Traveler’s Judgment 5 is an Arc adaptive sidearm reintroduced to Destiny 2 through the Into the Light update. As a reprised weapon, it can be earned by progressing through the “Brave” weapon quests or from the “Hall of Champions” vendor, making it a must-farm for players looking for a potent and versatile sidearm.
This sidearm fits well with agile, close-to-mid-range playstyles. It shines in PvE for add-clear and major-melting thanks to powerful perk options like Feeding Frenzy or Rapid Hit paired with Target Lock or Surrounded, which allow it to maintain high damage output and lightning-fast reloads. In PvP, the weapon is a dueling menace in the right hands—its intrinsic three-round burst is incredibly stable, and perks like Tap the Trigger and Headseeker make its time-to-kill exceptionally consistent and forgiving.
From this guide, you will know:
- How good is the Traveler’s Judgment 5
- How to get Traveler’s Judgment 5
- Stats and Perks of Traveler’s Judgment 5
- Traveler’s Judgment 5 God Roll
- If Traveler’s Judgment 5 craftable
If you enjoy precise, burst-fire gameplay and want an Arc sidearm that excels at both clearing ranks and winning duels, Traveler’s Judgment 5 is absolutely worth adding to your arsenal.
Is Traveler’s Judgment 5 Good?
Short answer: Excellent. Traveler’s Judgment 5 is a top-tier choice in both modes, boasting 
S-tier potential in PvP and high 
A-tier status in PvE with the right perks.
Traveler’s Judgment 5 Tier list:
- PvE: S-tier. A potent tool for melting majors and clearing ranks with incredible perk synergy.
- PvP: A-tier. Arguably one of the most dominant and forgiving sidearms in the current Crucible meta.
Why PvE S-tier: It can roll Feeding Frenzy / Rapid Hit + Target Lock (incredible sustained damage against majors and champions) or Feeding Frenzy + Surrounded (massive burst damage for add-dense situations). This lets you maintain high damage output while achieving lightning-fast reloads, making it a deadly and efficient workhorse for endgame content.
Why PvP A-tier: The combination of its easy-to-control 3-round burst frame and elite perk combinations makes it a dueling monster. Tap the Trigger provides a massive stability and accuracy buff on every burst, while Headseeker forgives imprecise aim by lowering the critical hit requirement for its optimal time-to-kill. This perk synergy creates an unbelievably consistent and forgiving weapon that is difficult to beat in its intended range.
How to Get Traveler’s Judgment 5 in Destiny 2
Traveler’s Judgment 5 is an Arc adaptive sidearm reintroduced in the “Into the Light” update. Unlike limited-time event weapons, it is a permanent addition to the “Brave” arsenal, giving you plenty of time to farm for your perfect roll.
Step 1: Play the “Into the Light” Activities
Traveler’s Judgment 5 is a possible reward from completing the “Onslaught” activity, a new horde-mode playlist located in the Hall of Champions. It can drop from wave completions and especially from the chest at the end of a full run.
Step 2: Unlock the Weapon Quest
Visit Lord Shaxx in the Hall of Champions to pick up the “Brave” weapon quests. You can select the quest for Traveler’s Judgment 5 specifically, which will task you with defeating enemies in Onslaught and other core activities.
Step 3: Farm with Focused Weapon Rolls
The fastest way to target-farm is by earning “Brave” engrams through gameplay and then focusing them at Lord Shaxx. Once you have unlocked the weapon by completing its initial quest, you can spend engrams and Glimmer to focus a random roll of Traveler’s Judgment 5 directly.
Step 4: Purchase the God Roll from Shaxx
After reaching certain reputation ranks with Lord Shaxx (earned by playing Onslaught and turning in engrams), he will sell a static, curated “god roll” for each Brave weapon. Check his vendor screen to see the available rolls and purchase them directly.
Fastest Way to get Traveler’s Judgment 5:
- Complete its specific quest from Lord Shaxx.
- Farm the “Onslaught” playlist to earn “Brave” engrams.
- Return to Lord Shaxx and focus your “Brave” engrams into Traveler’s Judgment 5.
- Check his vendor inventory for a guaranteed good roll as you increase your reputation.
Traveler’s Judgment 5 Farming Tips:
- Master Onslaught: While more difficult, completing a run on Master difficulty rewards more reputation and a higher chance for “Brave” engrams, speeding up your farm significantly.
- Stack Vanguard Reputation Boosters: Using a Vanguard Reputation Booster will increase the reputation you gain from Onslaught, allowing you to unlock Shaxx’s curated rolls faster.
- Farm with a Coordinated Fireteam: A well-built fireteam can clear Onslaught waves much more efficiently, leading to faster completions and more rewards per hour.
- Prioritize Focusing: Don’t rely solely on random activity drops. Focusing your “Brave” engrams at Shaxx is the most consistent and reliable path to your desired perk combination.
Quick Summary
- Source: Permanent “Brave” weapon from the “Into the Light” update.
- Best way: Farm the Onslaught activity → Earn “Brave” engrams → Focus them at Lord Shaxx.
- Focus perks: Tap the Trigger + Headseeker (PvP) or Feeding Frenzy + Target Lock (PvE).
Unlike event weapons, you can farm for this powerful sidearm at your own pace.
Perks of Traveler’s Judgment 5
Column 3 Perks
- Tap the Trigger: Provides a massive stability and accuracy boost for the initial burst. This is the premier PvP pick for ensuring all three shots land precisely as intended.
- Rapid Hit: Landing rapid precision hits dramatically increases reload speed and stability. An excellent PvE choice for maintaining uptime during extended engagements.
- Feeding Frenzy: Getting rapid kills greatly boosts reload speed. Fantastic for PvE add-clear, pairing perfectly with damage perks.
- Moving Target: Grants increased movement speed and target acquisition when aiming down sights. A solid, consistency-focused alternative for PvP.
Column 4 Perks
- Headseeker: After landing body shots, precision hits deal increased damage for a short time. This is the #1 PvP perk, making the weapon incredibly forgiving and lowering the critical hit requirement for its optimal Time-to-Kill (TTK).
- Target Lock: Sustained damage to a single target increases damage. This is the top pick for PvE, allowing the sidearm to shred major enemies and champions, and is also a potent (though less forgiving) option in PvP.
- Surrounded: Dealing increased damage when three or more enemies are nearby. Offers the highest potential burst damage in PvE for add-dense situations.
- Frenzy: After being in combat for a short time, provides a damage, handling, and reload speed buff. A great “always-on” damage perk for high-level PvE where you are constantly in combat.
Origin Traits
- Cry Mutiny: This weapon’s Origin Trait is not Cry Mutiny (which belongs to a different weapon).
- As a “Brave” weapon reissued in the Into the Light update, it features the “Brave” Origin Trait: Final blows with this weapon grant a small amount of health.
Quick Take
- PvP God Roll: Tap the Trigger + Headseeker
This combination is what makes the weapon S-tier in the Crucible. Tap the Trigger ensures your first burst is perfectly accurate, while Headseeker guarantees a forgiving and fast TTK even if you don’t land all headshots. - PvE God Roll: Feeding Frenzy / Rapid Hit + Target Lock
This setup turns the sidearm into a powerhouse for dealing with tough enemies. The reload perk keeps you in the fight, while Target Lock ramps up your damage significantly against majors and champions. Use Surrounded for pure add-clear.
Traveler’s Judgment 5 God Roll
The Traveler’s Judgment 5 dominates because it combines the inherent stability of a burst-fire sidearm with perk combinations that maximize either lethality or forgiveness. Let’s look at what makes its PvE and PvP rolls so sought-after.
Traveler’s Judgment 5 PvE God Roll
In PvE, your focus is on melting high-health targets and clearing ranks efficiently. Traveler’s Judgment 5 excels by pairing lightning-fast reloads with devastating damage perks.
- Feeding Frenzy / Rapid Hit – These are your top-tier reload perks. Feeding Frenzy stacks up on any kill, while Rapid Hit offers a massive boost from precision hits. Both ensure you’re rarely caught reloading during a critical moment.
- Target Lock – The premier single-target damage perk. The longer you fire at a major or champion, the more damage each burst does, allowing this sidearm to punch far above its weight.
- Surrounded – Offers the highest potential burst damage in the game when you’re flanked by enemies. For add-dense activities, this perk turns the sidearm into a close-range powerhouse.
- Frenzy – A fantastic “always-on” option for endgame content. After being in combat for a short time, it provides a damage, handling, and reload speed buff all in one, making the weapon feel incredibly snappy and powerful.
Together, these perks let you build for maximum efficiency.
The most potent and popular roll is Feeding Frenzy + Target Lock, which allows you to shred majors and reload in an instant.
For pure add-clear in dense activities, Feeding Frenzy + Surrounded is devastating.
If you prefer a more generalist workhorse that is always buffed, a roll with Frenzy is an excellent and low-maintenance choice.
Traveler’s Judgment 5 PvP God Roll
In the Crucible, Traveler’s Judgment 5 is an S-tier dueling weapon. Its strength lies in perks that make its already-stable burst pattern unbelievably consistent and forgiving.
- Tap the Trigger – The #1 consistency perk for PvP. It activates on every burst, providing a massive stability and accuracy buff that ensures all three shots land exactly where you aim. This is the cornerstone of its S-tier status.
- Headseeker – The premier dueling perk. After landing body shots, your following precision hits deal increased damage. This dramatically lowers the critical hit requirement for its optimal time-to-kill (TTK), making it one of the most forgiving weapons in the game.
- Moving Target – A strong alternative that grants increased movement speed and target acquisition while aiming down sights, helping you win strafe battles.
- Target Lock – A potent damage perk that can further reduce the time-to-kill. However, it requires you to stay on target for the entire burst sequence, making it less forgiving than the consistency offered by Headseeker.
For barrels and magazines, focus on stability and range to maximize your duel-winning potential.
A combination like Smallbore, Ricochet Rounds, and a Stability Masterwork is ideal.
This setup, paired with the god roll of Tap the Trigger + Headseeker, creates a weapon that is nearly impossible to flinch off target and has one of the most forgiving optimal TTKs in the sidearm category.
Can you craft Traveler’s Judgment 5?
You cannot craft Traveler’s Judgment 5. It does not drop with Deepsight (red borders) and has no pattern to unlock, so there is no way to craft a personalized version at the Enclave.
The only way to get this sidearm is by acquiring random rolls through the “Into the Light” content. You can earn copies as random drops from the “Onslaught” activity or by focusing “Brave” engrams at Lord Shaxx in the Hall of Champions. This means if you want a specific god roll, you will need to farm Onslaught for engrams and materials to focus multiple rolls until you get the perfect perk combination.
Conclusion
The Traveler’s Judgment 5 is one of the most potent and forgiving sidearms Bungie has ever released. It brings together the inherent stability of its burst-fire frame with elite-tier perks like Tap the Trigger and Headseeker that maximize its consistency.
In PvP, it feels like a dueling cheat code, offering an incredibly fast and forgiving time-to-kill that dominates close-range engagements.
In PvE, it transforms into a major-melting machine with powerful combinations like Feeding Frenzy and Target Lock.
While it is not craftable, its status as a permanent “Brave” weapon from the Into the Light update means you can farm it at your own pace.
Players who excel in the Crucible, appreciate precise sidearms, or want a potent Arc primary for endgame PvE should absolutely make this a priority farm.
If you strongly dislike the burst-fire sidearm feel or already have a god-roll Allied Demand, you might pass — but for any Guardian looking for a top-tier dueling weapon, Traveler’s Judgment 5 is unequivocally worth the effort.
