For those who don't know, The Unholy Trinity was the widely accepted name of the 3 top performing Hand cannons back in the House of Wolves era of Destiny. Thorn, Last Word, and Hawkmoon dominated the Crucible, making quick work of anyone who dared step in front of any one of these absolute demons of damage output. They were hated (hence the name), but they were [b][i]enjoyable[/i][/b]. Using them was a blast, making you truly [i]feel[/i] like a legend. Then Year 2 came around, and everything was downhill from there in terms of the Exotic Handcannons, namely for the infamous three. I think now's about time to change that. [b] Thorn[/b] [b][i] The Poison of the Crucible[/i][/b] Thorn, the weapon so feared, Bungie implemented an Artifact into the game upon it's return to give players a safety net in case it took the throne once more. But how often do you realistically see Thorn? In my experience, 9 out of 10 matches, I'll never see this weapon. When I do, it's because I personally like the weapon, and I'm staring down it's barrel, plunging bad ass spikes into my opponents. Only those spikes are no longer bad ass, or dangerous. The nerfs implemented into Thorn's poisonous Exotic Perk have left it a shadow of itself, making it more like the cautionary label on the back of toothpaste, telling you not to ingest it rather than the hazard symbol on Radioactive waste canisters, striking fear at the simple sight of it. Now, I'm not saying restore Thorn to it's pre-TTK state, (that'd make me, and probably all remaining veterans, finally quit Destiny) but a rework is in order for it's Exotic perk, to finally restore it to it's [i][b]Exotic[/b][/i] state. My proposal is to change Thorn's damage model to reflect it's poisonous qualities better, making it more dependant on the Exotic Perk (I'll get to that in a second). Thorn has always been the Red-headed stepchild of the Exotic Handcannons, with it being (at one time) the only one capable of a 3 shot Headshot [i]and[/i] bodyshot. I feel as though it should be moved from it's current archetype to the High Impact, Low RoF archetype. The most notable of it's problems in Y1 was it's capability to be "spammed". The accuracy of Handcannons in Y1 coupled with it's fire rate made it an absolute headache to deal with, making the most inept of Handcannons look decent with it. A problem plaguing Thorn now is it's abysmal Range drop off. Thorn players (and all others that remember it's glory days) don't want a slower Last Word. The accuracy given to Handcannons in the most recent patch was a great step in the right direction. Giving Thorn the Range it desires would greatly improve it and it'd also prevent it from becoming a problem in the future. (I'd recommend an decrease to range drop off of all High Impact, Low RoF Handcannons from the current 35m to 45m, making them finally outperform their Mid RoF, Mid Impact brethren, the Palindrome and Eyasluna). Now, onto the Exotic Perk. MARK OF THE DEVOURER "Rounds pierce targets and cause lingering damage over time" The Exotic Perk, much like the Archetype, has been in a weird place ever since it initially got touched at the beginning of The Taken King. The burn's reduction in damage was definitely needed, (after experiencing it for a year, even I don't want to see it return to Y1 numbers) but the tick rate leaves something to be desired. I propose the Perk's first half be taken seriously. Add an intrinsic Armor Piercing Rounds to the Exotic Perk, much like how Hawkmoon gains a 13 round magazine when you unlock the Exotic Perk. This would help it more in PvE, but it'd be a change for the better. The second half however, needs a complete makeover. My suggestion? The "lingering damage" increases in damage when consecutive critical shots are landed, growing from 3-5-7 damage [b]This is not a new idea[/b]. When the change to Thorn was announced, many (most of the community) wanted Thorn put in a trash can, never to be brought back into Destiny ever again, and much of the community applauded it's subsequent nerfs that ensured it remained out of the top tier. But there was a subset in the community that saw another route, the route of making the burn a skill requirement. Back then, no one could see Thorn with as low of burn damage it has now. So they thought around it, thinking "instead of decreasing the amount of ticks and the damage, how's about it take [i]only[/i] precision shots to activate the poison". With the way Thorn works now, the poison only activating with precision would really kill any possible use of it. If it kept the ability to apply burn on bodyshot (applying 3 on body) and gained the ability to increase damage on precision shot would definitely give Thorn a well deserved buff. It'd be kept in check by the lower RoF (as mentioned above) and would definitely see more use. This is the first in a series of changes I'd like to see happen to the former Gods of the Crucible. Please give educated and helpful feedback in the comment section below. I'm not one to look up the numerical values of things (hence the lack of numbers in this post), so I'm not going to pretend I know everything about how weapons work in Destiny. If anyone has alternatives on how Thorn should change for the better, feel free to post them below. My goal for this series is to have these changes at least be looked over by the Sandbox Team (Josh Hamrick), who've been extremely communicable in the recent weeks (although I've seen Cozmo here and there ;-) ). Thank you for reading, and as always, [b][i]Light be with you, Guardians[/i][/b]