I just so happen to be back again with another Destiny 2 article, but this time its for a special reason! On Tuesday, the Destiny community welcomed millions of new players as the game launched on the PC platform. So this one is for all the new guardians out there who want to get all the insider knowledge right away and start melting face as soon as possible.
Before we begin, I would like to state my case. I have played Destiny 2 just about every day since its console launch and have been sitting at max power for a few weeks now, but I have a message to the PC master race people. We lowly console peasants got a head start. We know things you don't and this is me selflessly giving you all the information you need to know on which guns to avoid like the plague and which to embrace like whatever is the good version of the plague. So to pay it forward, the next time you see a console gamer begging on the street for change or struggling to screw in a light bulb, please just help him out.
May the Traveler's light be with you guardians! Happy hunting and once you defeat the Jabba the Hutt imposter Calus with the guns from this list, I want you to remember where you came from, to always remain humble and to realize that there is no PC master race, for the master race is Warlock.
20 For Being Antiope, It's Really Pro (OP)
I barely ever hear anyone talk about this gun, but it is an absolute beast of a submachine gun. If you ever need to melt someone's face at close to mid-range, then this gun is the best at it. If you can manage to hit only a few shots in the head then your time to kill is less than second easily. Nothing other than a sword or shotgun can kill quicker and more effectively at close range than Antiope-D. This gun is my personal favorite, and is definitely worth infusing up as you gain level. It has good range for an SMG, an awesome perk (Kill Clip) and manageable recoil. All this coupled with a very satisfying shooting sound makes this gun the most satisfying in Destiny 2. Recommended use: PVP.
19 Just Wing It Instead (TERRIBLE)
This pulse rifle looks cool, but is getting no love from me. Its 5-round burst gimmick sounds good on paper, but after using it a fair amount it seems that the two extra bullets in the burst don't really help with its time to kill at all. I mean, if you're gonna give it two more bullets but cut its total damage by 40%, then those five bullets are just doing the same damage as a three round burst. This gun's impact is not good enough to make its 5-round burst anything but a detriment. That, along with its very questionable perk, Last Stand, which grants gun performance once you are the last member in the fireteam, makes it a gun that is a textbook example of being all bark and no bite.
18 Launch This One (OP)
Here's another weapon that does not get nearly enough appreciation. Morrigan-D is a rocket launcher that is one of the few launchers in the game that has what is called a Häkke Precision Frame, which means the launcher fires a tracking missile. It doesn't have head-turning stats, but the tracking missile makes up for it all. Think about it, if the missile is going to directly hit the target, then it does not really need a large blast radius, now does it? With a lock on time of about a second, if you can catch a guardian out in the open in Crucible, then they will 100% die. I, however, would not use this in PVE because its damage to larger targets is underwhelming, but its tracking rockets are good for guardians. Recommended use: PVP.
17 King of What?? (TERRIBLE)
Am I perhaps salty because this weapon is so impossible to get? Yeah, but that's beside the point, because this gun is a whole lot of nothing. In Destiny 2, you will get a string of riddles in a quest starting on Titan. Once you finish the quest, you get the Rat King sidearm. If you are a collector of exotics, then by all means you should try to complete the quest, but if you're hoping to get a great gun out of the quest, then don't be bothered by it. This gun can does have some use for cheesing nightfalls with its invisibility perk, but outside of that... well, it's a sidearm. You don't want to waste your exotic slot on a sidearm, especially this one.
16 No Dead Parents, Though (OP)
Origin Story is an absolute gift from Commander Zavala. This kinetic auto rifle is an incredibly well-rounded auto rifle that has all the things you want. It's got that sweet spot rounds per minute rate of 450, which keeps the recoil down, good stability, great range and an awesome perk, Rampage, that ramps up damage after you get kills with it. This gun is good in all situations and will never do you wrong. There are very few reasons to not have this in your kinetic weapon slot at all, if not most times. It has no obvious weakness in stats, which make it awesome for PVP. Its Rampage perk makes it great at clearing ads, so I would recommend this weapon for PVE as well.
15 Spookily Mediocre (TERRIBLE)
Haunted Earth is the Dead Orbit scout rifle that can be bought from Arach Jalaal for 1,000 glimmer by those who pledge Dead Orbit during faction wars, or for 50,000 glimmer by those who pledged Future War Cult or New Monarchy. I just came here to say that you should save the 50k, because Haunted Earth gets completely dwarfed by other scout rifles and can simply not keep up with the likes of Mida Multi Tool, Call to Serve, and Nameless Midnight. Haunted Earth has a comically small magazine and pretty bad stability, so unless you bought Destiny 2 because you have a reload fetish or like shooting like a Stormtrooper, then perhaps this gun is not for you. Plus, New Monarchy is the only faction that is relevant sooooooo...
14 Like A Team Without Dr. Ziegler (OP)
If you caught that Overwatch reference and appreciated it, then go ahead and give this article a share for ya boy's clever wordplay. For those of you who say, "Mike, you are not mah boy", then I simply got to ask you to allow me to earn your share by giving you some bomb advice. That advice is, USE MERCILESS. Merciless is an exotic fusion rifle that ramps up its fire rate upon non-lethal hits. This makes it great for pouring damage into large bosses in the strikes and raid. I would even say that this gun is mandatory for the raid if you want to breeze through it. In my experience, the gun is a fairly common drop for being an exotic, so getting it should not be too difficult. Recommended use: PVE.
13 Only Good For The Sick Beats (TERRIBLE)
Graviton Lance looks really cool and looks like something you would see at a rave or like something else with neon lights. It reminds me of the ACD/O Feedback Fence exotic Titan arms. You can get this gun from Asher Mir on Io in the story mode, but I would say getting one of the other two options, Riskrunner or Sunshot; the offers will serve you better. This is one of the worst pulse rifles in the game and missing the last bullet in the 3-round burst makes it one of the weakest energy weapons you can equip. The sound it makes while firing is extremely cool to the point where you could probably remix it to make a dope track, but this is certainly not a reason to use it. Graviton Lance is good on paper, but its goodness ends there.
12 Oldie But A Goodie (OP)
The Mida Multi Tool makes its return to Destiny 2 and remains the most prolific scout rifle in the game. Trials of the Nine has been out for more than a month now, and it is rather common for all players on both teams to have it equipped. It is peerless for Trials because it does not fall below average in any statistic. Just looking at its stat screen in the gun's menu shows that its impact, range, stability and handling are all 50 or over. Nothing works better when it comes to using those long sights lines of the Trials of the Nine map than Mida Multi Tool. A good way to remember this gun is to ask yourself, "did Mike include any scout rifles on that good gun list?" Well, I Mida... Recommended use: Trials of the Nine.
11 Meh And Replaceable (TERRIBLE)
Valkadyn is a strange case in that it can be used to good effect, but just like Haunted Earth earlier, is completely outclassed by all the other guns in its category. Its 600 round per minute fire rate gives it a bit too crazy of a recoil to manage. That, coupled with its impact and range deficiency, make it more of a submachine gun in my opinion. It's mediocre at range as it's impossible to hit anything with it and even in close quarters, the stability kind of screws you. In a weapons class that is arguably the best in the game, Valkadyn naturally falls to the bottom of the list getting surpassed by the likes of Origin Story, Prosecutor, Scathelocke, and the next gun on this list...
10 Bungie's Gift (OP)
This Omolon auto rifle is perhaps the best energy weapon in the game as far as just completely wrecking kids goes. This thing is amazing. The mixture of the Precision Frame, Steady Rounds, and Tap the Trigger perks make this thing's recoil practically non-existent. Its low impact is compensated for when you consider how easy it is to put shots exactly where you want them. Great range and magazine size make this thing a bona fide baller. There's really not much more to say about this gun because its performance speaks for itself. If you get it, then just use it and instantly wreck everything in every situation. If you're trying to cop this, go to Nessus and grind those engrams from Failsafe. Recommended use: PVE and PVP.
9 Don't Split Your Crown Over This One (TERRIBLE)
Sorry Titans, it seems you guys drew the short straw on the class specific sword situation. This thing looks amazing, like it could be a real broad sword like Ice from Game of Thrones or something. The thing about swords is that even if you can get in close enough to use it before getting gunned down, then you gotta hit them with a sword swing fast. Crown Splitter, which has the slowest swing speed of any sword, is just that much worse at swiftly and decisively striking down foes. That, coupled with the fact that Titans are the slowest moving characters in the game, makes closing that gap to melee range all the more difficult and makes swords in general less appealing to Titans.
8 Pretty Good For A Gun Held Together With Zip Ties (OP)
Before I start, yes I do believe it's a zip tie holding pieces of this gun together if you just look close enough... but it's a prototype, so I think we can give them a break on this one. At least it's not duct tape. Wardcliff Coil is certainly not the new Gjallarhorn as many proclaim it to be, but it sure has many uses. When it comes to destroying large enemies in strikes, raids and world events, then no heavy does it better. A few of Wardcliff Coil's best uses I have found are to make quick work of the Colossuses in the Gauntlet level of the raid and making quick work of the dimensional rift in the Taken Blight world event. Caution jumping while using it though, I have killed myself many times after landing in front of terrain and rocketing myself. Recommended use: PVE.
7 When's The Preorder Gun Ever Good Anyway? (TERRIBLE)
Coldheart was created as a gimmick. It seems so clear that this gun's appeal stems entirely from its unique mechanism of firing. Coldheart is the newest and only trace rifle in the game, and even though it's fun to run around like you are Zarya from Overwatch, it is not a practical gun in any sense. The deal with Coldheart is that it fires a steady beam of energy that ramps up damage the longer the trigger is held down. As you can imagine, this means the base damage is very low, meaning its time to kill in Crucible is very high. Every time I see someone run at me with this in PVP I laugh, go to the kitchen to get a snack, take a leak and then come back and kill them. Get güd.
6 Oldie But a G- I Used That One Already, Huh? (OP)
This old fashioned six shooter, aptly named Old Fashioned, is a kill machine. Great recoil and very high impact allows it to cut through enemies like a hot knife through butter. You can do work with this gun in PVP and PVE. Its perk, Kill Clip, increases its damage when reloading after a kill, which is very valuable for nailing ads consecutively in strikes or world events and keeping that increased damage chain going. So, if you have a long time fantasy of becoming a space cowboy or McCree from Overwatch, that bodies Vex, Fallen, Hive, Cabal, and the like, then this gun is waiting for you at your local legendary engram store, or you know... play Overwatch instead. Recommended use: PVE and maybe PVP if your aim is good enough.
5 Adds To YOUR Deaths... (TERRIBLE)
The Death Adder is a nastily fast-firing legendary submachine gun with one of the lowest impact stats in the game. It's typical that the faster a gun fires, the more insane the recoil and handling are to manage. At 900 rounds per minute, this gun is the Destiny 2 version of the out of control, wildly flailing fire hose whose water pressure is way too high. You have got to have arms like Johnny Bravo or Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson to control the kick on this thing, plus its range is pretty miserable. This brings me to the conclusion that Death Adder is a wildly presumptuous misnomer that should not be used if you want to hit anything harder to hit than the air.
4 It's Got a Name, Though... (OP)
Nameless Midnight is arguably the best scout rifle in the game. Scout rifles are arguably the best guns in the game right now. That being said, if A=B and B=C, then A=C. So, could Nameless Midnight be the best gun in the game? Well, let's see. It has a firing rate of 180, an impact stat of 62 and a range of 46. This simply means it hits like a truck and can do so from medium to long range. A gun that does this kind of work is certainly vying for the title of best gun in the game. Does it meet that criteria? Ehhh... maybe the best legendary weapon in the game, but who could say. Apples to oranges, friends. These fruit cannot be compared.
3 A. W. F. U. L. (TERRIBLE)
This gun, while it may look cool, is all appearance and no substance. It has two special perks, both of which are just cosmetic nonsense that don't help with the gun's usefulness. The most this gun has going for it is the increased precision damage. I was entertained with this gun for all of three seconds. I mean, its perks (while not useful) are cool. It shows the distance of your target and their current health over their total health. I however would never use this gun for anything. As soon as I discovered the uselessness of this gun, I sent it straight to the vault where it will spend the rest of its days in my collection, gathering dust. One day perhaps it will be of use if I ever find myself in need of high caliber measuring tape.
2 Get Yourself A Good Defense (OP)
Prosecutor is a dope auto rifle that is acquired through playing Trials of the Nine via drops or the Trials engram. This gun boasts modest stopping power, excellent range, and decent stability. This combination makes it great for dealing with scout rifles while wielding an assault rifle, which is often times necessary in Trials of the Nine with the prominence of Mida Multi Tool in Trials. This gun also has the Tap the Trigger perk, which increases its stability even more upon additional trigger pull. Also as an added bonus, this gun changes a lot when shaders are applied to it, which allows for optimal customization. This gun is great for cutting down enemies quickly and decisively. This gun is probably the best kinetic auto rifle in the game right now. Recommended use: Trials of the Nine and Crucible PVP.
1 The Calm Before The Sturm (TERRIBLE)
It's the calm before the Sturm. Well, there will be no calm after using this gun, as I assure you it will get you tilted. Sturm is the result of an exotic quest line on Nessus that, if it were not so easy, I would say to skip the quest entirely because the spoils are unsatisfactory. Sturm has good impact and range, but its recoil is so unmanageable that it makes landing consecutive precision shots nearly impossible on moving targets. Also, its exotic perk is tailored towards using Drang, its sister gun, which itself is not a great gun, so you're basically getting double ripped off. Four out of five dentists do not recommend this weapon, and the fifth guy is a total Destiny 2 noob so who cares what he thinks anyway?