One of Destiny's most iconic weapon types is Rocket Launchers. Ever since Gjallarhorn was introduced in the first game, fans have wanted a similar powerhouse Rocket Launcher in the sequel.
With the various buffs they've received throughout Year 4, Rocket Launchers are finally in a good spot. These weapons can pull their weight in damaging hordes of minions and bosses alike. With the right perks and supporting mods, Rocket Launchers are too good to pass up. From Rocket Launchers with permanent damage boosts to those with absurd tracking, here are the ten best Rocket Launchers you can use in Destiny 2.
Updated June 12th, 2022, by Charles Burgar: Precision Frame Rocket Launcher got a massive nerf in Season of the Haunted, and Eyes of Tomorrow received a considerable buff in PvE. We've updated this list to account for recent balance changes, and we've replaced a few entries with better alternatives.
10/10 Sleepless
How to obtain: Dreaming City activities
Not all Rocket Launchers need to be DPS machines. Sleepless is one of the best add-clearing Rocket Launchers in the game and is criminally underrated. This weapon has 90 Blast Radius, 66 Handling, and it has an excellent suite of perks to roll from.
Auto-Loading Holster and Unrelenting is an underrated combination in PvE. Whenever a big pack of adds is keeping you pinned down, hop up and fire a rocket. Thanks to the great Blast Radius, just about all of them will die, and you'll get a massive chunk of health and start regenerating your remaining HP. If you want a great add-clearing weapon that heals you, it's hard to top Sleepless.
If you're looking for a DPS Rocket Launcher, Sleepless isn't optimal but can work. Field Prep and Vorpal Weapon is a solid combination that should output some respectable damage, although it doesn't match some of this season's more meta picks. For PvP, look for another weapon.
Recommended Traits:
- Column One: Auto-Loading Holster, Field Prep
- Column Two: Unrelenting, Vorpal Weapon
9/10 Red Herring
How to obtain: Savathun's Throne World or crafted at The Enclave.
Red Herring is one of the highest total damage Rocket Launchers in Destiny 2. Its ability to come with enhanced Field Prep and Lasting Impression allows it to dish out some obscene damage, especially if you're using Volatile Rounds. And since this weapon can be crafted, it's a fairly easy weapon to get a god roll for.
With that said, Red Herring isn't the best at PvP, can't be used with Izanagi's Burden since it can't roll with Auto-Loading Holster, and its lack of Clown Cartridge makes its actual DPS values subpar when compared to Hothead and Royal Entry. Nevertheless, this weapon deals great total damage, is easy to make, and synergizes nicely with Font of Might and Volatile Rounds. If you don't have a good Rocket Launcher, make yourself a Red Herring.
Recommended Traits:
- Column One: Field Prep, Lasting Impression
- Column Two: Lasting Impression, Frenzy
8/10 Palmyra-B
How to obtain: Legendary world Engrams or crafted at The Enclave.
Destiny 2's first Stasis Rocket Launcher was released with the Witch Queen expansion. Palmyra-B is the first Rocket Launcher to roll with Auto-Loading Holster and Explosive Light, making it an excellent weapon to pair with Izanagi's Burden for boss DPS.
That perk combo is the only reason you should be chasing this weapon, but it's all you need. Its Stasis damage type also means Stasis users can benefit from Font of Might quite easily for raid bosses. Run Supreme Wellmaker, pop your Super, then enjoy a 25% damage buff that stacks with other damage increases for a short time. The best part is that you can craft this weapon with The Enclave's weapon crafting forge, no RNG needed. The blueprint is easy to get, and the perfect roll doesn't require you to make enhanced perks that cost absurd amounts of materials.
Recommended Traits:
- Column One: Auto-Loading Holster
- Column Two: Explosive Light
7/10 Deathbringer
How to obtain: Complete the "Symphony of Death" quest.
It might be surprising to hear that Deathbringer is one of the highest DPS Rocket Launchers in Destiny 2. When used properly, this weapon can pump out a serious amount of damage—especially if you're using Volatile Rounds. It's also great in PvP, featuring some of the most aggressive projectile tracking in the game. So why don't you see it used much? Two reasons:
- You need to be very precise with your shots to maximize your damage.
- Deathbringer's projectiles despawn.
Deathbringer is strange in that you don't want to hit targets directly. You want to instead detonate your projectiles mid-air to have your cluster bomblets hit targets, dealing more damage based on how far they went. The Exotic Catalyst is downright mandatory because of this, making the bomblets ramp up their damage much faster.
Even then, Deathbringer is tough to recommend for raid teams because the projectiles despawn. If more than two players use Deathbringer, some projectiles will despawn when the rocket explodes, causing the weapon to deal much less damage. All of these cons make Deathbringer tough to recommend using, yet those who master this weapon will come to learn just how powerful this weapon can be.
6/10 Eyes Of Tomorrow
How to obtain: Deep Stone Crypt raid.
Eyes of Tomorrow got a much-needed buff in Season of the Haunted, making it a good pick for PvE content. This weapon is a powerhouse in Gambit, firing six rockets that independently track targets. It lacked the damage output to make it good at killing Champions and minibosses in PvE, but this season's buffs to the weapon finally fixed that. Now, a single barrage from this weapon annihilates Champions—especially if you have Adaptive Ordnance active. It's not a bad Rocket Launcher in PvP either, although Gjallarhorn is much easier to use in that environment.
5/10 Royal Entry
How to obtain: Strikes and Vanguard Engrams.
It turns out that Destiny 2's best PvE Rocket Launcher isn't an Exotic, a raid weapon, or even a Ritual weapon. It's Royal Entry, an ordinary Rocket Launcher that drops from Vanguard playlists. On the surface, it appears to be an ordinary Rocket Launcher, yet there are a few things that set it apart from its competition.
The most notable part of Royal Entry is that it's the only obtainable Void Rocket Launcher with Clown Cartridge. This means you can use Volatile Rounds on Royal Entry and Font of Might on a Void subclass to deal some absurd damage. Paired with Gjallarhorn, this makes Royal Entry the highest DPS Rocket Launcher in the game. You can then use Field Prep to increase your ammo reserves, or use Auto-Loading Holster to use this weapon alongside Izanagi's Burden or another Special DPS weapon. If you're looking for the best PvE Rocket Launcher in Destiny 2, Royal Entry is what you'll want. Crucible players are better off with another weapon.
Recommended Traits:
- Column One: Field Prep, Auto-Loading Holster (PvE)
- Column Two: Clown Cartridge (PvE), Lasting Impression (PvE), Chain Reaction (PvE)
4/10 Bump In The Night
How to obtain: Season of the Haunted activities, or crafted at The Enclave.
Bump in the Night has taken Palymbra-B's spot as the new top dog for Stasis builds. With the nerfs to Precision Frames in Season of the Haunted, Aggressives have become much more appealing. Bump in the Night might not roll with Explosive Payload, but it can roll with an equally good perk: Chill Clip.
Chill Clip seems strange on paper, but this perk is inherited by all Wolfpack Rounds if Gjallarhorn's Exotic perk is affecting you. This means your rocket will freeze and shatter the target two or three times per rocket. Pair that with Whisper of Fissures, and you have yourself a rather strong boss DPS weapon. Pair this weapon with Field Prep to let out an onslaught of rockets. If you don't plan on using a Stasis subclass, Frenzy is an excellent replacement for Chill Clip.
Recommended Traits:
- Column One: Field Prep, Demolitionist
- Column Two: Chill Clip, Frenzy
3/10 Hezen Vengeance
How to obtain: Vault of Glass raid (Gatekeeper and Atheon encounters).
Hezen Vengeance is a great Legendary Rocket Launcher for PvE and a great option for PvP. This weapon does practically everything. Here are just a few things Hezen is capable of:
- Overflow its magazine with the Overflow perk.
- Track enemies aggressively if Tracking Module is your first column perk.
- Spawn Warmind Cells (with Wrath of Rasputin).
- Roll with Vorpal Weapon.
- Roll with Surplus or Quickdraw.
This weapon also has a Timelost variant, allowing it to use the fantastic Adept Big Ones Spec. Coupling that with Lasting Impression, Hezen Vengeance can dish out some great total damage. Sadly, this weapon can't roll Clown Cartridge, making it have worse DPS values than launchers that can roll with that perk.
With that said, Crucible and Gambit users can get some use out of this Rocket Launcher. Hezen Vengeance can roll with Tracking Module and Vorpal Weapon, allowing it to shut down every Super in the game and aggressively track Guardians with each rocket. If you're able to raid, there's no reason not to farm for a good Hezen Vengeance.
Recommended Traits:
- Column One: Overflow (PvE), Auto-Loading Holster (PvE), Tracking Module (PvP)
- Column Two: Lasting Impression, Vorpal Weapon
2/10 The Hothead
How to obtain: Nightfalls (rewards rotate weekly).
If you can't get a good Royal Entry to drop and hate crafting, keep your eye out for when The Hothead enters the Nightfall loot pool. This returning Rocket Launcher from the original Destiny is nothing short of astounding for PvE, capable of rolling some S-tier perk combinations.
Arguably the most impressive roll for Hothead is Demolitionist and Clown Cartridge. Fire a rocket, throw a grenade, shoot another rocket, reload to fire two rockets, and repeat. It's one of the highest DPS weapons in the entire game. If you don't like Demolitionist, you can also farm for Field Prep instead. You can even obtain an Adept version of this weapon if you want to use Adept Big Ones Spec, giving The Hothead even more value in the current meta. If you have a member of your team using Gjallarhorn, this weapon becomes absolutely absurd, beaten only by Izanagi's Burden + Auto-Loading Rocket Launchers and Royal Entry.
If you want a good PvP Rocket Launcher, you'd be better off with a Hezen Vengeance, Bad Omens, or Wardcliff Coil. But if you want a powerful PvE Heavy that doesn't take your Exotic slot, it's tough to beat Hothead.
Recommended Traits:
- Column One: Demolitionist, Field Prep
- Column Two: Clown Cartridge, Explosive Light
1/10 Gjallarhorn
How to obtain: And Out Fly The Wolves quest.
Does this need an explanation? It's Gjallarhorn, the most infamous Exotic in Destiny history. It single-handedly created a meta during the first year of the original Destiny, destroying every boss with a flurry of rockets and cluster bomblets. This iconic weapon has returned with the Bungie 30th Anniversary Pack, so how good is it?
Gjallarhorn is nothing short of incredible. It isn't as overpowered as its original variant, but it's still a powerhouse. Each rocket releases a swarm of tracking cluster bombs called Wolfpack Rounds, dealing additional damage to tougher foes or clearing out fodder enemies. Slain enemies from Gjallarhorn spawn additional Wolfpack Rounds, making it excellent for add-clear.
For bossing, its two-round magazine and ability to buff friendly Legendary Rocket Launchers by giving them Wolfpack Rounds make this weapon incredibly strong for boss DPS. You'll only need one Gjallarhorn for your whole fireteam to reap the benefits of it. "Must have Gjallarhorn" posts are now a thing of the past. Overall, Gjallarhorn manages to annihilate PvE enemies with ease and dominates the Crucible Heavy meta. The best Rocket Launcher has finally returned.
