Destiny 2: 15 Best Kinetic Weapons [2500 Hours Experience]

The Arbalest is an exotic linear fusion rifle that was first introduced back in the Revelry event of the Forsaken expansion of the game during the season of the Drifter. One might say it is easily the best kinetic weapon in Destiny 2, and what makes it such a must-have from the community lies in its perks.

Its unique trait, Compounding Force, allows it to fire slug shots, and what makes it such an amazing weapon is that it can provide a counter against Barrier champion-type enemies. The other unique perk, Disruption Break, makes it so that whenever you break an elemental shield using the Arbalest, you will be able to deal bonus damage to that target with a kinetic weapon.

The weapon is now unobtainable in the old-fashioned way since it was exclusively available to hunt during the Revelry event. But you can now obtain it as any ordinary exotic weapon drop as well as claim it via Xur if he has it in stock or via RNG from his weekly exotic engram.\

The Osteo Striga is a kinetic Exotic SMG that was introduced with the launch of the Witch Queen expansion. The first step to acquiring the gun will be to complete the Witch Queen campaign on either classic or legendary difficulty.

Once you’re done with the campaign, you need to head to the Enclave on Mars and approach the Relic, where you can craft weapons. Here, you will be able to craft or ‘shape’ the Osteo Striga SMG for the first time. The stats of the gun may vary depending on the perks you insert in it during initial crafting.

You can unlock its exotic catalyst at weapon level 10, which will allow you to overflow the magazine with the amount of poison kills on enemies.

The succession takes that fame as the weapon comes equipped with one of the best perks in Destiny 2. The best perks for it include Reconstruction, Vorpal weapon, or even Focused Fury, which are all great in both PVE and PVP. You can only obtain this weapon through the Deep Stone Crypt Raid via the Atraks-1 boss fights encounter.

The weapon is also craftable, but you will need five patterns for it, which are acquired from the raid, and only then can you head to the Enclave to craft it at the Relic.

The Fatebringer makes his return to the sequel from the original Destiny, as it still upholds his position as one of the best hand cannons in the franchise. The weapon was reintroduced to players of Destiny 2 with the reprisal of the Vault of Glass raid back in Season 14, and it also has an adept version in the master difficulty of the raid.

The key difference between the Adept version of Fatebringer and its normal variant is that the former features an extra pair of perks as well as the option to have increased masterwork and mod slot capabilities. The Fatebringer can specifically be obtained by completing the 3rd or 4th encounters of the Vault of Glass raid in Destiny 2.

The best perks of the gun are almost recognizable by any hardcore player of the game, which are explosive payload and either Firefly or frenzy.

The Witherhoard grenade launcher was first introduced in the Season 11 of Destiny 2. The unique trait of the weapon is called Primeval’s Torment; it shoots out a projectile that spreads into a small Area-of-Effect distance, dealing damage to enemies caught within it.

Originally, players needed to complete the exotic questline for it in the Season of the Arrivals, but now, in Season 20, there is a guaranteed way to obtain it. If you own the Shadowkeep expansion, you need to acquire an exotic cipher, which can be obtained from Xur via his exotic cipher bounty.

Now head to the Exotic Archive kiosk in the Tower and claim the Witherhoard weapon for 100,000 Glimmer, 150 Legendary Shards, 1x Exotic Cipher, and 1x Ascendant Shard. The catalyst is a must-have for the Witherhoard as it will increase the handling and grant it an auto-loading holster perk so you can be ready to shoot it after switching weapons.

The Izanagi’s Burden sniper rifle was introduced back in Season 5 of Destiny 2 during the Forsaken DLC. During this season, players were introduced to the forges as well as a variety of new exotic weapons, one of which was Izanagi’s Burden.

What makes it so popular is its unique perk called Honed Edge, which allows you to reload the weapon into a single shot that dishes out an incredible amount of damage to the target with increased range. Previously, the weapon required you to complete a lengthy quest in order to unlock it.

But now you need either a Forsaken Cipher or the Exotic Cipher we mentioned already. The former should already be in your inventory if you purchased the Forsaken Pack for the game. The catalyst grants it Peerless Edge, which increases the damage bonus of Honed Edge when four bullets are consumed to reload it.

Heritage is a kinetic legendary shotgun, and while shotguns aren’t the meta right now in the current season for pure DPS, this weapon is still a solid choice for both PVE and PVP. It can be acquired via the Atraks-1 encounter in the Deep Stone Crypt Raid along with the Succession.

The weapon is exclusive to the raid but can also be crafted back at the Relic in the Enclave if you can collect five red border patterns for it. The best perks for the Heritage are Reconstruction and Recombination, both of which are its default curated rolls, also known as the “God Roll” by Bungie and the rest of the community.

The Deliverance is one of the few unique fusion rifles in the game that can deal Stasis damage to targets. The weapon can be obtained via the Vow of the Disciple raid, most specifically from the first and third encounters of the activity.

It can also be crafted back at the Relic if you collect five patterns for it from the raid itself. The best perks for the Deliverance include Demolitionist and Chill Clip, which can make it a fantastic weapon to slow down enemies.

The Riptide, similar to the Deliverance, is another Stasis fusion rifle that was introduced in Season 17 of Destiny 2. The weapon can be obtained as part of the Crucible loot table from the engrams as well as the PVP mode itself by completing matches and ranking up.

The easiest way to farm it is by using the Focusing decode from Lord Shaxx in the Tower to specifically acquire it using 1x Crucible engram and 25 legendary shards. The best perks for the weapon are an auto-loading holster, which will reload the weapon when stowed, and a chill clip.

Submission is a kinetic legendary SMG in the Witch Queen expansion of the game. The weapon can be obtained from the Vow of the Disciple raid through pretty much every encounter except for the final one. The main origin trait of the weapon is exclusive to the raid’s weapons called:

• Soul Drinker: Gain health based on the number of hits before reloading.

The best perks for the weapon include Overflow, where picking up special or heavy ammo reloads this weapon beyond normal capacity. Perpetual Motion will make it so that the weapon gains bonus stability, handling, and reload speed while the wielder is in motion. Lastly, Frenzy will make it so that being in combat for an extended period of time increases this weapon’s damage, reload speed, and handling until you get out of combat.

The Aegar’s Scepter is an exotic trace rifle that was dropped during the Beyond Light expansion and, ever since then, has remained one of the most popular trace rifles in the game. The weapon features the Stasis element, which allows it to freeze and slow down targets.

You can easily purchase the Aegar’s Scepter using the Exotic Archives Kiosk using 125,000 Glimmer, 200 Legendary Shards, 1 Exotic cipher, and 1 Ascendant shard.

The Rufus’s Fury is the latest Auto Rifle available in the Lightfall expansion of the game and features the Strand element on it. You can obtain the gun via the Root of Nightmares raid, most specifically from the 3rd and final encounters of the activity.

Of course, you can also craft Rufus’s Fury if you have obtained five weapon patterns for it. The best perks for the weapon include Reconstruction or Demolitionist and either Target Lock or Hatchling.

The Lingering Dread is a kinetic grenade launcher that was released in Season 17. This weapon deals stasis element damage and can be a great breach grenade launcher with the right perks equipped on it.

You can hunt down the Lingering Dread through the Duality Dungeon, which is commonly dropped through the first and last encounters according to its loot table. The best perks for the Lingering Dread are an Auto-loading holster, Chill clip, and blinding grenades.

The Smite of Merian is a returning pulse rifle from Destiny 1, which was released alongside the Taken King expansion. It makes a return in Destiny 2 with the reprisal of the King’s Fall raid.

According to the loot table for the raid, Smite of Merain can drop during the Warpriest and Daughters’ encounter as well as from the Final boss too. Like most raid-exclusive weapons, it is craftable if you collect five red border variants of it.

Pardon Our Dust is a primary grenade launcher that was introduced in Season 15 of the game. The weapon is found through Xur’s Treasure hoard engram, but thankfully, since the changes in Season 18, it is now craftable at the Relic if you have collected the weapon patterns for it.

You can also obtain the weapon through rewards for completing runs of the Dares of Eternity. The best perks for the weapon include Disorienting grenades, an Auto-loading holster, and a Vorpal weapon.