Thunderlord

"They rest quiet on fields afar...for this is no ending, but the eye."

- Hymn of the Thunderlord

"They return from fields afar. The eye has passed, the end nears. Do not fade quietly. Let thunder reign again."

- Weapon description (Destiny 2)

The Thunderlord is an exotic machine gun introduced in Destiny Year One. The weapon was designed as a desperate measure on the part of a society that grew weary of being outgunned and makes use of electro-static rounds over an amplitude that was once prohibited due to their volatility. Because of this, it is described as being dangerous even to its wielder. A Year Two version of Thunderlord is available in The Taken King. Thunderlord returns in Forsaken after completing The Lost Cryptarch questline, in which the player has to solve the murder of Master Ives with the help of Amanda Holliday.

Year One
Thunderlord's signature upgrade is "Lightning Rounds", which increases the weapon's rate of fire and accuracy the longer the trigger is held. Combined with the Feeding Frenzy upgrade, kills make the weapon reload faster. The weapon also has a chance of causing enemies to explode.

Year Two
The exotic perk remains the same. However, the base magazine is now 49 and Field Scout no longer grants a magazine boost.

Destiny 2
Thunderlord was originally obtained by following a three-week questline beginning with the final week of 2018's Festival of the Lost. However, it could only be obtained until the end of Season 4, which ended on November 27th. After November 27th, the gun became part of the Exotic loot pool and can now be acquired as a random drop. Up until the release of Black Armory and the introduction of the Hammerhead, it was the only machine gun available in Destiny 2. This incarnation of Thunderlord is stronger than its Destiny 1 incarnation, being able to clear mobs of enemies with its Reign Havoc perk. On stronger enemies such as bosses, lightning strikes will generate the longer the gun is fired, causing additional damage.

Exotic Perk

 * Reign Havoc: Kills with this weapon generate lighting strikes from above.

Stat Modifiers

 * Polygonal Rifling: Barrel optimized for recoil reduction. Increases stability.
 * Armor-Piercing Rounds: Rounds cause extra damage to combatants' shields and overpenetrate targets. Slightly increases range.

Special Perks

 * Lightning Rounds: This weapon fires faster and more accurately the longer the trigger is held. Continuous damage generates lightning strikes.
 * Feeding Frenzy: Kills with this weapon increase reload speed for a short time.

Trivia

 * This pre-alpha image of the Thunderlord's upgrade screen shows 2 additional icons. These icons are not connected to the Thunderlord's main skill tree, and their functions (and purpose) are currently unknown. Note the upper icon, which is the Titan symbol; signifying an, as yet, unknown link to that class.
 * The weapon's description has since been changed to "They rest quiet on the fields afar, for this is no ending, but the eye."
 * Update 2.0 upgraded the Thunderlord's magazine to 49 from 38. Field Scout no longer allows 60 rounds in the magazine, but allows for additional reserve ammunition.
 * Thunderlord was created by an unknown Titan during the Great Disaster. Also, two other machine guns just like it were forged, but they were lost after the battle.
 * In Destiny's Alpha stages, when Thunderlord was still dropped by Riksis, Devil Archon, it was a Common rank. Upon the Beta's public release, it was changed to be an Exotic and it stayed this way for the rest of Destiny's run.
 * Commander Zavala is seen wielding the Thunderlord during the Battle of the Twilight Gap in the Warmind Webcomic. This is probably an oversight as the Thunderlord was created during The Great Disaster, which took place after Twilight Gap.
 * The final battle in The Lost Cryptarch Quest takes place in the same room where Riksis, Devil Archon spawned in the E3 2013 Destiny Gameplay Demo. Kikliss, Murderer also enters the the room the same way that Riksis did, through a hole in the wall.

List of appearances

 * Destiny
 * The Taken King
 * Destiny 2
 * Forsaken