A Guardian is only as good as their arsenal when it comes to Destiny 2’s Crucible. Knowing the right build to bring and the gun to wield is vital, especially when attempting to reach the heights of the Lighthouse in Trials of Osiris or go on a winning streak in Iron Banner.
However, the best weapons to bring into PvP depend on various factors beyond sheer statistics. Perk pools, weapon scopes, map sizes, and current sandbox balancing choices all play important parts in what rises to the top of Destiny 2‘s Crucible ecosystem. While every player has their preferences, some guns will inevitably dominate the meta, and it’s worth familiarizing yourself with those guns so you know what to farm for.
Here’s our ranking of the 10 best weapons in Destiny 2 PvP right now and what makes them so special.
Best PvP weapons in Destiny 2 season 23
10) Rose
- Source: Competitive PvP playlist
- Weapon type: Kinetic hand cannon
Rose is an excellent hand cannon to pick up for players who enjoy the feel of the 140 RPM archetype. It’s nimble, with some of the best base statistics in its class. Yet what really sets it apart is the fact it comes with Grip options in place of an Origin Trait, on top of the usual Barrel and Magazine ones.
This allows players to even more finely tune the feel of the weapon, and that’s before factoring in the fact this is one of the few 140 RPM hand cannons that belongs to the Lightweight Frame, giving you a hidden boost to Mobility. If you manage to secure a god roll for Rose, which can drop with perks like Explosive Payload and Slideshot, you’ll be set to take on a plethora of PvP encounters at close-to-mid range.
The only thing hampering it is the current state of the sandbox, where the majority of hand cannons struggle to compete against the range and time-to-kill values of auto rifles. It isn’t an impossible fight to win, but hand cannon users have to be a lot more accurate to secure their kills.
9) Unending Tempest
- Source: The Crucible
- Weapon type: Stasis submachine gun
Submachine guns are less popular in the current Destiny 2 meta, but Unending Tempest has enough great perks in its wheelhouse to buck the trends. On PvP maps such as The Cauldron, where players are boxed in to close quarter encounters, Unending Tempest shines against auto rifle and hand cannon users.
While its large perk pools can be daunting at first glance, Unending Tempest is one of the easiest guns to get on this list, thanks to it being offered as a drop from Crucible match completions and Crucible Engrams. Target Lock might be out due to the nerfs, but Unending Tempest, with perks like Tap The Trigger, Fragile Focus and Dynamic Sway Reduction, can still be a great workhorse pick.
8) Ace of Spades
- Source: Exotic Archive
- Weapon type: Kinetic hand cannon
Ace of Spades has two key things going for it that make it great in Destiny 2 PvP. As an Exotic, it doesn’t require chasing a god roll to perform at its best. It also comes with both Firefly and its own take on Kill Clip intrinsically. If you like hand cannons but don’t want to spend a lot of time chasing a perfect roll of Igneous Hammer or Rose, Ace of Spades is the perfect alternative.
In much the same way as Rose on this list, the only thing holding back Ace of Spades from being higher is the current meta. Other weapon archetypes are more heavily favored in the close-to-mid range Ace of Spades is strongest within, but players with good aim can remain competitive thanks to the Memento Mori perk.
7) Heliocentric QSc
- Source: World drop
- Weapon type: Solar sidearm
It’s not a pick some players might expect to see here, but the Heliocentric QSc has been putting up numbers in PvP during season 23. Sidearms aren’t massively popular, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be strong. Heliocentric QSc with Moving Target and Precision Instrument or Kill Clip will crush any other weapon at close range.
It also comes with the Nadir Focus Origin Trait, which is particularly deadly on a sidearm as it grants free bonuses to both accuracy and range after a period of sustained fire. When combined with its amazing PvP-focused perks, it’s easy for a player who got lucky with a drop to compensate for all of the weapon’s shortcomings.
6) Prosecutor
- Source: Prophecy dungeon
- Weapon type: Arc auto rifle
The Prophecy dungeon has no shortage of great weapons worth farming for after its season 23 refresh, but the Prosecutor auto rifle is particularly worth it for PvP players. Auto rifles are statistically the most-used Primary weapons in the Crucible at the moment, and the Prosecutor’s unique Origin Trait and perk pool make it one of the best you can pick.
The Prophecy dungeon Origin Trait, Crossing Over, intrinsically boosts its range, handling, and damage. This, combined with perks like Zen Moment, Keep Away, and Tap The Trigger, makes the Prosecutor a statistical monstrosity. If you want consistency, the Prosecutor is the strongest auto rifle on offer at the moment.
5) Matador 64
- Source: Grasp of Avarice dungeon
- Weapon type: Arc shotgun
Shotguns continue to be the go-to recommendation for Special weapons in the Crucible, and if you’re using a Kinetic Primary weapon, Matador 64 from Grasp of Avarice is the best you can hope for in the Energy slot.
With a god roll like Threat Detector and Opening Shot at your disposal, you have the quick draw speed and range necessary to consistently one-shot opponents in the Crucible. The strength of a shotgun is almost entirely dependent on those two factors, and Matador 64’s been great at fulfilling both requirements since its release.
4) Ammit AR2
- Source: World drop
- Weapon type: Solar auto rifle
When you think of strong Crucible weapons, rgw Ammit AR2 is probably one of the first that comes to mind based on its constant popularity. A key reason for that popularity is the fact that all players can craft it by default, giving them access to a strong auto rifle with enhanced perk variants in what is ostensibly an auto rifle meta.
The Summoner might have stronger overall perks and stats, but an Ammit AR2 user equipped with perks like Dynamic Sway Reduction, Tap The Trigger, and Gutshot Straight will be able to compete at the highest level with little difficulty. Due to its craftable nature, players can also simply select the best Barrel, Magazine, and Masterwork—an option none of its competitors have access to.
3) Igneous Hammer
- Source: Trials of Osiris
- Weapon type: Solar hand cannon
Igneous Hammer‘s continued presence in the upper echelons of PvP is something of a surprise. However, with the rise of auto rifles dominating the mid-range and pushing out the more popular 140 RPM hand cannons, Igneous Hammer—a 120 RPM hand cannon—has seen a renaissance.
This is due to a few key perks in its available drops. Keep Away, Fragile Focus, and Encore in the third column are all extremely strong picks, and they can be simultaneously paired with the Precision Instrument, Moving Target, and Opening Shot in the fourth column. There are practically no bad rolls here, and the rolls it does have push out its effective range enough to outrange the auto rifles that could otherwise leave it as a footnote in the current sandbox.
2) The Summoner
- Source: Trials of Osiris
- Weapon type: Solar auto rifle
No gun has had a return quite as sensational as The Summoner following its season 23 refresh. It’s already topped popularity and kill percentage charts in both Trials of Osiris and Quickplay, and it’s easy to see why. Onslaught, Kill Clip, Tap The Trigger—whether you’re gunning for damage boosts or stat bonuses, The Summoner’s perk pool is filled with incredible options.
However, it isn’t any one perk responsible for The Summoner’s success. It’s the whole package. It can drop with High-Caliber Rounds. Zen Moment and Dynamic Sway Reduction are both in the third column, which synergize excellently with its fourth column perks. It’s a 600 RPM auto rifle in comparison to the 450 RPM archetype of Ammit AR2 and Prosecutor, which tends to be more popular on pure feel with the majority of players.
If you’re willing to brave Trials of Osiris, this is a gun worth grinding for.
1) Conditional Finality
- Source: Root of Nightmares raid
- Weapon type: Stasis (and Solar) shotgun
Conditional Finality is both the hardest weapon to get on this list and the best if its continued popularity in Destiny 2 PvP is anything to go by. With the majority of the strongest Primary weapons being in the Energy slot, it makes a lot of sense that a shotgun like Conditional Finality (which lives in the Kinetic slot) would be the Special weapon of choice.
The real reason it’s so strong lies in its Exotic attributes. Conditional Finality’s key gimmick is that it fires both Stasis and Solar pellets. If the majority of the Stasis pellets hit a target, said target will freeze. Likewise, if the majority of the Solar pellets hit their target, the target will ignite. One thing this is especially good at countering is the current wave of Titans using Ward of Dawn in PvP, as you can freeze an otherwise unkillable target and shatter it where traditional weaponry would come up short.
Conditional Finality is the complete package—a skeleton key to combat situations that other guns are left stumped by. There aren’t many alternatives that are more versatile within their optimal environment.
