Kinetic weapons in Destiny 2 have been left to the wayside in recent years. Despite their slight precision damage increase, they lack unique perks on synergies with certain subclass features. You'd think that Kinetic weapons would be obsolete because of this, but that couldn't be further from the truth.
Some of the best weapons in Destiny 2 deal Kinetic damage, ranging from high-damage Sniper Rifles to Grenade Launchers that shoot Taken Blights. This list will be looking at ten of these meta-defining weapons, showcasing why their lack of elemental damage is compensated for through perk combinations or functionality.
10/10 Piece Of Mind
How to obtain: PsiOps Battlegrounds and focused Umbral Engrams.
Pulse Rifles have never been in a better place. Piece of Mind is one of the strongest Primary weapons in Destiny 2, both in PvE and PvP. Most of that is thanks to its Rapid-Fire Frame, firing rounds at 540 RPM, yet its perks are a big reason why Piece of Mind is so great in PvE.
Overflow and Focused Fury is fantastic for most PvE content, allowing this weapon to dish out some absurd damage. Since Overflow rounds don't count towards your magazine total, Focused Fury is incredibly easy to proc on this weapon. For PvP, Perpetual Motion and Elemental Capacitor turns Piece of Mind into a stat monster, featuring a level of consistency only matched by Darkest Before.
Recommended Traits:
- Column One: Overflow, Perpetual Motion
- Column Two: Elemental Capacitor (PvP), Focused Fury
9/10 Heritage
How to obtain: Deep Stone Crypt raid (Replication and Disarmament encounters)
Slug Shotguns are some of the best Special weapons in Destiny 2, both for PvE and PvP. Heritage is arguably the best of the bunch, featuring a fantastic base stat package and some exclusive perks. With the right roll, this weapon reaches the range and consistency of Duality without requiring an Exotic slot.
For PvE, Reconstruction and Recombination is a fantastic combo. Your weapon will passively reload, and kills with your other weapons will ramp up the damage of your next shot, making it quite easy to one-shot a major. For PvP, Hip-Fire Grip and Moving Target makes Heritage a consistent headshot machine.
Recommended Traits:
- Column One: Reconstruction, Hip-Fire Grip (PvP)
- Column Two: Recombination, Moving Target (PvP), Killing Wind
8/10 Izanagi's Burden
How to obtain: Purchased from the Exotic Kiosk in the Tower. Costs
Sometimes one Sniper Rifle bullet isn't enough. Or two. Or three. Izanagi's Burden lets you combine four bullets into one supercharged round, annihilating any red bar or major that dares enter your crosshair. In PvE, it's meta for most raid bosses and great for shutting down Champions. And for PvP, Izanagi's Burden can shutdown Supers and even one-tap Guardians to the body with enough ammo.
7/10 Submission
How to obtain: Vow of the Disciple raid (First three encounters).
Submission is a 900 RPM SMG that acts as a Kinetic version of Funnelweb. This weapon fires quickly, hits hard, and has some great perks to further boost its lethality. Overflow and Frenzy is arguably the best combination of the bunch, allowing this weapon to have a ludicrous 80-round magazine that fires high-damage rounds.
It's also a solid weapon for the Crucible. Killing Wind and Encore allow you to boost the gun's effective range to Multimach and Shayura's Wrath distances. In other words, this gun can get an effective range that matches most Auto Rifles. If you're willing to raid, Submission is worth the grind.
Recommended Traits:
- Column One: Overflow, Encore (PvP)
- Column Two: Frenzy, Killing Wind (PvP)
6/10 Dead Man's Tale
How to obtain: Sold by Xur (rolls rotate weekly).
Tex Mechanica has never made a bad gun. Dead Man's Tale is a western lever-action rifle that packs a serious punch. Each round from this 120 RPM Scout Rifle can ramp up a damage buff if it's a critical hit, up to a 40% damage buff. Paired with a Champion mod, Dead Man's Tale can quickly down Champions in endgame content.
Dead Man's Tale can also come with random perks, similar to Hawkmoon. Vorpal Weapon is arguably the best perk for PvE, granting a 20% damage buff against Champions and bosses. A few headshots is all it takes to turn Dead Man's Tale into a Champion's worst nightmare.
Recommended Trait:
- Column One: Vorpal Weapon
5/10 Accrued Redemption
How to obtain: Garden of Salvation raid (First encounter).
Bows are fantastic for clearing PvE content, notably Nightfalls and solo Legendary Lost Sectors. Accrued Redemption is arguably the best of the bunch, featuring a great stat package and perk combinations to easily counter Champions. Arguably the best roll is Archer's Tempo with Explosive Head, countering all Champion types with a single arrow while drastically improving its draw time. Accrued Redemption will never disappoint.
Recommended Traits:
- Column One: Archer's Tempo
- Column Two: Explosive Head
4/10 Traveler's Chosen
How to obtain: Purchased from the Exotic Kiosk in the Tower. Costs 1 Exotic Cipher, 125,000 Glimmer, 200 Dusklight Shards, and 1 Ascendant Shard.
Traveler's Chosen doesn't get as much use as it should. This Sidearm is the pinnacle of ability-generating Exotics and perfect for every grenade spamming, melee-loving Guardian that plays Destiny 2. Kills with this weapon grant stacks of Gathering Light that, when consumed, grant an absurd amount of ability energy.
It only takes a few kills to gain most or all of your ability energy back, allowing you to spam abilities with little regard for cooldowns. And with the weapon's Exotic Catalyst, Traveler's Chosen will match your subclass element and fire in full-auto. Simply put, Traveler's Chosen is the ultimate weapon for buildcrafters.
3/10 Fatebringer
How to obtain: Vault of Glass raid (Templar encounter).
You'll have a hard time finding a better Hand Cannon than Fatebringer in PvE. This 140 RPM Hand Cannon has some fantastic perk combinations that make it shine over its peers. It's the only Hand Cannon with Explosive Payload in column one, Osmosis in column one, and has access to Firefly.
Quite a few builds can take full advantage of what Fatebringer has to offer. Want a good workhorse weapon? Get a roll with Explosive Payload and Firefly. Want to make a monochromatic build? Use Osmosis with a damage perk. Interested in playing PvP? Get a roll with Explosive Payload and Eye of the Storm. There's no activity where Fatebringer disappoints.
Recommended Traits:
- Column One: Explosive Payload, Osmosis (PvE)
- Column Two: Firefly, Eye of the Storm (PvP)
2/10 Arbalest
How to obtain: Exotic Engrams and Xur.
After Arbalest was buffed to counter Barrier Champions, it has single-handedly become the best Kinetic weapon for endgame content. Dealing with Match Game? Arbalest breaks every shield type. Do you need a way to counter Barrier Champions? Arbalest has you covered. It's not bad in PvP either, although it's beaten by Lortenz Driver in most situations. If you're diving into Destiny 2's endgame for the first time, be sure you own Arbalest.
1/10 Witherhoard
How to obtain: Purchased from the Exotic Kiosk in the Tower. Costs 1 Exotic Cipher, 100,000 Glimmer, 150 Glacial Starwort, and 1 Ascendant Shard.
Witherhoard is the true jack of all trades weapon of Destiny 2. This Special Grenade Launcher fires Taken Blights that create a lingering damage-over-time field. It sounds lackluster on paper, but this single blight can:
- Lock down objectives and spawn locations.
- Deal passive DPS to bosses.
- Shutdown Supers in PvP (provided you stick the target).
- Provide energy for Exotics like Starfire Protocol.
Just about every build in Destiny 2 can make use of Witherhoard in some fashion. It's also incredibly ammo efficient, seldom running out of ammo due to its massive 22-ammo reserves. If you're struggling to find an Exotic to run, Witherhoard is always a good option.
