You will need a fast Sparrow for when the Sparrow Racing League comes back with Destiny’s The Dawning event. Sparrows have stats, like everything else in Destiny, and finding the best and fastest Sparrow will be key to winning races in the SRL. If you want to go fast, read on to find out how to get the fastest Sparrow in Destiny!
Sparrow Stats
In order to find the fastest Sparrow, you need to understand how Sparrow stats work. A Sparrow has three stat categories; Speed, Boost, and Durability. While Durability is great for Patrolling or getting you through the filler part of a Strike mission, it has no impact on how fast your Sparrow is. Since we are determining the fastest Sparrows in Destiny for the purpose of racing only, you should ignore the Durability category during SRL.
It should be noted that Bungie is tight lipped on how the SRL works, and it is possible that all Sparrows are normalized while racing. That means Sparrow stats may be irrelevant when racing in the SRL. However, since it never hurts to have higher stats, it is still worth finding the fastest Sparrows in Destiny.
Speed is obviously an important category for how fast your Sparrow is! A Common Sparrow will have a Speed of 132, while a Legendary Sparrow can have a Speed of up to 160. Fortunately, every Legendary Sparrow from Year 2 and Year 3 has a Speed of 160.
Boost is usually the difference between winning or losing Sparrow races in the SRL, but Boost is surprisingly overlooked! Boost is incredibly important, because you will be boosting during an entire Sparrow race, and the arrows on the race track will also give you a boost if you ride over them. The Boost rating can vary from 20 to 60, with 35 being the most common on Legendary Sparrows. Now that we understand Sparrow stats, it is time to pick a Sparrow and win some races!
The Fastest Sparrows in Destiny
The ideal racing Sparrow in Destiny will have a Speed rating of 160, and a Boost of 40; or a Speed of 150 and a Boost of 60. Sparrows with a Boost rating of 60 can explode if boosted for too long, so we do not recommend new players use them. There are only a few Sparrows in Destiny that can hit the mythical 160/40 numbers, but you might have one already!
S-34 Ravensteel
Speed: 160
Boost: 40
Durability: 55
Upgrades: Quick Brake/ Strafe Thrusters
The S-34 Ravensteel was a gift for Year One Destiny players, and what a gift it was! The S-34 Ravensteel is one of the fastest Sparrows in Destiny. Bungie gave the S-34 Ravensteel to all players who hit Light Level 30 before the Taken King expansion was released. If you are a Year One Guardian, take the Ravensteel out of your Vault and get ready for the SRL. If you missed out, fear not. While newer Guardians can not get an S-34 Ravensteel, there are other Sparrows with the same stats.
XVO Timebreaker
Speed: 150
Boost: 60
Durability: 60
The Timebreaker earns its place on our list as being the original high Boost sparrow, earned in the Vault of Glass. The Timebreakers Boost will make up for its lack of top end speed, though you will have use it carefully to avoid exploding. Holding down on the Boost meter until it runs out will make the XVO Timebreaker explode. You could ease off the Boost once you are nearing the limit, but you will probably be passed once you let off! Constantly feathering the Boost trigger is the best way to use the Timebreaker, and will require a lot of practice.
EV-34 Vector Infinite
Speed: 160
Boost: 40
Durability: 55
Upgrades: Quick Brake/ Strafe Thrusters
The EV-34 Vector Infinite shares the same stats as the S-34 Ravensteel, and was also a package from Bungie. The only way to get the EV-34 Vector Infinite was to complete the Refer-a-Friend Quest within seven days of playing Taken King. If you have both, race with the Sparrow you think looks better, since the only difference between the EV-34 and the S-34 is aesthetic. If you do not have either of these Sparrows, you can upgrade any Rare Sparrow to get the same stats!
How to Upgrade your Sparrow
Rare Sparrows can be upgraded in Destiny, and the result will give you a Legendary Sparrow with the best stats in the game. The S-30V, S-31V, S-32V, S-30C, S-31C, S-32C are all Rare Sparrows that can be upgraded. You must visit Xur to upgrade your Sparrow, and it is not cheap. Buy an Emerald Coil, a Void Drive, a Stealth Drive, or a Plasma Drive for 23 Strange Coins. With this upgrade, your Sparrow will be 160/40! This only works on Rare Sparrows, it can not be used to upgrade your already Legendary Sparrow with 35 Boost.
You may be wondering why all of the SRL Sparrows from the last event were left off of our list. The SRL Sparrows, like the EV-35 ARC Runner or EV-40 Snowscream, all have a boost of 35. They are able to do more stunts in air, and have better handling, but the Boost stat is too low to recommend. Of course, we suggest trying every Sparrow you have to see what works best for you. If you are unable to decide, the Ravensteel, Timebreaker, Vector Infinite, or any Sparrow with a Xur Drive are the Fastest Sparrows in Destiny. Once you are Champion of SRL, head back to our Rise of Iron Guide to find out what to do next!
