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 stability:	50
Min-max handling:	40
Min-max magazine:	4 (5 with completed catalyst)
Specifications
Ammunition type:	Shell
Fire mode:	Fully automatic
Rate of fire:	360
Damage:	Arc
Effective range:	30
Service history
In service:	Yes
Affiliation:	Guardian, Vanguard, Gunsmith

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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 from the Banshee-44 quest "In Rides A Pale Horse".

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

Destiny

This weapon's signature ability is "Thunderer", which grants full auto-fire 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]

Destiny 2

The Fourth Horseman retains the same intrinsic perks as its Destiny 1 iteration, but with the perk "Broadside" (each successive bullet in the magazine increases damage per bullet as well as pellet spread) added in place of Final Round. It is the reigning champion for shotgun DPS due to its full-auto perks as well as the synergy between the Broadside perk and the weapon catalyst.

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. (Increases magazine to 5 shells from 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 such as champions very fast. This weapon requires some skill to get used to the recoil pattern but once mastered, it can deal some of the highest burst DPS in the game in both Destiny and Destiny 2.

Campaign

In PVE, the weapon is great for dealing large amounts of close-range damage in a short time, a useful trait against tanky enemies, especially bosses that sit in one place. If not careful, you may wind up firing more shots than intended, leading to wasted ammo. The low stability often causes shots to miss or only graze enemies if the user is not 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 with, 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.

Trivia

This weapon was called "The 4th Horseman" prior to patch 1.2.0.
This weapon is a reference to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, specifically it references Death.
The engraving on the Fourth Horseman depicts a grotesque rendering of a wrinkly Cabal face baring its teeth.