Destiny 2 is in a big transition period. Destiny 2 Beyond Light is going to bring with it a lot of changes to subclasses, weapons, exotics and locations. Destiny as a game hasn’t seen this sort of meta shakeup since special weapons were added to the kinetic and energy slots in the Warmind expansion. With sunsetting, any weapon obtained prior to the Season of Dawn will no longer be able to be infused up to the new power cap. This means that these weapons won’t be relevant in new light-level enabled end game activities including; new raids, Trials of Osiris, Iron Banner, new dungeons and new seasonal activities.
However with this Bungie has given us a whole new set of weapons to obtain in the Umbral engrams and Season Pass as well as through raids and endgame PvP this season that will not be sunset for the next year. The Umbral Engrams include 20 weapons, some new and some returning. This engram includes some of the best in slot weapons going forward, and others that will be very competitive in any new sandbox that can come in beyond light. So what are some of the best weapons that you can obtain to futureproof yourself in Destiny 2? Well we’re going to countdown our Top 10 weapons you need for Beyond Light.
7. Astral Horizon
The Astral Horizon is an aggressive frame kinetic shotgun and is obtained in the Trials of Osiris. In the history of special shotguns in Destiny 2, aggressive frame shotguns have long been at the top in PvP and have been competitive in PvE. When Trials of Osiris was remastered and rereleased in Season of the Worthy, it brought with it a whole new set of weapons, of which Astral Horizon was the most widely talked about. While it is most well know for its incredible PvP perks, Astral Horizon also can roll with some very good PvE perk combinations, and with the intrinsic Aggressive frame perk you can shred through low and middle tier ads with ease. And if you have the right perks you can ever put out competitive dps on boss enemies.
For PvP you are looking for any barrel and magazine perks that will increase range or handling, with your 3rd and 4th perks that you want to look for being quickdraw/slideshot in the 3rd slot and Opening Shot / 1-2 Punch in the 4th. In PvE you want perks in your barrel and magazine that will increase magazine size and handling. In your 3rd slot you’re looking for field prep or auto-loading holster and in the 4th slot you want Swashbuckler or 1-2 punch. If you can get a good roll on this shotgun you will be set for at least the next 9 months. Some honorable mentions for good shotguns are Felwinter’s Lie for PvP and the Seventh Seraph Shotgun for warmind cells in PvE.
6. Cold Denial
The Cold Denial is a High Impact Frame pulse rifle. This means that is is in the slowest firing archetype at 340 rounds per min with intrinsically high damage and accuracy. You can get Cold Denial through decrypting Umbral engrams once you unlock it in the season pass. To get a better chance at getting the Cold Denial you can focus your engrams which gives you a 1 in 2 chance of it dropping upon decrypting it.
Aggressive frame pulse rifles received a buff in PvP with season of arrivals, decreasing their TTK significantly which has made them a lot more competitive in mid to long range, and even into the close ranges. Cold Denial is the true successor to the retiring Redrix’s Broadsword in being the best aggressive frame Pulse, which with the buffs is arguably the best Pulse Rifle archetype in the sandbox. You can get a lot of very good rolls on this weapon for both PvP and PvE that can fit a variety of playstyles. For PvP there are a few rolls you can get depending on how you want to use the weapon, for consistency in 1v1s Killing Wind / Zen Moment + Headseeker is the roll you’re chasing. Headseeker makes it so that you only need 5 crits and 1 body instead of 6 crits to get a kill, and once you get that kill, Killing Wind will make you move faster and make the weapon feel a lot more snappy. If you just want to frag out in big fights, feeding frenzy + multi kill clip or swashbuckler will make it so that you can take fight after fight, and with each increase in damage you TTK gets lower and easier to achieve. Other notable Pulse Rifles moving forward are Adhortative, Chattering Bone and Last Perdition, all pulse rifles with good perks for PvE and PvP.
5. Nation of Beasts
The Nation of Beasts is an adaptive frame Hand Cannon. This frame intrinsically has high stat spreads and shoots at 140 rounds per minute. The Nation of Beasts drops from the Last Wish raid, the curated roll, also know as the ‘Fatebringer’ roll, drops only from the Morgeth encounter. However you can get random roll versions of this weapon from any encounter or any of the secret chests in the raid. Thanks to the changes Bungie introduced at the start of the season, all Last Wish and Garden of Salvation weapons can be infused up for the next 12 months.
The adaptive frame is the best frame for PvE hand cannons, it balances the higher damage and reserves of the slower rpm weapons with the increased handling and rate of fire of the higher rpm archetypes. Nation of Beasts has quite a few exceptional rolls that you can get in PvE. The best barrel and magazine options for Nation of Beasts are any that increase reload speed, magazine size, range and handling. The best 3rd slot perk is unarguably outlaw, with ambitious assassin able to be used as well, while not quite as good. The 4th slot has a wide range of competitive options, it can have kill clip, rampage and explosive rounds. On a random roll, rampage and kill clip alongside outlaw will always make for an incredible PvE weapon roll. Explosive rounds can be good when it comes to overload champions, it changes the requirement for proccing overload rounds from 4 bullets to 2 bullets. The best, and what makes this weapon unique, roll that you can get on Nation of Beasts is the curated roll. The curated roll has full bore, light mag, outlaw and dragonfly; this perk combination can burn through rank and file enemies with the high damage of the frame and dragonfly making ad clear a breeze.
Other notable PvE hand cannons going forward include Seventh Seraph Officer Revolver for warmind cells and the Ancient Gospel as an almost identical solar alternative to Nation of Beasts.
4. Ikelos_SMG_v1.0.2
With Recluse being retired at the end of the season PvE players have been searching for its replacement, and they may have found it in the new and improved Ikelos_SMG_v1.0.2. The Ikelos SMG is an aggressive frame, meaning that it has intrinsically high damage and high recoil. You can get the Ikelos SMG by decrypting Umbral Engrams, and you can increase your chances at getting it by focusing either for an Exodus-Focused engram for a 1 in 4 chance or a CQC-Focused engram for a 1 in 2 chance at decrypting into the weapon you’re after.
Aggressive frame SMGs have always been top tier, with Year 1 meta staple, Antiope-D, being included in this archetype. Ikelos SMG is also unique in that as a seraph weapon it can be used to spawn warmind cells, which with the right mods can turn into nukes with unmatched ad clear ability. The Ikelos SMG can also drop with the unique magazine perk “Seraph Rounds” which allows rounds to overpenetrate targets and ricochet off of surfaces. Seraph rounds also gives a large range boost, more than any other magazine perk that it can roll with. The 3rd column doesn’t have many notable perks; for PvP, Dynamic Sway Reduction is the obvious choice and for PvE, threat detector is the best choice, using an SMG you are always in close proximity so the increased reload speed, handling and stability has a very good uptime. In the 4th column is where the real action is; for PvP Tap the Trigger is an obvious choice and for PvE, any choice between demolitionist, surrounded, vorpal weapon and even disruption break can have their applications and be useful in all aspects of PvE.
Other additions to the SMG loot pool going forward are the seventh seraph SMG and cold front. Both of which are unique in their own way but are ultimately overshadowed by the Ikelos_SMG_v1.0.2.