As a looter shooter, there are a lot of different weapons in Destiny 2. Knowing what weapons to use can be quite a challenge.
Deciding what weapons are worth getting will help you spend more time enjoying the game and less time searching for yet another weapon to replace the one you just unlocked.
Recommended Read: Where to Find Unstoppable Champions in Destiny 2
There are already nearly 1,000 weapons in the Destiny 2 sandbox. While a lot of these weapons could be considered filler, there are still many, many good weapons. Today, we will cover weapons for both PvP and PvE, giving you a good list of weapons that will prepare you for any activity.
The best weapons in Destiny 2 are Ace of Space and Matador 64 for PvP, and Quicksilver Storm, Forbearance, and Cold Comfort For PvE.
Table of Contents
Best PvP Weapons in Destiny 2
Destiny 2 has a pretty diverse selection of good PvP weapons available right now.
The focus for PvP weapons will always be time-to-kill and Range.
Hand Cannons
Ace of Spades is currently the top dog when it comes to Hand Cannons.
Being an Exotic weapon, you won’t have to farm it for the perfect roll. It has Firefly built in, meaning enemies will explode and cause AoE damage on precision kills.
The Perk Momento Mori acts as a sort of Kill Clip and gives you an easier time-to-kill, letting you go for body shots instead of headshots. This increase in damage effectively increases your Range as well, which is something most Hand Cannons struggle with.
Crimson is the Exotic Hand Cannon of choice for controller players. The added aim-assist that a controller gives you makes landing the burst-fire of Crimson much easier than tracking on the mouse and keyboard.
When you land the full burst of this weapon, you will deal massive flinch to your enemies, making it much, much harder for them to shoot back.
This weapon has the added benefit of healing you on kills and reloading after precision kills, making it the perfect weapon for those 1v3 clutches.
Rose takes everything players love about Hand Cannons and puts it into a Legendary weapon that has some great base stats to start you off.
The Perk pool for this weapon is insane, with basically any roll being a good choice for PvP.
Our recommended roll would have either Eye of the Storm or Rangefinder in the second slot. The first slot has many great options, so go for preference.
Austringer is yet another Legendary Hand Cannon with a great Perk pool.
The reason many players have stuck with Austringer is that it is one of the few good craftable Hand Cannons, allowing you to get Enhanced Perks that will grant you better bonuses than traditional Legendary weapons.
Our recommended roll is either Snapshot Sights or Eye of the Storm paired with either Rangefinder or Opening Shot.
The downside to Austringer is that it can’t be farmed. To unlock its weapon pattern, you will need to purchase Austringers from Banshee-44 and Xur whenever they have one available and use Deepsight Harmonizers to extract their pattern progress.
Some honorable mentions for the Hand Cannon category are Thorn, Hawkmoon, Igneous Hammer, and Kept Confidence. These are all still amazing weapons that you should consider if you don’t have anything else on the list lined up.
Pulse Rifles
Graviton Lance will be your choice Exotic Pulse Rifle. It has maximum Stability, meaning this thing will shoot straight like a laser.
Kills with this weapon will create elemental projectiles that track down and explode near enemies, making it very difficult for your enemies to team shoot you without risking it all.
The Messenger (Adept) has long been the best Legendary Pulse Rifle. An Adept version of this weapon has access to the Adept Range mod, making it a beast of a weapon in close-range and long-range fights.
This weapon is only available through Trials of Osiris. The god-roll you will want is either Perpetual Motion or Rapid Hit paired with Kill Clip or Headseeker.
BxR-44 Battler is the Halo-themed Pulse Rifle introduced in Dares of Eternity. This weapon is much easier to farm than The Messenger and has a slew of great PvP Perks.
The god-roll is really up to preference, though you can’t go wrong with Killing Wind and Eye of the Storm.
Auto Rifles
Ammit AR2 is a new kind of beast. It is used as a tutorial weapon for weapon crafting, meaning you will unlock its pattern simply by following the questline for weapon crafting. Once you’ve finished, you will have access to the best Auto Rifle in PvP.
This weapon currently makes up 4.39% of weapons used in PvP, making it the most used weapon in Destiny 2 PvP at the moment.
While it has a fine stat line, it is a craftable weapon, meaning you have access to Enhanced Perks that allow this weapon to surpass the Range of any other Auto Rifle available right now.
The god-roll everyone is using takes advantage of Dynamic Sway Reduction and Tap the Trigger to turn this Auto Rifle into a laser of accuracy. This is really the only Legendary Auto Rifle worth using at the moment.
Quicksilver Storm is an Exotic Auto Rifle that is good in PvE and decent in PvP. The Intrinsic Perk Rocket Tracers spawn in homing missiles after landing consecutive shots, though you shouldn’t rely on these missiles to help your TTK.
The main reason for choosing this weapon is the 100 Stability stat. This thing just shoots straight. If you really need an Auto Rifle, you can always use Quicksilver Storm.
Centrifuse is both a fun and decent Exotic Auto Rifle in PvP.
While the Exotic Trai requires you to run, sprint, and slide to maintain Charge, the catalyst allows you to build Charge while Amplified, making this a great gun to synergize with any Arc subclass build.
Just like Graviton Lance, this weapon will create explosions on kills while Charged, damaging enemies in an AoE and Blinding them on a maximum Charge kill. This is great for denying team shooting and forcing opponents to play around you.
Sub Machineguns
The Immortal (Adept) is by far the best SMG in Destiny 2 when paired with the Adept Range mod. This weapon can get you kills from ranges that no SMG should be able to reach.
The god-roll of Perpetual Motion and Taget Lock make this a run-and-gun beast. You will need to farm Trials of Osiris to unlock this weapon.
Unending Tempest is a new SMG added in Season of the Witch. It has quickly topped the charts for the most used SMG in PvP.
It can reach a base Range stat of 88, with Fragile Focus increasing it to 100. Killing Wind is another Range-boosting Perk that will let you take Target Lock in your second slot for increased damage.
This weapon drops randomly from Crucible Engrams, making it much easier to obtain than a god-roll Immortal.
Bows
Use Le Monarque. It is by far the best Bow you can use. Anything with AoE damage is great in PvP.
Shotguns
Matador 64 is by far the best Shotgun in the game right now, as it is the easiest Shotgun to farm.
The combination of Threat Detector and Opening Shot gives this the Handling and first-shot accuracy it needs to out-range most of the competition.
Conditional Finality is the go-to Exotic Shotgun of choice. Earned as a random reward from the Root of Nightmares Raid, this Shotgun has the ability to freeze targets if you don’t one-shot them.
This freezing Perk will singlehandedly win you many Shotgun duels that you’d otherwise lose.
Sniper Rifles
Mercurial Overreach is the top Sniper Rifle in Season of the Witch. You can get one by completing Glory matches in the Crucible.
Snapshot Sights and Opening Shot are two Perks that everyone wants on their Sniper Rifles and this one can roll with both.
Cloudstrike is the only other Sniper Rifle competing with Mercurial Overreach, as they are both Arc weapons. Cloudstrike is an Exotic Sniper Rifle, so you won’t be able to pair it with Ace of Spades or Graviton Lance.
Just the sight of this Sniper Rifle is all it takes to make enemies play scattered. One precision kill with this weapon has the potential to kill any enemy near your target.
You could take out an entire team with one shot if they are bunched up.
Beloved is one of the best craftable Sniper Rifles around. It has a great selection of Perks such as Snapshot Sights, Moving Target, Quickdraw, and No Distractions.
Best PvE Weapons in Destiny 2
For PvE, you are looking for weapons that can handle hordes of enemies fast and shred Major and Boss enemies.
This usually means fast reloads, AOE damage, and high single-target damage output.
Auto Rifles
Quicksilver Storm has been a menace in PvE activities for a while now.
The homing missiles shred through red-bar enemies, and the alternate-fire Grenade Launcher Perk can store up to three grenade shots that each deal a massive amount of damage.
The Catalyst turns this weapon into a Strand weapon, making it perfectly synergize with Tangle creation. For most PvE activities, this is a great weapon choice.
Monte Carlo is a fine Exotic Auto Rifle if you plan on using a Melee-centric build.
The Exotic Trait Monte Carlo Method will reduce your Melee ability cooldown while damaging enemies with this weapon, while Markov Chain will increase weapon and Melee damage after getting a kill with either.
Paired with the Titan’s Throwing Hammer, things can get out of hand fast.
For craftable Auto Rifles, Ammit AR2 and Rufus’s Fury each have some great Perks to choose from.
Hand Cannons
Sunshot has become an actual weapon for once, thanks to the recent Hand Cannon damage buffs in PvE.
The Sun Blast Perk provides an enhanced Firefly explosion on enemy kills that can quickly turn a single kill into several with AOE damage, making this a top-tier choice for add clearing.
Malfeasance has always been a decent Hand Cannon for both add clear and damage.
Now, paired with Lucky Pants, this weapon can easily provide you with sustained DPS for high-health Boss encounters. You will want to make sure you have someone with Witherhoard for the full effect.
Kept Confidence is a good Strand Hand Cannon that you can use to synergize with your Strand subclass.
Sub Machineguns
CALUS Mini-Tool is one of the few good craftable SMGs in the game.
The combination of Unrelenting for health regeneration and Incandescent for AoE Scorch makes this a great tool to have on hand.
Osteo Striga is another craftable Exotic SMG, though the base version will do just fine. This weapon has tracking bullets that will hunt down enemies.
Final blows will trigger an AoE explosion, perfect for clearing groups of enemies. This weapon can also be used as a decent backup Primary when you run out of Special and Heavy ammo for DPS.
Funnelweb is currently in the number one spot for SMGs. Since it is a Void weapon, it is often paired with Void subclasses to take advantage of Devour procs and Volatile Rounds.
When paired with the Hunter’s Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk Exoitc, you can practically stay invisible forever.
Trace Rifles
Divinity is the only notable Trace Rifle on the list, as it is basically mandatory for many Boss encounters. The added damage for your Fireteam that this weapon provides is just too good to pass up.
Many Warlocks need Trace Rifles to proc their Cenotaph Mask and give out ammo for their Fireteam. Some good Legendary Trace Rifles to consider are Acasia’s Dejection, Retraced Path, and Path of Least Resistance.
Fusion Rifles
Riptide has been a very solid Fusion Rifle ever since it was released. The reason you choose this weapon is solely for Chill Clip.
Though recently nerfed, this Perk will let you freeze enemies with only three shots, making quick work of Champions and Major enemies.
You can pick one up for yourself through Shaxx Engrams.
The Eremite is a newer addition to Destiny 2 released in Season of the Witch. This Solar Fusion Rifle can roll with some great perks.
Many are using Envious Assassin and Controlled Burst for both add clear and Boss damage.
Can be found randomly in Season of the Witch activities.
Cartesian Coordinate was the Solar Fusion Rifle of choice before The Eremite. It is a rank-up reward for many vendors, so it is a little easier to come by.
Lead from Gold and Vorpal Weapon make this a very good DPS weapon that can maintain ammo throughout the encounter.
Shotguns
Tractor Cannon, much like Divinity, is a must-have debuff weapon that will give you and your Fireteam a much-needed boost to damage on Boss encounters.
Unlike Divinity, Tractor Cannon lets you fire off a couple of shots and then swap to your DPS weapons before the debuff runs out.
Conditional Finality is a great Shotgun for Major enemy clearing with its freezing effect and can do some decent DPS with the Solar pellets.
Heritage is one of the easier Slug Shotguns to farm, dropping from the Deep Stone Crypt Raid. Slug Shotguns can deal a massive amount of damage when you are able to DPS close to the Boss.
You will want Reconstruction and Recombination. This perk combo lets you max out your ammo capacity and increase the damage of your first shot.
Grenade Launchers
Forbearance is one of the best craftable weapons in Destiny 2. Wave Frame Grenade Launchers are already great at clearing lots of enemies with a single shot.
Get one with Chain Reaction to leave nothing standing after you fire. Ambitious Assassin will keep you from having to reload as often.
Witherhoard is an Exotic Grenade Launcher that you should definitely have ready. It is unique in that it leaves behind pools of Blight when shot that damage enemies who enter.
If you hit an enemy directly, it will deal damage over time. This makes it a great weapon for both add clear and Boss damage.
Any enemy directly hit with Witherhoard will be treated as Taken. This is an important synergy with weapons like Malfeasance.
Ex Diris is the new Seasonal weapon included with Season of the Witch. Kills with this weapon will create Loyal Moths that seek out enemies and deal pretty decent AoE damage. They also Blind, which is a plus.
You can synergize this Grenade Launcher with the Hunter’s new Mothkeeper’s Wraps Exotic to create Moths that can grant you and your allies Overshields.
Sniper Rifles
Izanagi’s Burden is still a powerhouse DPS weapon that isn’t going anywhere.
The ability to dump four Sniper Rifle shots into a single trigger pull is just too good. Be sure to have this Exotic ready if you plan on running end-game content.
Succession is another great craftable weapon from the Deep Stone Crypt Raid. While Legendary Sniper Rifles are far from meta right now, this one can roll with Reconstruction and Vorpal Weapon, making it a decent DPS weapon if the encounter calls for ranged weapons.
Machine Guns
Retrofit Escapade is an excellent craftable weapon to have on hand. It has a large Perk pool that you can tune to whatever you need. Since it is a Void weapon, it makes for a great Devour and Volatile Rounds weapon.
For efficient add clear, you will want Feeding Frenzy and Frenzy. For DPS, Fourth Time’s the Charm and Vorpal Weapon are your go-to Perks.
Commemoration is yet another great craftable Machine Gun that you can unlock from the Deep Stone Crypt Raid.
Reconstruction and Killing Tally pair so well together and make this weapon a great choice for clearing out every Minor or Major enemy in the area.
Thunder Lord is a dominant Exotic Machine Gun. This thing shreds through enemies, dealing AoE lightning damage to everything nearby.
The fact that it also has an insane amount of DPS during Boss fights is just extra. Be sure to have one of these ready in your Vault.
Linear Fusion Rifles
Cataclysmic is the best Linear Fusion Rifle in the game when it comes to DPS. The combination of Fourth Time’s the Charm and Bait and Switch is just too good.
If an encounter requires long-ranged DPS, this is the first weapon you should be reaching for.
You can get this weapon from the Vow of the Disciple Raid.
Arbalest is an Exotic Linear Fusion Rifle that has a unique perk that simply shreds any type of shield in the game. This ties well into its Disruption Break Perk for some nice DPS.
You will want to have one of these on hand when facing a Raid or Dungeon Boss that has a large shield.
Sleeper Stimulant is a good choice if you don’t have a good Legendary Linear Fusion Rifle yet. This weapon just deals a good amount of damage. Not much else to it.
Swords
The Other Half is one of the most used Swords in Destiny 2, and it is not for its damage.
The Perk Eager Edge lets you lunge incredible distances, making this a great weapon for platforming and encounter skipping in PvE. You can get one from Dares of Eternity. All it takes is one to unlock the pattern for crafting.
If all you care about is damage, you can skip this weapon. However, you will fall behind when everyone Sword Skates ahead of you in between encounters.
The Lament is an Exotic Sword that deals a massive amount of damage to Bosses that lets you get close enough to use it.
If an encounter calls for Swords, you will most likely be pulling out The Lament.
It can be obtained through the Lost Lament questline.
Rocket Launchers
Gjallarhorn is a must-have when doing DPS with Rocket Launchers. Gjallarhorn itself does some decent damage, though this is not the reason you want to use it.
When firing Gjallarhorn, you grant all non-Exotic Rocket Launchers near you the Wolfpack Rounds Perk, turning their rockets into cluster rockets that deal a lot more damage.
You can get this Rocket Launcher from the And Out Fly the Wolves quest.
Apex Predator is both craftable and one of the highest DPS Rocket Launchers in the game, able to use both Reconstruction and Bait and Switch to delete the health bar of any Boss.
You can farm red-border versions from the Last Wish Raid.
Cold Comfort, while not as easy to obtain as Apex Predator, can output even more DPS with Envious Assassin giving you extra rounds in the magazine so you can better take advantage of the Bait and Switch time window.
Those are the best weapons currently available in Destiny 2.
How many weapons on this list do you already have? How many are you still trying to get? Let me know in the comments!
