Destiny 2 - The Top Ten Weapons for PvP
Destiny 2 - The Top Ten Weapons for PvP
Season One Edition
The point of Destiny 2 is to shoot things and some guns just do it better than the rest. In this article, I will be taking a look at the best weapons in PvP and evaluating not only their individual merits but also how they stack up against the competition. Additionally, I'll be highlighting a similar but weaker honorable mention for each selection in case you're looking for a different type of weapon. This list is based of of my personal experience, the community consensus and the varying quality of the static perks on each weapon. If you think I got it wrong, please leave a comment and inform me of which weapons I misjudged. Without further adieu, let's get to the guns!
10. The Time-Worn Spire
Rapid-Fire Frame, Tactical Mag, Accurized Rounds, Zen Moment
When Iron Banner originally launched, everyone knew the armor looked absolutely incredible while the weapons... well, the weapons looked less so. And it turned out that most of them played out a lot like they looked: underwhelming. Fortunately, keeping true to the long tradition of Iron Banner pulse rifles being the best weapons of the bunch, following in the hallowed footsteps of both The Clever Dragon and Nirwen's Mercy, The Time-Worn Spire was the exception to the rule. As a fast fire-rate pulse rifle, one of the few in the game at the moment, The Time-Worn Spire feels great to shoot, able to quickly burst down opponents at medium range. The combination of Accurized Rounds and Zen Moment evens out the stability and allows your reticle to stick to your target for longer even if they are attempting to evade your onslaught. This pulse rifle really shines when you get the drop on someone popping out of a tunnel or cave as it is able to reliably dish out significant damage at decent range extremely quickly. While reminiscent of another solid, PvP pulse rifle, Lincoln Green, The Time-Worn Spire pulls quite a bit less to the right when fired, letting you pull off more consistent headshots.
Honorable Mention: Lincoln Green
9. Pleiades Corrector
Lightweight Frame, High-Caliber Rounds, Flared Magwell, Rampage
The Pleiades Corrector from Future War Cult was surprising not only in it's ability to take down opposing guardians but also in it's inevitable similarity to the Mida Multi-Tool. Featuring the same archetype of fire rate and combining it with the High-Caliber Rounds and a Lightweight Frame makes this an absolute monster at range. The big difference with the Pleiades Corrector is its bouncy recoil pattern which is considerably more severe than its exotic counterpart. Regardless, once your able to tame this beast, you'll have access to a legendary, energy version of one of the games most popular weapons. Another facet that shouldn't be ignored is the Rampage perk, allowing your damage to increase whenever you kill an opponent (you will need to land the final blow). This can prove to have some use in situations where your opponents are grouped together and helps to turn the tide if you catch two guardians off guard. Now, while I currently think that this weapon is superior, with the second round of weapons coming out of for faction rally, I'm beginning to really enjoy the quick firing, automatic scout rifle from Dead Orbit called the Contingency Plan. I highly recommend trying to land this drop before reset to see if it tickles your fancy like it does mine.
Honorable Mention: Contingency Plan
8. Prosecutor
Precision Frame, Slideways, Tap the Trigger, Hip-Fire Grip
About two days after Trials of the Nine dropped for the first time, a new weapon was making the rounds in the community. A new predator had begun to devour the Crucible. The Prosecutor quickly became known as the best weapon from Trials with everyone hunting for it incessantly. The Prosecutor earns its reputation as one of the only auto rifles to be able to stand up to the dominance of the weapons lower on this list. Furthermore, the perk set really gives this weapon its own play style that optimizes when you become more mobile. With the combination of Slideways and Hip-Fire Grip, you're able to bob and weave in a firefight while still maintaining a high level of accuracy and stability. The amount of success that I saw with this weapon when I began to slide into combat situations, get off an initial burst in an opponent's face, and then strafe-firing without zooming in was considerable. The most comparable weapon that I found to the Prosecutor was the Restoration VIII from New Monarchy which, while not quite as consistent, is still a weapon that is perfectly reasonable at melting guardians with its large magazine and laser-beam like stability.
Honorable Mention: Restoration VIII
7. Vigilance Wing
Harsh Truths, Alloy Magazine, Last Stand, Composite Stock
As the first exotic to grace this list, Vigilance Wing does not disappoint. The sheer amount of damage that can be pumped out by this monster is daunting. Firing a five-bullet burst, with each bullet dealing 18 damage to the face and 13 to the body, it's incredibly rare that three bursts doesn't kill your target. The thing to remember about this weapon is that it is heavily skill intensive. If, and this is a big if, you're able to land all of your shots, this weapon has perhaps one of the fastest kill times in the game. Equally impressive is Vigilance Wing's synergy with other players on the field. Being able to erase roughly half of a guardian's health with one burst pairs extremely well if you're teamshotting someone, allowing you to pop around the corner, blast someone, and set them up for teammates kill. This works especially well with the exotic perk of Harsh Truth which gives you health regeneration and increased movement whenever a nearby teammate is killed. Now, as a caveat, while this weapon is ideal for medium to long engagements, it is absolutely not suited for close engagements. Make sure you bring a close range energy weapon if you're packing this in the Crucible. As for a relevant honorable mention, it was pretty clearly the Nightshade, the legendary pulse rifle you get from the Vanguard. Stable, reliable, and punishing if you catch the opponent unaware, the Nightshade will do some work for you if your running an exotic in another slot and want something comparable to the Vigilance Wing as a primary.
Honorable Mention: Nightshade
6. Better Devils
Adaptive Frame, Extended Mag, Flared Magwell, Explosive Payload
Hand Cannons certainly have taken a back seat since their dominance in the original Destiny. With their damage output not able to consistently compete with auto rifles at medium range, the hand cannon is a tough sell as they feel weaker than submachine guns and sidearms at close range and then also weak to auto rifles and scout rifles at medium to long ranges. However, there's always one weapon that breaks the mold and, in this case, that weapon is the Better Devils hand cannon that drops from the Crucible or can be given out by Shaxx. The Explosive Rounds perk brings Better Devils over the top because, as long as your bullet hits your target, the explosion from the perk will deal the same amount of damage regardless of range. This artificially extends the range of the weapon allowing you to engage at farther distances thus negating the current hand cannon meta's biggest problem. Landing three shots to the face will usually be sufficient to kill a target at closer ranges but more often than not, you'll be going for a pair of body shots and two head shots, particularly with the popularity of weapons with High-Caliber Rounds that will knock your aim off ever so slightly. So, even if you don't like hand cannons, I highly recommend stockpiling this bad boy because, if hand cannons ever get a buff, then I promise this will quickly rise to the top of the rankings. As for a comparable weapon, as of the initial release of Destiny, none of the other hand cannons whet my appetite. However, as of the latest Faction Rally, New Monarchy's Older Sister III has been relatively impressive. The smooth-as-butter recoil feels almost abnormal on a hand cannon but it's a welcome addition to the lineup.
Honorable Mention: Older Sister III
5. Sins of the Past
High-Impact Frame, Cluster Bomb, Ambitious Assassin, Auto-Loading Holster
While it seems almost like a cheat to add a power weapon to the lineup, the truth is that heavy ammo does spawn in Crucible and it's important to go over the best weapons for that slot. It is Sins of the Past. Okay, now that we've discussed that... Alright, alright, I'm kidding, only slightly. In my opinion, it is absolutely the Sins of the Past rocket launcher. Combining decent rocket speed with an insane blast radius and cluster bombs makes sure that if you even hit anywhere near your target, they're just dead. Coming with only two shots, it's important that you know where you're shooting but just take a moment, even if you're being shot at, line up your target and pull the trigger. With regard to other heavy options, I would suggest swords (Quickfang if you're a hunter) as they come with six to seven swings with each one being a potential kill. After swords, shotguns and snipers both have their place and can be deadly in the right hands. However, grenade launchers are simply not reliable enough in this author's opinion to be utilized. Now, beyond all of the statistics and PvP sweat and perk balances, my personal favorite weapon in the Crucible in the entire game is, without a doubt, the Tractor Cannon. No, I'm not trolling. Seriously, blowing enemies off of cliffs or into wall is the most fun I've had in the Crucible and it's not particularly close. Able to blast multiple people off of ledges and wave at them as they fruitlessly fall to their deaths is an experience that must be had by everyone.
Honorable Mention: Tractor Cannon
4. Antiope-D
Precision Frame, Ricochet Rounds, Tactical Mag, Kill Clip
Honorable Mention: Adjudicator
3. Mida Multi-Tool
Mida Multi-Tool, High-Caliber Rounds, Mida Radar, Hand-Laid Stock
The Mida Multi-Tool is very simply the best long range weapon in the game. A beast in Trials where you're trying to teamshot everyone at a distance, the Multi-Tool simply doesn't have an equal when it comes to consistency, range, or toolkit. The abilities that you gain from simply wielding this scout rifle are essentially unrivaled, being able to see your radar when scoped in, the increase to mobility, and, most importantly, the High-Caliber Rounds that stagger anyone you hit with it. Honestly, without the variability of randomly rolled weapons like the ones found in the original Destiny, it is unlikely that this is ever unseated as the best scout rifle in the game. What the far more interesting question is moving forward is what the best legendary scout rifle in the game is. So, while many people have fallen in love with the Nameless Midnight from Vanguard, particularly for PvE, my money is on the versatile, deadly Conspirator from the Leviathan Raid. The combination of Full-Auto and Dragonfly really elevate this weapon for me both in PvP and PvE, providing you with a consistent and highly effective option for calmly poking down an opponents health from a distance.
Honorable Mention: Conspirator
2. Uriel's Gift
Precision Frame, High-Caliber Rounds, Steady Rounds, Tap the Trigger
When it came down to the top two weapons, I had a challenging time discerning which one I would put on the top since they both are essentially outmatched in their respective categories. I've settled on this order but I'm still not entirely sure since Uriel's Gift is such a beast that I commonly feel like I'm cheating when I use it. If someone is inside of its frankly ridiculous range, you can be sure that Uriel's Gift will win you that gunfight if you start firing at the same time, primarily because of the combination of Tap the Trigger and High-Caliber Rounds. Tap the Trigger allows you to ensure that you're landing your first few headshots while High-Caliber Rounds will ensure that your opponent doesn't. I honestly believe that this pairing of abilities is a tiny bit overpowered as it puts anyone you're up against at an almost insurmountable position if they try and fight you. The best course of action against a Uriel's Gift is usually to back off and try and catch them off guard. As for an honorable mention, there's not a whole lot of weapons that can even hold a candle to the power of Uriel's Gift but one such weapon is The Number from Future War Cult. The Number acts as an essentially underpowered Uriel's Gift because it doesn't have High-Caliber Rounds. Regardless, this particular archetype of auto rifles is still very powerful and worthy of attention.
Honorable Mention: The Number
1. Last Hope
Omolon Adaptive Frame, Ricochet Rounds, Steady Rounds, Zen Moment
The Last Hope is the best gun in Destiny 2 for PvP. While some people have been debating the merits of another Omolon sidearm, they're deluding themselves if they think that Last Hope is not the best thing you can be doing if you want to get kills in the Crucible. Stable with unmatched damage output at close range, there is literally no weapon in the game that can stand up to the Last Hope in tight quarters. Yes, the gun requires you to get in close but that's not so much of drawback as an invitation. Would you like more kills? Well, just equip this and move in for the kill. All of the abilities increase the stability and handling of this weapon, making it a simple experience to just run up an shoot someone with it until they die. It doesn't matter if you're not the best player, this gun will do all the work for you and all it requires is a reasonably close distance to melt anything. Recently, I was being charged by an Arc Strider in their super and I wasn't even worried because I knew I could just pull out a Last Hope and there was nowhere for them to hide. Seriously, if you don't believe me (or that one guy on the opposing team of every Crucible match for that matter) you go into, then try it out for yourself. I will say that knowledge of map layouts helps immensely when firing this weapon since you can either bait or break traps accordingly. Regardless, the Last Hope is currently the ultimate death dealer in Destiny 2. The other Omolon weapon that people are talking about is The Last Dance which is sufficient if you don't have a Last Word but it isn't nearly as stable and requires more skill than the Last Hope does to use to its full potential
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