Destiny 2: 10 BEST Boss DPS Weapons [Our Expert Recommendations]

Learn from the expert about the best boss DPS weapons used in the current meta of Destiny 2.

The Destiny 2 best boss DPS weapons consist only of the most viable arsenal in the PVE weapons meta, ranging from sought-after exotics to popular legendary weapons. Whether you’re a new player or a veteran playing since launch, having optimal DPS against bosses in endgame activities such as Grandmaster Nightfalls or Raids is compulsory. But rest assured, most of these best boss DPS weapons can be used almost everywhere across most activities.

Important: The Boss DPS weapons featured in the list are based on the Season 22 PVE meta of Destiny 2, which is subject to change at any time with the inclusion of a major balancing patch or future content DLCS such as the Final Shape expansion, releasing in 2024.

Best Boss DPS Weapons Comparison

Here’s a summary of the 15 best Boss DPS weapons, all compared to each other:

WEAPON NAMEBEST FORTYPEELEMENTIMPACTRANGESTABILITY
GjallarhornThe Best DPS Rocket Launcher.Exotic Rocket LauncherSolar90 (Blast Radius)45 (Velocity)64
Apex PredatorThe Best Easy to Use DPS Weapon.Legendary Rocket LauncherSolar50 (Blast Radius)49 (Velocity)43
Izanagi's BurdenThe Best DPS Sniper Rifle.Exotic Sniper RifleKinetic704841
The HotheadThe Best Power-Focused Rocket Launcher.
Legendary Rocket LauncherArc50 (Blast Radius)57 (Velocity)40
WitherhoardThe Best Impactful Sniper Rifle.The Handling-Focused Rocket Launcher.
Exotic Grenade LauncherKinetic6012 (Velocity)63
SuccessionThe Best Impactful Sniper Rifle.Legendary Sniper RifleKinetic907533
ParasiteThe Rocket Launcher With High Burst Damage.
Exotic Grenade LauncherSolar100 (Blast Radius)0 (Velocity)48
The LamentThe Best Destiny 2 DPS Sword.Exotic SwordSolar744050
Cold ComfortThe Best Rocket Launcher for Continous Action.
Legendary Rocket LauncherStasis20 Blast Radius)69 (Velocity)28
DivinityThe Best Exotic Trace Rifle.
Exotic Trace RifleArc66776

1. Gjallarhorn

The Best DPS Rocket Launcher.
destiny 2 best boss dps weapons
Gjallarhorn (Screenshot Grab: eXputer)
  • Why I Chose This: Boasts massive burst DPS, making it arguably one of the best weapons to use against bosses.
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WEAPON TYPE Exotic Solar Rocket Launcher
Blast Radius 90
Velocity 45
Stability 64
Handling 66
Reload Speed 37
Aim Assistance 76
Inventory size 50
Zoom 20
Airborne effectiveness 6

The Gjallarhorn was easily the most overpowered weapon back in Destiny 1, and now with it being returned in Destiny 2, the Gjallarhorn shreds the HP of most bosses in Destiny 2’s PVE activities. You can acquire the weapon via the Bungie 30th Anniversary pack in the “And Out Fly the Wolves” Quest.

Following are the special traits, perks, and exotic catalyst of the Gjallarhorn Rocket Launcher:

  • Wolfpack Rounds: Rounds fired split into tracking cluster missiles upon detonation.
  • Pack Hunter: Gain increased handling and reload speed when standing near allies. Firing this weapon also grants Wolfpack Rounds to nearby allies wielding non-Exotic Rocket Launchers.
  • More Wolves (Exotic Catalyst): Increases magazine size and final blows with wolfpack rounds spawn a faster, more powerful missile at the target’s location.
  • Pack Hunter grants team rocket launchers, boosting burst DPS.
  • Exotic catalyst adds an extra round for increased DPS uptime.

 

  • Occupies the only exotic weapon slot.
  • Every fireteam lacks completion.

 

2. Apex Predator

The Best Easy to Use DPS Weapon.
d2 apex predator
Apex Predator (Screenshot Grab: eXputer)
  • Why I Chose This: The Godrolls for the Apex Predator are Impact Casing, Reconstruction, and, Bait and Switch.
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WEAPON TYPE Legendary Solar Rocket Launcher
Blast Radius 50
Velocity 49
Stability 43
Handling 44
Reload Speed 44
Aim Assistance 68
Inventory size 33
Zoom 20
Airborne effectiveness 3

The Apex Predator is a rocket that was introduced with the Last Wish raid back in the Forsaken expansion. With the changes given in Season 21, players can craft the Apex Predator along with other Last Wish raid weapons with their personalized choice of rolls with the addition of newly added perks.

Furthermore, you can also acquire the Deepsight weapon patterns (needed to craft the Apex Predator) by trading Spoils of Conquest with Hawthorne at the Tower Bazaar.

  • Craft the Apex Predator with enhanced perks.
  • Reconstruction perk reloads a rocket every 4 seconds.
  • Acquire weapon patterns by farming Kali in Last Wish.

 

  • Farming for red border/Deepsight patterns is time-intensive.

 

3. Izanagi’s Burden

The Best DPS Sniper Rifle.
destiny 2 izanagi's burden
Izanagi’s Burden (Image by eXputer)
  • Why I Chose This: The Honed Edge perk contributes to its exceptional damage potential, making it a highly coveted exotic
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WEAPON TYPE Kinetic Exotic Sniper Rifle
Impact 70
Range 48
Stability 41
Handling 47
Reload Speed 40
Aim Assistance 62
Inventory Size 60
Zoom 45
Airborne Effectiveness 6
Rounds Per Minute 90

The Izanag’s Burden is notable in the community for being one of the best kinetic weapons in Destiny 2 purely due to its single-shot power, capable of dishing out enormous damage value for boss fights. You can obtain the weapon via the exotics kiosk in the Tower by trading in a Forsaken or exotic cipher.

Following are the special traits, perks, and exotic catalyst of the Izanagi’s Burden sniper rifle:

  • Honed Edge: Consume the magazine and load a round with additional range and damage.
  • Peerless Edge (Exotic Catalyst): Increases the damage bonus of Honed Edge when four bullets are consumed.
  • One of the most sought-after exotics.
  • Incredible damage potency via the Honed Edge perk.
  • Peerless Edge is what makes it an S-Tier exotic weapon for PVE.

 

  • The reload speed for Honed Edge is slow.
  • The Exotic Catalyst is only found in playlist activities.

 

4. The Hothead

The Best Power-Focused Rocket Launcher.
destiny 2 hothead
The Hothead (Image Captured by Us)
  • Why I Chose This: It is an easy-to-use Rocket Launcher with well-balanced stats along with High Damage.
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Weapon Type Legendary Arc Rocket Launcher
Blast Radius 50
Velocity 57
Stability 40
Handling 67
Reload Speed 45
Aim Assistance 67
Inventory size 34
Zoom 20
Airborne Effectiveness 8
Rounds Per minute 20

Much like the Apex Predator, The Hothead is also a Rocket Launcher that earns a place for the best legendary weapons in Destiny 2 solely due to its amazing rolls and viability against all types of in-game bosses. You can acquire it either by legacy decoding it from Commander Zavala in the Tower or by farming for it in the Grandmaster Nightfalls, where it is available as a featured weapon in specific strikes each new Season.

  • The Hothead’s Godroll: Impact Casing, Auto-Loading Holster, Explosive Light.
  • Demolitionist is also a beneficial perk.
  • Farmable with the right team in GM Nightfalls.

 

  • Available only in specific GM Nightfalls; may require waiting for target farming.

 

5. Witherhoard

The Handling-Focused Rocket Launcher.
d2 best boss dps weapons
Witherhoard (Screenshot Grab: eXputer)
  • Why I Chose This: Witherhoard provides an excellent method for applying bonus damage to both bosses and other enemies.
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WEAPON TYPE Exotic Kinetic Grenade Launcher
Impact 60
Velocity 12
Stability 63
Handling 48
Reload Speed 33
Aim Assistance 84
Inventory Size 46
Zoom 12
Airborne Effectiveness 6
Rounds Per Minute 90

If you ask me, the Witherhoard is quite honestly one of the most unique boss DPS weapons in Destiny 2, only coming behind Izanagi’s Burden as the best in the kinetic slot specifically. It is a fan-favorite among the community for its AOE damage capabilities and constant uptime as a special weapon.

  • The Witherhoard can be obtained from the Exotic Archive kiosk in the Tower for 1x Exotic Cipher, 100,000 Glimmer, 150 Legendary Shards, and 1x Ascendant Shard.

Following are the special traits, perks, and exotic catalyst of the Witherhoard grenade launcher:

  • Primeval’s Torment: Projectiles fired by this weapon blight the target or nearby area on impact.
  • Break the Bank: Blighted targets take damage over time and blight the nearby area on death.
  • Silent Alarm: Increases Handling and holstering this weapon automatically reloads it after a short duration.
  • Witherhoard provides bonus damage to bosses and enemies.
  • Exotic catalyst enables quick swapping with heavy weapons for optimal DPS.
  • Essential for all PVE activities in Destiny 2.

 

  • Damage from Primeval’s Torment doesn’t stack with multiple players using Witherhoard.
  • Low reload speed necessitates the Exotic catalyst.

 

6. Succession

The Best Impactful Sniper Rifle.
destiny 2 succession
Succession (Image Captured by Us)
  • Why I Chose This: The Succession is a fan-favorite sniper rifle in PVE due to its particular Godroll combination. 
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WEAPON TYPE Legendary Kinetic Sniper Rifle
Impact 90
Rounds Per Minute 72
Range 75
Stability 33
Handling 25
Reload speed 45
Aim Assistance 48
Zoom 50
Airborne effectiveness 4

Succession is one of the best reliable weapons in all endgame activities. It was introduced back in the Beyond Light DLC with the Deep Stone Crypt raid.

The Succession also features the following Basic origin trait along with other Deep Atone Crypt weapons:

  • Bray Inheritance: Dealing damage using the weapon regenerates a small amount of ability energy.
  • Succession’s Godroll: Reconstruction and Vorpal Weapon for higher damage and auto-reload.
  • Reconstruction refills the magazine from reserves over time.
  • Complements Auto-loading holster weapons well.
  • Craftable at The Relic in Savathun’s Throneworld.

 

  • Obtained from the Atraks-1 encounter in the DSC raid.
  • Not suited for close-range boss fights.

 

7. Parasite

The Rocket Launcher With High Burst Damage.
d2 parasite
Parasite (Screenshot Grab: eXputer)
  • Why I Chose This: The Parasite is an exotic grenade launcher that was introduced with the Witch Queen expansion.
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WEAPON TYPE Exotic Solar Grenade Launcher
Blast Radius 100
Velocity 0
Stability 48
Handling 47
Reload Speed 44
Aim Assistance 68
Inventory size 0
Zoom 13
Airborne effectiveness 11

The parasite can be obtained by completing the “Of Queens and Worms” questline, revolving around Queen Mara Sov. The weapon is notable for providing instantaneous burst damage on specific boss encounters in Destiny 2.

Following are the special traits, perks, and exotic catalyst of the Parasite Grenade Launcher:

  • Worm’s Hunger: This weapon fires Hive worms which explode on impact.
    • The damage of the explosion scale with the number of enemies you’ve killed before firing this weapon.
  • Worm Byproduct: Taking damage from your own worm projectile detonation empowers your weapons for a short time.
  • Parasite shines in DPS phases with its high burst damage.
  • Ideal for solo dungeons due to quick firing ability.
  • Extremely powerful with six Guardians in a raid.

 

  • Gets outclassed in long-term DPS by weapons like Apex Predator.
  • Lacks an exotic catalyst as of Season 22.

 

8. The Lament

The Best Destiny 2 DPS Sword.
destiny 2 best boss dps weapons
The Lament (Screenshot Grab: eXputer)
  • Why I Chose This: It is an Exotic Solar Sword with Damage-focused stats, making it a perfect Melee DPS Weapon.
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WEAPON TYPE Exotic Solar Sword
Swing Speed 40
Impact 74
Range 40
Stability 50
Guard Efficiency 60
Guard Resistance 50
Inventory size 60
Zoom 0
Airborne effectiveness 0

The Lament is an Exotic sword that was dropped with the Beyond Light expansion. What makes it one of the best boss DPS weapons is its high burst-damage capabilities. You can acquire The Lament by completing the “Lost Lament” exotic questline.

Following are the special traits, perks, and exotic catalyst of The Lament Exotic Sword:

  • Banshee’s Wail: [Block]: Hold to rev the blade.
    • Increases damage and adds [Shield-Piercing] shield piercing to all attacks.
    • Gain stacks when dealing damage with revved attacks.
    • Additional stacks increase the damage and damage resistance of heavy attacks.
  • Revved Consumption: Damaging a combatant heals the Wielder.
  • Lament’s Banshee’s Wail devastates grounded bosses.
  • Best Banshee’s Wail combo: 3 light, 1 heavy attack.
  • Shield-piercing trait excels against Barrier Champions.

 

  • Less effective in prolonged DPS phases, similar to Parasite.
  • Only targets ground enemies effectively.

 

9. Cold Comfort

The Best Rocket Launcher for Continous Action.
d2 cold comfort
Cold Comfort (Screenshot Grab: eXputer)
  • Why I Chose This: It is a Rocket Launcher with high velocity and fast reloading speed.
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WEAPON TYPE Legendary Stasis Rocket Launcher
Blast Radius 20
Velocity 69
Stability 28
Handling 23
Reload Speed 62
Aim Assistance 39
Inventory size 45
Zoom 20
Airborne effectiveness 10

The Cold Comfort is a Stasis Rocket Launcher that was just introduced to the player base in the Season of the Deep. You can obtain the weapon via the Ghosts of the Deep Dungeon’s loot pool.

More importantly, is the fact that Cold Comfort has become a popular choice among most players due to its strong perk pool and how it is unique from the other Rocket Launchers.

Following is the basic origin trait of the Cold Comfort Rocket Launcher, which can also be found on other Ghosts of the Deep Dungeon weapons:

  • Restoration Ritual: Reviving allies or defeating combatants with finishers reloads this weapon and readies an emergency reload for the next time this weapon runs out of ammo.
  • The Godrolls for the Cold Comfort is Envious Assassin.
  • Envious Assassin will refill your magazine size up to 4 maximum rockets.
  • If you want, you can also roll Chill Clip onto it in order to freeze targets on hits.

 

  • Cold Comfort is not a suitable option for sustained DPS cycles.
  • It has really low handling, which can make Cold Comfort feel clunky.

 

10. Divinity

The Best Exotic Trace Rifle.
destiny 2 divinity
Divinity (Screenshot Grab: eXputer)
  • Why I Chose This: While Divinity isn’t a boss DPS weapon in Destiny 2, it is one of the most used utility exotics.
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WEAPON TYPE Exotic Arc Trace Rifle
Impact 6
Range 67
Stability 76
Handling 51
Reload Speed 45
Aim Assistance 100
Inventory size 50
Zoom 16
Airborne effectiveness 17

This is due to its potential to boost DPS in all PVE boss fights in the game. Despite its nerf, players still use it in Dungeons and Raids in order to make the critical spots on targets easier to hit for all fireteam members.

The Divinity is found via an exotic quest ‘Divine Fragmentation’, in the Garden of Salvation Raid. It requires you to complete a lengthy set of steps with all six of your fireteam members. If you want to learn more about each of these quest objectives in detail, then be sure to check the following Reddit Thread from r/DestinyTheGame.

Following are the special traits, perks, and exotic catalyst of the Divinity Trace Rifle:

  • Judgment: Sustained damage with this weapon envelops the target in a field that weakens and stuns them.
    • Strong against [Disruption] Overload Champions.
  • Penance: Targets under the effects of Judgment long enough are struck with a burst of damage.
  • Divinity’s Judgment perk boosts damage by 15%.
  • It can stun Overload Champions in Nightfalls and Master Raids.
  • Enlarges Raid bosses’ critical spots, aiding in shot accuracy.

 

  • Acquiring Divinity is challenging without a coordinated team.
  • Tractor Cannon is preferred over Divinity in the current meta.

 

DPS Weapons Ranking Criteria

destiny 2 hours
Destiny 2 hours spent [Image via Time wasted on Destiny]
I wrote this list of the 15 best Boss DPS weapons to use (Steam ID: LIONT4MER). I have over 3500+ hours across both Destiny installments, as well as being up-to-date on the daily happenings with the in-game sandbox and news. The list was crafted after closely researching the meta, my personal experience with each weapon, and discussing it with my clan members and veteran players alike from Discord.

This brings me to the end of my guide, but in case you’re looking for similar guides, then be sure to check out the Best PVP sniper rifles, which can help you pick out a sniper rifle among many to learn and adapt to. Destiny 2 can be a daunting game to play, whether you’re someone new or even returning after a break, hence why I’d strongly recommend brushing up on the best methods to farm XP while you’re at it.

If you have any questions or queries related to the guide, then be sure to let me know in the comments section below. As always, eXputer wishes you luck in acquiring your favorite weapons from the list!

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Usama Mehmood is a Games Specialist, and writer on eXputer who's either hunting for the richest loot in Destiny 2 or endlessly playing his favorite games such as Yakuza or Final Fantasy. Usama has been gaming for 15+ years during which he has accumulated 4000+ hours on Destiny 1 & 2. His constant adoration for video games has allowed him to pursue eXputer as a platform to showcase his striving talents in writing helpful articles. Get familiar with Usama's extensive gaming library on his Steam, PSN, and Xbox profiles.

Experience: 2+ Years || Mainly Covers Reviews And Guides || Education: Bachelors in Physiotherapy.

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