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Kinetic weapons in Destiny 2 have been left to the wayside in recent years. Despite their slight precision damage increase, they lack unique perks on synergies with certain subclass features. You'd think that Kinetic weapons would be obsolete because of this, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

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Some of the best weapons in Destiny 2 deal Kinetic damage, ranging from high-damage Sniper Rifles to Grenade Launchers that shoot Taken Blights. This list will be looking at ten of these meta-defining weapons, showcasing why their lack of elemental damage is compensated for through perk combinations or functionality.

Updated July 31, 2023, by Charles Burgar: Season of the Deep refreshed the perk pools of every Last Wish weapon, making all of them worth farming for. The Supremacy's perk refresh was transformative, making this gun comparable to Whisper of the Worm in Special form in PvE. Crucible players will also want to get their hands on this S-tier Sniper Rifle. We've updated this list to include the reprised Supremacy Sniper Rifle, covering excellent perk combinations that make this weapon a must-own.

Entries focus on PvE and are in no particular order.

10 The Supremacy

Destiny 2 The Supremacy Sniper

How to obtain: Last Wish raid; craftable at the Enclave.

Every Last Wish weapon received a major perk refresh in Season of the Deep, adding some truly S-tier perk combinations that are hard to find elsewhere. The Supremacy's new perk pool is a great example of this, featuring some unique perk combinations we haven't seen on a Sniper Rifle before.

For PvE, you'll want to keep an eye out for Rewind Rounds and Fourth Time's the Charm. This combination lets Supremacy fire 40+ shots into a target without needing to reload, giving this weapon a surprisingly high sustained DPS value for a Special weapon. If you want to take this gun into GMs or Master Lost Sectors, you might prefer Kinetic Tremors to clear out a pack of tankier foes with just a couple of well-placed headshots.

Crucible players will also want to get their hands on a good Supremacy roll. A 40 zoom scope with 77 aim assist makes this gun incredibly forgiving, especially when you pair it with Opening Shot and Snapshot Sightsan excellent perk roll on any PvP Sniper Rifle. If you want to get more experimental, Keep Away is amazing on Sniper Rifles for improved accuracy. Discord is also an option if you want to partially break the ammo economy on this weapon. And if you find Opening Shot to be overkill, run Elemental Capacitor to juice this gun's stats even further. It's tough to find a bad perk combination on this gun.

Recommended Traits:

  • Column One: Rewind Round, Keep Away, Snapshot Sights
  • Column Two: Fourth Time's the Charm, Kinetic Tremors, Opening Shot, Elemental Capacitor

9 Heritage

Destiny 2 Heritage Shotgun

How to obtain: Deep Stone Crypt raid (Replication and Disarmament encounters)

Slug Shotguns are some of the best Special weapons in Destiny 2, both for PvE and PvP. Heritage is arguably the best of the bunch, featuring a fantastic base stat package and some exclusive perks. With the right roll, this weapon reaches the range and consistency of Duality without requiring an Exotic slot.

For PvE, Reconstruction and Recombination is a fantastic combo. Your weapon will passively reload, and kills with your other weapons will ramp up the damage of your next shot, making it quite easy to one-shot a major. For PvP, Hip-Fire Grip and Offhad Strike makes Heritage a consistent headshot machine.

Recommended Traits:

  • Column One: Reconstruction, Hip-Fire Grip (PvP)
  • Column Two: Recombination, Offhand Strike (PvP), Killing Wind

8 Izanagi's Burden

Destiny 2 Guardian Holding Izanagi's Burden

How to obtain: Purchased from the Exotic Kiosk in the Tower. Costs 1 Exotic Cipher, 150,000 Glimmer, 250 Legendary Shards, and 2 Ascendant Shards.

Sometimes one Sniper Rifle bullet isn't enough. Or two. Or three. Izanagi's Burden lets you combine four bullets into one supercharged round, annihilating anything dares enter your crosshair. In PvE, it's meta for most raid bosses and great for shutting down Champions. And for PvP, Izanagi's Burden can shutdown Supers and even one-tap Guardians to the body with enough ammo.

7 Submission

Destiny 2 Submission

How to obtain: Vow of the Disciple raid (First three encounters).

Submission is a 900 RPM SMG that acts as a Kinetic version of Funnelweb. This weapon fires quickly, hits hard, and has some great perks to further boost its lethality. Overflow and Frenzy is arguably the best combination of the bunch, allowing this weapon to have a ludicrous 80-round magazine that deals respectable damage up close.

Related: Destiny 2: Every Buff And Debuff Explained

It's also a solid weapon for the Crucible. Killing Wind and Encore allow you to boost the gun's effective range to Immortal and Shayura's Wrath distances. This is notable since Rangefinder and zoom's relationship with range are getting changed next season. Once that change occurs, there's a good chance that Succession will be an S-tier PvP SMG. And if you don't care about PvP at all, Overflow and Frenzy makes this gun an incredible workhorse for most PvE content.

Recommended Traits:

  • Column One: Overflow, Encore (PvP)
  • Column Two: Frenzy, Killing Wind (PvP)

6 Hung Jury SR4

Destiny 2 Hung Jury SR4

How to obtain: Potential Nightfall reward.

Hung Jury has returned in Season of Defiance, this time with a refreshed perk pool. While it lost Explosive Payload in the second perk column, Hung Jury can now roll with Kinetic Tremors. This perk releases multiple shockwaves after landing six shots, dealing great damage considering its easy proc requirement.

You can pair Kinetic Tremors with Shoot to Loot for an amazing long-range Primary in endgame content, vacuuming ammo from a distance while dealing solid AoE damage. If you're not a fan of Kinetic Tremors, Rapid Hit paired with Frenzy is a great roll. This is also the only Kinetic Scout Rifle that can roll with Firefly, giving you a few options to suit your playstyle. It's not bad in PvP either, but Scouts in general fall behind the current PvP meta. For PvE, Hung Jury SR4 is a solid pick for all activities.

Recommended Traits:

  • Column One: Shoot to Loot, Rapid Hit
  • Column Two: Kinetic Tremors, Firefly, Frenzy

5 Traveler's Chosen

Destiny 2 Traveler's Chosen

How to obtain: Purchased from the Exotic Kiosk in the Tower. Costs 1 Exotic Cipher, 125,000 Glimmer, 200 Legendary Shards, and 1 Ascendant Shard.

Traveler's Chosen doesn't get as much use as it should. This Sidearm is the pinnacle of ability-generating Exotics and perfect for every grenade-spamming, melee-loving Guardian that plays Destiny 2. Kills with this weapon grant stacks of Gathering Light that, when consumed, grant an absurd amount of ability energy.

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It only takes a few kills to gain most or all of your ability energy back, allowing you to spam abilities with little regard for cooldowns. And with the weapon's Exotic Catalyst, Traveler's Chosen will match your subclass element and fire in full-auto. Simply put, Traveler's Chosen is the ultimate weapon for buildcrafters.

4 Wish-Ender

Destiny 2 Wish-Ender

How to obtain: Complete the "Broken Talisman" quest, obtained from the Shattered Throne dungeon.

Similar to Arbalest, Wish-Ender saw a complete 180 with a single balance patch. Season of the Plunder has buffed Wish-Ender considerably, turning this weapon into the ultimate endgame Bow. Each arrow hits its target multiple times, leading to frequent one-taps against red bars in the hardest PvE content.

Better yet, Wish-Ender has Anti-Barrier Rounds, allowing it to bypass Barrier Champion shields and other objects—notably shields held by the Cabal and Vex Hydras. It destroys red bars, deals great damage to majors, counters Barrier Champions, has infinite ammo, and it's effective at all ranges. If you're tired of using Arbalest or need an ammo-efficient Champion slayer, look no further than the Wish-Ender.

3 Fatebringer

Destiny 2 Fatebringer

How to obtain: Vault of Glass raid (Templar encounter).

You'll have a hard time finding a better Hand Cannon than Fatebringer in PvE. This 140 RPM Hand Cannon has some fantastic perk combinations that make it shine over its peers. It's the only Hand Cannon with Explosive Payload in column one, Osmosis in column one, and has access to Firefly.

Quite a few builds can take full advantage of what Fatebringer has to offer. Want a good workhorse weapon? Get a roll with Explosive Payload and Firefly. Want to make a monochromatic build? Use Osmosis with a damage perk. Interested in playing PvP? Get a roll with Explosive Payload and Eye of the Storm. There's no activity where Fatebringer disappoints.

Recommended Traits:

  • Column One: Explosive Payload, Osmosis (PvE)
  • Column Two: Firefly, Eye of the Storm (PvP)

2 Arbalest

Destiny 2 Arbalest Linear Fusion Rifle

How to obtain: Exotic Engrams and Xur.

After Arbalest was buffed to counter Barrier Champions, it has become a fantastic Kinetic weapon for endgame content. It can counter Barrier Champions, ignores shield resistances, and auto-reloads itself after breaking a shield if the Catalyst is installed. Arbalest also deals great precision damage from long range, making this a great replacement for a Kinetic Sniper Rifle or similar weapon. It's not bad in PvP either, although it's beaten by Lortenz Driver in most situations. If you're diving into Destiny 2's endgame for the first time, you can't go wrong with Arbalest.

1 Witherhoard

Destiny 2 Witherhoard

How to obtain: Purchased from the Exotic Kiosk in the Tower. Costs 1 Exotic Cipher, 100,000 Glimmer, 150 Legendary Shards, and 1 Ascendant Shard.

Witherhoard is the ultimate utility weapon of Destiny 2. This Special Grenade Launcher fires Taken Blights that create a lingering damage-over-time field. It sounds lackluster on paper, but this single blight can:

  • Lock down objectives and spawn locations.
  • Deal passive DPS to bosses.
  • Shutdown Supers in PvP (provided you stick the target).
  • Provide energy for Exotics like Starfire Protocol.

Just about every build in Destiny 2 can make use of Witherhoard in some fashion. It's also incredibly ammo efficient, seldom running out of ammo due to its massive 22-ammo reserves. If you're struggling to find an Exotic to run, Witherhoard is always a good option.

Next: Destiny 2: Every New Weapon In Lightfall