Everybody likes to talk about Exotics, and that’s fair, but legendary weapons make up 66% of your loadout. If you want to hang with the big boys in Destiny 2’s harder content, you need to be using the right stuff.
I know that fusions are all the rage right now, and you probably expect Cartesian Coordinate and Threaded Needle to be on this list somewhere. Well, they’re not.
The five best legendary weapons I’ve picked out don’t rely on temporary meta mods like Particle Deconstruction. Regardless of what we get in the future, these five will all still be worth using, unlike fusion rifles.
With that out of the way, here are the five best legendary weapons in Destiny 2 that you need to get before Witch Queen.
5. Salvager’s Salvo
Salvager’s Salvo was the pursuit weapon during Season of the Hunt. Impressively, it’s managed to stay relevant ever since. Even without artifact mods like Breach and Clear, it’s still one of the best legendary ad-clear options at your disposal.
The guaranteed roll of Ambitious Assassin and Chain Reaction turns what would be a good grenade launcher into a great one. You’re essentially guaranteed two rounds in your chamber at all times, and that’s impressive for a GL.
For the unaware, Chain Reaction causes enemies killed with Salvager’s to explode, essentially resulting in a chain of explosions that will easily wipe out a group of red bars. It’s not uncommon to kill four or five+ enemies with one shot.
Getting your hands on Salvager’s is easy, too. No grinding required. Depending on your timing and what content you own, you can either purchase it from the Kiosk in the tower by the vaults, or you can pick up the quest to earn it from Banshee.
4. Falling Guillotine
Falling Guillotine is getting a pretty hefty nerf come December. Bungie is doubling the stack requirement on Whirlwind Blade for max damage; instead of 5x, you need 10x to hit that damage cap.
Does this hurt? Yes, and it ends the Guillotine Vs Lament debate, but that doesn’t mean that the sword is useless.
It still hits like a truck, and given that it doesn’t take up an exotic slot, I just don’t see it going anywhere anytime soon.
You’re missing out on five swings of max damage, but with over 50 swings with full ammo, that’s not much of a problem. Extended Boss damage phases where Guillotine is most effective, like the Phalanx Echo from Prophecy, are still going to be one phaseable regardless of the change to Whirlwind Blade.
Getting your hand on a god-roll Falling Guillotine is not going to be easy. There are no Umbral Focusing methods or anything like that. You’ve got to rely on everyone’s favorite three-letter phrase: RNG.
The sword is a world drop, but you can maximize your chances of getting one by farming Banshee. He guarantees you a weapon drop from the world loot-pool on every rank up. He’s also one of the easiest vendors to rank up, so make sure you’re handing in your Gunsmith materials.
The roll you’re looking for is Whirlwind Blade and Relentless Strikes. Nothing else will keep up in high-end PvE content.
It’s also worth noting that Banshee tends to sell the occasional god-roll now and again, so make sure you’re checking his inventory every time it refreshes.
3. Fatebringer
Yes, I’m advocating for the Timelost variant of the Fatebringer. I’m not a moron, though, I get that not everyone is going to be able to get their hands on one from Templar in the Master Vault of Glass.
There are a few phenomenal regular Fatebringer rolls, the only difference between them and the Timelost is that you have to farm for a regular god-roll.
Fatebringer has been a meta staple in both PvE and PvP in both Destiny 1 and Destiny 2. It’s one of the only good PvE hand cannons in Destiny’s history, even as it’s pseudo-variant the Imago Loop.
While I argue that the Explosive Payload Firefly roll from the Timelost Fatebringer is the definitive best roll, there are some out there that prefer something like Frenzy instead of Firefly.
That’s fair, but Explosive Payload is non-negotiable. Having that perk is mandatory for a hand cannon in PvE because it means you get no damage drop-off, so you don’t have to worry about your range. This makes Fatebringer viable even in activities like GMs.
With Explosive, you don’t need to go overkill on your barrel, mag, or masterwork, either. Accurized Rounds and Hammerforged Rifling is still great, but having a range masterwork is overkill. Instead, aim for handling to help reduce the cannon’s obnoxiously slow reload time. If you can slap 20-odd extra points into your handling on a god-roll, you’ll never want to use another primary weapon again.
2. Ascendancy
Ascendancy is the pursuit weapon for Season 15. The rocket launcher is making headlines thanks to Explosive Light, but it’s not exactly an Atheon one-phaser, so why rank it so high?
I’m glad you asked. I have a sneaky suspicion that the featured weapon next season will be rocket launchers. We’ve already had grenade launchers, and now we have fusion rifles, so something needs to fill that DPS void.
Plus, Gjallarhorn is making its triumphant return during the 30th Anniversary event. What better way to make people open up their wallets for DLC than to make its featured weapon incredibly strong?
I might be wrong, though. There are some out there that think snipers are next in line thanks to the Whisper of the Worm buff, which is a reasonable assumption. Either way, though, Ascendancy will still be a great and easily-accessible option.
To get your hands on one, all you have to do is max out your rank with one of the three Vanguard vendors (Zavala, Shax, or Drifter). Just play the game and you’ll earn it. Oh, and you want to be running Ambitious Assassin and Explosive Light if you want to get the most juice out of your proverbial and highly volatile lemon.
1. Ignition Code
The Ignition Code is the best endgame PvE weapon in Destiny 2, and it’s not even close. Funnily enough, though, you’re not actually going to be killing anything with it. Instead, Ignition Code is pure utility.
The launcher can roll with Blinding Grenades. Blinding Grenades blind, or suppress, any enemies caught in its blast radius. Being able to effectively disable a group of ads in GMs and Master raids is invaluable. The power of it really can’t be understated.
It also so happens that Ignition Code can also roll with Slideshot ( a god roll I managed to get). So not only will you be blinding everything, but you’ll never even have to reload.
On top of all that, Ignition Code is a kinetic weapon, meaning it doesn’t take up your elemental slot like every other Blinding Grenade launcher.
If that wasn’t good enough, it’s also an easy weapon to farm for. It’s one of the two weapons that can drop from the Splicer Captain’s Armory Umbral Engram focus. You have to unlock that focus first, but it makes getting a god-roll Ignition Code relatively painless.
Trust me when I say that bringing this guy into a GM will help your survivability tenfold – especially when you learn how to properly use it.
Those are the best legendary weapons you’ll want to pick up in Destiny 2 before the release of Witch Queen. Destiny 2: The Witch Queen releases on February 22, 2022, and is now available for pre-order via the Bungie website.
