Destiny 2 Monte Carlo: Melee Cooldown Auto Rifle

Monte Carlo is an exotic kinetic auto rifle with a close-range identity. It deals more damage the closer you stand to the target, and melee kills with it reduce your melee and grenade cooldowns. That makes it a natural pairing for melee-heavy Titan and Hunter builds.

How to get Monte Carlo

Monte Carlo sits in Xur’s weekly exotic pool. Visit him in the Tower on the weekend and check the kinetic slot. The price is a mix of Glimmer, Legendary Shards, and an Exotic Cipher. If he is not selling it this week, Exotic Engrams can still drop it.

How to play Monte Carlo

Close the distance. The damage bonus ramps up as you get nearer, so treat it like a short-range auto rifle rather than an all-purpose one. Melee after your magazine empties to refund cooldowns, then use your grenade sooner than the enemy expects. The loop rewards aggressive play with abilities on a short timer.

The Monte Carlo catalyst

The Monte Carlo catalyst drops from strikes, Gambit, and the Crucible. It improves handling and reload, which tightens the melee-ability loop. Farm it in the Crucible, where close-range fights happen naturally.

Monte Carlo mistakes that waste the melee refund

• Fighting at long range, where the damage bonus does nothing.
• Forgetting the melee refund after each engagement.
• Ignoring ability-build armor. The weapon wants cooldown mods.

FAQ

Is Monte Carlo good in PvP? Yes, on small maps where you can hold close angles.

Which class benefits most? Any melee-focused Titan or Hunter build.

Does it need the catalyst? It helps the loop but the weapon works without it.

Monte Carlo checklist, Xur to melee refunds

• Check Xur’s weekly kinetic slot.
• Fight at close range.
• Melee to refund cooldowns.
• Farm the catalyst in PvP.

The cooldown loop is the weapon

Monte Carlo’s damage is unremarkable on purpose — the gun is a cooldown engine that happens to shoot. That reframes when it is worth a slot: a build whose damage lives in melee or grenades gets a second cast per engagement, while a build that shoots from range gets an average auto rifle with a worse recoil profile. The tell is your ability uptime. If you are already waiting on a cooldown between waves, the rifle fixes a real problem; if your abilities come back before you need them, it fixes nothing and you should carry range instead. Build the loop first in the buildcrafting basics, then check the melee-heavy shell in the Hunter build guide.

Related guides

• Xur and exotic ciphers
• Titan builds
• Hunter builds