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.
3. Dire Promise
Hand cannons have long been at the top of the meta in Destiny 2 pvp. And none have been as universally dominant as 150rpm lightweight hand cannons, an archetype of which dire promise is a part. The lightweight frame intrinsically comes with very high handling as well as an increase to mobility. 150 hand cannons are optimal in PvP because of the combination of the lightweight frame boost and it’s ability to three headshot kill giving it one of the lowest and easiest to achieve optimal TTKs in the game. While Spare Rations has reigned supreme since its release it is being sunset at the end of the season so players are flocking to dire promise to fill that spare rations shaped hole
The Dire Promise is a PvP weapon, there are better hand cannons like Nation of Beasts and Ancient Gospel going forward that are easier to farm for PvE so we won’t look at PvE rolls. Essentially when it comes to perks on the Dire Promise anything that gives you extra range is good. For sight perks you are looking for Truesight, Fastdraw or Hitmark. For your magazine high caliber rounds / ricochet rounds / flared magwell are all good. Your 3rd slot perk can have either opening shot or snapshot sights, both perks are good it comes down to personal preference. For your 4th slot perk you are chasing either rangefinder or elemental capacitor, some people don’t like the increased zoom you get with rangefinder but the perk pushes your range out an extra metre. Elemental capacitor can also be a great perk, the arc subclasses increase handling and any class can competitively run an arc subclass in any level of PvP. Here is where I would mention other hand cannons that are good in PvP but nothing can really compare.
2. Gnawing Hunger
Season of the Worthy brought with it a lot of changes to the Destiny 2 sandbox, the biggest of which was a buff to auto rifles. The biggest profiter of this buff were 600 rpm auto rifles which went from middle of the pack to packing the fast and most forgiving optimal TTK in the game. The adaptive frame 600rpm has a lot of well-known names in it, including meta staples like Hard Light and The Summoner and the king of them all, Gnawing Hunger. Gnawing hunger belongs to the 600 rpm adaptive frame auto rifle family, intrinsically adaptive frames have nothing exceptionally special about them but have higher stat distributions. You can obtain Gnawing Hunger through opening umbral engrams, as well as from tier 3 reckoning on Oryx weeks.
The Gnawing Hunger is a monster in both PvP and PvE, and has a wide range of potential rolls that you can use. For PvP your barrel and magazine perks should focus on range / handling on PC and stability / handling on console. Your 3rd slot perk should be either Tap the Trigger for better initial accuracy, or Zen Moment for more stability towards the end of the magazine. In the 4th slot your best option for PvP is Kill Clip, it turns the Gnawing Hunger from a very competitive PvP weapon to by far the fastest and easiest killing weapon in the game.
Gnawing Hunger in PvE is just as much of a monster as it is in PvP. Your barrel and magazine perks should focus on reload speed, handling or magazine size. In the 3rd slot you want to aim for subsistence, which reloads your gun every time you get a kill, and is the only random roll perk worth getting in this slot. In the 4th slot you can go for a variety of perks, you have the option of rampage, kill clip, multikill clip, swashbuckler or demolitionist; all of which are good and it comes down to personal preference. There is a special curated roll that you can get exclusively in tier 3 reckoning, this roll has overflow in the 3rd slot which cannot roll on the random roll version. The curated roll has perfect perks for PvE: arrowhead brake to make it feel snappy, appended mag for extra ammo without a downside, overflow to take the mag from 39 to 96 when you pick up special or heavy and rampage to ramp up your damage the more enemies you kill.
Get this gun, it is easy to get good rolls and you will be set for the year to come. Another honorable mention in this slot is The Summoner auto rifle from Trials of Osiris. The Summoner is essentially a solar Gnawing Hunger, able to roll a lot of the same perks and is also almost identically good in PvE and PvP as Gnawing Hunger. It is just harder to get a good roll of the Summoner auto rifle but that by no means implies that you shouldn’t try
1. Falling Guillotine
What weapon could top this list, we’ve seen meta defining primaries, incredible special weapons and ad ripping heavy weapons. The Falling Guillotine has rocketed to the top of DPS charts this season. It is a Vortex Frame Sword and is unlocked to farm by progressing into your season pass. You can focus for this engram once you have unlocked the Cold Denial in the season pass which unlocks the arrivals-focused engram to focus.
Swords have been lingering just under the top DPS contenders for a few seasons. But the Season of Arrivals brought with it some changes that made swords, and specifically Guillotine, top tier DPS options where they are viable. Not only does the vortex frame increase a swords DPS output by itself, but that addition of the Lucent Blade armor mod makes swords even more powerful and easy to use. When it comes to perks for boss dps you are looking for Tempered/Jagged Edge as you blade with Swordmaster’s Guard as your block modifier. Your 3rd slot you want relentless strikes and in your 4th slot whirlwind blade is the final perk. While there are other niche picks you can go for, if you get a Guillotine with this roll you will be set to take out any boss that you can hit with a sword.
Any sword with relentless strikes and whirlwind blade will work as a top tier dps option, steel sybil from world drops and Temptation’s Hook from umbral engrams with this roll will work perfectly. But they won’t be quite on the level of the perfect Guillotine.
Summary:
Beyond Light is gearing up to shake up the meta more than anything has since the special weapon split in Warmind. If you need help gearing up to fight the forces of the darkness going forward check out our products today!