Destiny 2: Best PvP Weapons in The Final Shape
Destiny 2 is defined by its unique gunplay and combat sandbox. With every weapon archetype getting constant balance changes and updates, it can be hard to track down what the weapon meta is these days. After changes were made to player health in PvP, some guns have been given a few buffs and nerfs to make headshots and Primary weapon fights more engaging. This article will talk about some of the best guns for both Crucible and Trials and how they stand out among the rest.
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Khvostov 7G-0X
Returning from Destiny 2 is the iconic Khvostov Auto Rifle, now in Exotic form. This gun currently is quite popular in Crucible for its low recoil and surprisingly generous aim assist values. While the Khvostov’s laser-like recoil was a bug, it still handles like a dream, as tracking targets is still fairly easy to do with this weapon. The Khvostov has a generous TTK value thanks to the ricochet shot doing slightly more damage than regular shots. It doesn’t have as much range as other Legendary Auto Rifles, but the Khvostov remains competitive within its effective distance.
Red Death Reformed
As it stands, High Impact Pulse Rifles continue to be a competitive weapon archetype, but require high stability and range to be effective. The Red Death has a fairly vertical recoil pattern, great range, and a sticky aim assist cone. Where it really shines is in 6v6 PvP as its Exotic trait gives the user Cure x1 after securing a kill, giving them more survivability in team fights and helping them get into another duel sooner. For an Exotic weapon, it can be powerful in the hands of an experienced Pulse Rifle main.
Sightline Survey
A surprise entry in the list, the Sightline Survey is a 180 Legendary Hand Cannon available in the Echoes loot pool. After the changes to Guardian health and the Primary weapon focus for PvP, Precision Frame Handcannons have seen a return in The Crucible. This weapon archetype can now 3-tap Guardians to the head while having a stable recoil animation and overall ease of use. The Sightline Survey, in particular, has a power perk combo of Keep Away and Precision Instrument, rewarding accurate players with extra headshot damage just by landing a hit on target. While its stat package isn’t as effective, the weapon makes up for it with being craftable with enhanced traits.
Someday
This shotgun is part of the Pale Heart loot pool, and is one of the best shotguns in the game in The Final Shape. For a Legendary shotgun, it has a lot of good things going for it. Someday has a great stat package at base without any barrels and uses the Precision Frame archetype, giving it a great pellet spread pattern for PvP. What elevates this weapon even more is its perk combo of Elemental Capacitor and Opening Shot. Playing an Arc subclass with this weapon will give it a significant boost in handling, while Opening Shot will greatly extend the shotgun’s range. Unlike other shotguns like Fractethyst and Matador 64, Someday is craftable, making it a fairly accessible and powerful weapon for PvP mains.
Rose
Rose is one of the rewards available in the Competitive playlist, and it certainly does live up to the playlist it belongs in. This Legendary Lightweight Frame Handcannon does everything a 140 HC can do but has the intrinsic bonus handling of its archetype to make it ideal for shotgun users. The gun has many great PvP perks in its pool, but one stand-out combo for it is Slideshot and Eye of the Storm. With these perks, you can get the best range and stability buffs just by sliding and challenging a player, making your neutral game with this weapon very potent. A great dueling weapon for any diehard PvP mains.
The Summoner
The Summoner is one of the only weapons available in Trials of Osiris every weekend. The Summoner is a classic 600 RPM Auto Rifle with a few great PvP perks to mix and match with. For its perks, it has great neutral game traits like Dynamic Sway Reduction, Zen Moment, Perpetual Motion, and Elemental Capacitor on its left column. For the right, it has Target Lock, Onslaught, and Kill Clip for 6v6, and Tap the Trigger for more stability. Any roll with these perks is solid in its own right, but the absolute best god roll for The Summoner is Zen Moment and Target Lock, both of which will always be in effect just by landing your shots consistently.
Elsie’s Rifle
This weapon can drop from the Onslaught game mode, Elsie’s Rifle is a High Impact Pulse Rifle with some of the best perks and stats in its class, even beating previous top pulse rifles like The Messenger in almost every regard. It is also far more accessible and easier to farm. For perks, it can get either Keep Away or Zen Moment on the left column and Kill Clip or Headseeker on the right column. Either way, this gun can two-burst Guardians of any resilience if you can land all headshots. With a potentially fast TTK value, Elsie’s Rifle may be a powerful medium to long-range pulse rifle, deleting anyone that enters your lane.
Outbreak Perfected
Previously, this weapon occupied a small niche in the PvP sandbox, not seeing much relevancy for casual or competitive PvP. Now that the weapon is craftable, the weapon has become a fan-favorite Primary weapon to bring. After the re-release of Zero Hour, Outbreak Perfected is in its Prime with new perks like Rewind Rounds for PvE. However, much of its killing power lies in the Headseeker perk, while players looking for consistency can rely on its Rapid Hit perk. Due to the weapon’s rapid-fire rate and extremely low recoil, Outbreak Perfected has seen an increase in usage in the Crucible. Paired with the fun effect of generating SIVA nanites on precision kills, this weapon can become a multi-killing machine in 6v6.
Conditional Finality
Exclusive to the Root of Nightmares raid in Lightfall, the Conditional Finality raid Exotic is a mainstay Special weapon for many veteran PvP mains. While the weapon lacks range in paper, it has a special pellet spread interaction that makes it very predictable, thus lending much to its consistency. Another reason why this weapon remains very popular in game modes like Trials is that it can directly counter Supers like Ward of Dawn and Well of Radiance and even shut down roaming Supers with its guaranteed Freeze and Ignite effect. It even has the fastest handling of all shotguns, making it an effective clean-up weapon in fights. If players run a PvP Legendary Primary weapon in the Energy slot (of which there are many), chances are that they will run the Conditional Finality as their Special weapon.
Igneous Hammer
It’s no surprise that the Igneous Hammer still takes the top spot as the best PvP weapon in Destiny 2. Handcannons in general have always been the weapon with the highest skill ceiling. 120 Handcannons, in particular, are very forgiving with their TTK, only requiring 2 headshots and one body shot to secure a kill. The Igneous Hammer has the absolute best stat package out of all 120 RPM Handcannons, with the best in slot range. With the weapon having an Adept variant, players are running Trials matches hoping to get one Adept roll, making it a true stat monster for dueling. Even with the overhaul to the PvP sandbox, Igneous Hammer continues to top the charts with the most kills in Trials. Even without an Adept, players can still make very good use of this PvP weapon.
