Ascendant Scepter

"An empowered symbol of Awoken Royalty."

- Artifact Description

The Ascendant Scepter is a Seasonal Artifact for the Season of Defiance.

Column 1

 * Anti-Barrier Pulse Rifle: Your equipped Pulse Rifles fire shield-piercing rounds and stun Barrier Champions. Additionally, Pulse Rifles are always overcharged when that modifier is active.
 * Piercing Sidearms (Anti-Barrier Sidearm): Your equipped Sidearms fire shield-piercing rounds and stun Barrier Champions. Additional, Sidearms are always overcharged when that modifier is active.
 * Overload Bow: Damage by fully drawn arrows from your equipped Bows cause disruption, stunning the target, delaying ability energy regeneration and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against Overload Champions. Additionally, Bows are always overcharged when that modifier is active.
 * Unstoppable Scout Rifle: Aiming down the sights of a Scout Rifle for a short time loads a powerful explosive payload that stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against Unstoppable Champions. Additionally, Scout Rifles are always overcharged when that modifier is active.
 * Overloaded Auto/SMG (Overload Auto Rifle and SMG): Sustained fire from Auto Rifles and Submachine Guns disrupts combatants, stunning them, delaying ability energy regeneration and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against Overload Champions. Additionally, Auto Rifles and Submachine Guns are always overcharged when that modifier is active.

Column 2

 * Authorized Mods: Solar: The armor energy cost of all armor mods affecting your Solar weapons are significantly discounted.
 * Authorized Mods: Strand: The armor energy cost of all armor mods affecting your Strand weapons are significantly discounted.
 * Authorized Mods: Void: The armor energy cost of all armor mods affecting your Void weapons are significantly discounted.
 * Authorized Mods: Grenades: The armor energy cost of all armor mods affecting your grenades are significantly discounted.
 * Multi-Siphon Mods: Grants access to armor mods in your helmet that combine the effects of the Strand Siphon mod with the Solar Siphon and Void Siphon mods.

Column 3

 * Shatter Orbs: The first time you break a combatant’s shield, your create an Orb of Power if you break the shield with the matching damage type.
 * Defiant Armory: Greatly improves the benefits provided by the Noble Deeds, Nanotech Tracer Rockets, Tex Balanced Stock, and Ambush Origin traits.
 * Untangler: Destroying a Tangle with a Strand weapon suspends targets damaged by the explosion.
 * Solar Surge: Collecting a Firesprite gives you Armor Charge.
 * Volatile Flow: Picking up and Orb of Power grants your Void weapons Volatile rounds.

Column 4

 * Bricks from Beyond: Defeating a powerful combatant with a Void weapon has a chance to generate Heavy ammo for you and your teammates.
 * Flare Up: Firebolt Grenades apply more Scorch stacks. Damaging a combatant with a Firebolt Grenade spawns a Firesprite near them.
 * Origin Hones: Weapons with the Noble Deeds, Nanotracing Rockets, Tex Balanced Stock, and Ambush Origin traits are always overcharged when that modifier is active.
 * Allied Unraveling: Rapid final blows with a Strand weapon grant your weapon Unraveling Rounds, with a longer duration near allies.
 * Counterweave: When you or a member of your fireteam stuns or defeats a Champion, you gain energy for your least-charged Strand ability.

Column 5

 * Threaded Blast: Destroying a Tangle with a Strand weapon creates a larger and more damaging explosion.
 * Rain of Firebolts: When you have Firebolt Grenades equipped, gain a second grenade charge.
 * Void Weapon Channeling: You gain a temporary bonus to Void weapon damage after you defeat a target with a Void weapon while at least one of your Void abilities is fully charged. This damage bonus increases based on the number of fully charged Void abilities you have.
 * Medieval Champion: (For Glaives) Glaives you wield fire a powerful explosive payload that stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against Unstoppable Champions. Additionally, Glaives are always overcharged when that modifier is active. (For Swords) Landing consecutive hits with a Sword you are wielding disrupts combatants, stunning them, delaying ability energy regeneration and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against Overload Champions. Additionally, Swords are always overcharged when that modifier is active.
 * Prismatic Transfer: When you cast your Super, each member of your fireteam with a subclass damage type different than yours gains a bonus to weapon damage.

Lore
Commander,

After careful study of the Scepters given to Guardians aiding in the rescue operations on Earth, the Cryptarchy offers the following preliminary analysis:

The Ascendant Scepter is an object attuned to the powers of the Awoken, and the Awoken Queen Mara Sov in particular. Using volatile Ley Lines similar to those that allow Queen Mara to telepathically communicate (to various degrees) with other Awoken, the Scepter allows its wielder to benefit from bursts of paracausal energy sent by the queen herself.

This type of energy transference was previously thought impossible, even among the Awoken Paladins and the rumored specialist sect known as the Queensguard. To make matters more complicated, Awoken tradition dictates that all Guardians capable of this feat immediately be granted the rank of Paladin (which is preposterous, as only seven can serve at one time).

Interestingly, Queen Mara has seen fit to distribute Scepters to each active Guardian rather than just the Awoken, and bestow Royal Army titles to all. Even, in an honorary capacity, to the Lightless. Awoken Techeuns and Corsairs now fight alongside allied Human, Exo, Eliksni, and Cabal individuals, and all beneath the queen's royal banner.

Had this development been revealed to me a scant few years ago, I wouldn't have believed it… but this old Cryptarch has seen Guardians fighting with bows and glaives, wielding Stasis and Strand, and is not too stodgy to admit that times have changed—quite possibly for the better.

—Master Rahool

List of appearances

 * Destiny 2
 * Season of Defiance