ION XR3

The ION XR3 is a sniper rifle in BO7 Endgame. It has a high base critical damage multiplier that scales with crit-amplifying skill tracks and utility bonuses. At exotic rarity with the right setup, players have reported critical hits between 70,000 and 134,000 damage.

Utility bonus options

The two most commonly used utility bonuses on the ION XR3 are Sharpshooter and Explosive Bullets. Each changes how the weapon performs.

Sharpshooter

Upper torso hits deal the same damage as headshots.

Sharpshooter turns chest shots into critical hits. This applies to all enemies, including those without a conventional crit spot such as O.S.C.A.R.. Against bosses where aiming for a small weak point is difficult, Sharpshooter allows consistent crit damage without precise targeting.

Effective in: boss fights, solo play, sustained single-target damage.

Explosive Bullets

Bullets explode, dealing extra area damage.

Explosive Bullets add splash damage on each hit, making the weapon effective against grouped enemies. The tradeoff is self-damage at close range.

Caution

Without Bulldozer’s Explosive Resistance fully upgraded, Explosive Bullets deal self-damage at close range. This skill track is required for safe use.

Effective in: crowd clearing, high enemy density zones, squad play.

Attachments

Rapid Fire increases rate of fire, which raises the frequency of critical hits per second and compounds with crit damage bonuses from skill tracks. Other attachments affect recoil and ADS speed but have a smaller impact on overall damage output.

Skill track interactions

The ION XR3 scales with skill tracks that increase critical damage, rate of fire, or survivability.

Skill Track	Interaction
Eagle Eye	Increased Crit Damage, Big Hit (bonus crit on full-health enemies), Rampage (stacking damage after rapid kills).
Berserker	Crit Chain Speed Boost, Fast Weapon Fire (stacks with Rapid Fire), Kills Regen Armor.
Bulldozer	Explosive Resistance (required for Explosive Bullets), Armor Regen, Adrenaline Rush.

Acquiring the ION XR3

The ION XR3 is not a named exotic. It is obtained as a field weapon and upgraded to exotic rarity through the Exotic Fabricator.

1. Find an ION XR3 in the field during a run.
2. Survive until a Guild Strike boss is defeated to access the Exotic Fabricator.
3. Upgrade the weapon to exotic rarity at the Fabricator (applies 3.5x damage multiplier).
4. Use subsequent Fabricator interactions to add attachments and roll utility bonuses.

Related pages

Snipers and Marksman Rifles All sniper and marksman rifles with utility bonus availability.

Utility Bonuses Sharpshooter and Explosive Bullets availability and full bonus list.

Exotic Fabricator How to upgrade weapons to exotic rarity.

Skills Overview All skill tracks and their effects.

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Data sourced from community research and in-game documentation. Information may change with game updates.