Mods to take:

With the 3.3.0 patch, mitigating Lion’s atrocious reload stat of 10 is now defines your build.

Reload mods

Reload has been very well defined by the community and for Grenade Launchers it is:

Reload Speed = (0.00268222 * (Reload Stat ^ 2) + -0.775084 * Reload Stat + 104.714)*RDS/30

Where Reload Stat is the combined stat from the gun and any boosts from mods, exotics abilities. RDS is the “reload duration scale” and is a scalar that reduces the overall reload time.

Refer to Massive Breakdown’s reload spreadsheet for the numbers. Here they are calculated for Fighting Lion.

Reload Time (s) % Reduction
Original Base 2.34 (base)
Original Masterworked 1.97 -16%
Original Masterwork, 1x Loader 1.59 -32%
     
Base 3.24 (base)
Masterwork 2.66 -18%
Masterwork, 1x Loader 2.10 -35%
Masterwork, 2x Loader 2.03 -37%
Ophidian Aspect 2.13 -34%
Ophidian Aspect, 1x Loader 1.71 -47%
Dragon’s Shadow 1.80 -44%
Dragon’s Shadow, 1x Loader 1.53 -53%
Lunafaction Rift/Rally Barricade 1.62 -50%
Lunafaction Rift/Rally Barricade, 1x loader 1.53 -53%
     
Reload Cap 1.49 -54%

Fire to Fire

Refer to the Reloading section of The Gun for detail on Manual Reloading. (not updated post-Patch 3.3.0)

Perks Time Reduction
Hand-off reload 3:25 (base)
Manual reload 2:04 -40%
2x Enhanced 1:46 -48%

Note: These times are shorter than the above, because it’s using reload cuts, i.e. smashing the firing button to fire as soon as possible, rather than waiting for the full animation reload.

Ammo Mods (Scavenger, Holster & Reserve)

Fighting Lion is a primary and thus has infinite ammo. Grenade Launcher Holster mod only works on Heavy Grenade Launchers.

Other choices:

  • Unflinching mods for your Kinetic Weapon (but not GL unflinching)
    • You only need to be on your target for an instant with Fighting Lion out. But then you’ll need to swap to your kinetic to clean it up. This means you’ll be swapping and potentially ADSing in the middle of your fight. Unflinching mods for your kinetic are invaluable since you won’t have the advantage of opening the fight with your kinetic.

Mods to avoid in PvP:

  • Ammo Finder
    • Fighting Lion’s exotic perk provides Primary ammo on kill, so this is unnecessary.
    • In PvE, it’s a good choice because it procs A LOT, because the game thinks you’re using a special ammo weapon, which has less up time.
  • Dexterity mods
    • Fighting Lion already has a 100 in Handling, so it doesn’t need the help. As far as kinetics, remember Fighting Lion’s Masterwork perk, Chimera. This masterwork effectively gives your kinetic Quickdraw. Dexterity mods still help, since it’s not true “Quickdraw”, but it has diminishing returns.
    • For more on Dexterity Perks, Freehand Mod and Quickdraw, refer to this post on r/CruciblePlayBook

    Stats

    Top 3:

    1. Mobility
      • You will always be hipfiring, so mobility is a huge asset.
      • You need to be able to peak shoot and disengage quickly. Mobility is king.
      • Mobility also helps hunters with (reload) Dodge cooldown, so it’s win-win.
    2. Recovery
      • Do not neglect Recovery. Helpful for peak shooting and disengaging both.
      • Also, on Warlock, reduces your Rift cooldown.
    3. Strength or Discipline, depending on your subclass & playstyle
      • I’m a neutral game player. I like Melees or Grenades to help with kills outside of Supers. Additionally, Melee & Strength mods are only 3 energy while Intelligence (Super) mods are 5 energy and restrict your armor mods choices unnecessarily.