The Fourth Horseman

The Fourth Horseman
Production overview
Rarity class:	Exotic
Weapon type:	Shotgun
Required level:	20 (Year One version) ; 40 (Year Two version)
Min-max magazine:	5
Specifications
Fire mode:	Fully automatic
Damage:	Arc
Service history
In service:	Yes
Affiliation:	Guardian Vanguard

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"It's not a holdout weapon, it's a pathfinder."

— Weapon Description

The Fourth Horseman is a fully automatic Exotic Shotgun in Destiny introduced in The Dark Below as a PS4 exclusive weapon. The Fourth Horseman is available in The Taken King, and is also available in Rise of Iron. In Destiny 2, it is available to obtain during Season of the Worthy.

Design Details

"One look at The 4th Horseman, and the care taken in crafting it, points to the old trophy-driven traditions of the hunt, but this blunt force destroyer wasn’t built for just any game. Its precision tuning allows for full-auto firing, while measured impact timing provides an extra kick at the tail end of each magazine—a needed fail safe designed specifically for the weapon’s intended prey, the biggest game in the system, the Cabal."

— Grimoire description

This weapon's signature ability is "Thunderer", which grants full auto-fire right off the bat without needing to upgrade the weapon. It is the fastest firing shotgun in the game, outpacing even Invective, which also is fully automatic. This blindingly fast fire rate allows the player to deal massive damage in a short period of time. However, its limited magazine of 5 rounds hinders its burst damage capabilities until it can later be upgraded with "Return to Sender", which allows kills to replenish ammo directly to its magazine.^[1] Combined with the low range and slow reload speed, this shotgun takes work to master. But, if the wielder is fast enough to rush into close range and unleash all 5 shots in rapid succession, then this weapon will take down enemies very quickly.

Lore

"There's a reason the Cabal want to take this weapon from us.

"When you hold the Fourth Horseman in your hands, you bring the storm. You instill fear by commanding the thunder and firing off rounds with lightning speed. Tear through your enemies like light piercing through clouds after the rain subsides.

"You are a force of nature. Unstoppable. Unpredictable. Undeniable.

"Don't forget what the Fourth Horseman brings, after all."

—Commander Zavala

Destiny Stats

Intrinsic Properties

Thunderer: This weapon can be fired in full auto mode.

Barrel Upgrades

Accurized Ballistics: More range and impact. Increased recoil.
CQB Ballistics: Greatly reduced recoil. Significant penalty to range.
Field Choke: More range and impact. Increased recoil.

Special Perks

Final Round: The last round in the magazine deals bonus damage.

Stat Modifiers

Speed Reload: Reload this weapon quickly.
Fitted Stock: Increase weapon stability.
Hand Loaded: This weapon is effective at an extended range.

Exotic Perk

Return to Sender: Kills with this weapon have the chance to grant bonus ammo to the magazine.

Destiny 2 Stats

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Intrinsic Properties Thunderer: This weapon can be fired in full auto mode.

Barrel Upgrades

ARROWHEAD BRAKE: Lightly vented barrel.
Greatly controls recoil
Increases handling speed

Magazine upgrades

Assault mag: This shotgun's magazine is optimized for quick combat.
Greatly increases stability
Increases rate of fire

Special Perks

Broadside: Each successive shot has more damage and more spread.

Stat Modifiers

FITTED STOCK: This stock makes the weapon stable but heavy
Increases stability
Moderately controls recoil
Slightly decreases handling speed

Catalyst: And its name was Death.

Adds an additional round to the magazine and increases reload speed. (Adds 5 rounds instead of 4 which was the original Destiny 1 magazine.)

Tactics

The Fourth Horseman was designed to quickly take down enemies at close range. If used correctly, it is capable of downing majors and more powerful enemies very fast. This weapon requires some skill to get used to the recoil pattern but once mastered, it can be used just about anywhere.

Campaign

In PVE, the weapon is great for dealing large amounts of close range damage in a short time, a useful trait against Major enemies. However, if you're not careful, you may wind up firing more shots than intended, leading to wasted ammo. The low stability can also cause shots to miss or only graze enemies, if you aren't close enough.

Multiplayer

In PVP, the full-auto trait can be a burden if you don't know what you're doing. Because you only have a limited amount of special ammo to begin, and the fact that getting more isn't always easy, conserving it is important. The aforementioned traits make for easy kills at close range, but can cause you to use up ammo too quickly, depriving you of a weapon until more special ammo can be gathered.