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Destiny 2 |OT2| Leviathan Wakes (Spoiler Tag ALL Raid Discussion)

Hawkian

The Cryptarch's Bane
Here's a list of some stuff you may not want to shard if it comes across your screen, with some reasoning why for each and some notes on the perks. If I know where it can be obtained in a static way, I've included this as well.

This may help if you know what exotic you want to run and are trying to find a good fit for the other slots. I suggest looking at the gun type and seeing if there's anything that appeals to your particular style rather than trying to identify "the best" in any category, IMO there's a pretty solid amount of good guns and I still have more to try.

This is the stuff I can recommend so far (either from direct use or direct reports). I have not used Snipers or Grenade Launchers enough to comment on them at all yet, if anyone has high recommendations give me a little description and I'll add it.

Trials and Raid gear will not be included on this list.

---

Auto Rifles
  • Scathelocke (Kinetic): An all around great mid-high RoF AR. Any of the scopes seem viable based on personal preference, and go for HCR. Under Pressure makes this thing feel incredibly stable as you hold the trigger down. Great boss DPS kinetic.
  • Origin Story (Kinetic): Another all around great AR, this one is mid-low RoF if you prefer that, and the Rampage perk- extra damage on kill, stacking up to 3 times- excels both in PvE and PvP. Zavala offers this as a quest reward choice.
  • Halfdan-D (Kinetic): This is a Hakke super-low RoF, high impact, very accurate auto that hits like a truck, has huge range, and Outlaw. I recommend GA Post and Armor-Piercing rounds for a good balance of handling and range.
  • Uriel's Gift (Energy): Just a fantastic choice for your Energy slot, mid-low RoF and high range and native stability. Can pop shields very effectively in PvE, so consider what element to put on it. Go with the Flash sights to completely maximize the range, and High Caliber Rounds. The Tap the Trigger perk is also extremely noticeable; just do what it says (fire in small bursts) for boosted accuracy. In the Failsafe (Nessus) engram pool and a potential Additional Reward from Ikora.
  • Martyr's Make (Energy): largely overshadowed by Uriel's this is a mid-high RoF SUROS auto with a fantastic stat spread, enormous 49 round magazine, and High-Impact Reserves (the new Glass Half Full). Ricochet vs Accurized rounds is a judgment call. It is sadly missing Uriel's best-in-calss range (SRO-52 sight bumps it up with no stability cost) and has no HCR, but remains worth a look if you like SUROS autos.
  • Perseverance (Energy): Available during the beta under a different name, this is a high-RoF chainsaw with a huge magazine, Dynamic Sway Reduction and a faster reload on empty intrinsic perk. Basically you want to start with a full mag, and just hold down the trigger all the way to empty every time. A blast to use.
  • Valakadyn (Energy): Another Veist variant of Perseverance, this one is quite similar to it with the same impact and range (and that same giant magazine), with Under Pressure (meaning you don't need to hold the trigger to get the benefits, but you do need to avoid reloading before empty). If you don't like Perseverance, give this a shot before writing off the archetype.
Scout Rifles
  • Call to Serve (Kinetic): An extremely reliable scout that feels satisfyingly crispy to shoot, with very predictable recoil, and Triple Tap (and you will hit those crits). Go Appended Mag for faster reload at the cost of only one round. Surprisingly, I love using this with the long zoom Mark 15 scope.
  • Nameless Midnight (Kinetic): Unequivocally one of the best PvE weapons available. It pairs an extremely balanced stat spread (same impact as Call to Serve with nearly as much Range and Stability) with Explosive Rounds. Sights/perks are preference. Really just can't go wrong with this in your Kinetic unless the situation demands extreme close range. Zavala offers this as a quest reward.
  • Tone Patrol (Energy): Another very balanced stat spread with High Caliber Rounds and Dragonfly (the new Firefly) which does the damage of your applied element type. Go with the SPO-57 sights to max range and highlight enemy targets. This is extremely fun to shoot as well and I think it is often passed over simply because of running a scout in the Kinetic. Pairs great with a Kinetic HC, AR, or SMG, ideally with quickdraw.
  • Seven-Six-Five (Energy): Omolon's Full Auto energy scout, which comes with Lightweight (move faster) intrinsically, the only of the scouts here to do so. Stick with the Torch sights, and choose either Accurized to max range or Armor Piercing for the penetrate. It slightly loses out in the other stat categories to the above guns, but if you're into full auto scouts, keep your eye out for this one. Same as above, if you're running an Energy scout, a kinetic with Quickdraw is a great idea.
  • Manannan SR4 (Energy): close range, high ROF scout with Explosive Payload. Works well paired with Nameless Midnight because you're almost never engaging shielded enemies at a significant distance. Also extremely fun to shoot, this has become my favorite overall scout thus far.
Pulse Rifles
  • Nightshade (Kinetic): Much like Nameless Midnight and Origin Story (the other Zavala quest choice options), this just excels in its weapon class in the Kinetic slot. Mid-high RoF, good sights, either Tactical Mag or Armor Piercing via preference, and Kill Clip (the new reactive reload). This is almost always a great choice if you like Pulses.
  • Lincoln Green (kinetic): Currently, this is an unmatched high-RoF pulse and comes with Quickdraw; likely the best legendary pulse in the game for Crucible. I suggest the Model 6 Loop sights for a balance on range and handling, and Steady Rounds- you already get fast reload on empty from its intrinsic perk.
  • Agenda 5 (energy): A mid-high RoF energy pulse with Lightweight and Zen Moment. This is a good choice for a PvE loadout where you want a pulse on the Energy slot and don't want to use your Exotic on Graviton. It has a generous mag and soild stats all around; the only thing holding it back from complete greatness is that both scope options are long zoom, but you may find one you like.
  • Swift Ride (energy): The only Pulse I've seen so far with Headseeker. If you used guns with this perk in D1 you'll know whether or not you like/care about that (I love it). Works great with popping shields and continuing to fire precision hits for the kill in PvE (when you might otherwise have switched to Kinetic). It has a good stat spread and sights as well. It is the mid-low RoF archetype which limits its use in Crucible.
  • Cadenza-42 (energy): This is a gorgeous SUROS energy pulse with balanced stats, HCR, and Outlaw, a relatively rare find on a pulse rifle. I like SPO-57 Front which highlights enemy targets. Fun to use to pop shields, burn down the enemy with crit shots to trigger Outlaw, then reload and stow for the next shielded enemy.
  • Nergal PR4 (energy): mid-high RoF Omolon pulse. So this has Lightweight and Full Auto, plus the good Torch sights. Great handling. As with the Seven-Six-Five, if you want a full auto pulse this is your best bet for the moment.
Hand Cannons
  • Better Devils (kinetic): As featured in, and seemingly untouched from, the Beta, this is the go-to "damn good hand cannon." It's great at everything, has a 13 round mag with Extended, and Explosive Rounds. Excels in both PvE and PvP, and has one of Bungie's best gun names ever, referring both to Lincoln's first Inaugural Address and being a "better" version of D1's The Devil You Know and The Devil You Don't. In Shaxx's Crucible engram pool.
  • The Old-Fashioned (kinetic): With similar stats to Better Devils except for better stability and handling, and slightly less range, this "break-action style" HC is also a great choice if you get your hands on it. Kill Clip is a completely viable alternative to Explosive Rounds that is sometimes even more useful on an HC. It is slightly held back by a smaller mag than the above, though it has slightly higher reload.
  • Dire Promise (kinetic): This seems to be Dead Orbit's HC, also in the break action style, but this one has a higher 150 RoF and a 13 Round magazine, plus Triple Tap. Extremely accurate. Go with Truesight, pace your shots, and you WILL proc Triple Tap from those crits, making the magazine size in-use completely ridiculous in PvE. It also seems to have a ton of aim assist for Crucible use. Don't see a lot of these, but it's my favorite HC so far. Got it from a Cayde-6 Treasure Cache.
  • True Prophecy (kinetic): Future War Cult's kinetic HC is the only one to feature Timed Payload, a variant of Explosive Payload that attached and explodes after a short delay. This makes it a unique entry and a must-have for collection purposes, and it's fun to use. It has solid stats otherwise in most categories. However, a low RoF and aim assist mean it is simply outclassed by Better Devils at least in PvE.
  • Shattered Peace (energy): Omolon's Lightweight HC, also high RoF with a 12 round mag, which paired for Zen Moment is great for PvE. All stats excel except Stability, but Zen Moment helps compensate and initial accuracy is great. Choice of HCR or Armor Piercing rounds. Feels great to pop shields with and switch to kinetic for the kill.
  • Annual Skate (energy): This is a SUROS hand cannon with Outlaw; you probably already know if you want it or not. I'm going with the Hitmark sights, and you can either rock a 10 round mag with higher stability and reload, or a 13 with max range (considering Outlaw, probably the better choice). Feels very crisp in the hand.
  • Minuet-42 (energy): This is a near-clone of the Annual Skate, also from SUROS, with very similar stats but the Opening Shot perk, which actually adds bonus range on your first shot in a volley as well as accuracy, and boosts reload to compensate for the lack of Outlaw. You can't go wrong with either.
Sidearms
Note: I have not found a Kinetic sidearm I really like yet (besides Rat King, which is underrated, but not Legendary anyway). If anyone has one to recommend please let me know!
  • Dead Man Walking (energy): This is SUROS' full-auto sidearm.You aren't going to accomplish much with this at range, but it chews up shields, red-bars, and even players in Crucible up close. I'm using Tactic SAS but not sure if it's the best of the three. Go with Armor Piercing Rounds, both for the effect and to lower the mag size to take advantage of Under Pressure and the intrinsic empty reload perk. Can be hip-fired basically like a machine pistol.
  • The Last Dance (energy): This is the Vanguard-branded Omolon sidearm, meaning it's a 3-burst shot. It's extremely satisfying to use and can contest at ranges you might not expect.Target SAS on this one because stability is always so high. The Moving Target perk is very helpful in Crucible- never fire this thing from the hip.
  • Last Hope (energy): The unbranded sister Omolon to Last Dance, this is also a 3-burst shot. It has very slightly less range in exchange for literally maxed stability and better handling, and trades Moving Target for Zen Moment. Go with ricochet rounds instead of steady to keep the range up. You can hip fire with this one. Both of these are great sidearms.
  • Etana SI4 (energy): Another Omolon 3-burst variant, this one has a different visual design, a more balanced across-the-board stat spread and Hip-Fire Grip making it the best overall option if you want to hip-fire.
SMGs
Note: Game has literally not given me a Kinetic SMG yet at all. Any recommendations are welcome.
  • Antiope-D (kinetic): lower RoF, higher impact SMG with both ricochet rounds (extremely fun on SMGs) and Kill Clip.
  • Mida Mini-Tool (energy): even without the bonuses of equipping its big brother at the same time, the Mini-Tool is an excellent all around SMG with Lightweight built in, high RoF, great in-air accuracy, and a generous mag that reloads faster if you drain it all.
  • Out of Options (energy): an ironically-named SMG, because the middle column makes this incredibly versatile- choose from a high-RoF large mag with quick reload on empty, an even higher mag without quick reload, or a lower RoF mag that boosts impact by about 40%. Pulse Monitor can help you keep firing when you'd otherwise be empty so you can get the kill/trade when you're in a pitched battle in the Crucible.
  • Death Adder (energy): Veist's remarkably stable/controllable energy SMG with Lightweight, Hip-Fire and Armor Piercing Rounds. I go for Corkscrew Rifling for a balance of range and stability. It feels great to hip fire from the air then ADS on hitting the ground to finish a target off. Despite having less base stability on paper than for example the Foggy Notion, I find this gun to be way more aimable in practice and effective even in the Crucible.
  • Red Mamba (energy): another Veist variant (so you get Lightweight by default), the Mamba needs Chambered Compensator to grant it a little stability over base, but then serves as a baby Uriel's Gift with HCR and Tap the Trigger absolutely chewing up targets within its engagement distance. If you can remember to use it a controlled manner by pulsing the trigger instead of spraying the whole mag at once, this is a magnificent gun.
Fusion Rifles
  • Main Ingredient: returning from the Beta, this is an all-around fantastic, mid-charge time fusion, with the Rampage perk in particular just nuts for PvP. You can't really go wrong here, but if you're comfortable cooking your fusion shots before firing, go for Liquid Coils. Otherwise stick to Enhanced Battery and use it like a quick-charge fusion. In the Zavala engram pool.
  • Shock and Awe: A mid-charge fusion with good range that shines using the Backup Plan perk, essentially Plan C's exotic perk from D1. Swap to this weapon and immediately fire for a hyper-fast, accurate shot.
  • Cartesian Coordinate: One of my favorite weapons to use in general PvE, we've got a balanced quick-charge fusion and Auto-Loading Holster (the new Cocoon perk), an absolutely wonderful perk to have on a power weapon as you run around. After playing a bunch with both Accelerated and Liquid Coils, I settled on Liquid as it doesn't slow the charge time much at all. I like Red Dot-ORS1.
  • Erentil FR4: This is the ultimate slow-charge, high impact fusion (my preferred type) that I've encountered so far. Use the Flash sight to max range, and Liquid Coils makes this beast literally max impact. You need to be confident cooking your shots, but these stats plus Under Pressure make this an underrated monster in PvP. The ranges at which you can pull off the one-shot are insane.
Rocket Launchers
  • Curtain Call: Cluster Bombs are back and badder. Against targets with large hitboxes this is a monstrous weapon, especially when paired with a Rally Barricade to be used without reloading.
Shotguns
  • Good Bone Structure: This is a SUROS shotty firing a single precision slug, paired with Rifled Barrel, High-Caliber Rounds and Outaw, which is an incredibly uncommon perk on a shotgun. This takes care to aim, but feels amazing to score multiple headshots and then reload at super speed, and the range is exquisite.
  • First In, Last Out: Another single slug SUROS, similar stats except for slightly more range and better reload than the above, which combines with Pulse Monitor to help compensate for the lack of Outlaw; one extra slug if you would have otherwise been empty can be life or death in a close-call scenario.
  • Retrofuturist: A traditional spread shotgun with solid stats, Lightweight, and Auto-Loading Holster, which is fantastic on a shotgun at least in PvE. In Shaxx's engram pool.
  • Hawthorne's Field-Forged Shotgun: Balanced spread shotgun with Lightweight, Rifled Barrel, and Full Auto- one of the only auto shotties in the game so far. In Devrim's EDZ engram pool.
Swords
Note: Quickfang, Eternity's Edge, and Crown Splitter are campaign completion rewards from Cayde for Hunter, Warlock and Titan respectively. They can only be equipped on the class that acquired them.

  • Quickfang: In addition to making you look cool while running around, Quickfang is a legitimately deadly weapon that is all about speed. It pairs Lightwieght with the faster sword attack speed, plus a versatile dash attack on R2. The En Garde perk gives you bonus damage after swapping to it, so it's perfect for running into melee range, swapping, and hitting the quick R2 then dipping out of combat before enemies can touch you. Since the impact changes are minute and Quickfang has no ammo-sustain perk, I use Tempered Edge to bump it up to 31.
  • Crown Splitter: This is one of if not the only sword to have the high-damage AoE slam R2 attack, which pairs extremely well with its perk granting ammo for kills with the R2 attack.
  • Eternity's Edge: While otherwise not notable in terms of stats, Eternity's Edge is the easiest access all players have to the Whirlwind Blade perk, which is a best-in-class perk for bosses that are vulnerable to swords. It stacks a damage buff up to x5 on hits. Particularly useful in the
    Gardens encounter against the warbeast dogs.
    (raid spoiler)
  • Unspoken Promise: This unassuming blade is the only one in the game with the Relentless Strikes perk; any three strikes in a row- no kills required- grant ammo. Go Honed Edge here because that ammo return really pays off against either groups or bosses.
  • Negative Space: The only other sword with the Whirlwind Blade perk for stacking damage. This has otherwise solid stats as well and looks beautiful. In Sloane's Titan engram pool.
 
Anyone up for nightfall by any chance? Was hoping to get it done before the reset tonight. On now, or we can do it later tonight if I can find two people.

PS4, by the way.
 

LTWood12

Member
Here's a list of some stuff you may not want to shard if it comes across your screen, with some reasoning why for each and some notes on the perks. If I know where it can be obtained in a static way, I've included this as well.

This may help if you know what exotic you want to run and are trying to find a good fit for the other slots. I suggest looking at the gun type and seeing if there's anything that appeals to your particular style rather than trying to identify "the best" in any category, IMO there's a pretty solid amount of good guns and I still have more to try.

This is the stuff I can recommend so far (either from direct use or direct reports). I have not used Snipers or Grenade Launchers enough to comment on them at all yet, if anyone has high recommendations give me a little description and I'll add it.

Also I haven't spent any time with the Raid or Trials weapons yet either, but I know at least a couple of them seem great.

---

Auto Rifles
  • Scathelocke (Kinetic): An all around great mid-high RoF AR. Any of the scopes seem viable based on personal preference, and go for HCR. Under Pressure makes this thing feel incredibly stable as you hold the trigger down. Great boss DPS kinetic.
  • Origin Story (Kinetic): Another all around great AR, this one is mid-low RoF if you prefer that, and the Rampage perk- extra damage on kill, stacking up to 3 times- excels both in PvE and PvP. Zavala offers this as a quest reward choice.
  • Halfdan-D (Kinetic): This is a Hakke super-low RoF, high impact, very accurate auto that hits like a truck, has huge range, and Outlaw. I recommend GA Post and Armor-Piercing rounds for a good balance of handling and range.
  • Uriel's Gift (Energy): Just a fantastic choice for your Energy slot, mid-low RoF and high range and native stability. Can pop shields very effectively in PvE, so consider what element to put on it. Go with the Flash sights to completely maximize the range, and High Caliber Rounds. The Tap the Trigger perk is also extremely noticeable; just do what it says (fire in small bursts) for boosted accuracy. In the Failsafe (Nessus) engram pool and a potential Additional Reward from Ikora.
  • Martyr's Make (Energy): largely overshadowed by Uriel's this is a mid-high RoF SUROS auto with a fantastic stat spread, enormous 49 round magazine, and High-Impact Reserves (the new Glass Half Full). Ricochet vs Accurized rounds is a judgment call. It is sadly missing Uriel's best-in-calss range (SRO-52 sight bumps it up with no stability cost) and has no HCR, but remains worth a look if you like SUROS autos.
Scout Rifles
  • Call to Serve (Kinetic): An extremely reliable scout that feels satisfyingly crispy to shoot, with very predictable recoil, and Triple Tap (and you will hit those crits). Go Appended Mag for faster reload at the cost of only one round. Surprisingly, I love using this with the long zoom Mark 15 scope.
  • Nameless Midnight (Kinetic): Unequivocally one of the best PvE weapons available. It pairs an extremely balanced stat spread (same impact as Call to Serve with nearly as much Range and Stability) with Explosive Rounds. Sights/perks are preference. Really just can't go wrong with this in your Kinetic unless the situation demands extreme close range. Zavala offers this as a quest reward.
  • Tone Patrol (Energy): Another very balanced stat spread with High Caliber Rounds and Dragonfly (the new Firefly) which does the damage of your applied element type. Go with the SPO-57 sights to max range and highlight enemy targets. This is extremely fun to shoot as well and I think it is often passed over simply because of running a scout in the Kinetic. Pairs great with a Kinetic HC, AR, or SMG, ideally with quickdraw.
  • Seven-Six-Five (Energy): Omolon's Full Auto energy scout, which comes with Lightweight (move faster) intrinsically, the only of the scouts here to do so. Stick with the Torch sights, and choose either Accurized to max range or Armor Piercing for the penetrate. It slightly loses out in the other stat categories to the above guns, but if you're into full auto scouts, keep your eye out for this one. Same as above, if you're running an Energy scout, a kinetic with Quickdraw is a great idea.
Pulse Rifles
  • Nightshade (Kinetic): Much like Nameless Midnight and Origin Story (the other Zavala quest choice options), this just excels in its weapon class in the Kinetic slot. Mid-high RoF, good sights, either Tactical Mag or Armor Piercing via preference, and Kill Clip (the new reactive reload). This is almost always a great choice if you like Pulses.
  • Lincoln Green (kinetic): Currently, this is an unmatched high-RoF pulse and comes with Quickdraw; likely the best legendary pulse in the game for Crucible. I suggest the Model 6 Loop sights for a balance on range and handling, and Steady Rounds- you already get fast reload on empty from its intrinsic perk.
  • Agenda 5 (energy): A mid-high RoF energy pulse with Lightweight and Zen Moment. This is a good choice for a PvE loadout where you want a pulse on the Energy slot and don't want to use your Exotic on Graviton. It has a generous mag and soild stats all around; the only thing holding it back from complete greatness is that both scope options are long zoom, but you may find one you like.
  • Swift Ride (energy): The only Pulse I've seen so far with Headseeker. If you used guns with this perk in D1 you'll know whether or not you like/care about that (I love it). Works great with popping shields and continuing to fire precision hits for the kill in PvE (when you might otherwise have switched to Kinetic). It has a good stat spread and sights as well. It is the mid-low RoF archetype which limits its use in Crucible.
  • Nergal PR4 (energy): mid-high RoF Omolon pulse. So this has Lightweight and Full Auto, plus the good Torch sights. Great handling. As with the Seven-Six-Five, if you want a full auto pulse this is your best bet for the moment.
Hand Cannons
  • Better Devils (kinetic): As featured in, and seemingly untouched from, the Beta, this is the go-to "damn good hand cannon." It's great at everything, has a 13 round mag with Extended, and Explosive Rounds. Excels in both PvE and PvP, and has one of Bungie's best gun names ever, referring both to Lincoln's first Inaugural Address and being a "better" version of D1's The Devil You Know and The Devil You Don't. In Shaxx's Crucible engram pool.
  • The Old-Fashioned (kinetic): With similar stats to Better Devils except for better stability and handling, and slightly less range, this "break-action style" HC is also a great choice if you get your hands on it. Kill Clip is a completely viable alternative to Explosive Rounds that is sometimes even more useful on an HC. It is slightly held back by a smaller mag than the above, though it has slightly higher reload.
  • Dire Promise (kinetic): This seems to be Dead Orbit's HC, also in the break action style, but this one has a higher 150 RoF and a 13 Round magazine, plus Triple Tap. Extremely accurate. Go with Truesight, pace your shots, and you WILL proc Triple Tap from those crits, making the magazine size in-use completely ridiculous in PvE. It also seems to have a ton of aim assist for Crucible use. Don't see a lot of these, but it's my favorite HC so far. Got it from a Cayde-6 Treasure Cache.
  • Shattered Peace (energy): Omolon's Lightweight HC, also high RoF with a 12 round mag, which paired for Zen Moment is great for PvE. All stats excel except Stability, but Zen Moment helps compensate and initial accuracy is great. Choice of HCR or Armor Piercing rounds. Feels great to pop shields with and switch to kinetic for the kill.
  • Annual Skate (energy): This is a SUROS hand cannon with Outlaw; you probably already know if you want it or not. I'm going with the Hitmark sights, and you can either rock a 10 round mag with higher stability and reload, or a 13 with max range (considering Outlaw, probably the better choice). Feels very crisp in the hand.
  • Minuet-42 (energy): This is a near-clone of the Annual Skate, also from SUROS, with very similar stats but the Opening Shot perk, which actually adds bonus range on your first shot in a volley as well as accuracy, and boosts reload to compensate for the lack of Outlaw. You can't go wrong with either.
Sidearms
Note: I have not found a Kinetic sidearm I really like yet (besides Rat King, which is underrated, but not Legendary anyway). If anyone has one to recommend please let me know!
  • Dead Man Walking (energy): This is SUROS' full-auto sidearm.You aren't going to accomplish much with this at range, but it chews up shields, red-bars, and even players in Crucible up close. I'm using Tactic SAS but not sure if it's the best of the three. Go with Armor Piercing Rounds, both for the effect and to lower the mag size to take advantage of Under Pressure and the intrinsic empty reload perk. Can be hip-fired basically like a machine pistol.
  • The Last Dance (energy): This is the Vanguard-branded Omolon sidearm, meaning it's a 3-burst shot. It's extremely satisfying to use and can contest at ranges you might not expect.Target SAS on this one because stability is always so high. The Moving Target perk is very helpful in Crucible- never fire this thing from the hip.
  • Last Hope (energy): The unbranded sister Omolon to Last Dance, this is also a 3-burst shot. It has very slightly less range in exchange for literally maxed stability and better handling, and trades Moving Target for Zen Moment. Go with ricochet rounds instead of steady to keep the range up. You can hip fire with this one. Both of these are great sidearms.
SMGs
Note: Game has literally not given me a Kinetic SMG yet at all. Any recommendations are welcome.
  • Mida Mini-Tool (energy): even without the bonuses of equipping its big brother at the same time, the Mini-Tool is an excellent all around SMG with Lightweight built in, high RoF, great in-air accuracy, and a generous mag that reloads faster if you drain it all.
  • Antiope-D (energy): lower RoF, higher impact SMG with both ricochet rounds (extremely fun on SMGs) and Kill Clip.
  • Out of Options (energy): an ironically-named SMG, because the middle column makes this incredibly versatile- choose from a high-RoF large mag with quick reload on empty, an even higher mag without quick reload, or a lower RoF mag that boosts impact by about 40%. Pulse Monitor can help you keep firing when you'd otherwise be empty so you can get the kill/trade when you're in a pitched battle in the Crucible.
Fusion Rifles
  • Main Ingredient: returning from the Beta, this is an all-around fantastic, mid-charge time fusion, with the Rampage perk in particular just nuts for PvP. You can't really go wrong here, but if you're comfortable cooking your fusion shots before firing, go for Liquid Coils. Otherwise stick to Enhanced Battery and use it like a quick-charge fusion. In the Zavala engram pool.
  • Cartesian Coordinate: One of my favorite weapons to use in general PvE, we've got a balanced fusion with Accelerated Coils at barely any impact cost, and Auto-Loading Holster (the new Cocoon perk), an absolutely wonderful perk to have on a fusion. I like Red Dot-ORS1.
  • Erentil FR4: This is the ultimate slow-charge, high impact fusion (my preferred type) that I've encountered so far. Use the Flash sight to max range, and Liquid Coils makes this beast literally max impact. You need to be confident cooking your shots, but these stats plus Under Pressure make this an underrated monster in PvP. The ranges at which you can pull off the one-shot are insane.
Rocket Launchers
  • Curtain Call: Cluster Bombs are back and badder. Against targets with large hitboxes this is a monstrous weapon, especially when paired with a Rally Barricade to be used without reloading.
Shotguns
  • Good Bone Structure: This is a SUROS shotty firing a single precision slug, paired with Rifled Barrel, High-Caliber Rounds and Outaw, which is an incredibly uncommon perk on a shotgun. This takes care to aim, but feels amazing to score multiple headshots and then reload at super speed, and the range is exquisite.
  • First In, Last Out: Another single slug SUROS, similar stats except for slightly more range and better reload than the above, which combines with Pulse Monitor to help compensate for the lack of Outlaw; one extra slug if you would have otherwise been empty can be life or death in a close-call scenario.
  • Retrofuturist: A traditional spread shotgun with solid stats, Lightweight, and Auto-Loading Holster, which is fantastic on a shotgun at least in PvE. In Shaxx's engram pool.
  • Hawthorne's Field-Forged Shotgun: Balanced spread shotgun with Lightweight, Rifled Barrel, and Full Auto- one of the only auto shotties in the game so far. In Devrim's EDZ engram pool.
Swords
Note: Quickfang, Eternity's Edge, and Crown Splitter are campaign completion rewards from Cayde for Hunter, Warlock and Titan respectively. They can be freely transferred between classes.

  • Quickfang: In addition to making you look cool while running around, Quickfang is a legitimately deadly weapon that is all about speed. It pairs Lightwieght with the faster sword attack speed, plus a versatile dash attack on R2. The En Garde perk gives you bonus damage after swapping to it, so it's perfect for running into melee range, swapping, and hitting the quick R2 then dipping out of combat before enemies can touch you. Since the impact changes are minute and Quickfang has no ammo-sustain perk, I use Tempered Edge to bump it up to 31.
  • Crown Splitter: This is one of if not the only sword to have the high-damage AoE slam R2 attack, which pairs extremely well with its perk granting ammo for kills with the R2 attack.
  • Eternity's Edge: While otherwise not notable in terms of stats, Eternity's Edge is the easiest access all players have to the Whirlwind Blade perk, which is a best-in-class perk for bosses that are vulnerable to swords. It stacks a damage buff up to x5 on hits. Particularly useful in the
    Gardens encounter against the warbeast dogs.
    (raid spoiler)
  • Unspoken Promise: This unassuming blade is the only one in the game with the Relentless Strikes perk; any three strikes in a row- no kills required- grant ammo. Go Honed Edge here because that ammo return really pays off against either groups or bosses.
  • Negative Space: The only other sword with the Whirlwind Blade perk for stacking damage. This has otherwise solid stats as well and looks beautiful. In Sloane's Titan engram pool.

Bookmarked! Thanks Hawk.
 

GraveRobberX

Platinum Trophy: Learned to Shit While Upright Again.
Hawkins you forgot Shock & Awe in Fusion Rifles. That FR is a Goddamn beast.

The Cartisian is nothing compared to it

That and Midnight Special are crazy good
The other 2 not so much

Shock and Awe = Midnight Special >>>>> Cartisian >>>> Erentil
 

Wallach

Member
Bookmarked! Thanks Hawk.

Only thing I think I'd add to that list is the Mannanan energy scout. It's a close range, high ROF scout with Explosive Payload. Actually works well paired with Nameless Midnight because you're almost never engaging shielded enemies at a significant distance, and Explosive Payload is just really strong right now.

Also, I think the Antiope-D is actually a kinetic SMG. Hakke doesn't make energy slot weapons that I know of, only kinetic and power.
 

Kadey

Mrs. Harvey
The way I see it. D1 is to D2 what Mass Effect 1 is to 2. Sequels were trimmed down with the rpg elements, etc. Some things were improved while others things weren't. The game is more accessible to the masses but I think overall contents are going to dry fast for the hardcore. It's nice to have weapons and gear but there has to be places and things to use them for.
 

IKizzLE

Member
Current PvP meta

1334x750.jpeg.0cf09d6c7ea847f495cc62ba87201f15

1334x750.jpeg.efc85a8ea08843e6854204a6e385748a

1334x750.jpeg.473bb9cf0d2b4c21bf1e6836b4aa017b
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
End Game post 265 is pretty much non existent. You have a total of four activities that give you better gear.

- Crucible weekly bounty
- Nightfall
- Raid
- Trials

here is everything that is useless.

- Story Missions
- Strikes
- Crucible
- Public Events
- Patrols
- Lost Sectors
- Adventures

Even exotic drops drop at your light level post 265. Not above.

Here are a few simple adjustments that were present in Destiny 1 after three years of testing.
- Add Three of Coins back into the game. All of a sudden killing bosses in strikes, public events, lost sectors, adventures and story missions becomes rewarding.
- Exotics should have a 50-50 chance to drop higher or at your current your light level.
- Bring back the chance to have Legendary engrams turn into exotics.
- Turn Adventures into heroic high level missions like weekly bounties. Game is missing a Challenge Of Elders like mode. Complete all five every week to earn Powerful Gear.
- Bring back Court of Oryx and Forge like activities. Heroic Public events are too easy. This might be hard to add but maybe they can add matchmaking to lost sectors and turn them into prestige mode 300 level activities you can do with randoms. high risk high reward. Limit the loot pool to class items, mods and legendary gear 5 below your light level.
- Increase Faction, Vanguard and Crucible rep loot light level to Five below current light level. 10 means even with a mod, you will always have gear that is 5 below. It's useless right now.
- Give a powerful gear for completing all of Ikora's story missions on heroic difficulty. Make it a weekly challenge.
- EDIT: Add random perks on the weapons. Come on. that was probably the best change to come out of the April update and made it so rewarding to get that perfect roll. Every single drop was exciting because you never knew what you were getting. Why remove this??????
 

Hawkian

The Cryptarch's Bane
Please do not call it a Courtesan o.o

I don't have a Shock and Awe yet. The baby Plan C perk looks amazing though. Don't know anything about Midnight Special.

Cartesian Coordinate is fantastic, I have mine in Arc and it can oneshot Captains from the shield burst, charges super fast and auto-loading is a pleasure. The Erentil is also completely ridiculous if you like the high impact fusions like I do, regardless of how many greater than signs you use. A lot of this is just personal preference. I'll add Shock and Awe though, I have heard a lot about it.
 

jviggy43

Member
It is so weird that Bungie made the end game so small while the start is basically enormous. Strikes don't have any use beyond the Nightfall one. Lost Sectors are pointless and farming tokens makes no sense after 265.

When any of my friends are leveling up after the campaign and ask what to do, I tell them nothing but public events. Public events are insane for leveling and getting gear up till 260 and even after that my drop rate for exotic engrams is pretty high relatively speaking.
 

GraveRobberX

Platinum Trophy: Learned to Shit While Upright Again.
Please do not call it a Courtesan o.o

I don't have a Shock and Awe yet. The baby Plan C perk looks amazing though. Don't know anything about Midnight Special.

Cartesian Coordinate is fantastic, I have mine in Arc and it can oneshot Captains from the shield burst, charges super fast and auto-loading is a pleasure. The Erentil is also completely ridiculous if you like the high impact fusions like I do, regardless of how many greater than signs you use. A lot of this is just personal preference. I'll add Shock and Awe though, I have heard a lot about it.

Auto correct on phone...
 
End Game post 265 is pretty much non existent. You have a total of four activities that give you better gear.

- Crucible weekly bounty
- Nightfall
- Raid
- Trials

here is everything that is useless.

- Story Missions
- Strikes
- Crucible
- Public Events
- Patrols
- Lost Sectors
- Adventures

Even exotic drops drop at your light level post 265. Not above.

Here are a few simple adjustments that were present in Destiny 1 after three years of testing.
- Add Three of Coins back into the game. All of a sudden killing bosses in strikes, public events, lost sectors, adventures and story missions becomes rewarding.
- Exotics should have a 50-50 chance to drop higher or at your current your light level.
- Bring back the chance to have Legendary engrams turn into exotics.
- Turn Adventures into heroic high level missions like weekly bounties. Game is missing a Challenge Of Elders like mode. Complete all five every week to earn Powerful Gear.
- Bring back Court of Oryx and Forge like activities. Heroic Public events are too easy.
- Increase Faction, Vanguard and Crucible rep loot light level to Five below current light level. 10 means even with a mod, you will always have gear that is 5 below.
- Give a powerful gear for completing all of Ikora's story missions on heroic difficulty. Make it a weekly challenge.

Can you please go apply to work for bungie and make this happen. Because they don't get it, but you do.
 

zethren

Banned
I'm pretty certain I've had an exotic come from a legendary engram once in D2, so I think there is a chance for that (albeit I'm sure a low chance).
 

Hawkian

The Cryptarch's Bane
Only thing I think I'd add to that list is the Mannanan energy scout. It's a close range, high ROF scout with Explosive Payload. Actually works well paired with Nameless Midnight because you're almost never engaging shielded enemies at a significant distance, and Explosive Payload is just really strong right now.

Also, I think the Antiope-D is actually a kinetic SMG. Hakke doesn't make energy slot weapons that I know of, only kinetic and power.
You're totally right about the Antiope, it was actually recommended to me as one, just messed that up.

Will add in the Manannan SR4. Explosive Rounds on Energy sounds pretty darn good. Haven't seen one yet myself.
 

Wallach

Member
You're totally right about the Antiope, it was actually recommended to me as one, just messed that up.

Will add in the Manannan SR4. Explosive Rounds on Energy sounds pretty darn good. Haven't seen one yet myself.

I dismantled my Manannan on accident after taking it for a test run, trying to dismantle a spare Seven-Six-Five. Still on the lookout for another one. RIP my gear locking skills.
 

phen0m24

Member
You're totally right about the Antiope, it was actually recommended to me as one, just messed that up.

Will add in the Manannan SR4. Explosive Rounds on Energy sounds pretty darn good. Haven't seen one yet myself.
I have a Madrugada blue scout with Explosive Rounds. It's awesome!!

:)
 

Kadey

Mrs. Harvey
Anybody up for Callus? Posting for someone because he's shy. Need four.

1. Godless.
2. Senor Taxi

3. Someone
4. Someone else
5. That other someone
6. Lastly one other someone
 

GraveRobberX

Platinum Trophy: Learned to Shit While Upright Again.
Don't create Raid groups in GAF, then when others start joining in and putting there names, you switch to Discord, grab people and not be courteous enough to tell those ready to Raid that you have your 6

We filled up, really sorry about guys! I forgot to update the post!

Next time don't go to Discord and check the thread to and see if you have players waiting to join
 

Silvard

Member
Looking to start a fresh raid for Alts and stuff starting as soon as possible. Obviously not a blind raid, and we will be going into the underbelly to get all the chests people may need. It's preferable if you know the encounters to make this run as fast and smooth as possible, but if you don't then you do need to be able to listen and have a mic.

1. SilvardCT
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

We filled up, really sorry about that guys! I forgot to update the post!
 

Aumann

Member
Is it worth it to do the prestige nightfall? Does it grant armor higher than your current level if you've already completed the normal weekly nightfall?
 

KyleP29

Member
- Crucible weekly bounty
- Nightfall
- Raid
- Trials

here is everything that is useless.

- Story Missions
- Strikes
- Crucible
- Public Events
- Patrols
- Lost Sectors
- Adventures

Even exotic drops drop at your light level post 265. Not above.

Here are a few simple adjustments that were present in Destiny 1 after three years of testing.
- Add Three of Coins back into the game. All of a sudden killing bosses in strikes, public events, lost sectors, adventures and story missions becomes rewarding.
- Exotics should have a 50-50 chance to drop higher or at your current your light level.
- Bring back the chance to have Legendary engrams turn into exotics.
- Turn Adventures into heroic high level missions like weekly bounties. Game is missing a Challenge Of Elders like mode. Complete all five every week to earn Powerful Gear.
- Bring back Court of Oryx and Forge like activities. Heroic Public events are too easy.
- Increase Faction, Vanguard and Crucible rep loot light level to Five below current light level. 10 means even with a mod, you will always have gear that is 5 below.
- Give a powerful gear for completing all of Ikora's story missions on heroic difficulty. Make it a weekly challenge.

Kind of hard to say crucible is a useless activity when you mention the weekly crucible milestone which offers a powerful reward. With how many matches are required to complete it and how long those matches take it usually can stretch a couple hours. I agree its not fun and almost worth skipping out on the reward but that is a different matter.

Public events are still noteworthy as they help progress your weekly flash point for the powerful reward from cayde.

Patrols/Adventures/crucible/strikes all provide personal clan XP contribution which again rewards you with 1 powerful reward after contributing 5K clan XP in a week.

Sure you are not sinking a huge amount of time into any one of those events to try and upgrade your power but that is a lot to do (even more so if you are running multiple characters) and they can all offer better drops than they did in D1 (infusion fuel, shards etc.).

I haven't had issues with exotics dropping at 300 power compared to my 290 ish power level. Not always an upgrade over my current piece but consistently above my overall power level. Legendary engrams can turn into exotics still. Just like before it is very rare.

I do agree they need to make the strike playlist relevant, and do agree the ikora meditation missions need to have a better incentive. One suggestion I heard mentioned about those would be to place a "black spindle" type quest in those periodically provide either a twist on an existing mission or a special reward for doing it.
 

Gator86

Member
Lol, I've sharded a good number of these.



Please don't nerf Mida, please don't nerf Mida. Mida is my main, for basically everything, even after the D1 nerf.

It's definitely getting nerfed to shit. It's Bungie. I'm hoping they don't fuck it up for PvE too badly. That and the mini-tool are still my go-to for random adventures too.
 

hydruxo

Member
End Game post 265 is pretty much non existent. You have a total of four activities that give you better gear.

- Crucible weekly bounty
- Nightfall
- Raid
- Trials

here is everything that is useless.

- Story Missions
- Strikes
- Crucible
- Public Events
- Patrols
- Lost Sectors
- Adventures

Even exotic drops drop at your light level post 265. Not above.

Here are a few simple adjustments that were present in Destiny 1 after three years of testing.
- Add Three of Coins back into the game. All of a sudden killing bosses in strikes, public events, lost sectors, adventures and story missions becomes rewarding.
- Exotics should have a 50-50 chance to drop higher or at your current your light level.
- Bring back the chance to have Legendary engrams turn into exotics.
- Turn Adventures into heroic high level missions like weekly bounties. Game is missing a Challenge Of Elders like mode. Complete all five every week to earn Powerful Gear.
- Bring back Court of Oryx and Forge like activities. Heroic Public events are too easy. This might be hard to add but maybe they can add matchmaking to lost sectors and turn them into prestige mode 300 level activities you can do with randoms. high risk high reward. Limit the loot pool to class items, mods and legendary gear 5 below your light level.
- Increase Faction, Vanguard and Crucible rep loot light level to Five below current light level. 10 means even with a mod, you will always have gear that is 5 below. It's useless right now.
- Give a powerful gear for completing all of Ikora's story missions on heroic difficulty. Make it a weekly challenge.
- EDIT: Add random perks on the weapons. Come on. that was probably the best change to come out of the April update and made it so rewarding to get that perfect roll. Every single drop was exciting because you never knew what you were getting. Why remove this??????

I agree with a lot of your suggestions but 3oC needs to stay dead IMO. Exotics drop way more often now than they ever did in D1 without 3oC active. If they want to make activities like strikes and lost sectors more rewarding then they need to do so individually and make actual changes rather than just giving everyone 3oC to pop. The whole idea of going into your inventory to pop a 3oC is archaic (they got rid of ammo synths too) and shouldn't be carried over to D2 anyways.
 

Jeremy

Member
Hello babes, anyone know if you can rename a clan after creation? I'm having the worst time coming up with a clan name for a small group of friends and I'm afraid I'm gonna regret it after setting it up.
 
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