier Auto Rifle: Your equipped Auto Rifles fire shield-piercing rounds and stun Barrier Champions. Additionally, Auto Rifles are always overcharged when the modifier is active.
• Piercing Bowstring: Bows gain shield-piercing arrows, which bypass combatant defences. Strong against Barrier Champions. Additionally, Bows are always overcharged when that modifier is active.
• Unstoppable Scout Rifle: Aiming down the sights of a Scout Rifle for a short time loads a powerful explosive payload that stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against Unstoppable Champions. Additionally, Scout Rifles are always overcharged when the modifier is active.
• Overload Hand Cannon: Landing consecutive hits with any Hand Cannon you are wielded disrupts combatants, stunning them, delaying ability regeneration and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against Overload Champions
• Unstoppable Fusion: Aiming down sights for a brief period with any Fusion Rifle you are wielding loads a powerful explosive payload that stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against Unstoppable Champions. Additionally, Fusion Rifles are always overcharged when that modifier is active.

Column 2

• Arc/Strand Siphon Combo: Combines the Arc and Strand Siphon mods into one.
• Solar/Strand Siphon Combo: Combines the Solar and Strand Siphon mods into one.
• Void/Strand Siphon Combo: Combines the Void and Strand Siphon mods into one.
• Origin Perk Specialization I: Greatly improves the benefits provided by Head Rush, Nanotech Tracer Rockets, Unsated Hunger, and Cursed Thrall Origin traits
• Diviner's Discount: All Scavenger mods are discounted

Column 3

• Thanatotic Tangles: Strand weapons final blows have a chance to generate a Tangle.
• Origin Perk Specialization II: Weapons with the Head Rush, Nanotech Tracer Rockets, Unsated Hunger, and Cursed Thrall Origins traits are always overcharged when that modifier is active.
• Elemental Orbs: Void: While using a Void subclass, Void weapon Final blows have a chance to spawn a Void Elemental Orb. Void Orbs can be thrown to create a Void explosion that makes enemies it damages volatile.
• Elemental Orbs: Arc: While using an Arc subclass, Arc weapon final blows have a chance to spawn an Arc Elemental Orb. Arc Orbs can be thrown to create an Arc explosion that jolts targets it damages.
• Elemental Orbs: Solar: While using a Solar subclass, Solar weapon final blows have a chance to spawn a Solar Elemental Orb. Solar Orbs can be thrown to create a Solar explosion that scorches targets it damages.

Column 4

• Overload Machine Guns: Uninterrupted fire from your equipped Machine Guns grants bullets that stun combatants, delaying ability energy regeneration and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against Overload Champions.
• Elemental Fury: While stunned, Champions take bonus damage from your abilities and Elemental Orb damage.
• Communal Pickups: When an ally destroys or picks up your Tangle or Elemental Orb. The Tangle cooldown is reduced by 5 seconds and you gain bonus damage with weapons matching your subclass for 10 seconds.
• Refreshing Pickups: Picking up a Tangle or Elemental Orb grants energy to your least-powered ability.
• Semi-Auto Striker: If you have fewer than 2 stacks of Armor Charge, rapid precision shots with Bows, Snipers, and Scout Rifles generate an Armor Charge.

Column 5

• Monochromatic Maestro: Dealing elemental ability damage increases matching weapon damage, and elemental weapon damage increases matching ability damage. Bonus granted is 10% for 5 seconds.
• Rapid-Fire Ranger: Rapid precision hits against distant combatants weaken them for a short duration.
• Elemental Embrace: Subclass elemental buffs grant you bonus recovery and damage resistance against combatant attacks of the matching element type.
• Elemental Munitions: Combatants final blows with Tangles or Elemental Orbs have a chance to drop Special or Heavy ammo
• Frenzied Stacks: Collecting an Orb of Power causes you to gain 1 temporary Armor Charge. Your Armor Charges grant bonus damage to your thrown Tangles or Elemental Orbs. Your Armor Charge now decays over time.

Lore

"And my vanquisher will read that book, seeking the weapon, and they will come to understand me, where I have been and where I was going."The following is a verbatim transcription of an official document for archival reasons. As the original content is transcribed word-for-word, any possible discrepancies and/or errors are included.

"A FOREBODING STAFF BEARING ENGRAVINGs OF HIVE RUNES AND BOUND WITH MYSTICAL CHARMS."

---

Commander,

"Speak to me not of the Darkness—I want no part," I once cautioned an overeager Guardian who loitered near me in the Tower. I did not mean their command over Strand or Stasis, but rather the deep, ancient corruption that empowers our enemies and corrodes our very souls. This force—this evil, if I may use such a simplistic term—surrounds us, and we must do all we can to limit our exposure, lest we find ourselves sinking below its dark waves.

And so it was with great hesitancy that I examined the unusual "Acolyte's Staff" created by Eris Morn and Immaru, the renegade Ghost. I find their alliance baffling as she holds no love for the Hive, and he is the foul creature who resurrected Savathûn. But even that is not as strange as the staff itself.

In addition to being bound with charms and inscribed with powerful runes, the staff contains a small fragment of Hive worm. Due to a ghastly ritual and a metaphysical loophole in sword logic philosophy, a Guardian wielding the staff is able to transfer the power of their defeated foes to Ms. Morn through a blood tithe.

Seeking answers, I sought Ms. Morn herself. I found her beyond a portal she erected in the H.E.L.M. She was waiting on an elaborate bone dais in a forgotten corner of Savathûn's Throne World she called the Athenaeum, as it allowed her to study the secrets of Savathûn's Spire. The seclusion of the locale was appealing, but when Ms. Morn began to "change," I fled, leaving my curiosity behind me.

There is power within the staff, Commander. Terrible power.

Speak to me not of the Darkness.

—Master Rahool

Appearance

• Destiny 2: Season of the Witch