Best Destiny 2 Auto Rifles for PVE and PVP: Tier List

by Ric (aka Prim) | Aug 14, 2021 | Weapons

Auto rifles are not as dominant as they were just a few seasons ago. And while most Guardians have moved on to more popular options, some of the top Auto rifles remain some of the top weapons in Destiny 2.

But because auto rifles, in general, aren’t necessarily considered the best weapon type, we’ll be ranking them based on their relative strength to each other.

In this guide, we’ll cover both Exotic and Legendary auto rifles (including their god rolls) for PVE and PVP, and show you where and how to obtain them.

List updated as of Season of the Splicer (S14).

Destiny 2 Auto Rifles Tier list: A PVP focus

Today we’re doing things a little differently. This Tier list comes straight from Pattycakes and his excellent video below.

Pattycakes is one of my favorite Destiny 2 content creators focused on PVP and someone you should definitely check out.

These are the different Tier levels used for this ranking:

S Tier – Best: Highest ranking weapon types.
A Tier – Strong: Very strong weapon types, but not on the same level as S Tier Choices.
B Tier – Average: Decent choices that can be lethal in the hands of a skilled player.
C Tier – Weak: The middle of the pack, somewhat mediocre.
D Tier – Worst: Lagging behind the competition, these don’t have much to offer.

About TTK: Measured in seconds, TTK, or time-to-kill, is critical in PVP, because the lowest the TTK, the faster you can kill your opponent. You can read all about it in our TTK guide.

Name	Archetype	Element	Rank	Excels	Source	Requirements	Weapon	Tier rank	Source ❘ Requirements	Verdict
SUROS Regime	Exotic	Kinetic	S › Best	PVP	Exotic Engram	Free-to-Play	SUROS Regime	Best ❘ S Excels in: PVP	Exotic Engram	Slot: Kinetic \| Ammo: Primary Exotic Perk: "The bottom half of each magazine deals bonus damage and can return health on kill. Holding down the trigger increases rate of fire." ► SUROS Regime is a 600 RPM auto that significantly increases its RPM with sustained fire and gets higher damage output from the bottom half of the magazine. This combination of higher damage per bullet and faster rate of fire absolutely shreds opposing Guardians. The lethality of a spinning-up Suros Regime simply can’t be understated: Your opponents really can’t do much besides duck behind cover. This makes SUROS an incredibly oppressive option that can dominate many meta weapons if used correctly with good aim and quick target acquisition. Suros Regime gets bonus points for having a chance to return your health on kill, which becomes more likely if you have the catalyst. This can allow you to go on long tears frequently regenerating your health and being ready to re-engage.
Chroma Rush	Rapid-Fire	Kinetic	S › Best	PVE + PVP	Override	Season 14	Chroma Rush	Best ❘ S Excels in: PVP + PVE	Override	Slot: Kinetic \| Ammo: Ammo: Primary \| Archetype: Rapid-Fire PVP God Roll: Dynamic Sway Reduction (also good: Moving Target) + Kill Clip ► As a rapid-fire auto rifles, Chroma Rush lacks range. However, Chroma Rush is still excellent, and here’s why: First, it can roll with some absolutely amazing perks, including Kill Clip for a massive damage boost and absolute melt after a kill. It also features nice consistency perks such as Moving Target and Dynamic Sway Reduction. With very high stability, a strongly vertical recoil direction along with an aim assist stat of 80, the Chroma Rush really does feel like a laser beam. Being more consistent and dealing more damage means that you can still engage slightly outside your optimal range while maintaining a decent time-to-kill and good shot registration. Chroma Rush really does feel like an SMG, and it fulfills that role excellently. With Kill Clip, it becomes a menacing auto rifle giving even hand cannons a run for their money. It just feels fantastic to use in PvP.
Tommy's Matchbook	Exotic	Solar	S › Best	PVP	Exotic Kiosk	Shadowkeep	Tommy's Matchbook	Best ❘ S Excels in: PVP	Exotic Kiosk	Slot: Energy \| Ammo: Primary Exotic Perk: "Sustained fire with this weapon overheats it, increasing damage but burning the user. Overheat damage is reduced while hip firing." ► Tommy’s Matchbook has overall decent stats and features an astronomical mag size of 100 bullets. Its exotic perk burns the user while significantly increasing Tommy's damage output. Hip firing the weapon will burn you slower, but conveniently, Tommy’s Matchbook secretly has perfect hip-fire accuracy and very good hip-fire in-air accuracy. This makes Tommy play more like a hybrid between a submachine gun and an auto rifle. And as we’ve seen before, hipfiring weapons is very strong, because when hip-firing, your radar remains open and your strafe is very fast and unpredictable. It pairs beautifully with a sniper rifle, since the hipfire mode can let you shutdown aggressive players trying to get close to you, yet the ADS-mode will yield you a very strong primary weapon should you run out of sniper ammo. While burning, Tommy’s Matchbook can absolutely melt your opponents in a 0.77 second BODYSHOT time to kill. If you are accurate and play to the strengths of a hipfire weapon, Tommy’s Matchbook is an absolutely fantastic choice, worth a try in your loadout.
Gnawing Hunger	Adaptive	Void	S › Best	PVE + PVP	World Loot Pool	Free-to-Play	Gnawing Hunger	Best ❘ S Excels in: PVP + PVE	World Loot Pool	Slot: Energy \| Ammo: Ammo: Primary \| Archetype: Adaptive PVP God Roll: Tap the Trigger + Kill Clip (also good: Rampage) ► 600 RPM auto rifles have a decent 0.8s TTK requiring 8 headshots and 1 bodyshot. Thanks to their higher rate of fire, they are also very forgiving should you miss a couple of shots. Gnawing Hunger benefits from that, but also great stats, a clean and crisp sight aesthetics, and an absolutely fantastic perk pool. Most notably, you can get the Tap the Trigger and Kill Clip combination which can absolutely shred lobbies. In spite of the recent nerfs, Gnawing Hunger remains a fantastic auto rifle and a viable pick in the current meta.
Hard Light	Exotic	Void	A › Strong	PVE + PVP	Exotic Engram	Free-to-Play	Hard Light	Strong ❘ A Excels in: PVP + PVE	Exotic Engram	Slot: Energy \| Ammo: Primary Exotic Perk: "Rounds fired from this weapon have reduced damage falloff, over-penetrate targets, and ricochet off hard surfaces dealing extra damage. It can also change its damage type" ► Hard Light's ability to change element can be incredibly useful in PvE, but in PvP… It’s borderline useless. At most, you’ll be able to activate your enemy’s Riskrunner if you choose the arc mode. The second part of Hard Light’s intrinsic perk, however, can be decisive. If you recall, the main problem which plagues all auto rifles is their poor performance in peekshot-duels. Fortunately, though, Hard Light’s exotic perk grants its bullets a slight increase to damage after they ricochet. This means that you can keep tagging your opponent for quite a bit of damage, even if they’re behind cover. This, combined with Hard Light’s absolutely massive 100 stability and reduced damage falloff make it a menacing auto rifle in the Crucible. While it might lack the lethality of Gnawing Hunger, it’s a consistent and flexible auto rifle that can make your opponent’s day much worse.
Monte Carlo	Exotic	Kinetic	A › Strong	PVE + PVP	Exotic Engram	Free-to-Play	Monte Carlo	Strong ❘ A Excels in: PVP + PVE	Exotic Engram	Slot: Kinetic \| Ammo: Primary Exotic Perk: "Dealing damage with this weapon reduces melee cooldown and can fully charge your melee with each kill. Melee kills and kills with this weapon increase damage." ► In its base form, Monte Carlo is a decent auto rifle with a clean aesthetic and nice stats overall. It’s slightly unfortunate that its recoil direction stat of 80 tends to go to the right, but once you get used to it, it becomes quite manageable. Monte Carlo’s exotic perk grants you melee energy for landing hits using the weapon. And kills with monte carlo have a chance to completely recharge your melee energy. Additionally, Monte Carlo also comes with an exotic version of Swashbuckler, which is a nice touch and pairs really well with melee-focused playstyles. Overall the Monte Carlo is a solid auto rifle, especially useful if you have a melee-centric build.
The Summoner	Adaptive	Solar	A › Strong	PVP	Trials of Osiris	Free-to-Play	The Summoner	Strong ❘ A Excels in: PVP	Trials of Osiris	Slot: Energy \| Ammo: Ammo: Primary \| Archetype: Adaptive PVP God Roll: Rangefinder + Dynamic Sway Reduction ► The Summoner is a Trials Of Osiris weapon, which, unfortunately, is unobtainable as of now, so you’ll have to find one in your vault if you want to use it. The summoner has excellent base stats, great perks, and a beautiful aesthetic. It occupies the best AR archetype and has access to Rangefinder for a substantial range increase. In the final column, wonderful consistency perks, are available, such as Dynamic Sway Reduction. While the summoner isn’t as lethal as the gnawing hunger, it is very consistent and highly effective even at extended ranges. The Summoner is a sleek, consistent and satisfying auto rifle. It’s fantastic for winning 1v1 duels, but unfortunately lacking the lethality of kill clip for 1vX situations. For this reason, I’ll rank it in the A-Tier.
Shadow Price	Precision	Arc	B › Average	PVE	Nighfall: The Ordeals	Free-to-Play	Shadow Price	Average ❘ B Excels in: PVE	Nighfall: The Ordeals	Slot: Energy \| Ammo: Ammo: Primary \| Archetype: Precision PVE God Roll: Overflow (also good: Feeding Frenzy) + Swaschbuckler (also good: Disruption Break) PVP God Roll: Killing Wind + Swaschbuckler ► Shadow Price is, unfortunately, the perfect example of what is wrong with Destiny 2's current sandbox. Shadow Price is by itself a fine weapon. It has good stats, good perks, and is the only Auto rifle in the game that can take Adept Mods. But no matter how good it is on paper, Shadow Price will always be held back by its archetype: 450 RPM Precision Auto rifles. In spite of receiving a minor buff, 450 RPM autos still have very little to offer and are outclassed by way too many weapons. Unless Bungie gives the entire archetype a big buff, Shadow Price will never shine.
Arc Logic	Adaptive	Arc	B › Average	-	Moon Destination	Free-to-Play	Arc Logic	Average ❘ B	Moon Destination	Slot: Energy \| Ammo: Ammo: Primary \| Archetype: Adaptive PVP God Roll: Surplus + Frenzy ► The retired Arc Logic was recently brought back to us with new and... not really improved perks. More specifically, it no longer has access to any good range nor lethality perks. While it can still roll with some great consistency perks like Surplus, the final perk column doesn’t offer many good choices. What also holds the Arc Logic back is that its only lethality perk is Frenzy, which can do wonders on a close-range weapon such as an SMG, but not so much on an auto rifle. Admittedly, 600 RPM auto rifles are considered the best overall archetype, but the bad base stats of Arc Logic together with the lack of impactful perks severely hurt this weapon.
Arctic Haze	Rapid-Fire	Solar	B › Average	-	Europa Destination	Free-to-Play	Arctic Haze	Average ❘ B	Europa	Slot: Energy \| Ammo: Ammo: Primary \| Archetype: Rapid-Fire PVP God Roll: Don't bother farming this weapon... ► Rapid-fire auto rifles almost don’t feel like auto rifles at all, as they perform more like SMGs with slightly more range. Though there’s not much in favor of Arctic Haze. Sure the weapon sight highlights enemies, but that’s about where the advantages of this auto rifle end. Its perk pool is large, yet the majority of the perks are basically useless. Arctic Haze's stats are so bad, it can be out-ranged by an SMG: A great roll on the Shayura’s Wrath SMG simply has more range. Both weapons kill in roughly 0.8 seconds, but Shayura's can land way more body shots and isn’t punished as severely for missing headshots. Also, it has better accuracy in-air and when hip firing, along with far superior perks. The poor range and lack of strong perks hurt the Arctic Haze a lot, but it's still a 720 RPM Auto Rifle, which remains a strong archetype right now.
Age-Old Bond	High-Impact	Void	B › Average	-	Last Wish Raid	Forsaken	Age-Old Bond	Average ❘ B	Last Wish Raid	Slot: Energy \| Ammo: Ammo: Primary \| Archetype: High-Impact PVP God Roll: Dynamic Sway Reduction + Kill Clip ► The high-impact frame auto rifles often come with very high base range stats and can remain effective at great distances. The Age-Old Bond also comes with an excellent perk pool, including the ability to roll the elite combo of dynamic sway reduction and kill clip. While high-impact frames have a mediocre TTK of only 0.83, their slow rate of fire does make it much easier to control the recoil at range.
Braytech Werewolf	Precision	Kinetic	B › Average	-	Festival of the Lost	Free-to-Play	Braytech Werewolf	Average ❘ B	Festival of the Lost	Slot: Kinetic \| Ammo: Ammo: Primary \| Archetype: Precision PVP God Roll: Dynamic Sway Reduction + Multikill Clip ► The BrayTech Werewolf only drops from the yearly Halloween event and is currently unobtainable. But don’t be afraid of missing out, though, Braytech Werewolf is a mediocre auto rifle at best. As the name of the archetype suggests, Precision auto rifles demand high precision from you: You can get an average 0.8s optimal TTK but that requires you to land only precision shots. Every body shot or missed shot will extend that time quite significantly. Admittedly, the Braytech Werewolf does come with a very high base range stat, a scope that highlights targets, and a nice perk pool, including a curated roll that features Zen Moment and Multikill clip. Unfortunately, this just isn’t enough to have the Braytech make a significant impact in the meta. While it really is a good option within its archetype, the 450rpm Auto Rifles are just in a tough spot right now.
Reckless Oracle	Rapid-Fire	Void	B › Average	-	Garden of Salvation Raid	Shadowkeep	Reckless Oracle	Average ❘ B	Garden of Salvation Raid	Slot: Energy \| Ammo: Ammo: Primary \| Archetype: Rapid-Fire PVP God Roll: Under Pressure + Kill Clip ► Reckless Oracle comes with decent stats, a healthy perk pool, and a clean aesthetic, which highlights enemy players. A quick reminder: 720 RPM autos behave a lot like SMG’s, and Reckless Oracle certainly does resemble a submachine gun. Being void, it can nicely synergize with the Nezarec’s Sin exotic for warlocks. Reckless Oracle can roll the elite damage perk Kill Clip, though the final column, unfortunately, doesn’t have many good perks to offer. This lack of a consistency perk does hurt this weapon a lot. Overall, Reckless oracle is a decent 720 RPM auto, but there simply are better options out there. In particular, again, the Shayura’s Wrath SMG is a direct in-slot contender and it offers much more utility in comparison to this auto rifle.
Horror Story	Precision	Kinetic	B › Average	-	Festival of the Lost	Free-to-Play	Horror Story	Average ❘ B	Festival of the Lost	Slot: Kinetic \| Ammo: Ammo: Primary \| Archetype: Precision PVP God Roll: Killing Wind + Moving Target ► The Horror Story auto rifle is another weapon from the Festival of the Lost event, which means it will be unobtainable for the rest of year. However, just as is the case with the Braytech Werewolf, the other Festival of the Lost weapon, Horror Story doesn't offer anything special. If you don't have it yet, you are not missing much as it's also held back by its lacking Archetype...
False Promises	High-Impact	Kinetic	C › Weak	-	World Loot Pool	Free-to-Play	False Promises	Weak ❘ C	World Loot Pool	Slot: Kinetic \| Ammo: Ammo: Primary \| Archetype: High-Impact PVP God Roll: Dynamic Sway Reduction + Eye of the Storm ► Like its Energy counterpart, the Age-Old-Bond, False Promises has an absolutely crazy base range stat. The fact it can roll 100 range carries even more weight since False Promises inherently comes with a medium-zoom scope. In case you didn’t know, the zoom stat of a weapon directly influences how strongly the range stat contributes to the effective range of a weapon. The False Promises really is the sniper of auto rifles. Still, this doesn’t give it enough of an edge over the Age-Old-Bond. Unfortunately, the optimal range for the False Promises is dominated by stronger weapons that are better at peek-shooting, such as Pulse rifles, Scout rifles, and Dead Man’s Tale. For that reason, its advantage is hard to capitalize on. Also, the lack of Kill Clip and generally worse stats than the Age-Old Bond contributes to its lower ranking.
Seventh Seraph Carbine	Precision	Kinetic	C › Weak	-	Gunsmith	Free-to-Play	Seventh Seraph Carbine	Weak ❘ C	Gunsmith	Slot: Kinetic \| Ammo: Ammo: Primary \| Archetype: Precision PVP God Roll: Rangefinder + Slideshot ► The Seventh Seraph Carbine is the AK-47 of Destiny 2. Just look at it! This Auto rifle has average stats and decent perks along with a scope that highlights enemy players. Most notably it can roll with Rangefinder, to significantly increase its effective range. It can also roll with one consistency perk, Slideshot, which can be quite nice, but not quite on the same level as something like Dynamic Sway Reduction or Tap the Trigger for improving an Auto Rifle’s performance. Overall, the Seventh Seraph Carbine is exactly what you’d think it is: A mediocre 450 RPM auto rifle. Though it is worth making it an honorable mention since it’s the only auto rifle able to produce Warmind cells in PvE. However, these don’t work in PVP.
The Forward Path	Adaptive	Kinetic	C › Weak	-	Iron Banner	Free-to-Play	The Forward Path	Weak ❘ C	Iron Banner	Slot: Kinetic \| Ammo: Ammo: Primary \| Archetype: Adaptive PVP God Roll: Dynamic Sway Reduction + Multikill Clip ► When The Forward Path first came out, I was so excited because we thought it might be a kinetic version of the Gnawing Hunger… but it has unfortunately too many problems that destroy its usefulness. Starting off with the recoil which kicks strongly to the right and basically needs a Counterbalance mod to correct it. The scope options also cannot correct the recoil direction, however, they can change its zoom level. Higher zoom options can significantly increase its effective range which is nice but that’s about where the compliments end. There’s something about this auto that makes it unwieldy. It has decent stats, there are many nice scopes and it has awesome perks like Dynamic Sway Reduction or Multikill Clip. Still, this auto rifle feels very bad to use, and to me, the main reasons for that are a very unpredictable recoil pattern and the extremely disruptive muzzle flash. Seriously, it is so hard to see your opponents with the muzzle flash while firing the gun.
The Number	Precision	Arc	C › Weak	-	World Loot Pool	Free-to-Play	The Number	Weak ❘ C	World Loot Pool	Slot: Energy \| Ammo: Ammo: Primary \| Archetype: Precision PVP God Roll: Surplus + Multikill Clip ► Previously, The Number had a static roll with selectable scopes, now, however, it comes fixed with a very sleek medium zoom scope. This is particularly good since the Arrowhead Brake barrel can allow us to reach a 100 recoil direction without sacrificing Icarus grip in the mod slot. The Number also comes with decent perks, albeit slightly below-average stats. Surplus and Multikill Clip can nicely compensate for The Number’s poor base stats. Unfortunately, what hurts The Number the most, is its archetype and high precision requirement for a decent TTK.
Tigerspite	Precision	Kinetic	C › Weak	-	Dreaming City Destination	Free-to-Play	Tigerspite	Weak ❘ C	Dreaming City Destination	Slot: Kinetic \| Ammo: Ammo: Primary \| Archetype: Precision PVP God Roll: Surplus + Swashbuckler ► As with most other auto rifles of this archetype, Tigerspite feels... not great to use. It requires 100% headshots to achieve a reasonable time to kill, and the reticle is kind of odd which makes doing so more difficult. It was recently brought back into the game with arguably worse perks than it had back in Forsaken. You can no longer get Tap the Trigger or Dynamic Sway Reduction, and in the final column, it can no longer roll with Kill Clip. Overall, Tigerspite is a lackluster auto rifle that has basically been an automatic dismantle ever since Forsaken, and the re-issued version doesn’t seem to bring anything special to the table.
Cerberus+1	Exotic	Kinetic	D › Worst	-	Exotic Engram	Free-to-Play	Cerberus+1	Worst ❘ D	Exotic Engram	Slot: Kinetic \| Ammo: Primary Exotic Perk: "Shoots erratic bullets from all gun barrels at the same time. Aiming this weapon reduces the spread of its projectiles." ► Cerberus+1 is an auto rifle with absolutely abysmal stats which shoots more like a shotgun than a traditional auto rifle. The exotic perk tells us that it shoots erratic bullets from all gun barrels at the same time. Emphasis on erratic. Unfortunately, at the start of its effective range, it experiences a sort of reverse damage dropoff, meaning that you’re actually doing less damage per bullet the closer you are, but with the tradeoff that you’ll likely land more of the bullets per burst. My most significant problem with the Cerberus is the fact that you can’t effectively control its performance because of the random nature of this bullet spread. There’s seemingly almost no connection between the weapon’s performance and your skill level, and as such, your potential for skill growth is severely limited. Also, just like shotguns, the Cerberus can be very inconsistent.
Sweet Business	Exotic	Kinetic	D › Worst	-	Exotic Engram	Free-to-Play	Sweet Business	Worst ❘ D	Exotic Engram	Slot: Kinetic \| Ammo: Primary Exotic Perk: "Larger magazine. Increased accuracy when firing from the hip. Picking up ammo for this weapon immediately reloads it." ► Sweet Business is the Gatling gun equivalent of Destiny 2. It’s massive, has rotating barrels, and a crazy magazine size of 150 bullets. However, its stylish advantages don’t really extend to its performance in-game. At base, Sweet Business’ TTK is way too slow, though its rpm does increase with sustained fire. However, this is in no way similar to the Suros Regime, since the duration it takes to ramp up to a decent TTK is much too long when fighting smart opponents. Overall, there is simply no real use case for it aside from just goofing around with it, and good players will make it impossible for you to exploit the higher RPM mode of Sweet Business because they can simply wait for you to run out of bullets before peeking. Against lower-skilled players or overconfident opponents, you can melt them when they walk into your fully spun up stream of bullets, but the sound of the gun spinning away will alert everyone nearby to your presence.

Best Destiny 2 PVP Auto Rifles

While the previous section provides a complete Tier list covering every Auto rifle still viable (and therefore not retired), this section covers the absolute Top 3 PVP auto rifles more in-depth.

This section is, again, provided by Pattycakes:

Chroma Rush

Weapon Type:	Auto Rifle	Slot:	Kinetic
Ammo:	Primary	Source:	Override activity

Chroma Rush is a new kinetic 720rpm auto rifle that came to us in Season of the Splicer. Remember what we said about rapid Autos? They lack range and this is no exception.

However, I rank the Chroma Rush very highly, and here’s why: First, it can roll with some absolutely amazing perks in both columns, including Kill Clip for a massive damage boost and absolute melt after a kill.

It also has nice consistency perks in the left column, such as Moving Target and Dynamic Sway Reduction. With a very high base stability stat, a strongly vertical recoil direction along with a base aim assist stat of 80, Chroma Rush really does feel like a laser beam.

Perks like Moving Target combined with a Targeting mod on your helmet can raise Chroma Rush’s aim assist all the way up to 100.

Being more consistent and dealing more damage means that you can still engage slightly outside your optimal range while maintaining a decent time-to-kill and good shot registration.

Chroma Rush really does feel like an SMG, and it fulfills the role of a submachine gun excellently. With Kill Clip, it becomes a menacing auto rifle giving even hand cannons a run for their money, and just feels fantastic to use in PvP.

SUROS Regime

Weapon Type:	Auto Rifle	Slot:	Kinetic
Ammo:	Primary	Source:	Exotic Engram

The SUROS Regime is an Exotic kinetic auto rifle. Depending on which perk you choose in the third column, it’s either a 360rpm auto rifle when aiming down sights or a 600rpm auto which can significantly increase its rpm with sustained fire.

Additionally, its exotic perk gives you a chance to start instantly recovering your health after a kill as well as increasing the damage output for the bottom half of the magazine.

In this case, you should go for the 600rpm option, since the 360rpm variant does not receive bonus range, like other aggressive frame auto rifles do.

The crazy thing about SUROS is that its damage doesn’t get reduced as it ramps up it’s RPM and it can absolutely shred your opponent. The lethality of a spinning up SUROS Regime can’t be understated: Your opponents really can’t do much besides duck behind cover.

This makes SUROS an incredibly oppressive option which can dominate many meta weapons if used correctly with good aim and quick target acquisition.

SUROS Regime gets bonus points for having a chance to return your health on a kill, which becomes more likely if you have the Catalyst. This can allow you to go on long tears frequently regenerating your health and being ready to re-engage. The catalyst also gives it a perfectly vertical 100 recoil direction which along with nice sight aesthetics makes it very easy to use.

Tommy’s Matchbook

Weapon Type:	Auto Rifle	Slot:	Energy
Ammo:	Primary	Source:	Exotics Kiosk

Tommy’s Matchbook, a solar exotic 720rpm auto rifle, has overall decent stats and features an astronomical mag size of 100 bullets. Its exotic perk activates after firing for about 1.5 seconds and it burns the user while significantly increasing Tommy’s damage output.

The burn damage can’t kill you, instead, it will hold you at redbar health, and the catalyst will even give you increased health regeneration while burning.

Also, if you hipfire Tommy, it will burn you slower. Conveniently, Tommy’s matchbook secretly has perfect hip-fire accuracy and very good hip-fire in-air accuracy.

This makes Tommy play more like a hybrid between a submachine gun and an auto rifle while having perfect hip-fire accuracy and an absolutely crazy mag size. As we’ve seen with the Dead Man’s Tale on mouse and keyboard and The Last Word on controller, hipfire weapons are very strong, because when hip-firing, your radar remains open and your strafe becomes fast and unpredictable.

It pairs beautifully with a sniper rifle, since the hipfire mode can let you shut down aggressive players trying to get close to you, yet the ADS mode will yield you a very strong primary weapon should you run out of sniper ammo.

While burning, Tommy’s Matchbook can absolutely melt your opponents in a 0.77 second BODYSHOT time to kill.

If you are accurate and play to the strengths of a hipfire weapon, Tommy’s Matchbook is an absolutely fantastic choice, worth a try in your loadout.

Best Destiny 2 PVE Auto Rifles

It should be clear by now that Auto rifles can still be a menace in the Crucible. But what about PVE? While Patty only focused on PVP, it is worth covering Auto rifles in PVE.

Are they any good? Are they a viable option? The answer is yes, as long as you have a top-tier auto rifle with the right perks. And it so happens there are 2 excellent Auto rifles that can absolutely get the job done in PVE, including endgame content.

Chroma Rush

Weapon Type:	Auto Rifle	Slot:	Kinetic
Ammo:	Primary	Source:	Override activity

Chroma Rush, one of the newly-added Season of the Splicer weapons, happens to be excellent in both PVE and PVP.

In PVE, rapid-fire auto rifles happen to have the best DPS figures among auto rifles. Their range may not be as good as other archetypes, but it’s still better than SMGs and sidearms. For this reason, rapid-fire autos such as Chroma Rush are a great compromise.

And everything that makes it a good PVP weapon also applies to PVE:

It has stellar stats that make it extremely consistent and easy to use.
It has excellent perks, including damage perks and ammo perks (lookout for a Subsistence + Rampage roll)
It is easy to farm via Overrides and Umbral engrams

Bottom line: Chroma Rush is a must-have weapon that is easy to farm, and you should definitely get a couple of god rolls before the season ends.

Gnawing Hunger

Weapon Type:	Auto Rifle	Slot:	Energy
Ammo:	Primary	Source:	Override activity

Unlike Chroma Rush, Gnawing Hunger has been around for a while. And while it no longer completely dominates PVE and PVP as it did just a couple of seasons ago, it remains a strong and viable alternative.

Adaptive auto rifles such as the Gnawing Hunger can’t deal as much DPS as rapid-fires do, but on the other hand, they have way better range and stability. And in the particular case of the Gnawing Hunger, it also has an insane magazine size that gives it an incredibly high uptime and all of the best PVE perks you could ask for. It can roll with:

3rd column: Subsistence, Overflow
4th column: Rampage, Kill Clip, Swashbuckler

Bottom line: Gnawing Hunger is a true workhorse and you should never dismantle one before carefully looking at its perks and stats. A good Gnawing Hunger is always a keeper.

Honorable mention:

Seventh Seraph Carbine: It may not have the best stats, it may not be part of the best archetype, but it can generate Warmind Cells!

Are Auto Rifles Meta?

It should be obvious by now that the main problem with Auto Rifles is their inability to hold their ground in a peek shooting duel, which at the higher levels of Destiny 2’s PVP is a huge flaw. This is inherent to the entire auto rifle archetype and only a few select A and S tier options can hold their own in duels against more Meta choices.

You might think that Hardlight’s ricochets, Tommy’s burn, or SUROS’ rate of fire are gimmicks, but these perks allow them to challenge weapons that would otherwise dominate them in a peek shooting battle.

600 RPM auto rifles were very oppressive for two seasons back when they were buffed, but since their nerf, we haven’t seen them much. It is by far the existence of stronger peek shooting options that have kept auto rifles out of fashion.

Though with the nerf to 120 RPM hand cannons, A and S-Tier Autos finally have a place in the meta, with some of them even challenging the most mainstream options.

The 450 and 360 RPM Auto Rifles on the other hand feel like a tremendous amount of work to get a kill compared to most other meta options. It would be great to see these get some love in a future balance patch.

Bottom Line: You should try out some of the top Auto rifles from this tier list. They’re great and fun to use, and we think you’ll enjoy them.

Primary weapons Meta for PVP

What about PVP? This table summarizes how they rank against each other in PVP:

Weapon Type	Tier	Role ❘ Current State
Rocket Launchers	Best ❘ S	Rocket launchers are in a great place right now for PVP. As ammo economy is not an issue in the Crucible, their insane high-burst damage per rocket allows them to shine. Rocket launchers, and especially the exotics, can basically guarantee a kill without requiring much skill nor effort. And if used right, you can easily get multi kills in 6v6 modes. Rocket launchers even have a place in competitive modes, namely the Wardclif Coil, due to their consistency.
Machine Guns	Strong ❘ A	Machine guns are always a safe bet in PVP. They have excellent TTK, are very consistent from medium to long-range, and have enough ammo to kill easily 2 to 3 guardians, 4 if you play your cards right. Not all machine guns were created equal, though, as some of them are much stronger than the rest, especially the exotics (Heir Apparent immediately comes to mind). But with the right perks, legendary Machine guns can also shine
Grenade Launchers	Average ❘ B	Grenade launchers can be good options in PVP. They are powerful and can come with great perks, including the newish Chain Reaction, which can easily net you multi kills when hitting enemies grouped together. When used with something like Proximity grenades, grenade launchers can be even more reliable and easy to use. Compared to the other Power weapon in the game, grenade launchers remain strong contenders. And when you take into account the exotics, namely The Colony, they can basically give you free kills.
Swords	Weak ❘ C	Swords may be a top-tier choice in PVE due to their high-risk, high reward approach. But in PVP, the risk is much higher than the reward. You can, of course, use a sword to benefit from the third-person view and wait for opponents around corners. But in many situations, you could find yourself completely vulnerable out in the open while chasing an enemy. On top of that, 3-peeking with swords is considered a douchy approach by the community, and with reason!
Linear Fusion Rifles	Weak ❘ C	Linear fusion rifles are in the middle of an identity crisis. They are stronger than sniper rifles and have more aim assistance, but they still require Heavy ammo and a headshot to one-shot an enemy. On top of that, they also have a charge time to take into account. Compared to a sniper rifle that fires immediately and only uses Special ammo, Linear Fusion rifles make little sense for the Crucible. In PVP, you want a Heavy weapon that can either easily down several guardians or guarantee a kill in a high-stakes match. It isn't impossible to do with a linear fusion rifle, but other weapon types can accomplish that more easily.

Primary weapons Meta for PVE

So how good are Swords in PVE? This table summarizes how the several Power weapon types rank against each other in PVE:

Weapon Type	Tier	Role ❘ Current State
Swords	Best ❘ S	► Main roles: Add Clear & Single Target damage (i.e. Boss damage). ► Current State: Swords are incredibly strong right now. Several buffs and a huge rework during Season of the Worthy made them much more usable. They are now safer to use, have a better ammo economy, and can deal much more damage. Swords are as high risk / high reward as it gets. If used right, a top-tier sword can basically delete any enemy, even on higher difficulties. No wonder The Lament and Falling Guillotine are still some of the best Power weapons available.
Rocket Launchers	Strong ❘ A	► Main role: Burst Damage (Secondary role: Add Clear) ► Rocket launchers went through a rough patch that relegated to the least preferred Heavy weapon in the entire game. Bungie has been hard at work at making them relevant again, and after two noticeable buffs, Rocket launchers are making a huge comeback. With great DPS potential and bigger magazines, they are among the best tools at your disposal, no matter the content.
Linear Fusion Rifles	Strong ❘ A	► Main role: Single Target damage (Secondary role: Burst Damage) ► Current State: Linear fusion rifles have been in the middle of an identity crisis for a while, but that should finally change this season. With increased damage to critical hits, Linear Fusions are now much more lethal and rewarding, provided you can hit your shots. It's still too early to tell how meta they can become, but keep an eye on Sleeper Simulant, or a Threaded Needle with Vorpal Weapon. These will be among your top DPS options this season.
Machine Guns	Average ❘ B	► Main role: Add Clear ► Current State: Machine guns are not what they used to be, not for PVE at least. While a god-rolled Commemoration or a Thunderlord will definitely get the job done at clearing ads, they remain the shadow of their former selves. Bungie itself has confirmed they need to be fine-tuned, but that could take a while... To be fair, they still have their place and have proven to be excellent to deal with elemental shields in Grandmaster Nightfall: The Ordeals.
Grenade Launchers	Average ❘ B	► Main role: Add Clear (Secondary role: Single Target Damage). ► Current State: Grenade launchers went from the indisputable PVE choice to just an average, situational weapon type, in a matter of months. To be fair, they remain viable, especially when getting too close to the enemy is impossible. Otherwise, they have been replaced by Swords as the go-to damage-dealing Heavy weapon type in the game.
Exotic Sniper Rifles	Weak ❘ C	► Main role: Single Target damage ► Current State: Finally, we have Exotic Sniper rifles, a very niche choice represented by only 2 weapons, D.A.R.C.I and Whisper of the Worm. Heavy Exotic Snipers are far from being meta right now. D.A.R.C.I is one of the most underwhelming Exoticsin the entire game, while Whisper of the Warm is the shadow of its former self due to the blanket nerf all snipers received a few seasons ago.

Destiny 2 Auto Rifles farming: How to get them

The tier list above includes a column titled “Drops from ❘ Requirements“.

This section goes deeper and includes more detailed steps on how to acquire all the auto rifles still viable in Destiny 2:

Weapon	Drops from	How to get it?
► SUROS Regime ► Hard Light ► Monte Carlo ► Cerberus+1 ► Sweet Business	Exotic Engram	Some Exotics can only randomly drop while playing the game or by acquiring Exotic engrams (most notably from the Season Pass or from Xur). Playing higher-difficulty activities will greatly increase your chances to find one (namely, Nightfall: The Ordeals).
► Tommy's Matchbook	Exotic Kiosk	This Exotic can be acquired via the Exotics Kiosk in the tower, officially called the Monument to Lost Lights. You can read all about it, including costs and requirements, here.
Chroma Rush	Override	This weapon can only drop from Season 14's seasonal activity: Override. Overrides are actually quite fun and relatively short to run, but on top of that, the Umbral engrams system and Splicer Servitor upgrades will make farming this weapon extremely easy.
► Gnawing Hunger ► False Promises ► Seventh Seraph Carbine ► The Number	World Loot Pool	Some Legendaries can only randomly drop while playing the game, either as end-of-match rewards or when finding Legendary engrams.
The Summoner	Trials of Osiris	This weapon can only drop while getting wins in the endgame PVP mode Trials of Osiris, Destiny 2's endgame (and brutal) PVP mode. Beware that drops rotate weekly, so you'll have to patient and wait until it becomes part of the weekly drops.
Shadow Price	Nighfall: The Ordeals	Farming Nightfall weapons is as straightforward as it gets. Each completion has a chance to reward you with a Nightfall weapon and the higher the Nightfall difficulty, the higher the chances. You can read everything there is to know about farming Nightfall weapons, including their rotation and schedule, here.
Arc Logic	Moon Destination	This weapon can only drop from activities in the Moon. If you're looking for a more efficient way to farm it, the Lecter of Enchantment vendor in the Moon provides an excellent method to farm Moon weapons.
► Braytech Werewolf ► Horror Story	Festival of the Lost	These weapons can only drop from the Festival of the Lost seasonal event. The event itself is generally open to everyone, including free-to-play players, but you'll have to wait until the next one in October.
Arctic Haze	Europa Destination	This weapon can only drop from activities in Europa. Variks, the main vendor in Europa, has quests that can help you target farm this weapon.
Age-Old Bond	Last Wish Raid	This weapon can only drop from the Last Wish raid.
Reckless Oracle	Garden of Salvation Raid	This weapon can only drop from the Garden of Salvation raid.
The Forward Path	Iron Banner	This weapon can only drop from Iron Banner, one of the "endgame" PVP events in Destiny 2. Beware that Iron Banner is not always available but tends to occur every month for an entire week.
Tigerspite	Dreaming City Destination	This weapon can only drop from activities in the Dreaming City. Variks, the main vendor in Europa, has quests that can help you target farm this weapon.

Most of these weapon sources are self-explanatory, but in doubt, you can always leave a comment below with your question or ask away on our Discord.

Ranking criteria

For the record, as much as we tried to keep this list as objective as possible, it’s still based on our personal experience playing the PC version of the game.

Finally, if you’re wondering what criteria was used to build this Tier list, these are the main factors I took into account:

Lethality: The higher the effective DPS and usability, the higher the ranking.
Consistency: Some weapons may not have the highest DPS numbers, but they are so consistent, they more than make up for their lower DPS numbers.
Ease of use: Similar to the point above, some weapons are very effective because they are easy to use and don’t require too much skill or setup. This is also rewarded with higher rankings.
PVE/PVP Performance: High lethality in either PVE or PVP is equally valuable. However, a weapon that is good at both PVE and PVP should rank higher than one that is slightly better on only PVE or PVP.
Fun factor: Not the most important factor, but it also helps if the weapon is damn fun to shoot with!

If you strongly disagree with some of the rankings here, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section. By the way, what is your personal favorite?