Destiny 2: Expert Guide On 15 Best PVP Snipers

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 2023 in both of Destiny 2’s core PVP modes; Crucible and Trials of Osiris.

Here’s a summary of the 15 best PVP Sniper Rifles in Destiny 2; all compared to each other:

1. The Supremacy

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.

Pros

• The Supremacy boasts excellent perks and stats, which can further be enhanced by its masterwork variants, with god roll PVP perks such as Snapshot sights and Opening Shot.
• If you have a handling masterwork paired with snapshot sights, you will have a superb Aim-down-sight (ADS) time, making swapping to it and using it in an instant a breeze.
• High aim assistance combined with the Targeting Adjuster mod can allow you to track shots on opponents in PVP easily.
• It has a great scope with a balanced zoom stat, which is excellent for usage on most PVP maps in Destiny 2.

Cons

• Unfortunately, in the current state of PVP, rapid-fire frame sniper rifles cannot 2-shot body Guardians anymore.
• Rapid-fire frame sniper rifles such as the Supremacy can have a difficult time killing Guardians during their Super activation phase.

2. Defiance Of Yasmin

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.

Pros

• What makes the Defiance of Yasmin rank so high is due to its variety of great perks, which are superb for PVP.
• You have the option between god roll-worthy perks such as No Distractions or snapshot sights in the third perk column and moving target or opening shot in the last one.
• The Harrowed (Adept) version of the sniper rifle allows you to equip with enhanced traits and perks, which can also be done if you craft it at the Relic.

Cons

• While there are a handful of great PVE perks, the Defiance of Yasmin mostly shines well only in PVP.
• The low handling stat can be bothersome, but thankfully it can be compensated via a handling masterwork variant of the gun or by acquiring Fluted Barrel on it.

3. 1000-Yard Stare

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.

Pros

• There are a handful of fantastic PVP perks, such as No Distractions or Perpetual Motion to Snapshot Sights and Moving Target.
• You can also obtain Quickdraw on it, which allows you to swap to it during heated situations in PVP quickly.
• It has a low zoom, perfect for most Crucible maps and instances where you need to pick off enemies at medium to long-range distances.
• You can farm the Grasp of Avarice dungeon as many times as you want to have a chance at obtaining the 1000-yard Stare.

Cons

• In case you don’t own it previously, in order to even access the dungeon itself, you will need to purchase and have access to the Bungie 30th Anniversary.
• The only other nitpick that players might have, especially me, would be the fact that you can’t craft the 1000-Yard Stare, which is as of Season 21 in Destiny 2.

4. Mercurial Overreach

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.

Pros

• The major fact to consider here is that the Mercurial Overreach offers better stats than its similar counterpart, Beloved, as the former has a better range, stability, and handling stat.
• The Mercurial Overreach has access to a great set of Gun Barrels in the perk pool, such as Fluted Barrel, Arrowhead Brake, and Corkscrew Rifling, to further increase the stats of your choice.
• In terms of the god roll, while it can be a little divisive, the top-tier variant for gameplay will be Snapshot sights and either Opening Shot or Moving Target in the last column.
• In a balancing patch released over a month ago, the gun now supports a larger reticle size in the scope, making it even better to use.

Cons

• The downside is that the Mercurial Overreach might not be worthwhile to grind for in the competitive mode as the drops are completely RNG-based, so you may not get your choice of perks on it.
• In the instance that you haven’t completed your placement matches, you will need to first do them in order to even be able to grind for the Mercurial Overreach.

5. Beloved

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.

Pros

• The Beloved is a cut-above against other sniper rifles solely due to its excellent perk pool, such as Snapshot Sights, and either Quickdraw or Moving Target is the god roll for PVP.
• It also has access to Barrels such as Corkscrew Rifling and Fluted Barrels to increase your range or handling.
• What makes Beloved even better is the fact that you can roll either Armor-piercing rounds or High-caliber rounds on it in the second perk column.

Cons

• Unfortunately, you cannot acquire the Beloved anymore as easily during Season of the Haunted as it was a seasonal-exclusive weapon.
• You may have to wait for Xur to bring it into his weekly inventory or for Bungie to recycle the weapon into the gear pool again.
• The Beloved is similar to the Mercurial Overreach but lacks stats in some areas, such as range and handling.

6. Eye Of Sol

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 in the current 2023 sandbox of Destiny 2.

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.

Pros

• The Eye of Sol checkmarks all the best PVP god roll perks, as it allows you to acquire Snapshot Sights, Moving target, and even Opening Shot or Vorpal Weapon.
• In PVP, Snapshot + Vorpal Weapon can shut down players during their supers while still having the benefits of Snapshot.
• If you manage to acquire the Adept version, you can equip it with adept mods, which will greatly enhance the properties of Eye of Sol.

Cons

• The Adept version can be difficult to obtain if you’re not adequate in the PVP side of Destiny 2.
• A few players may not be tempted to grind Trials just to obtain the Eye of Sol with random rolls (unless it is the featured weapon of the week in Trials.)

7. Cloudstrike

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.

Pros

• The main reliability of the weapon in PVP is that if you manage to pull off headshots on grouped-up players, the Cloudtsrike can annihilate everyone in that instance.
• With the buff to Rapid-Fire archetype sniper rifles, Bungie buffed the ammo size by 50%, which also applies to Cloudstrike, making it even better to use.
• It has a solid 60-stat range with an easy-to-use scope so that almost any player can use it in PVP.
• The exotic catalyst of the weapon also provides a +25 boost to the handling stat, allowing you to swap to it in the heat of battle easily.

Cons

• Unfortunately, you might not get the best use out of it if you’re only getting body shots in PVP.
• Despite being one of the best Destiny 2 sniper rifles, even in 2023, the Cloudstrike still gets outmatched in viability in comparison to normal legendary snipers for PVP.

8. Mechabre

The Mechabre is a legendary snipe rifle that was dropped with the launch of the Festival of the Lost 2022 event in Destiny 2. Players could acquire a random roll of the weapon by progressing through Eva Levante’s questline “Gone but not Forgotten” and receiving it for free as a completion reward. But after that, you would need to grind out Haunted Lost Sectors for more drops of the Mechabre.

Aside from its usual perk pool, the Mechabre also supports a basic origin trait which is called:

• Search Party: This weapon is granted faster aim-down-sights and movement speed when aiming down sights with no allies near you.
• If no allies are within 15 meters:
  • 2.5% Reduced ADS Movement Speed Penalty
  • 0.85x ADS Animation Duration Multiplier

Pros

• In terms of the god roll and according to my PVP clanmates, I found that No Distractions and Moving Target greatly benefit the Mechabre, given its origin trait.
• It works extremely well in PVP due to the origin trait, as without any fireteam members in 15-meter proximity, you gain faster ADS speed.
• Aggressive Frame sniper rifles like the Mechabre can easily help you pick off body shots against wounded players in PVP.

Cons

• A downside to consider would be that the Mechabre has low handling, like most aggressive frames, so it’s hard to get used to it.
• The gun has a 70-range stat with a high zoom, which can be tricky to get used to if you’re not familiar with the archetype.
• Since the weapon is (currently) exclusively available from Festival of the Lost’s loot pool, you may have to wait for the event to come back again in order to farm for it potentially.

9. Succession

The Succession is quite possibly one of my personal favorite sniper rifles, which has gained most of its popularity in PVE, but despite that, it’s still viable in PVP.

If you don’t have any of the snipers above with their god roll perks or to make them viable, the Succession has access to a couple of the best PVP perks, so if you’re both a PVP/PVE player, then you can easily try farming the Succession. You can obtain the sniper rifle via the Deep Stone Crypt raid, specifically from the Atraks-1 encounter.

Following is the basic origin trait for the Succession, found on every weapon from the Deep Stone Crypt:

• Bray Inheritance: Dealing damage regenerates a small amount of ability energy.

Pros

• The Succession comes with the usual god roll perks of either No Distractions or Moving Target and Snapshot Sights, but you may want to consider getting unique perks such as Slideways.
• Essentially, if you’re a skilled PVP player, Slideways will boost your handling and reload speed using the weapon, allowing you to aim and line up those headshots faster.
• The Succession also has a unique and comforting scope, easily comfortable for any player in PVP or PVE.
• Furthermore, you craft the Succession with the perks of your choice as long as you have obtained five deep sight weapon patterns.

Cons

• Despite having good PVP perks, the Succession is still an average choice for PVP gameplay unless you are desperately looking for a legendary sniper rifle.
• The gun is primarily better suited for PVE gameplay as most of its perk pool ranges from god roll perks such as reconstruction and recombination.

10. Silicon Neuroma

If you ask me, the Silicon Neuroma has been my personal favorite kinetic sniper rifle to use until it was eventually replaced with the Succession via my Deep Stone Crypt runs. The main noteworthy aspect here is that the Silicon Neuroma is exclusively a Nightfall activity weapon.

Every season, the weapon will be tied to a specific strike in the Nightfall playlist, which you can have a chance to acquire upon successful completion. I would strongly recommend farming Grandmaster Nightfalls since they have the highest chance of awarding you with exclusive weapons for the strike.

Along with it being a Vanguard playlist exclusive weapon, you can find the following two basic origin traits to choose from on the Silicon Neuroma:

• Stunning Recovery: Stunning a Champion partially refills your magazine, triggers health regeneration, and improves recovery for a short duration.
• Vanguard’s Vindication: Final Blows with this weapon grant a small amount of health.

Pros

• The PVP perk pool has a lot of variety, as you can get armor-piercing or high-caliber rounds, snapshot sights, and, lastly, an Opening Shot.
• The Silicon Neuroma has a great range with an adequate zoom.
• If, by some chance, the weapon is featured on an easily farmable Nightfall in the latter seasons, then with a good fire team, you can easily grind for multiple god rolls on the weapon.

Cons

• Unfortunately, in my personal opinion, Silicon Neuroma heavily lacks reload speed and overall consistency when compared with the other best PVP Destiny 2 sniper rifles in 2023.
• Despite having a great perk pool, Vorpal Weapon is missing, which could make it better, allowing you to take down Guardians in their super phase.

11. Praedyth’s Revenge

The Praedyth’s Revenge sniper rifle is definitely a blast from the past for many veterans of the franchise. The weapon was part of the Vault of Glass raid in Destiny 1, and now it returns with the reprisal of the raid and its beloved loot pool. You have a chance to obtain the weapon via the Oracles encounter or by defeating Atheon, the final boss of the raid.

Pros

• The Praedyth’s Revenge boasts excellent handling and aim assistance stats, making it a great PVP weapon to use if you’re a fan of the archetype.
• It has great perks for PVP with the usual Quickdraw or Moving Target and Opening Shot.
• You can also experiment with High-impact reserves, a perk that allows rounds at the end of the magazine to deal more damage.

Cons

• Unfortunately, you cannot craft the Vault of Glass weapons, so you cannot create Praedyth’s Revenge with the perks of your choice.
• The weapon has a low range, so you might experience damage falloff when using it at larger distances, which is much more suitable for other sniper rifle archetypes.
• Furthermore, like other VOG raid weapons, it does not feature any origin trait.

12. Frozen Orbit

Don’t let my ranking of the Frozen Orbit deceive you; it is yet another fantastic PVP sniper rifle to use for Destiny 2, whether it’s the Crucible, competitive, or even Trials of Osiris. Ironically, you can obtain the weapon via the Crucible loot pool by completing matches or leveling up with Shaxx and claiming reputation engrams.

Pros

• The Frozen Orbit features a diverse perk pool, ranging from Killing Wind and No Distractions to the god roll PVP perks that all players love, such as Quickdraw or Snapshot sights.
• You can easily try your luck at farming the weapon by repeatedly completing Crucible matches and leveling up Shaxx, not to mention double XP may be active at certain times during weekly playlist promotions.
• Frozen Orbit has an excellent range stat, making it applicable for any long-range encounter in PVP.

Cons

• If you ask me, the only things holding it back are the 50 Zoom stat and the slightly lower aim assist, which is only noticeable if you’re using a controller.
• Despite being a great sniper rifle in PVP, it tremendously lacks in PVE, as there are much better options for DPS or ad-clear.

13. Volta Bracket

The Volta Bracket is a legendary sniper rifle that was introduced back in the Lightfall expansion’s launch. It is one of the regional weapons of Neomuna, which can be obtained as rewards for activity completions such as the Terminal Overload or by leveling up Nimbus and acquiring engram rewards from him. Furthermore, the weapon also supports Strand as its unique elemental damage.

It also supports a basic origin trait known as the following:

• Nanotech Tracer Rockets: Landing multiple hits turns your next shot into a homing micro-rocket.

Pros

• The weapon has a decent set of PVP perks, such as Firmly Planted and either Opening Shot or Under Pressure.
• The Volta Bracket can easily be farmed by simply completing activities on Neomuna and ranking up with Nimbus.
• Despite its low viability for PVP, it has some great PVE perks, such as Triple Tap and either Firing Line or Explosive Payload.

Cons

• Unfortunately, almost any other kinetic sniper rifle can outmatch its potential for PVP with stronger perks and overall stats.
• The Volta Bracket heavily suffers from low handling, and the fact that no Snapshot sights exist in the perk pool only makes it worst.
• It doesn’t help the fact that the Volta Bracket is a kinetic slot sniper that has extremely low aim assist.

14. Irukandji

The Irukandji is one of the ordinary legendary sniper rifles that is found in the world loot pool, meaning that you can acquire it pretty much through any means via legendary engram drops or as a random drop. Furthermore, the weapon also supports Stasis as the main damage element.

The best way to acquire it is by checking in with either Xur or the Gunsmith’s daily or weekly inventory in the Tower, as it has a chance to spawn there with random rolls/perks periodically.

Pros

• In terms of the God roll for PVP, you will want Fluted Barrel to increase handling and, lastly, Under Pressure and either Eye of the Storm or Opening Shot in the last column.
• Due to it being a Veist-manufactured weapon, it also supports a great framework and scope, which makes it all the more satisfying to use in PVP gameplay.
• The gun has great handling and Aim assistance stats.

Cons

• While you should obviously strive to get headshots using any sniper rifle in Destiny 2’s PVP, the body shot damage of the Irukandji is pretty low.
• The sniper rifle lacks in both range and stability, so you may likely face a high flinch when aiming down the weapon at enemy Guardians.
• The Irukandji is missing most of the relatively best PVP perks for sniper rifles, making it an average choice compared to others in this list.

15. Bite Of The Fox

The Bite of the Fox is an aggressive frame legendary sniper rifle that is exclusively available in the Iron Banner loot pool. The weapon was originally added all the way back during the release days of Destiny 2, in Season 4. You can still acquire it now through the same ways, which is by either completing Iron Banner matches as well as by ranking up with Lord Saladin and receiving it randomly in his package rewards.

Lastly, the Bite of the Fox also features the following origin trait, which is also found on the other Iron Banner weapons:

• Skulking Wolf: While at low health, Guardian’s final blows with this weapon grant enhanced radar and remove you from opposing radar.

Pros

• Hammer-forged rifling and Accurized rounds are must-haves on the Bite of the Fox to boost its maximum range further.
• The Bite of the Fox also supports almost every PVP god roll perk needed for a sniper rifle, allowing you to roll it with Quickdraw or Snapshot sights and either Moving Target or Opening shot.
• The origin trait can come in as a clutch during intense situations, as taking down an enemy player at low HP will grant you an enhanced radar while masking you from the opposing one for 10 seconds.

Cons

• The Bite of the Fox lacks stability and handling stats, making it slow and tricky to use in most scenarios if you’re not used to the archetype.
• While Opening Shot does secretly add +20 to Aim Assistance on the first shot, the stat itself is low for the Bite of the Box.

Best PVP Sniper Rifle Ranking Criteria

The following list of the 15 best Destiny 2 PVP snipers in 2023 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. As of August 2023, while the state of Destiny 2 is certainly dire at the moment, there is still enough here that keeps fans hooked, but the way things are, Bungie needs to address most of the complaints and feedback in order to rile its player base back instead of blatantly ignoring them.

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.

Up Next:

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• Destiny 2 Root Of Nightmares Raid
• How To Unlock Lightfall Sub-Classes In Destiny 2