When I first learned about Mask of Bakris I thought to myself, “finally, another good Hunter movement exotic”. I struggled to get it though. I was under-leveled trying to grind the Master Lost Sectors. Eventually, I got my light up high enough to complete the Lost Sector and obtain this exotic.
Negative Impression at First
Shortly after playing around with it in the Cosmodrome, I started to have more of a negative impression of it. This exotic replaces the Hunter’s dodge ability with a longer range, faster-moving shift that partially cloaks you during use. Your arc damage weapons also deals increased damage for a short time but doesn’t work in PvP.
But here’s the big issue I had with it; after you dodge, your dodge ability doesn’t regenerate until after the arc damage buff. That buff lasts for 10 seconds. That means your dodge ability takes 10 seconds longer on top of what your current cooldown class ability is.
I thought to myself, “why would I want to use an exotic that slows down my dodge ability”? I tossed this exotic in my vault and went about my journey.
On Second Thought
Fast-forward about a week later and I decide to give this exotic a spin in the Crucible. I quickly realized this I’ve been underestimating this exotic. And that this may be one of the best Hunter exotics Hunters have in their arsenal. This is because of several reasons.
The Dodge
First, the dodge. This is basically like an eject button for tight situations. I escaped a few myself. But defensively isn’t the only way to use it. It can be used offensively too. And sometimes it’s so fast that they have no idea where you went.
The Dodge + Dodging Benefits
Secondly, hunters have benefits they gain when dodging. Yes, they still activate with this exotic. So you can use your melee ability, dodge, and use your melee ability again. Except for this time, you’ll be doing it with this exotic.
The Dodge + Dodging Benefits + Aspects
The biggest reason, however, is the Stasis Aspect ability you get with the Hunter Stasis subclass. The Winter’s Shroud Aspect slows nearby targets when dodging. At first, I didn’t think much of this. But now I realize how powerful this is with this exotic.
Not only are you basically teleporting away and becoming harder to track, but you are slowing them in their tracks and regaining your melee ability at the same time. This is a deadly combination for anyone faced with dealing with this.
This is probably why Bungie added the 10-second delay. It might be too much if you ran into nothing but Hunter’s shifting and slowing you all day. Also, I noticed that the delay didn’t really affect me too much to notice.
Right now I can’t say for sure if the 10-second delay is justified. I’ll need to play with it a bit more. But so far (so far), it looks like Hunters have a powerful tool under their belt.
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