History of Cranial Spike

Overview

Cranial Spike is the intrinsic on Dead Man's Tale, an Exotic Scout Rifle. Chaining precision hits builds stacks that add bonus Target Acquisition, range, rounds reloaded and damage against combatants. The four Cranial Spike tiers are upgrades unlocked by crafting, so you need Cranial Spike II, Cranial Spike III and Cranial Spike IV to access the full perk set.

Notes

Sources disagree on what the stacks do. Destinypedia lists bonus damage in PvE and reload speed, target acquisition and range in PvP. The light.gg text (last updated 2026-01-18) lists all four bonuses in both modes. A recent update reportedly changed the intrinsic toward target acquisition and range, so check the in-game text if the exact effect matters.