After spending 2 hours in Atheon's room last night, it dawned on me that one of my fireteam members was using a THORN, of all things, to do damage to the enemies and to the boss.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" was my first response. The reason why I was annoyed at the usage of Thorn was for a few things: Incredibly low clip size, very slow reload, and lower than average damage and range in PVE, especially compared to other Handcannons. The dude spent more time reloading than firing, so that should tell you right away your gun has issues.

Then, instead of continuing to verbally berate him, I decided to be constructive and explained the finer points of weapons choices for the raid... which led to the creation of this post:

YOUR WEAPON CHOICES MATTER IN THE RAID
This has probably been reiterated many times before, but NOT all weapons are equal especially in the Raid.

• Just because your gun has a yellow colored icon on your gear screen, doesn't mean it's best suited for use in the raid.
• Just because your gun is an exotic, it doesn't mean it's automatically going to deal more damage than a Legendary, ESPECIALLY if you haven't leveled your exotic. (read here http://bit.ly/1waisCZ )
• Don't let loss of ammo from swapping guns stop you from doing so. Sometimes it PAYS more to switch to a different gun depending on what phase you're in.

What follows is a list of recommended guns (and alternates, if you don't have these particular guns). For ALL examples, assume you've leveled to maximum or close to it.

For General use & Ranged Defense;
• Vision of Confluence is a scout rifle which shines at range. It is a Raid weapon however, and you may not be able to get it until you have a few raid completions under your belt. The Solar element doesn't really damage any shields in this raid, but it does tend to be a decent weapon to use to take out harpies and supplicants, especially at range, as well as Hobgoblins and Goblins. Great all purpose weapon.

• If you do not own one, try a Suros Regime instead. Maximize range perks to take out enemies from a distance at close to max damage, and play it safe.

• If you don't have either, then choose your favorite Legendary until you're able to get something better. Some guns like Red Death, have perks that can help you stay alive, but may not do the best damage. In general, stay away from Rare (blue colored) weapons. Prioritize weapons that don't lose their damage over distance.

• I tend to discourage the use of Handcannons during the raid. While guns like Hawkmoon or Fatebringer can do sick damage in bursts, especially with Crits and Bonus damage, I find having a more reliable and consistently damaging gun is preferable. Reload speeds of Handcannons also tend to be slow. And the clip sizes of most Handcannons often leave much to be desired. Keep in mind however, that Handcannons are definitely viable in the first couple of phases of the raid with the trash mobs, but become less so as you get closer to Atheon's room.

• Also, for the love of Pete, DO NOT use Handcannons during Oracle phases. Oracles have an odd health system that is unlike any other enemy. You're better off using a faster firing gun with an Oracle Disruptor perk than any other gun that will force you to reload and wait.

For Conflux;
• Follow recommendations above for Primary weapons.

• Everyone's favorite sniper, Ice Breaker shines here and during most of the raid. Great damage and special ammo reloads ever 5 seconds. What else could you want?

• If you don't have that, the Queen's Bounty sniper The Supremacy is a decent gun with great range. If you can get one with Void elemental, even better. Praedyth's Revenge, the raid sniper, is also an acceptable substitute, and you should maximize damage for all of these guns as fast as you can.

• Fusion Rifles are useful for shield stripping, but ensure you have the correct element and get as MUCH impact as you can. Most EVERYTHING that needs a shield stripping in the Raid is carrying a Void Shield. Carry one of these for shield stripping if you don't have an Atheon's Epilogue or a Corrective measure.

• Unless you have a deathwish, stay away from any kind of shotgun. The ONLY possible exception I could think of would be MAYBE the Invective as it is an incredibly useful weapon to get out of Detain during Templar and Hard Mode atheon, but you're better served saving this exotic slot for another gun.

For Oracles;
• Atheon's Epilogue is hands down the best Oracle killer in the game. Don't believe me? Have some math. ( http://bit.ly/144qHde ). I won't reiterate too much what has been said there, so just read that. Also, pro-tip if you CATCH an oracle as its spawning in before it has too much time to linger, you can usually take it out within moments at a third of the clip size versus 5-10 seconds and a full clip + reload. The Epilogue is excellent at doing this. WHEN YOU ARE DOING ORACLES, ESPECIALLY IN ATHEON'S ROOM, SWITCH TO THIS GUN BEFORE BEING TELEPORTED. I don't tend use Atheon's Epilogue anywhere else in the Raid. Despite being a great tool for stripping shields (especially of Minotaurs and Praetorians), it's also incredibly inaccurate at range and loses damage over distance very quickly.

• If you don't have an Epilogue, but have a Corrective Measure, use that. The machine gun can also do double duty and take out Minotaurs effectively since it staggers targets, and does good damage. Make sure whatever you use is Void. Also, be mindful to reload your gun during slow periods, especially after killing a larger enemy like a Minotaur. You don't want to be caught without ammo in your chamber. It helps to let your teammates know you're reloading.

• If you're wondering why I'm not listing Rocket launchers here (yet), it's because I feel they're generally unsafe and inconsistent to use in this phase. Unsafe because its easy to hit geometry in the crowded areas around the conflux. Likewise, an enemy that teleports in front of your face at the last possible second can kill yourself with splash damage. Inconsistent because Minotaurs are annoying teleporting bastards that can make you miss your rockets. I will always recommend a Machine gun in those early phases over a rocket for those reasons.

For Templar Phase;
• What are you doing? You're looking for weapons to use here? Just push him off, you dingus. (But seriously, maybe after Bungie patches this encounter will I put a legit strat here. For the time being, the meta dictates that pushing the Templar off is the most efficient method of taking the boss out).

• If you insist on doing it the way Bungie intended, generally speaking, Snipers after stripping the Templar shield is what's desirable. Ice Breaker gets my vote.

For Gatekeepers;
• Rocket launchers are the name of the game here. Gjallarhorn is the king. One to two well placed shots will immediately take a Gatekeeper out of commission in both gates. If you're away team, use this always. Rocket homing will ensure your initial shot will connect, and Wolfpack rounds never miss their target on successful impact.

• Truth is Void and is generally okay for taking out the Praetorian mobs in the gates, and for keeping the plates clear of Vex. If you're home team, it's a good idea to use this at a distance. Be mindful of the early detonation perk. If you're away team, it can take out the Minotaurs just as quickly.

• Hezen Vengeance is the raid rocket, and its okay but only use if you got nothing else. Where it really excels is crowd control. Generally speaking, you don't want to be in a position where you're being overrun by Vex. However, if that does happen, the MIRV perk with its cluster bombs can clear a room of enemies very efficiently.

For Atheon;
There are several ways to handle this encounter. By far, the most common method is to congregate at the center platform after oracles and teleport. The team will use a combination of titan shield with Weapons of Light at the back of the platform and and Relic shield to protect the team up front.

• If you're in the bubble, use a MACHINE GUN or use a SNIPER. PLEASE don't use a Rocket Launcher. Several things can go wrong inside that bubble due to various issues with Bungie's coding, so play it safe and just do mad damage from other damage sources. My Void Supremacy sniper rifle (Maxed 300 damage), with Weapons of light does ~12,000 damage PER SHOT on hard mode for reference, and it's not even an Ice Breaker

• If you're outside of the bubble (maybe holding position on top of one of the Vex gates to get a vantage point,or for prep to open a gate after Atheon opens the time gates), then use rocket launchers ALL DAY. If you're a titan, pop your own Weapons of Light bubble on top of a high platform, then fire rockets by double jumping up at the top of your jump arc and retreating inside the bubble. Gjallarhorn reigns supreme. If you don't have a good rocket launcher, then why are you outside of the center bubble?? Help the team in the center with your sniper or machine gun.

Final words

So remember kids!

• Don't be a dick.
• Don't get mad at your teammates when they fail, it's expected to happen in the raid and will probably happen a lot.
• If you see someone using a Thorn at any time during the raid, tell them you're going to report them to the police

• And mostly importantly,

YOUR WEAPON CHOICES MATTER IN THE RAID