Roar of the Bear god roll - Destiny 2

Roar of the Bear returns as a drop in this week's Iron Banner. Here are the possible god rolls to look out for in PVE and PVP.

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Roar of the Bear makes it return to Lord Saladin’s inventory for this season’s round of Iron Banner (which includes a new PVP game mode called Eruption you should be checking out). Previously sunset, this is a Solar High-Impact Frame and one of a kind for its archetype and element in the current sandbox so it’s well worth adding to your arsenal.  Here are my recommendation for a Roar of the Bear god roll for PVP, PVE, and an option if your engram luck runs out.

PVP – Roar of the Bear god roll

With relatively low velocity but plenty of boom, we want to ensure we keep the biggest blast, leaving less room for escape for our opponents whilst getting the rocket to its target as fast as possible.

Roar of the Bear god roll - PVP
Barrel Quick Launch (Velocity +10, Handling +15)
Magazine High-Velocity Rounds (Velocity +10, Reload Speed +10)
Perk 1 Impulse Amplifier (Massively increases projectile velocity, increases reload speed)
Perk 2 Cluster Bomb (Rockets spawn cluster bombs upon detonation)
Origin Trait Skulking Wolf (While at low health, Guardian final blows grant enhanced radar and remove you from opposing radar)
Masterwork Velocity
Mod Icarus Grip

The breakdown here is Quick Launch does the most work to add +10 to your Velocity stat without pulling away from your Blast Radius. Hard Launch will give the most Velocity with +15 but this pulls away some of your Blast Radius which we want to keep up as it’s the main selling point of these frames.

Image shows a Roar of the Bear with perks selected for a PVP god roll

Source: D2Gunsmith

For your magazine, High-Velocity Rounds adds a further +10 to Velocity and also increases Reload Speed. This bump is nice if you’re scooping up a brick and need to manually reload.

Column three sees Impulse Amplifier, another perk that will increase Velocity (up to 35%) and reload speed – two stats that are important for a competitive Rocket Launcher. Finally, it was a toss-up between Vorpal Weapon, Cluster Bomb or Chain Reaction with all three giving us advantages in use.

However, thinking about a 1v1 in which you clean up, Cluster Bomb on Roar of the Bear may do enough to secure a kill while still providing a great advantage against a group of enemies.

PVE – Roar of the Bear god roll

As there are better DPS options out there at the moment, I’ve viewed Roar of the Bear to not only provide some decent damage but also be great for clearing mob-dense activities. This Rocket Launcher will also provide your Guardian with strong advantages for builds as well as cooldowns.

Roar of the Bear god roll - PVE
Barrel Quick Launch (Velocity +10, Handling +15)
Magazine Impact Casing (Increased damage on direct hits, Stability +10)
Perk 1 Demolitionist (Kills with this weapon generate grenade energy. Activating your grenade ability reloads this weapon from reserves)
Perk 2 Chain Reaction (Each final blow with this weapon creates an elemental damage explosion)
Origin Trait Skulking Wolf (While at low health, Guardian final blows grant enhanced radar and remove you from opposing radar)
Masterwork Blast Radius
Mod Major Spec

My choices for Barrel and Magazine are to increase Velocity as well as direct impact damage which complements the perks we’re chasing. Demolitionist I feel is a great choice for synergy with Solar 3.0 builds that utilize Explosive Wellmaker. Throwing a grenade after launching a rocket will reload your weapon so it increases that up time when cutting through waves of mobs. Chain Reaction counts towards Demolitionist’s effect of refunding grenade ability energy so one rocket and enough kills from the chain will almost recharge your grenade instantly as well as cause plenty of damage to rushing enemies. 

Image shows a Roar of the Bear with perks selected for a PVE god roll

Source: D2Gunsmith

You can also consider Incandescent as a solid replacement for Chain Reaction as it will also scorch enemies, providing a similar effect. There are other interesting combos to be had such as Ambitious Assassin / Auto-Loading Holster or Field Prep / Vorpal Weapon just to name a few. It depends on how you view the utility of why you are using this weapon.

As we’ve seen many times in Destiny, a PVP-sourced weapon can provide some great advantages in PVE. Matching the Void Trials of Osiris Rocket Launcher, Tomorrow’s Answer, Roar of the Bear can provide some solid combinations worth keeping your eyes on for any drops.


Finally, if your luck with decrypting engrams fails, visit Bracus Forge and pick up the Rocket Launcher you get at Rank 7. Though it might not have our god roll perks, it will at least be a viable option. I hope you’ve found this breakdown useful and I wish you good luck in finding a great roll on your adventures in this week’s Iron Banner event. For more weapon breakdowns and guide content, be sure to check out the Shacknews Destiny 2 Complete Strategy Guide.

Contributing Editor

RiseOfBacon is a Redditor, vinyl collector, craft beer enthusiast, and lover of all things sports and gaming. Most frequently seen on r/DestinyTheGame either posting guides or in the comment section offering tips, advice, and sharing stories of Destiny triumphs and god roll chasing. Catch up with him on Reddit or Twitter using @RiseOfBacon to talk all things Destiny2.

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