Destiny 2 players got a slew of good weapons—and some don’t even have a paywall.
Destiny 2 lives up to its reputation as a looter shooter by giving players plenty of shiny new guns to use and armies of enemies to use them on. With a major yearly expansion and four seasons each year, players have plenty of new weapons in stock every few months. While not all of those weapons will be among the best, some can stand out from the competition due to their element, archetype, or perk combinations.
The seasonal model is one of the core parts of the Destiny 2 content schedule, and some of the flashiest weapons released each season are bound to be locked behind the seasonal paywall. Players can still enjoy some shiny new pieces of gear and weaponry if they don’t opt into the season, however, whether it’s due to some activities being free-to-play or just from specific weapons being world drops.
Here are the best non-seasonal weapons released throughout The Witch Queen. These weapons aren’t tied to the seasonal paywall, meaning players can enjoy them without buying the respective season. Some guns, however, require the purchase of The Witch Queen or from the Duality dungeon, included in the Dungeon Pack.
Glaives were one of the most unique additions with The Witch Queen, and The Enigma is a perfect introduction to the weapon type. This craftable glaive has a slew of good perks and is available for all players after finishing The Witch Queen‘s introductory mission, so guardians all over the world can quickly add this one to their collections and take it for a spin. And odds are they won’t be disappointed.
Veteran Destiny 2 players who mourned the sunsetting of The Recluse found its spiritual successor in Funnelweb. This 900rpm VEIST SMG took center stage with The Witch Queen by being a powerful Void SMG in the season of Void 3.0, and its add-clear capacities didn’t hinder its case. With perks like Perpetual Motion and Subsistence paired with Adrenaline Junkie and Frenzy, there are plenty of reasons to bring a Funnelweb to most activities. Funnelweb is also a world drop—meaning it’s not terribly hard to stumble upon them, but you can’t target-farm it effectively.
Osteo Striga is a tremendous add clear weapon thanks to its capacity to spread deadly poison over an area and even overflow its magazine. Though it may feel slightly odd at first due to its projectile velocity (and slow reloads, if you don’t have its catalyst), the Striga can easily carve out a spot as a Kinetic Exotic even in high-end activities, such as Master-level raids and dungeons. Its Pattern is available after completing The Witch Queen‘s campaign, so rush through Savathûn’s Throne World and get this one as a reward.
In a DPS meta that favors linear fusion rifles and Elemental Wells, Cataclysmic’s addition in Vow of the Disciple opened up a great DPS option for activities with sturdier targets. Whether you’re using a Solar subclass with Font of Might or just want to take an LFR to an activity with a Solar burn, Cataclysmic is bound to earn your Heavy slot. It also has virtually no competition being a Solar Heavy LFR, which makes it even more coveted—especially with perks like Fourth Time’s the Charm or Clown Cartridge paired with (the now-buffed) Bait and Switch or Focused Fury.
One of the DPS gods in Destiny 2, Stormchaser regularly features around the top of DPS calculations, and for good reason. This linear fusion rifle from the Duality dungeon boasts an Aggressive Frame, meaning it fires three high-impact bolts instead of a single shot. With the possibility of rolling Auto-Loading Holster and Firing Line, Stormchaser can also synergize perfectly with Izanagi’s Burden, allowing you to swap out to the high-damaging sniper rifle and have your Stormchaser fully loaded by the time you swap back. Add in damage buffs and an Arc burn and you have yourself a monster in your hands.
If you’re looking for all-out aggression and a smorgasbord of damage boosts, Unforgiven is one of the best choices you can find. The Duality SMG can roll Demolitionist and Feeding Frenzy alongside either Adrenaline Junkie, Rampage, Frenzy, or Golden Tricorn, with Dragonfly also on the table. Demolitionist synergizes particularly well with both Adrenaline Junkie (and with Golden Tricorn if you’re running a matching Void subclass). Unforgiven faces Funnelweb’s heavy competition, but with the right perks, there’s no going wrong with this SMG. Keep in mind it may have some bad reload times if you don’t have its origin trait active, though.
Much like Funnelweb, CALUS Mini-Tool benefitted from being one of the few Solar SMGs in the game and from launching in the same season as Solar 3.0. But those are hardly the only reasons it shines: this reissued SMG brings the new Incandescent perk, which helps its (already good) crowd control capabilities. CALUS Mini-Tool drops from the Derelict Leviathan, and even though it released alongside Season of the Haunted, it’s available for free for all players. Those who own the season can guarantee a Deepsight drop of it every week, however.
Like the CALUS Mini-Tool, Drang (Baroque) is one of the reissued Menagerie weapons that launched alongside the Derelict Leviathan in Season of the Haunted. Not only does Drang (Baroque) give you a good reason to run a sidearm, but you can also slot in Incandescent alongside Rampage or Wellspring for a good bit of add clear in PvE, and PvP players can go with Moving Target/Eye of the Storm whenever the meta or their playstyle favors sidearms.
The Fourth Horseman of LFR DPS, Taipan-4FR rounds out the then-missing heavy-hitting Void LFR category and gave players a reason to dismantle any Threaded Needles they may have left over from last year. Like Cataclysmic and Stormchaser, Taipan-4fr is high on the DPS charts, and its ease of acquisition and stellar perk pool tear down its barrier of entry. Triple Tap paired with the VEIST Stinger origin trait makes it so you can fire your entire reserves without being interrupted if the RNG favors you, and perks like Firing Line, Frenzy, and Focused Fury grant you damage boosts for all activities. Taipan is a world drop, but its Pattern is obtained from one of the quests in the Enclave.
King’s Fall weapons have a plethora of incredible combinations, and Doom of Chelchis reigns over them. It allows players to pair some of the most desirable perks for scout rifles with other highly sought-after perks, including the brute Explosive Payload/One For All for two strong damage boosts in tandem with each other. Firefly and Dragonfly are both in the pool and you can roll both combined, making for two explosions on a headshot kill. Frenzy and Focused Fury are also in the menu, and you can even pair Adaptive Munitions with a strong damage-increasing perk for utility. There’s a lot to like about Doom of Chelchis, so you’re bound to have a roll or two of this scout rifle on your vault at all times.
The King’s Fall weapons boast a set of incredible, rarely-seen combinations, which make most of its weapons highly coveted. Smite of Merain is no different: it has access to damage-boosting perks in both columns, and you can also pair Demolitionist or Pugilist for some utility. Focused Fury and either Swashbuckler, Adrenaline Junkie, or One For All will give you two hefty damage bonuses, and there’s even Firefly in the second column if you’re looking for more crowd control. Smite of Merain has hefty competition, being a Kinetic pulse rifle, but it also blows its contenders out of the water in most cases.
Though Bungie has offered plenty of hand cannons since Beyond Light, few compare to Zaouli’s Bane. This Solar hand cannon has access to the same Explosive Payload/One For All combo as Doom of Chelchis, but that Explosive Payload can also roll alongside Incandescent, Focused Fury, Demolitionist, or even Firefly. There’s a vast list of possibilities when it comes to Zaouli’s Bane—and with one guaranteed Deepsight of your choice from King’s Fall each week, you can always target-farm this and get its Pattern.
The Runneth Over origin trait from King’s Fall weapons helps overflow the magazine, and few weapons benefit from it as much as Defiance of Yasmin. The origin trait, however, is the cherry on top of this sniper rifle’s unique perk pool. The threefold synergy between Ensemble, Firing Line, and Runneth Over adds some flavor to this powerful sniper rifle, but solo players can also comfortably find other options in Focused Fury and Vorpal Weapon. Lead From Gold is also a good utility perk to aim for. For PvP, however, Defiance of Yasmin also shines for having access to both Snapshot Sights and Moving Target, doubling down on the benefits from ADSing with this weapon. Snapshot Sights/Opening Shot is also a possibility for the Crucible, which helps you land a headshot and down a guardian with this weapon’s beastly damage.
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