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Destiny 2 is a unique hybrid of the FPS, RPG, and MMO genres in one game – and somehow, it works perfectly. Though PvP combat is a fun part of the game, the majority of the content in the game is PvE and that’s what players love the most too.
Whether you take on hordes of enemies by yourself or with your friends in co-op gameplay, you always need to make sure that you have the right build for your PvE ventures. Earlier missions are a breeze to complete, but it’s very easy to get overpowered by higher-level enemies even if you are just a few numbers below in your power level.
Though the game does give you tons of loot, it’s not always weapons that are worth your time.
Most of them are dismantled and infused once the player learns proper inventory management. It’s important to know what weapons you should look for so that your time isn’t wasted with the wrong inventory.
So, let’s look at our ranking of the best Destiny 2 PvE weapons in 2024!
Ranking Destiny 2’s Best PvE weapons in 2024
There are a few important factors to keep in mind when you pick a good weapon in Destiny 2.
Starting off, Exotics are the best without a doubt. However, the Light level of your Exotic still matters, and you can only equip one at a time, so you need to collect great Legendary weapons too.
In Legendary weapons, you have to keep an eye on the Light level, general stats, and the row of perks too. If all three of these things are good, then it’s a weapon that you should keep. The types play a small role too, such as Kinetic, Power, and Energy.
Some weapons are only available through DLCs while others can be obtained in a purely free-to-play experience too. Lastly, updates to the game change the meta of certain weapons, so they might become weaker or stronger over time. Thus, it’s important to stay updated.
With all of these things in mind, let’s start with our list.
1. Reed’s Regret
The Linear Fusion Rifles in Destiny 2 are currently some of the best PvE weapons that you can get your hands on – especially since they received a buff some time ago. They dominate PvE sandboxes and have a good DPS rate, both of which you will need by your side when taking on the difficult quests in the game.
Reed’s Regret stands out the most among the top three Linear Fusion Rifles (Cataclysmic, Stormchaser) because it deals Stasis damage. This allows you to give it some perks that make it a particularly great gun, such as Firing Line, Triple Tap, Veist Stinger Origin, and so on.
There’s a lot that you can add to this gun, and it will become close to a powerhouse by the time you’re done.
It’s just a Legendary weapon rather than an Exotic one, so that means it won’t disable other slots either. If you do want an Exotic Linear Fusion Rifle though, you might want to try out the Sleeper Simulant which is pretty good and becomes even better after the Catalyst.
To obtain Reed’s Regret, you will have to participate in Trials of Osiris matches and collect Engrams in loot.
2. Gjallarhorn
The Gjallarhorn is an Exotic Rocket Launcher – and that sentence alone gives you a good idea of how powerful this weapon is. It has an amazing DPS rate that can destroy most bosses if you’re on the right Light level, and it’s very hard to miss targets with it too thanks to its range.
And if you shoot it at smaller enemies – you can clear mobs with ease.
Even if you’re new to the game, the Gjallarhorn allows the player to assist stronger Guardians because it can deal great damage to bosses. And usually, people team up with players with a Gjallarhorn as a “gally” player in raids, so that they can rely on that player in terms of a great offense.
Though currently balanced, Gjallarhorn is normally considered overpowered – and after you gain its Catalyst, it’s a force to be reckoned with.
The Gjallarhorn is only available in Destiny 2 if you own the Bungie 30th Anniversary DLC – and then you will see the quest to obtain it automatically in-game which will list this weapon as a reward. If you are looking for a non-Exotic rocket launcher, try out the Legendary Hothead.
3. Arbalest
If you’re looking for a great weapon for the endgame of Destiny 2, then Arbalest is one of the best options. It comes with an Anti-Barrier property, which comes in handy when fighting against Champions since they’re a huge part of the endgame content.
It has great range, deals a lot of damage, and you can always pair it with some good perks to further improve effectiveness.
Since it’s an Exotic, you can go for the Catalyst too and once you unlock it, you get a perk called Genesis that refills your magazine every time you break a shield with it. Arbalest is a gift for everyone who loves lots of firepowers and can take down the strongest of bosses in Destiny 2.
You can obtain the Arbalest by finding Exotic Engrams through different drops, such as World and Xur. Though if you want an alternative, you can go for the Wish-Ender (Bow) too which has Primary ammo.
4. Parasite
Now for something explosive that isn’t a rocket launcher, we have the Parasite Grenade Launcher.
This weapon shoots worms that explode on your enemies and deal an amazing amount of damage that is perfect for mowing through powerful bosses. It may sound like a funny gimmick, but the weapon genuinely is very useful, and its explosive nature is very entertaining to use.
Granted, it’s a PvE list, to begin with – but most weapons that we’ve recommended still hold up a bit in PvP as well. But Parasite is an exception and it’s almost useless against real players. But in PvE, it’s the exact opposite and works like a powerhouse as long as you buff it in the right ways.
It’s funny, explosive, and creative – all of which make it a great Exotic to use. To obtain it, you have to complete The Witch Queen campaign first and foremost.
Then, you have to complete the Birthplace of the Vile strike and make your way to unlocking the ‘Of Queens and Worms’ quest – and you’ll finally obtain it.
If you want alternatives, Forbearance and Zaouli’s Bane (Hand Cannon) are great explosive options too.
5. Heritage
Heritage is a Legendary slug Shotgun that is perfect for those who like some power in their shots – but not in terms of explosions.
Its precision frame allows it to deal a lot of damage to many types of enemies (up to 50K per shot to bosses) and it has a pretty good combination of rolls too such as Reconstruction, Recombination, and Slideshot.
Then, of course, come the perks. And once you’re done applying the best ones, it’s going to be one of the best shotguns in Destiny 2 that you can take with you even in the harshest of battles.
It looks great, feels great, sounds great, and shoots even better. And for a shotgun, it has a pretty decent rage too.
You can get the Heritage shotgun from the second encounter in the Deep Stone Crypt raid.
6. Krait
The Krait may not be as incredibly strong as some of the other weapons on this list, but it has one thing that nothing else does: a magazine so big that it feels like you have unlimited bullets. This Legendary gun can shoot 720 rounds per minute and can hold roughly 62 bullets at a time.
The magazine is infinite, so your bullets never run out. And the reloading is very quick too, so if you’re a player who finds themselves out of ammo every now and then – the Krait is a perfect choice.
Find a good row for it and apply some decent perks. Then fuse some of your inferior guns into it too, which would help you increase the Light level.
You can obtain the Krait through random world drops, so just keep playing until you come across it.
7. Le Monarque
If you like the feeling of a bow, then the Exotic Le Monarque is the way to go. It’s an incredibly powerful bow that is doing great in the meta right now, thanks to its ability to poison the enemies that it hits.
It’s great in PvP, but also very effective in PvE – especially when you’re playing with a squad and facing off against strong enemies.
A recent patch gave the game Overload Rounds, so you can make it your go-to weapon against Overload Champions too. And as if that wasn’t enough, you can pair it with Volatile Flow to get Volatile Rounds and destroy everything in your way with some Void power.
It’s a great weapon and being a bow gives it extra personality, so it’s a win-win in every way.
You can obtain the Le Monarque as a purchase from the Monument to Lost Lights in the tower, but you need to have the Forsaken DLC beforehand.
8. Lament
When it comes to melee, Destiny 2 has many options but only a few of them truly stand out, especially since swords have limited “ammo” in the game. Lament is a great Exotic that is essentially a Chainsaw Sword, and as odd as a combination this might be, it works surprisingly well.
It has a great amount of burst damage potential (some of the highest in the game) and comes with an intrinsic Anti Barrier that will help you take down powerful Champions without breaking too much of a sweat. Then we have the potential to sustain some damage, which does a great job for increased DPS in certain situations.
It’s not for everyone, but it’s considered the king of swords by many – so don’t miss out if this sounds like your kind of weapon.
You can obtain the Lament by doing a quest for Banshee-44 called “Lost Lament”. It’s quite long, but the effort is more than worth it in the end. Plus, it looks cool!
Wrapping it up
That’s it for our guide to Destiny 2’s best PvE weapons, ranked for 2024 according to the current meta!
We hope that you found this guide useful, and you should keep in mind that Destiny 2 is filled with dozens of different weapons and it’s all about finding the right one for you. So, even if a weapon isn’t on this list, you might still find it powerful.
But with our thousands of hours sunk into the game, we can confidently recommend these 8 PvE weapons to you with no doubt. While you’re still here, make sure to check out some of our other Destiny 2 guides too.
