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DEAD MAN'S TALE

Exotic / Kinetic / Scout Rifle

"Long, short, they all end the same way." —Katabasis

Source: "Presage" Exotic Quest

Exotic Perks

Cranial Spike

Cranial Spike

Chaining precision hits grants bonus target acquisition and range.
Subsistence

Subsistence

Defeating targets partially reloads the magazine from reserves.

Stats

Impact
100
Range
60
Damage Falloff  
Stability
30
Handling
50
Reload Speed
50
Reload Time  
Aim Assistance
60
Inventory Size
55
Zoom
18
Airborne Effectiveness
17
Recoil
89
Rounds Per Minute 120
Magazine 14
Selected Perks
Popularity: Overall Select 4 perks to see their popularity.  
Popularity: Perks  
Popularity: Trait Combo  
Popularity: MW Bonus  
Credits

Perk Playground

Curated Roll

Not all curated rolls actually drop in-game. Learn more

Random Rolls

Item is eligible for random rolls. Learn more
Item has recommended perks from trusted community theorycrafters. Learn more      Hide Recommendations
Some of this item's random perks have been retired in its current version. Show Retired Perks

TIP: Theorycrafter Recommendations

The blue/red/gold icons & glows below are Theorycrafter Recommendations. They are the perks that trusted community theorycrafters like for this weapon and can disagree with what is most popular. The colors indicate the game mode for which they prefer the perk.
Color Icon Game Mode
Blue PVE
Red PVP
Gold PVE & PVP
Learn More

Popular Trait Combos

Vorpal Weapon
+ Fitted Stock
12.61% of Rolls
Vorpal Weapon
+ Composite Stock
8.81% of Rolls
Vorpal Weapon
+ Short-Action Stock
7.82% of Rolls
Vorpal Weapon
+ Hand-Laid Stock
6.95% of Rolls
Transformative
+ Hand-Laid Stock
6.19% of Rolls
Moving Target
+ Short-Action Stock
4.86% of Rolls
Moving Target
+ Composite Stock
3.83% of Rolls
Moving Target
+ Fitted Stock
3.52% of Rolls

Popular Individual Perks

Based on 20.0K+ copies of this weapon, these are the most frequently equipped perks.
  • 20.0%
     
  • 12.4%
     
  • 12.3%
     
  • 12.0%
     
  • 11.5%
     
  • 9.9%
     
  • 7.6%
     
  • 7.0%
     
  • 6.8%
     
  • 19.6%
     
  • 18.8%
     
  • 17.9%
     
  • 12.6%
     
  • 11.1%
     
  • 10.3%
     
  • 9.4%
     
  • 36.1%
     
  • 14.0%
     
  • 9.7%
     
  • 9.7%
     
  • 8.6%
     
  • 7.7%
     
  • 7.7%
     
  • 6.1%
     
  • 26.9%
     
  • 25.4%
     
  • 25.2%
     
  • 22.3%
     

Your Rolls

TIP: Popularity Ranks

The letters F thru S below are Popularity Ranks. They measure how popular your roll is versus the most popular roll for this weapon among the global community. The most popular roll is ranked S+. The least popular is ranked F-. Popular doesn't necessarily mean "good"; unpopular doesn't necessarily mean "bad". Use what you enjoy!

Learn More

TIP: Theorycrafter Recommendations

The blue/red/gold icons & glows below are Theorycrafter Recommendations. They are the perks that trusted community theorycrafters like for this weapon and can disagree with what is most popular. The colors indicate the game mode for which they prefer the perk.
Color Icon Game Mode
Blue PVE
Red PVP
Gold PVE & PVP
Learn More

TIP: API Perk Swap

The Bungie API now allows us to swap weapon perks for you*. Click individual perks below to swap them in-game. Click "Equip Popular Perks" to pick the perks that result in the highest popularity rank (if you're not already using them).
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Related Collectible

Lore

Dead Man's Tale

"Long, short, they all end the same way." —Katabasis

Gaelin-4's war beast leads us through balmy Venusian jungle. Our rifles low, our Ghosts high in the canopy like sentry drones.

"My vehicle is old. Needs maintenance. Been running too long without cutting the engine," I say.

Gaelin sends me a sideways look. "That shipwright still around? She used to make cider in the autumn. I swear, she kept us like a pack of strays."

I sigh. "No, I mean this thing." I run my hand over my body. "Besides, you know I can't go back there." I straighten the leather wrap around my Tex-foundry rifle.

"You know I literally tune myself, right?" asks the Exo Hunter.

"Why? You're immortal."

"And you're not?"

"I know, but I'm… slower. I feel slower."

"Uh huh."

"Just not like what I used to feel like. Not… spry. Not up here either." I tap my helmet.

"Tragedy. I feel for you. Have Gilgamesh tune you then."

I chuckle. "Yeah… he'd love that."

"You two having issues again?"

I shake my head in a stiff, narrow lie. "You think we come back the same every time?"

"I do. Straight from the manufacturer ," Gaelin-4 says.

"Sometimes I get the feeling… something's different."

Gaelin stops and squints at me.

I dip my head and let my hood fall forward. "Nothing I can put my finger on, just little things. Adjustments."

"You think he's changing you?" Gaelin's voice sounds more serious than surprised.

I wait too long to answer. It's not because I don't know my answer, but because I want to feel like I still doubt it. I raise my head. Gaelin meets my eyes and looks up to the canopy.

He leans his shoulder into me and drops his voice to a whisper. "My Clip's a good one, but you need to realize Ghosts don't know anything. Nobody does. They're just like us. They get curious. They question. If you think something's coming unwound, you need to sit down and talk it out."

"Wait… did Clip change yo—"

"Please," Gaelin scoffs. "You're paranoid." He turns to keep walking and calls back, "Life changes you. Same with them. I'm the only one that stays the same."

Gaelin raises a fist and we stop. His war beast sniffs the air and turns us east. We continue walking.

"What'd you name the beast?"

"Castus."

"You've been reading too many of the Spider's books ."

"Some of 'em are good."

I laugh. "Aren't you the man that said anything you got tying you down can be made into a noose?"

"Yeah, some time ago."

"You've been taking a lot of jobs with him ? Those Fallen?"

"You're one to talk, Emperor's lackey . Some of those Eliksni aren't so bad."

Add Review

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Top
Show reviews since:
Season 13 Icon
85
since i cant remove my own review, WOOOO GUNS AMAZING
85
Reply      Report Posted 4 years ago
Season 13 Icon
42
Hehe cowboy gun go pew pew
42
Reply      Report Posted 4 years ago
Season 13 Icon
31
this shit is goddamn cracked in pvp it's unreal
31
Reply      Report Posted 4 years ago
Season 13 Icon
21
I take it back just the reload animation makes this gun awesome, definitely a great scout, I regret saying it's boring
21
Reply      Report Posted 4 years ago
Season 13 Icon
14
with anti-barrier mod on scouts this season this thing will be really really good with vorpal in things like grandmasters. If the catalyst is anything noteworthy it might become a staple in my inventory. also good in PVP. can eventually get 2 tap headshot kills.
14
Reply      Report Posted 4 years ago
Season 13 Icon
13
A scout rifle that fires like a hand cannon and loads like a shotgun. 3 taps at 90m and 2 taps at 75m. Godly.
13
Reply      Report Posted 4 years ago
Season 13 Icon
11
This is the funnest gun in the game, dust off the squires, fire up the engines, we are full space cowboys now!

Ok really, PvP this thing rocks, pairs well with a shotty or other close range gun.

PvE the easy or hitting and killing every red bar at range, and chunking even higher health enemies, pair with sundering gaze (season perk) and enjoy. Hunter need more exotics that pair with guns like this.
11
Reply      Report Posted 4 years ago
Season 13 Icon
10
Jesus Christ this gun is awesome. In PvP it's a monster and with Outlaw or Snapshot Sights it will be unstoppable. I can see a couple crazy PvE rolls too. Subsistence for add clear will be pretty awesome because you won't need to reload ever, 4th Time's The Charm/Vorpal for DPS. I'm already in love with this gun and can't wait to get some of those god rolls. Really recommend getting it, especially because the mission is crazy good.
10
Reply      Report Posted 4 years ago
Season 18 Icon
9
23/09/2022 Update: Look what they did with my boy
9
Reply      Report Posted 2 years ago
Season 15 Icon
6
Ignore that roll appraiser stuff, I don't think that this gun has any bad roles. That being said, there's some specific perks that you'll want to shoot for.

High caliber rounds, ricochet rounds, armor piercing rounds, and flared magwell are all very good magazines. Flared magwell is especially good if you're using killing wind or vorpal.

Vorpal weapon, Outlaw, Killing Wind, Moving Target and Subsistence are all fantastic perks. Killing Wind and Moving Target are specifically good for PvP.

Don't worry about the stocks or barrels unless you want to get technical. In that case, choose whatever maximizes the stat that you care about.
6
Reply      Report Posted 3 years ago
Season 13 Icon
6
Love Tex Mechanica weapons, and this might be my favorite. It's one of the most flavorful weapons Bungie has ever made. I love how it fires, I love the reload, I love the little whistle when you hit max stacks. It helps that it positively rips.
6
Reply      Report Posted 4 years ago
Season 13 Icon
6
In PvE it feels really nice to use. I'll be aiming to have 1 each for Quickdraw, Vorpal, and 4th Time's The Charm for different uses in PvE. Other PvP peeps will be able to recommend the PvP rolls.
Tbh, you can't really go wrong with the perks, but I'd suggest to avoid Outlaw since the weapon already has a built in Rapid Hit like perk for reloading.
6
Reply      Report Posted 4 years ago
Season 13 Icon
5
Lever Action Scout rifle - THAT SAYS IT ALL
5
Reply      Report Posted 4 years ago
Season 16 Icon
4
Xur made me choose between this gun and crack. Maybe crack is less addictive.
4
Reply      Report Posted 3 years ago
Season 16 Icon
8
Gun is even better when on crack, recommend highly
8
Reply      Report Posted 3 years ago
Season 18 Icon
4
With the right roll this thing can be really good on the right build. I have a vorpal weapon one which is alright. I just wish it was moving target instead for my 100 mobi hunter.

Edit: You probably want fluted, ricochet, moving target and short action stock if you want to have optimal stats.
Because its a 120 scout, that means recoil isnt exactly a huge problem so you dont need to dump all that much into stability, but having it at 40-60 lets it keep that flinch resistance for when you duel, preventing you from being flinched too hard out of your aim. That is of course you also have unflinching mods (kind of required for this gun) and medium-high resil.
Moving on we have the the +5 to range. We want just a little bit of range so we can edge out those initial hits on cranial spike consistently and now moving target.

This perk on this weapon is actually very important for 2 reasons.
1. The movement speed increase paired with high mobility (I use DMT with a 100 mobi hunter) actually serves really well to out trade people at range or dodge sniper aim. On other scouts that can run this perk (and on MIDA), having the extra movement speed is a great boon.
2. With a targeting mod and moving target, this weapon achieves exactly 100 aim asisst at x5 cranial spike.

Okay finally now all the handling. With this weapon being a scout, having high handling is an absolute must for one specific reason; you are constantly zoomed in. Being that as it may, you want the excessive 80 handling to swap to weapons for closer encounters if you come out of zoom and see a CQ blip. The excessive handling also allows for you to go in and out of zoom much faster which is something you definitely want if you play any sort of competitive match, especially trials or survival.
4
Reply      Report Posted 2 years ago
Season 19 Icon
3
Im posting this the day of Season of the seraph releasing and in its current state with the hipfire buff it feels insanely consistent and almost "sticky" i hope bungie keeps it this way and doesn't decide to nerf it as currently its probably in its most balanced state, its exotic perk isn't OP, the gun isn't trash. it just *feels* great.
3
Reply      Report Posted 2 years ago
Season 13 Icon
3
This thing absolutely slaps in PvP, its super consistent and has 2 tap potential with a damage buff. In PvE its a very good barrier weapon, being able to 1 shot barrier champions shields with vorpal weapon (when your on level and have the perk at x5) Its also just all around a very fun weapon that feels extremely satisfying to use.
3
Reply      Report Posted 4 years ago
Season 13 Icon
3
If all scout rifles were as good as this, scout rifles would be Meta.
3
Reply      Report Posted 4 years ago
Season 15 Icon
3
Shaxx come pick me up I'm scared.
3
Reply      Report Posted 3 years ago
Season 15 Icon
3
a very very long last word
3
Reply      Report Posted 3 years ago
Season 16 Icon
1
more like the last sentence lol
1
Reply      Report Posted 3 years ago
Season 18 Icon
1
The last tale if you would.
1
Reply      Report Posted 2 years ago
Season 15 Icon
2
This Crucible ain't big enough fer the both of us, pardner.
2
Reply      Report Posted 3 years ago
Season 21 Icon
2
After the massive cranial spike nerf, this scout rifle went from one of the best in the game to mediocre. For those uninitiated, cranial spike used to grant increased reload speed and damage per precision hit, allowing it to 2 hit headshot at around 3 stacks. It was a monster and was overtuned at launch, but even after some tweaks it was still standout and worthy of the exotic slot. According to Bungie however, the gun "wasn't living up to the cowboy hipfire fantasy", so Cranial spike was changed from being bonus damage and reload on crit, to range, aim assist, and hip fire bonuses on crit which essentially killed the gun's viability on the spot.

For PvP the roll matters much less than before and is up to personal preference. Moving target helps with aim assist and movement while ADSing, Outlaw helps with its abysmal reload speed, and Vorpal helps against killing roaming supers. Since it's a 120 scout and gains a bonus to range on headshot you'll want handling and stability instead of range.

PvP Recommended roll(s): Fluted Barrel + Steady Rounds/Flared Magwell/Ricochet Rounds + Vorpal Weapon/Moving Target/Outlaw + Fitted Stock

For PvE, don't waste your exotic slot on it. Cranial spike no longer gives bonuses to reload speed or damage anymore, so it relies solely on its Kinetic damage bonus and Exotic Primary damage bonuses, which is not worth the exotic slot considering you have other much more efficient and better feeling options. Instead, it's heavily recommended to take a Legendary Scout rifle in case you need it as opposed to this.

PvE recommended roll - Fluted Barrel + Flared Magwell + Vorpal Weapon + Fitted Stock

Overall one of the best PvP weapons in the game got completely neutered to one of the most mediocre, usurped by fucking Jade Rabbit. If you pick one up it'll most likely be because Xur has a good roll and you'll try it out to or keep in your vault in case of a buff, but since it hasn't been touched in a long while it's fair to say it's being left to rot. And in PvE the lack of inherent damage bonuses killed its viability entirely vs legendary kinetic scout rifles like Hung Jury, Randy's Throwing Knife, Servant Leader, and Nameless Midnight.
2
Reply      Report Posted 2 years ago
Season 16 Icon
2
Xur: **Sells DMT with Vorpal for the 2nd time this season**
Me, whose RNG from Presage was shite: you SOB i'm in

Fr though I've liked this gun ever since I got my first roll with Killing Wind and another roll with Subsistence the run after. Puts in work for PvP and PvE alike, and it's more than its stats, it genuinely feels amazing to use even post-Catalyst nerf. Congrats bungo on a well-designed exotic.
2
Reply      Report Posted 4 years ago
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