Destiny 2: 10 BEST Boss DPS Weapons [Expert’s Guide]

The Destiny 2 best boss DPS weapons in 2024 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.

Destiny 2 Best Boss DPS Weapons Comparison

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

WEAPON NAME	BEST FOR	TYPE	ELEMENT	IMPACT	RANGE	STABILITY
Gjallarhorn	The Best DPS Rocket Launcher.	Exotic Rocket Launcher	Solar	90 (Blast Radius)	45 (Velocity)	64
Apex Predator	The Best Easy to Use DPS Weapon.	Legendary Rocket Launcher	Solar	50 (Blast Radius)	49 (Velocity)	43
Izanagi's Burden	The Best DPS Sniper Rifle.	Exotic Sniper Rifle	Kinetic	70	48	41
The Hothead	The Best Power-Focused Rocket Launcher.	Legendary Rocket Launcher	Arc	50 (Blast Radius)	57 (Velocity)	40
Witherhoard	The Best Impactful Sniper Rifle.The Handling-Focused Rocket Launcher.	Exotic Grenade Launcher	Kinetic	60	12 (Velocity)	63
Succession	The Best Impactful Sniper Rifle.	Legendary Sniper Rifle	Kinetic	90	75	33
Parasite	The Rocket Launcher With High Burst Damage.	Exotic Grenade Launcher	Solar	100 (Blast Radius)	0 (Velocity)	48
The Lament	The Best Destiny 2 DPS Sword.	Exotic Sword	Solar	74	40	50
Cold Comfort	The Best Rocket Launcher for Continous Action.	Legendary Rocket Launcher	Stasis	20 Blast Radius)	69 (Velocity)	28
Divinity	The Best Exotic Trace Rifle.	Exotic Trace Rifle	Arc	6	67	76

1. Gjallarhorn

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.

2. Apex Predator

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.

3. Izanagi’s Burden

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.

4. The Hothead

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.

5. Witherhoard

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.

6. Succession

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.

7. Parasite

WHY I CHOSE THIS CODE:

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.

8. The Lament

WHY I CHOSE THIS CODE:

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 Destiny 2 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.

9. Cold Comfort

WHY I CHOSE THIS CODE:

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 in the best DPS weapons list of 2024.

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.

10. Divinity

WHY I CHOSE THIS CODE:

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.

DPS Weapons Ranking Criteria

This list of the 15 best  Boss DPS weapons to use in 2024 was written by me (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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