The Last Word

The Last Word
Production overview
Manufacturer:	Tex Mechanica
Rarity class:	Exotic
Weapon type:	Hand Cannon
Required level:	20 (D1 Year 1 version); 40 (D1 Year 2 version)
Min-max impact:	68-72 (D1) ; 78 (D2)
Min-max stability:	12-53 (D1) ; 40 (D2)
Min-max handling:	15-20 (D1) ; 40 (D2)
Min-max reload speed:	80 (D2)
Min-max magazine:	8 (D1 and D2)
Specifications
Feed system:	Clip
Ammunition type:	Primary
Fire mode:	Double Action with Fan-Firing Mode
Rate of fire:	32 RPM (D1) ; 225 RPM (D2)
Damage:	Kinetic
Effective range:	2-8 (D1) ; 78 (D2)
Hidden stats
Aim assistance:	15-40 (D1) ; 40 (D2)
Inventory size:	70 (D1)
Zoom:	15 (D1) ; 11 (D2)
Recoil:	100-120 (D1) ; 100 (D2)
Airborne effectiveness:	19 (D2)
Service history
In service:	Jaren Ward (formerly) ; Shin Malphur ; Guardians
Affiliation:	Shin Malphur

"Yours…not mine."

— Renegade Hunter Shin Malphur to Dredgen Yor

The Last Word is an Exotic Hand Cannon first introduced in Destiny during Year One. It was reprised in Destiny 2 during Season of the Forge, when it was the final reward of a hidden Quest to claim the exotic. After Beyond Light, it could only be acquired from the Monument To Lost Lights.

The Last Word belonged to the Hunter Jaren Ward. It takes its name from the exchange between himself and the petty tyrant Loken.^[1] After Jaren's death, the gun passed to his adoptive son Shin Malphur^[2], who used it in his legendary showdown with the fallen Guardian Dredgen Yor.^[3]

Destiny 1

Acquisition and Gameplay

The Last word excels in Crucible because of its fast rate of fire and high impact. This hand cannon has been nerfed from its Year 1 iteration, with changes made to a bug that made it deal over 100 damage per headshot and would kill an enemy Guardian with only two shots. The current Destiny Year 3 version still retains the signature firing but now takes between 3 to 5 shots to kill an enemy Guardian.

Year One

Unlike most hand cannons, the Last Word can be fired rapidly without taking your finger off the trigger at the cost of significant recoil. One of its special upgrades, The Last Word, increases accuracy and damage from hip-fire shots.

Year Two

In Year 2, the Last Word's signature ability returns, lacking the previously given damage boost for hip fire, the rest of the weapon remains unchanged (Excluding its inclusion in Year 2's Infusion system).

Perks

Intrinsic Perk: Fan Fire – The weapon can be fired quickly and continuously.
Sights
- Soft Ballistics – Less recoil. Penalty to impact.
- Smart Coil Drift – Predictable and controllable recoil. Penalty to range.
- Aggressive Ballistics – More predictable recoil. Enhanced impact. Shorter range and more recoil.
Primary perks:
- Hip Fire – This weapon has bonus accuracy while firing from the hip.
Stat modifiers
- Single Point Sling – Switch weapons faster. Move quicker while aiming.
- High Caliber Rounds – Oversize rounds built to stagger targets and leave them reeling. Their mass makes a weapon harder to handle.
- Perfect Balance – This weapon has extremely low recoil.
Special perks:
- Last Word – Improved stability and target acquisition when firing from the hip.

Grimoire

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Destiny 2

Acquisition and Gameplay

The Last Word returned with Season of the Forge and was unlocked for all players on January 29, 2019. Unlike Thunderlord's quest after Festival of the Lost, it is not time-gated and can be obtained at any time. Like its Destiny incarnation, The Last Word is a short-range, full-auto hand cannon that is meant to be hip-fired. Its Fan Fire exotic perk increases reload speed and stability with each successive hit as long as it is hip-fired, and its low time-to-kill at close to mid range makes it the perfect answer to shotguns. The Fan Fire buff wears off if the gun is ADSed. Unfortunately, The Last Word comes with a magazine size of eight bullets, so, unlike hand cannons such as Ace of Spades, Luna's Howl, or Not Forgotten, it will run out of ammo very quickly. On console or controller, the gun has a lot of recoil, so it is recommended to compensate for it unless playing with a mouse and keyboard on PC. It is also highly recommended to pair this weapon with a long-range weapon such as a sniper rifle or a combat bow.

Perks

Intrinsic Perk: Fan Fare
- This weapon fires full auto. Hip-fire shots deal bonus precision damage while increasing reload speed and accuracy.

Corkscrew Rifling: Balanced barrel. Slightly increases range and stability. Slightly increases handling speed.
Accurized Rounds: This weapon can fire longer distances. Increases range.
Hip-Fire Grip: Increases accuracy, stability, and precision hit targeting when firing from the hip.
Textured Grip: The friction on this weapon's grip is particularly strong. Greatly increases handling speed. Slightly decreases stability.

Lore

"Yours, until the last flame dies and all words have been spoken. "

— Shin Malphur to you, as you journey forth into the unknown.

"Knew this day would come, and with it, one last lesson…

There's an end to all things, kid. Good and bad.

Sure, the best times seem small, and the bad tend to linger, but the only permanent is eternity.

I'm off to meet it.

If you're lucky, someday you will too.

For now, though, you've got road yet traveled and lives yet lived.

I know you got hate in you. Most do. Trick is to use it, 'stead of it usin' you.

But you know this—vengeance is a motivator, not the motive.

Meant to—hoped to—say these words to you one last time in person, but writin' 'em down seems the safe bet with the prey we're trackin'.

Worst part about bein' a good guy? As much as you may want it, you can't always win. But that truth don't bother me. We do the right thing, 'cause the right thing needs doin'. So, when another does harm—casts their shadow upon you or your kin—you go 'head and hunt for the justice needed to answer any sins inflicted.

Don't hunt 'em 'cause you been wronged.

Hunt 'em 'cause what they did was wrong.

There's a world of difference there, kid.

One makes you selfish. The other makes you a hero.

And I see a hero in you.

And with this last good lesson, a gift. I know it feels right in your hand—its weight easy, its trigger smooth. Use it as you will—I know you'll use it right.

It's yours now, 'til the last flame dies and all words've been spoken.

'Til that time.

Safe journeys. Straight aim. And good huntin'.

J.

—A letter to Shin Malphur from his third father, Jaren Ward, written before Ward's ill-fated showdown with the infamous Dredgen Yor in the wooded hollow beyond Beggars' Gulch

Trivia

The Last Word has been labeled as the "yang" of the Destiny universe (as opposed to the Thorn, which is the "yin").^[4]
When firing, the player will "fan" the gun with their left hand, a technique associated with old western single-action revolvers.
Unlike most revolvers The Last Word fires from the bottom chamber rather than the top chamber. Very few revolvers in Destiny, and real life, have this trait.
- The overall design, including the bottom-chamber firing, is very similar to and most likely inspired by the Mateba Model 6 Unica Autorevolver, a semi-automatic revolver.
The name "The Last Word" is likely a reference to the title of an article published in 1929 by Elmer Keith, a famous revolver marksman and magnum cartridge pioneer, regarding his custom Colt Single Action Army. Keith himself called the handgun the "Revolver No. 5", but many have also referred to the gun itself as the "Last Word" as well.