After the release of the Witch Queen, Destiny 2 gained a full-fledged weapon crafting system. This is a feature Bungie continues to alter and refine as they move away from a system that required dozens of engrams worth of tries before you could have the perks you wanted. While no such crafting system exists for armor as of now, the ability to craft, rank up, and reshape your most prized weapons is an amazing feature.
There are now dozens of craftable legendary weapons, as Bungie adds to a number they've said will continue to grow as seasons and expansions are released. With so many powerful choices to choose from, weapon crafting can get pretty time-consuming and cost a great deal of crafting materials. To avoid wasting any, here is a look at the best weapons worth grinding to craftable status.
Updated March 14, 2023 by Andrew Scariati: The release of Lightfall was met with numerous criticisms, but the powerful new arsenal of weapons brings some incredible diamonds in the rough to grind and eventually craft as you see fit. The Root Of Nightmares raid introduced a powerful array of Strand weapons to add to an already impressive arsenal of raid weapons from Vow Of The Disciple. Whether you prefer Auto Rifles, Bows, Grenade Launchers, or Glaives, there are a number of exceptional options with powerful god rolls worth chasing after. Your perfect weapon is only a handful of red border weapon drops away.
11 Fel Taradiddle – Bow
Whispering Slab’s younger sibling, Fel Taradiddle has several options that will make it one of your go-to bows of choice. Grab either a Draw Time or an Accuracy masterwork. The first two slots are fairly open, though Polymer String and Straight Fletching are highly recommended to further increase Accuracy and decrease Draw Time.
Killing Wind with Adrenaline Junky or Thresh will let your shots increase in damage the more kills you rack up, while Archer's Tempo and Successful Warm-Up will make your bow shoot just as fast as any gun. A Targeting Adjuster or Quick Access Sling mod fits nicely into any bow’s mod slot, though.
10 Likely Suspect – Fusion Rifle
Fusion Rifles are undeniably strong in both PvP and PvE, and Likely Suspect has good perks for either. You should go with a Stability or Charge Time masterwork for this one, though Range is an option if you’re feeling confident in your aim. Go with Fluted Barrel in the first slot and Liquid Coils in the second.
Either Slideways or Heating Up in the third slot will keep you in the fight for longer. Your choice of Wellspring, Golden Tricorn, or Successful Warm-Up in the fourth slot will make your Likely Suspect the talk of the town.
9 Red Herring – Rocket Launcher
An excellent Rocket Launcher, the Red Herring makes for a great god-roll weapon worth grinding for. A Blast Radius or Velocity masterwork with Quick Launch and High-Velocity Rounds in the first two slots will make rockets practically jump out of the tube.
Ambitious Assassin in the third slot will serve as a proxy Clown Cartridge to overflow your magazine when you reload, as long as you kill some things. Golden Tricorn or Turnabout in the fourth slot will also activate on kills or shield breaks respectively, letting you simply point and shoot.
8 Lubrae’s Ruin – Glaive
This is one of the more grind-heavy weapons, requiring several red border weapon drops from the Vow Of The Disciple raid, but it is oh-so-worth it. Go grab a checkpoint at Rhulk and get to grinding for these rare red border drops. Once you're done, a reload speed masterwork is highly recommended for your crafted Lubrae's.
While Lubrae's has had many viable options fall in and out of favor over time, you cannot go wrong with Surrounded and Grave Robber. Being surrounded by enemies will increase your damage while killing one with a melee will reload your ammo – a powerful combination. Stick to Auxiliary Reserves and Accurized Rounds for some extra shields and better range on your projectile shots.
7 Nessa's Oblation – Shotgun
Nessa's Oblation is an excellent Pinpoint Slug Shotgun from the Root of Nightmares raid that debuted with the release of Lightfall. It can be useful in both PVP and PVE but perhaps functions best as a PvE damage-dealing weapon. If you do want to give it a go in PVP, you'll absolutely want to go with Opening Shot in the second column.
For PVE, a roll with either Reconstruction or Fourth Time's The Charm in the first perk column is an excellent starting point. Add in Focused Fury in the second column for the perfect major and boss-damage shotgun, especially if you missed out on other powerful options in the past, like First In, Last Out. If you're feeling spicy on a Void build, then you should opt for Repulsor Brace and Destabilizing Rounds to synergize your gun and build to perfection.
6 Nezarec's Whisper – Glaive
Nezarec's Whisper is a fantastic craftable glaive that provides some excellent out-of-combat Easter Eggs for you to enjoy in addition to its potency in battle. This glaive is one of Nezarec's named items and, when equipped, can help decipher some mysterious whispers on Neomuna, allowing you to hear a secret bit of dialogue instead of unintelligible whispers.
There are a number of powerful options to choose from, but Frenzy and Demolitionist might just be the most flexible god roll, particularly in PVE as this glaive probably isn't the best PVP choice. Slap on Accurized Rounds and Supercooled Accelerator to push out your range and ensure your projectile is hitting from a long distance.
5 Submission – SMG
SMGs, especially on a mouse and keyboard, are hard primary weapons to outclass. Submission doubly so as this SMG might just be one of the best in the game. Another Vow Of The Disciple raid weapon, this one will take some time to unlock, but when you do, a Stability masterwork will serve you well.
Chambered Compensator and Accurized Rounds should go in the first two slots. Your third and fourth slots offer choices, but Overflow and Frenzy are a superb combination for almost any situation. The doubled magazine size from Overflow is particularly important here as the rate of fire on this weapon ensures you can deal a great deal of damage to minor enemies quickly, easily clearing them out.
4 Cataclysmic – Linear Fusion Rifle
Linear fusions had their time in the sun during Season of the Lost, but that doesn’t mean LFRs are any less powerful now than they used to be. Not to mention Cataclysmic is another raid weapon, so you know it will have some excellent perk combinations.
A Stability, Charge Time, or Reload Speed masterwork with Fluted Barrel and Projection Fuse is the best way to start out. Then, you'll want to go with Bait and Switch with Fourth Time's The Charm (FTTC) for the perfect combination to dish out tons of damage to bosses with ease. As long as you are hitting their crit spot, this weapon will continue to fire off incredible damage as you activate FTTC for extra ammo in the mag.
3 Rufus's Fury – Auto Rifle
Rufus' Fury is another powerful weapon available from the Root Of Nightmares raid, giving you another 720 RPM Auto Rifle option. This Strand weapon comes with a wonderful pool of perks to choose from, with several viable options to construct the perfect Auto Rifle for all of your needs.
This weapon excels in PVE and boasts a couple of rolls in particular that can get the job done: Rewind Rounds and Frenzy or Demolitionist and Hatchling. The former perk combination will allow you to do big damage to powerful enemies and clear through waves in a flash. The second combination requires a Strand build but can help you to overwhelm your foes with an onslaught of powerful Strand Hatchlings when you combine the Threadling Grenade with this weapon.
2 Forbearance – Wave Frame GL
Forbearance is an extremely powerful Grenade Launcher that can be acquired by completing the Vow Of The Disciple raid. While Wave Frames can be extremely strong niche picks in PVP, this weapon doesn't need a master's touch to make it effective. Its best usage is undoubtedly in PVE where you'll be able to dispatch rooms full of enemies in a flash.
Forbearance's god roll of Ambitious Assassin and Chain Reaction makes it the premier minor-enemy clearing weapon in the game. This legendary Wave Frame also benefits from High-Velocity Rounds and Quick Launch to round out its powerful main perk combination. Aim at the floor to send a wave of Arc energy at groups of enemies and enjoy the next magazine with two grenades thanks to Ambitious Assassin to continue causing carnage.
1 Acasia's Dejection – Trace Rifle
Acasia's Dejection is an incredible Trace Rifle in the same archetype as Retraced Path. If you haven't gotten your hands on that Solar Trace Rifle, then this is an excellent alternative. Trace Rifles are an oddball pick in PVP, but Perpetual Motion and High Impact Reserves will get the job done for you if you simply must use this weapon in Crucible.
However, the PVE side of the game allows Acasia's Dejection to really stretch its legs, thanks to incredible first-column perks like Rewind Rounds and Reconstruction that pair incredibly well with either Incandescent or Frenzy. Rewind Rounds and Incandescent should allow you to hold the trigger down as you clear minor enemies while Reconstruction and Frenzy should help you to deal great sustained damage with lightning-fast reloads. Use an Enhanced Battery for extra ammo and Fluted Barrel for better handling, and you have one of the best god rolls in Destiny 2 at your disposal.