What is merciless fire rate?
I‘m sure you‘ve been wrecked in the Crucible by a perfectly timed Merciless shot or seen it melt a strike boss in seconds. But how does this exotic fusion rifle work exactly and how can you master it? I‘ll cover everything you need to know about the Merciless here in this complete guide.
First, let‘s quickly answer the question – what is Merciless‘s fire rate? The initial charge time is 900ms. As you damage an enemy continuously, this buffs down to a minimum of 420ms over 5 shots for dramatically increased DPS!
A Brief History of Merciless
Introduced in 2017‘s Destiny 2 base game, Merciless was initially viewed as a lackluster exotic. But after a series of buffs culminating in Season of the Seraph, Merciless finally lives up to its name in capable hands in both PVP and PVE.
Its usage in high-level PVE jumped from just 0.9% of players to 7.5% within a season. Competitive PVP players like TrueVanguard are calling it "the best fusion rifle in the game" lately.
So what changed and why is it surging in popularity now? Let‘s dive deeper…
Understanding Merciless‘s Exotic Perk
Unlike standard fusion rifles with fixed stats, Merciless gets bonuses to both charge time and damage from its "Conserve Momentum" perk as long as you maintain damage on a target.
The charge time buff stacks up to 5x, decreasing from 900ms down to 420ms. The impact per bolt also increases up to a maximum of +50% relative to its base damage.
This buff lasts for 8 seconds after you stop firing or swap weapons. After this, it resets to its initial 900ms charge time.
| Shots Fired | Charge Time (ms) | Impact Buff |
| 1 | 900 | 0% |
| 2 | 720 | 10% |
| 3 | 600 | 20% |
| 4 | 540 | 30% |
| 5 | 420 | 50% |
As you can see, learning to properly stack and maintain the buff is key to mastering Merciless. Let‘s see how we can do that effectively…
Maximizing Merciless‘s Buff in PVE
When taking on challenging PVE activities, your goal should be to hit that maximum 5x bonus before unloading on bigger targets.
The most efficient way is to build up your buff on minor enemies first. I like to get 2-3 charges on thralls or dregs, then swap to an elite to finish stacking before concentrating fire on the boss.
Once you have 5x, you have an 8 second window to unleash high DPS, so make it count! Use it in conjunction with damage buff supers like Well of Radiance and make sure to aim for precision hits.
Merciless vs. Other Boss DPS Options
Fully buffed, Merciless can keep up with or even exceed the best exotic heavy weapons in terms of raw DPS. Let‘s compare it to a few other meta options:
| Weapon | Average DPS |
| Merciless (5x Buff) | 89,000 |
| Gjallarhorn | 82,000 |
| Sleeper Simulant | 68,000 |
| Orpheus Rigs Tether | 60-90,000 |
As you can see, a skilled Merciless user can out-pace nearly any exotic heavy! The key is keeping up that buff and having good aim under pressure.
Recommended Mods and Perks
To maximize your DPS window, be sure to use fusion rifle reload and ammo mods like Quick Charge or Swift Charge. Perks like Under Pressure will improve stability and consistency as the mag empties.
Running Particle Deconstruction in seasonal artifact mods is also a huge boost, stacking multiplicatively with Merciless‘s own damage buff!
Wrecking Guardians in PVP
In Crucible, Merciless allows you to quickly shut down roaming supers and over-shielded opponents if you catch them off guard.
The key here is pre-charging around corners and doorways right as your target enters line of sight. This takes practice, but will let you melt full health guardians before they can react.
Merciless is also viable in team-shot scenarios. Have a teammate bait your target around a corner, then clean up the kill as they try to escape. Beautiful teamwork.
PVP Kill Time Comparison
Let‘s see how Merciless with 5x stacks up against optimal kill times of some other meta weapons:
| Weapon | Optimal TTK |
| Pre-charged Merciless | 0.54s |
| 340 RPM Pulse Rifle | 0.67s |
| 120 RPM Hand Cannon | 0.80s |
| Lightweight SMG | 0.73s |
As you can see, a buffed Merciless can beat out any primary weapon in terms of raw TTK. Just beware of letting your buff wear off!
Winning Your 1v1s
When challenging a primary weapon user 1v1, make sure you have your buff fully built up and time your pre-charge well. Hopefully this guide has given you a better understanding of the Merciless exotic perk and how to maximize its power. Now get out there and fight hard, guardian! The city still needs saving.