There are better options if you want a weapon to focus on one playstyle or the other, but a well-rolled Something New is a perfectly usable option if you don’t want to change builds between Crucible and other activities.
There’s nothing spectacular about the Something New Hand Cannon. Its possible rolls don’t make it excellent at anything, but they’re all functional. Depending on what you plan to use it for, there are better perk combinations for PvE and PvP; as stated, the best can be used regardless of where you’re fighting.
Something New Hand Cannon PvE God Roll
Barrel: Arrowhead Break, Corkscrew Rifling. The Something New kicks like 10 mules, so the Recoil control Arrowhead provides can be a godsend. The Handling bonus is also nice to have. Corkscrew is a good compromise with moderate buffs to Stability, Handling, and Range. Magazine: Ricochet Rounds, Extended Magzine. The bonuses to Range and Stability offered by Ricochet Rounds on a weapon that desperately needs controllability buffs are too good to pass up. Alternatively, Extended Magazine gives the Something New three more bullets, extending its active time though slowing its reload speed to a crawl. Pairing it with a particular first-slot trait mitigates that problem somewhat. PvE Trait 1: Feeding Frenzy, Triple Tap, Wellspring. Feeding Frenzy is a definite help to the nearly four-second-long reload on Something New, with Triple Tap extending its damage uptime. Wellspring is a good third option if you are more concerned with keeping your Super available. PvE Trait 2: Demolitionist, Headstone. The passive Grenade buffs Demo provides are good for almost any build you can think of, and Headstone is excellent for activating the many powerful Stasis builds floating around.
Something New Hand Cannon PvP God Roll
Barrel: The PvE choices are also great for PvP, so stick with the options above. Magazine: Trade out Extended Mag for Appended Mag here, as you’re only losing one extra bullet in the gun without tanking the Something New’s reload speed. PvP Trait 1: Wellspring, Tunnel Vision. Trait 1 doesn’t have a lot of good options for PvP, but adding Tunnel Vision makes landing a second kill a much easier task with the additional Aim Assist and Handling. PvP Trait 2: Demolitionist, Multikill Clip. Having a powered Grenade ability is always helpful, but the 17% damage buff you receive after a kill from Multikill Clip is the real difference maker. If you manage two kills in a single magazine, that buff goes to 33%.
The Solstice of Heroes 2022’s newest addition to the Destiny 2 loot pool doesn’t do much to impress, as there are much better choices if you want a weapon that focuses on PvE or PvP specifically. The Something New Hand Cannon is still a good catch-all option if you don’t have the likes of Fatebringer or Austringer, however. We’ve covered other Solstice topics in our Destiny 2 guides hub, including Candescnet Armor and Silver Leaves, so head there next.
