What are the best weapons in Destiny 2? There are hundreds of Destiny 2 cannons that can roll with functionally infinite combinations of advantages. Some improve your damage or reload speed, while others increase the effective range or stability of your weapon. You may also discover new niche skills that will change your play style.
Like the perks they come with, most of the weapons you acquire in Destiny 2 are completely random – you never know what you will get and when, which is part of the thrill. However, different activities provide direct ways to obtain certain weapons, and you can use these activities to be more reliable in obtaining the weapon and perk combinations you want.
I’ve rounded up the 25 best Destiny 2 weapons that can be obtained through direct actionable activities like exotic quests and weapon rewards. Some methods still require a little bit of grinding, but you’ll always know what weapon you’re getting. This gives you a lot more control than the usual random rewards. Here I will explain how to complete these activities, what are the strengths of each weapon, and what are the advantages of each weapon.
Black armory smiths
Black Armory Weapons can be obtained by completing the blacksmithing rewards sold by Ada-1, the Black Armory blacksmith in the west wing of the tower. Complete Ada’s daily and weekly bounties to earn material for weapon-specific bounties. You can only buy two gun rewards per week, but you can repeat them as often as you like. In other words, once you get the machine gun bounty, you can grind 10 or even 100 machine guns that week.
From there, the Black Armory’s gun rewards play out very similarly. Typically, you will have to kill with the specified type of weapon, kill some elites with orange bars for special collectibles, and complete a black armory forge to finish the weapon that drops off at the end of the activity. Forges can now be accessed via a playlist in the EDZ. So it doesn’t take that long to complete a gun reward. You can easily do three or more bounties per hour, which is the equivalent of two or three shots at your dream role. There are eight weapons in total in the Black Armory machine gun frame, but three stand out from the rest. Those are:
Blast furnace
The Blast Furnace, also known as the Dad Furnace, is one of the most powerful workhorse weapons in Destiny 2. It has tremendous range, controllable recoil, a clean sight, and great perk potential. The divine role here would be Feeding Frenzy and Rampage. Feeding Frenzy gives you a huge boost to reload speed after every kill, and Rampage increases your damage every time you get a kill and stacks up to 30%. It’s easy to get and easy to use.
Hammer head
Compared to other machine guns, Hammerhead has disgusting range and stability, to the point that it has been named the best scout rifle in Destiny 2. Yeah it’s that good It’s a 450 RPM machine gun, so it’s solid in both PvE and PvP. Like the blast furnace, it can also roll with Feeding Frenzy and Rampage, thus ensuring a steady stream of destruction.
Lighted orchid
The menagerie is a horde mode with a unique currency and reward system. In short, you collect colored runes and then put them in the Chalice of Opulence in specific combinations that determine what loot you get from the chest in the end. You earn runes by completing the treasure maps Werner sold in the tower or grinding various activities while using the runefinder consumables Werner also sells.
Once you have the runes you want, load up the menagerie on Nessus, clear the random (but pretty self-explanatory) arenas and bosses assigned to you, and open the chest to claim your loot. For this part of the guide, I’ll also outline what runes you’ll need to get each weapon. For more information, see our Destiny 2 Menagerie Recipe Guide.
Austringer
Austringer is an exceptional hand-held cannon at 140 rpm with long range and stability, constant recoil and strong aiming support (a hidden status that is noticeable even when playing with a mouse). I recommend the popular Outlaw + Rampage throw, but Austringer is also one of the few hand cannons that Demolitionist can roll and return grenade energy on kills. It’s a perk well worth taking, especially given the grenade artifact mods in Shadowkeep.
Imperial decree
For the last Black Armory weapon on this list, we have the Kindled Orchid, one of the few power hand cannons worth using. Kindled Orchid is a 140 RPM model, so a little slow, but it has the power to make up for it. It’s the only hand cannon that can roll the dice with both Kill Clip and Rampage: those two perks offer huge damage bonuses, and that combination is as deadly as it sounds. This curated reel is also equipped with Drop Mag, a type of magazine that greatly increases reload speed and feels like Feeding Frenzy is always on.
The menagerie
Destiny 2 is overflowing with good shotguns, but Imperial Decree’s flexibility and availability make it a great choice. It has solid base stats and can roll with some fantastic perks including the preferred combination of Grave Robber and Trench Barrel. Trench Barrel gives you three rounds of damage boost after a melee strike, and Grave Robber reloads your weapon after a melee kill so you can see how things can get nasty in a confined space.
Lover
Beloved is one of the few snipers who can roll No Distractions and Fourth Time’s the Charm – which gives you less twitching and ammo back after consecutive headshots – which is a fantastic combo for Boss DPS. It’s snappy, has a large girth, and it’s pretty easy to get a usable roll.
Lectern essences
Recognitions
We couldn’t possibly cover every good weapon on this list, so we focused on those that can be acquired with simple or straightforward means. There are plenty of other rewarding activities to do, however, so here’s a quick recap of some other awesome weapons and where they come from:
- Grenade Launcher on the Mountain Top (Difficult Crucible Quest)
- Sole Survivor Sniper Rifle (Settlement)
- Hand cannon for replacement rations (accounting)
- Anarchy Grenade Launcher (Scourge of the Past raids rare boss drop)
- One Thousand Voices Fusion Rifle (Last Wish Raid Rare Final Boss Drop)
- Delirium 21% machine gun (long Gambit Pinnacle Quest)
- Mindbender’s Ambition Shotgun (rarer drop Hollowed Lair Nightfall)
