Destiny 2: PVE Weapons Tier List [Ranked & Compared]

Destiny 2 is a looter shooter that is packed with so many different types of guns available to use, which are divided into three slots; primary, energy, and heavy. The meta in PVE is constantly shifting with each new season with mid-season patches and balancing updates to the sandbox. But despite that, as a veteran player, the tier list I have prepared aims to summarize the widely used and sought-after weapons, their stats, best perks, and how viable they are in-game.

Author’s Note: I have over 3500+ hours in Destiny 2 and have been a veteran player since Destiny 1 on console, so you can easily rely on my expertise for the overall tier list of weapons.

Key Takeaways

Destiny 2 offers a ton of unique weapons, which are commonly from legendary to exotics, each distinctively found in three weapon types; primary, energy, and heavy.
It is worth noting that weapon stats and perks can be modified by either crafting them, Mastering them, or even slotting mods and exotic catalysts into them.
The ranking criteria of each weapon are based on their current viability in PVE, especially for endgame content such as Grandmaster Nightfalls and raids.
S-Tier weapons are generally considered one of the best in the PVE sandbox; despite shifts in the meta, they have been consistently superb.
A-Tier and B-Tier weapons are great; some are decent, but to tackle the true endgame content, you may need to switch between them.
C-Tier and D-Tier weapons are painfully average at best or just not used at all compared to the rest in the current Season 21 meta.

Important: The ranking of each weapon, legendary or exotic, is primarily based on the current meta in Season 21 and my personal experience with them in PVE content.

Destiny 2 All PVE Weapons Comparison

Following is the list of all the Destiny 2 PVE weapons included in the list:

Show entries

NO.	WEAPON	TYPE	ELEMENT	IMPACT	RANGE	STABILITY
1	Forbearance	Primary Grenade Launcher	Arc	100	74	27
2	Gjallarhorn	Exotic Rocket Launcher	Solar	90	45	64
3	Hothead	Rocket Launcher	Arc	50	57	40
4	Succession	Sniper Rifle	Kinetic	90	76	23
5	Quicksilver Storm	Exotic Auto Rifle	Strand	18	40	85
6	Osteo Striga	Exotic SMG	Kinetic	25	80	37
7	Witherhoard	Exotic Grenade Launcher	Kinetic	60	12	63
8	Vex Mythoclast	Exotic Fusion Rifle	Solar	33	85	30
9	Thunderlord	Exotic Machine Gun	Arc	41	60	50
10	Commemoration	Machine Gun	Void	41	58	55
11	Wish Ender	Exotic Bow	Kinetic	92	60	90
12	Le Monarque	Exotic Bow	Void	76	73	46
13	The Immortal	SMG	Strand	23	40	25
14	Arbalest	Exotic Linear Fusion Rifle	Kinetic	41	36	50
15	Deliverance	Fusion Rifle	Stasis	80	62	52
16	Conditional Finality	Exotic Shotgun	Solar/Stasis	80	35	20
17	Calus Mini-Tool	SMG	Solar	15	30	49
18	Izanagi’s Burden	Exotic Sniper Rifle	Kinetic	70	48	41
19	Trinity Ghoul	Exotic Bow	Arc	80	80	50
20	Riskrunner	Exotic SMG	Arc	20	50	55
21	Apex Predator	Rocket Launcher	Solar	50	49	43
22	Graviton Lance	Exotic Pulse Rifle	Void	29	50	100
23	Xenophage	Exotic Machine Gun	Solar	100	68	32
24	Submission	SMG	Kinetic	15	29	45
25	Riptide	Fusion Rifle	Stasis	55	21	31

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Destiny 2 PVE Weapons Tier List Summary

Here is a quick overview of the commonly used best PVE weapons in Destiny 2 and which gun belongs to a higher or lower tier category:

Tier Ranking	Weapon Names
S-Tier	Forbearance, Gjallarhorn, Hothead, Succession, Quicksilver Storm, Osteo Striga, Witherhoard, Vex Mythoclast, Thunderlord, Commemoration, Wish Ender, Le monarque, The Immortal, Arbalest, Deliverance, Conditional Finality, Calus Mini-Tool, Izanagi's Burden
A-Tier	Trinity Ghoul, Riskrunner, Apex Predator, Graviton Lance, Xebophage, Submission, Riptide, Funnelweb, Unforigven, The Lament, Ikelos_SMG_v1.0.3, Retrofit Escapade, Fatebringer, Rufus Fury, BXR-55 Battler, Sunshot, Touch of Malice
B-Tier	Hezen's Vengeance, Chroma Rush, Heritage, Outbreak Perfected, Doom of Chelchis, Hung Jury SR4, Cloudstrike, Nation of Beasts, Wendigo, Iterative Loop, Perpetualis, Corrective Measure, Malfeasance, Divinity
C-Tier	Smite of Merain, Coldheart, Wavesplitter, Typhon GL5, Loaded Question, One Thousand Voices, Merciless, Bastion, Telesto, Nessa's Oblation, Suros Regime, Circular Logic, Cataclysmic
D-Tier	Old Sterling, Sweet Business, Jotunn, Age-old Bond, Techeun Force, Zaoulis Bane, Mykels Revenge, Thin Precipice, Targeted Redaction

S-Tier

The S-Tier weapons are some of the best in the game, considered by many players in the community to be top-tier for most endgame activities such as Master difficulty raids for DPS and ad-clear, Grandmaster Nightfalls, or even trying to solo farm Master Difficulty Lost Sectors. In most cases, if you have any of these weapons as a newcomer trying to ease in for the first time, then rest assured you will have a comforting time with Destiny 2.

A-Tier

Now moving on to the A-Tier PVE weapons in this Destiny 2 tier list, these weapons are only slightly outmatched by the S-tier as they are mainly used across most PVE content and modes. So there’s a high chance you might see other players using these at certain intervals, such as GM Nightfalls or even Master raids (unless the encounter can’t easily adjust or demand to use them in favor of other weapons.)

B-Tier

The B-Tier of my PVE weapons tier list comprises guns that can get you through most ritual and weekly PVE activities. Most of them do not have any notable qualities at the moment in the high-level meta in my personal opinion, hence why it’s best to just them if you want to try something different for a change.

While most of them are fun to use on their own, they’re just not that viable in the grand scheme of things with the endgame content meta in terms of stats and perks, so you might just end up using them in your leisure time for normal content such as strikes, seasonal activities or casual modes such as Dares of Eternity.

C-Tier

The C-Tier weapons are average at best, and while some are arguably decent, they will only closely work with specific builds or situations in order to make them viable in gameplay. At the end of the day, you can still use them in your weekly or ritual activities, but I wouldn’t recommend using them in high-level content as stated in the previous tier too.

D-Tier

Lastly, it brings me to discuss the D-tier, which quite a few players and I would consider are at the bottom of the barrel. While you can certainly put various other non-meta weapons here, these are just recent or known ones that are heavily outmatched via the previous tiers. You will hardly notice any player using these weapons in the main line PVE content.

Tier List Ranking Criteria

The following tier list was crafted using my knowledge of the game and after numerous discussions with fellow clanmates, and LFG players, as well as via forums on Bungie.Net. Not to mention that the main emphasis of the ranking is tied to their performance for the true endgame of Destiny 2, comprising of raids and dungeons.

Following Season 21, new meta legendary or exotic weapons may be introduced with the passage of time, so I’ll be sure to update the list with any new weapon taking center stage or being nerfed with a balancing patch.

This brings me to the end of my Tier List. In the meantime, if you’re looking for similar Destiny 2 guides, then be sure to check out how you can get the Winterbite Exotic Glaive as well as the Best PVP Sniper Rifles.

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Community Feedback

kingpin

Agree with 99% of the rankings here. good stuff

Des54

solid stuff

MazeRunner

Graviton Lance should be S tier IMO

montana