Destiny 2 Best PVP Snipers [Tips from a 700-Hour Player]

Learn from the expert about the best PVP snipers in Destiny 2, as well as their pros and cons.

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August 11, 2023

The list of the best Destiny 2 PVP snipers can vary as each gun offers a drastically different archetype and pool of perks that can alter your playstyle in combat. In contrast, perks may not matter too much in PVP right now, but there are the usual ‘god rolls’ that you should get, especially if you want that specific sniper rifle to have an edge. Each of these best sniper rifles I have showcased in this list can heavily benefit you in both of Destiny 2’s core PVP modes; Crucible and Trials of Osiris.

Key Takeaways

The 7 Best Destiny 2 PVP sniper rifles can vary from each other in terms of stats, god rolls, and whether they’re easily obtainable or even available anymore.
These Destiny 2 sniper rifles also have unique archetypes, such as the hard-hitting Aggressive frames to the rapid-fire frames for high fire rate.
The popular choices are The Supremacy, 1000-Yard Stare, and Beloved for their balanced stats and superb perk pool for PVP.

Author’s Note: You can trust and rely on my expertise since I’ve gone through Destiny 2 for well over 2600 hours.

Important: The following Destiny 2 Best Snipers list is based on the current PVP meta of Season 21 in the Lightfall expansion, so their stats or viability can differ via future balancing patches or updates to the gameplay sandbox.

Here’s a summary of the 7 best PVP Sniper Rifles in Destiny 2; all compared to each other:

WEAPON NAME	BEST FOR	ARCHETYPE	IMPACT	RANGE	STABILITY	HANDLING	RELOAD SPEED
Supremacy	The Best Beginner-Friendly Sniper Rifle.	Rapid-fire	55	32	38	68	62
Defiance of Yasmin	The Sniper with High Aim Assistance.	Adaptive	70	54	46	46	42
1000-Yard Stare	The Best High Power Sniper Rifle.	Adaptive	70	52	45	42	41
Mercurial Overreach	The Best Impactful Sniper Rifle.	Adaptive	70	65	54	52	50
Beloved	The Best Well-Balanced Sniper Rifle.	Adaptive	70	50	46	47	38
Eye of Sol	The Best Precision Sniper Rifle.	Adaptive	70	50	49	46	40
Cloudstrike	The Best Exotic Arc Sniper Rifle.	Exotic Arc	55	60	49	46	40

1. The Supremacy

The Best Beginner-Friendly Sniper Rifle.

destiny 2 supremacy — The Supremacy (Image Captured by Us)

Why I Chose This: Easy to handle and carry, especially for players new to sniper category.

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WEAPON ARCHETYPE	Rapid-fire Frame
Impact	55
Range	32
Stability	38
Handling	68
Reload Speed	62
Aim Assistance	77
Inventory size	42
Zoom	40
Airborne effectiveness	2

The Supremacy was originally part of the Queen’s Wrath event rewards back in Destiny 1 in 2014. The gun became one of the rarest weapons ever since the event itself was featured only once in the game’s lifecycle.

However, with the release of Destiny 2 and the Forsaken expansion, you could now earn the Supremacy again as part of the Last Wish raid rewards. Thankfully, the weapon has a chance to be dropped in any encounter, so the only thing stopping you from getting it is pure RNG.

The Supremacy boasts excellent perks and stats with an upgrade option.
High aim assistance and Targeting Adjuster mod is a great edge.
It has a great scope with a balanced zoom stat.

Rapid-fire frame sniper rifles cannot 2-shot body Guardians.
Can have a difficult time killing Guardians during their Super activation phase.

2. Defiance Of Yasmin

The Sniper with High Aim Assistance.

Why I Chose This: It features high impact with controllable recoil.

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WEAPON ARCHETYPE	Adaptive Frame
Impact	70
Range	54
Stability	46
Handling	46
Reload Speed	42
Aim Assistance	65
Inventory size	35
Zoom	40
Airborne effectiveness	4

The Defiance of Yasmin makes a return in Destiny 2 with the reprisal of the King’s Fall raid’s loot pool, a raid that was originally featured in Destiny 1 with the Taken King expansion. You can obtain from the Warpriest as well as the Daughters encounter in the raid, not to mention even craft it via the Relic at the Enclave, as long as you have five deep sight weapon patterns in possession.

It has a variety of great perks, which are superb for PVP.
You have the option between god-roll-worthy perks.
The Harrowed (Adept) version of the sniper rifle allows you to equip with enhanced traits and perks.

Defiance of Yasmin mostly shines well only in PVP.
The low handling stat can be bothersome.

3. 1000-Yard Stare

The Best High Power Sniper Rifle.

destiny 2 1k stare — 1000-Yard stare (Image Credit Copyright: eXputer)

Why I Chose This: It has high base power and performs well against sturdy opponents.

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WEAPON ARCHETYPE	Adaptive Frame
Impact	70
Range	52
Stability	45
Handling	42
Reload Speed	41
Aim Assistance	66
Inventory size	50
Zoom	44
Airborne effectiveness	2

The 1000-Yard Stare is yet another reprisal of a fan-favorite Sniper Rifle from Destiny 1, as Bungie brought it back as part of their 30th Anniversary pack during the Witch Queen DLC in Destiny 2.

This sniper rifle was, and still is, generally considered the best PVP weapon in Destiny 2 by the community, despite the fact that there are various other great weapons to counteract its popularity. You can obtain the 1000-Yard Stare via the Grasp of Avarice dungeon in the 30th Anniversary pack content.

No Distractions or Perpetual Motion to Snapshot Sights and Moving Target perks are great.
You can also obtain Quickdraw on it.
It has a low zoom which is perfect for most Crucible maps and instances.
You can farm the Grasp of Avarice dungeon as many times as you want.

To access the dungeon itself, you will need to purchase the Bungie 30th Anniversary.
You can’t craft the 1000-Yard Stare, which is as of Season 21 in Destiny 2.

4. Mercurial Overreach

The Best Impactful Sniper Rifle.

d2 best pvp snipers 2023 — Mercurial Overreach (Image Credit Copyright: eXputer)

Why I Chose This: The Sniper has high impact, high Range, and decent Stability.

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WEAPON ARCHETYPE	Adaptive Frame
Impact	70
Range	65
Stability	54
Handling	52
Reload Speed	50
Aim Assistance	63
Inventory size	50
Zoom	40
Airborne effectiveness	5

The Mercurial Overreach is a brand-new sniper rifle introduced with the Season of the Deep in Destiny 2. The weapon is obtainable only by completing three competitive matches every week to get your first drop.

You can do this up to two times on your other two characters to have three chances per week in total to get a drop for it. However, it is worth mentioning that you need to complete your preliminary placement matches and then complete the usual three matches actually to acquire a gear drop of the Mercurial Overreach.

Has reliable range, stability, and handling stat.
The Mercurial Overreach has access to a great set of Gun Barrels in the perk pool.
It supports a larger reticle size in the scope, making it even better to use.

The drops are completely RNG-based.
You will need to first do placement matches to even be able to grind for the Mercurial Overreach.

5. Beloved

The Best Well-Balanced Sniper Rifle.

destiny 2 beloved — Beloved (Image Credit Copyright: eXputer)

Why I Chose This: It has reliable base stats with impressive perk pool.

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WEAPON ARCHETYPE	Adaptive Frame
Impact	70
Range	50
Stability	46
Handling	47
Reload Speed	38
Aim Assistance	68
Inventory size	36
Zoom	40
Airborne effectiveness	3

The Beloved is no stranger to any PVP player in Destiny 2, as this sniper rifle was originally introduced with the Season of Opulence in the Forsaken DLC. It was later sunsetted but would soon make its return with the Season of the Haunted, allowing players to chase once again for its god rolls. The Beloved is easily another popular sniper rifle, one that’s easily been a sought-after PVP weapon ever since you couldn’t obtain it as easily anymore.

The Beloved is a cut-above against other sniper rifles solely due to its excellent perk poo.
The Snapshot Sights, and either Quickdraw or Moving Target is the god roll for PVP.
You can roll either Armor-piercing rounds or High-caliber rounds on it in the second perk column.

It is a seasonal-exclusive weapon.
You may have to wait for Xur to bring it into his weekly inventory.
It is dimilar to the Mercurial Overreach but lacks stats in some areas.

6. Eye Of Sol

The Best Precision Sniper Rifle.

d2 eye of sol — Eye of Sol (Image Credit Copyright: eXputer)

Why I Chose This: It can take down opponents from far distances with impressive recoil control.

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WEAPON ARCHETYPE	Adaptive Frame
Impact	70
Range	50
Stability	49
Handling	46
Reload Speed	40
Aim Assistance	68
Inventory size	45
Zoom	45
Airborne effectiveness	5

The Eye of Sol is the Trials of Osiris exclusive weapon, which can only be obtained via completing its playlist matches, via engrams, or by completing bounties and ranking up your reputation with Saint-14. For hardcore PVP players, it is quite easily the best kinetic PVP sniper that remains strong to this day.

The Eye of Sol also has access to two different Basic Origin traits, which are the following:

Alacrity: Gain increased reload, stability, aim assist, and range when you are the last living member of your fire team or running solo.
One Quiet Moment: Grants 40 Reload Speed and a 0.95x Reload Duration Multiplier while out of Combat.
- For One Quiet Moment, being in Combat is defined as having either dealt or received damage within the last 5 seconds. Kills reduce this to 1.5 seconds until the damage is dealt with or received by the player. Lastly, it can activate even if the weapon is stowed.

The Eye of Sol checkmarks all the best PVP god roll perks.
It allows you to acquire Snapshot Sights, Opening Shot or Vorpal Weapon.
In PVP, Snapshot + Vorpal Weapon can shut down players during their supers.
You can equip it with adept mods, which will greatly enhance the properties of Eye of Sol.

The Adept version can be difficult to obtain if you’re not adequate in the PVP.
A few players may not be tempted to grind Trials just to obtain the Eye of Sol.

7. Cloudstrike

The Best Exotic Arc Sniper Rifle.

destiny 2 best pvp sniper 2023 — Cloudstrike (Image Credit Copyright: eXputer)

Why I Chose This: Easy to obtain and carry with decent base stats.

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WEAPON ARCHETYPE	Exotic Arc Sniper Rifle
Impact	55
Range	60
Stability	49
Handling	46
Reload Speed	40
Aim Assistance	68
Inventory size	70
Zoom	50
Airborne effectiveness	7

The Cloudstrike is an exotic sniper rifle introduced with the Beyond Light expansion which offers some unique properties. You have a chance to obtain the Cloudstrike through high-difficulty tier Empire Hunts in Destiny 2. While the weapon is primarily useful in clearing mobs of enemies easily in PVE, it is also a fun weapon to use in PVP solely due to its special exotic perks:

Moral Polarity: Precision final blows generate a lightning bolt at the target’s location.
Stormbringer: Rapid precision hits create a lightning storm at the point of impact.
Furthermore, if you are equipped with its exotic catalyst, Cloudtsrike gains the Triple Tap perk, where rapidly landing precision hits will return one round to the magazine.

The Cloudtsrike can annihilate everyone in that instance.
It has a solid 60-stat range with an easy-to-use scope.
The exotic catalyst of the weapon also provides a +25 boost to the handling stat.

You might not get the best use out of it if you’re only getting body shots in PVP.
It can get outmatched in viability in comparison to normal legendary snipers for PVP.

Best PVP Sniper Rifle Ranking Criteria

destiny 2 hours — Destiny 1 and 2 hours (Image via Time Wasted on Destiny)

The following list of the 7 best Destiny 2 PVP snipers was written by me (Steam ID: LIONT4MER), and the entire information was carefully crafted after discussion with my PVP clanmates as well as a few players on Discord. So with nearly 3000+ hours across both Destiny titles, you can remain rest assured that these snipers are up-to-date with the latest changes, meta information, and stats as of Season 21.

This wraps up my guide to the best PVP snipers. While you’re here, I would strongly recommend checking out how you can get your hands on the exotic Glaive weapon, Winterbite. Speaking of which, if you still haven’t, then it would be a good time to hunt down the exotic auto rifle known as the Centrifuse from the Season of the Deep. Lastly, for similar guides, you can also check out the list of the best bows in Destiny 2, as well as the best fusion rifles for both PVE and PVP.