Destiny 2: is it worth it for the entire fireteam to use Rat King?
There's an especially unique Exotic weapon in Destiny 2 that gets "stronger" the more of your nearby allies have it.
This is Rat King, of course, the Exotic sidearm in question. You could argue that Rat Pack is nothing more than a novelty perk, since it would be silly to force everyone on the team to use Rat King for maximum benefit.
With that in mind, it was still worth testing it out to see if the numbers tell a different story. In his video below, Arekkz and five of his teammates equipped Rat King and went into the Leviathan raid to check the numbers.
In case you missed it, our Destiny 2 guide has similar min-maxing strategies, such as this article about combining the abilities and skills of the three classes for maximum damage.
Back to the topic at hand, the Rat Pack's description mentions that the weapon becomes "stronger," and that it stacks up to six times. Naturally, you'd want to test it out in the raid, seeing as it's the only six-player PvE activity and would theoretically provide the best way for Rat King to shine.
As Arekkz points out, there's a reason the description didn't just say "more damage," because the per-bullet damage isn't technically getting a buff. What increases, though, is the weapon's rate of fire and magazine size, which means higher damage potential. You'll notice the increase to the rate of fire when you have four people wielding it.
Though it's hard to come up with a percentage, having three other people around means Rat King will fire as quickly as you can pull the trigger.
The magazine size, which starts at 15 bullets, increases to 16 when you have two other players around. Four players using Rat King means 17 bullets, five ups it to 18 bullets, and a maximum of 20 bullets when everyone in the fireteam is using it.
Note that in order for any of these buffs to activate, your teammates would need to be close by, not just in the same fireteam. As you'll see in the video, distance is important.
If you liked this analysis but don't think the buff is worth it, check out our list of the top Exotic weapons in Destiny 2, we guarantee many of these would go well with your play style. You should know, though, that finishing the Rat King Exotic Quest is one of the best ways to level up fast in Destiny 2, particularly past 265 Power.