Best Destiny 2 Swords: PVE and PVP Tier list ranking

Last year, a major reword and a significant buff transformed this previously mediocre weapon type into one of the most lethal and powerful alternatives in the entire game.

While not suited for all situations, swords can deal unparallel damage as long as you can get close enough.

In this guide, we’ll cover both Exotic and Legendary swords (including their PVP and PVE god rolls) and provide a verdict on how good each weapon is.

Swords in Destiny 2: High-risk, high-reward, Swords are closed-range Power weapons that excel at ad clearing and single target damage. Among the best PVE options, these are currently considered top tier.

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Destiny 2 Swords Tier list

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.

The list starts with the S Tier and moves down from there. It also covers both PVE and PVP, with the “Excels in” column clearly identifying where each weapon shines.

About DPS: You’ll see us talk a lot about DPS, damage per second, throughout this guide. DPS is important for PVE, because the higher the DPS, the more damage you can deal to a Boss or Major.

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Best Destiny 2 PVP Swords

When it comes to PVP, most sword users, unfortunately, use it for the wrong reason: Three-peeking. While this is not the place to explain why this is (and should be) frowned upon, swords shouldn’t be limited to that and can be lethal and viable tools in their own right, especially Black Talon:

 

Black Talon

Weapon Type:	Sword	Slot:	Heavy
Ammo:	Heavy	Source:	Exotic Engram

Swords are definitely not the safest or more reliable Power weapon one can bring to the Crucible. That would be The Wardcliff Coil or even The Colony. But in spite of that, Swords remain extremely fun to use, and Black Talon can also be an absolute menace when used right.

With its ranged heavy attack that happens to have insane aim assistance and stickiness, Black Talon is a top-tier option for PVP.

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Best Destiny 2 PVE Swords

It’s in PVE where swords shine the most. These are the absolute best:

 

The Lament

Weapon Type:	Sword	Slot:	Heavy
Ammo:	Heavy	Source:	Exotic Quest

The Lament doesn’t need an introduction anymore. It has been part of the PVE meta since Beyond Light was launched. And even if Bungie nerfs it to make it more balanced compared to the rest, it remains one of the best options of endgame content.

Albeit risky to use, The Lament can deal with Anti-barrier Champions intrinsically, it can heal you while being used, and can deal insane burst damage. What else could we ask for?

Good PVE alternatives

Name	Archetype	Element	Rank	Excels	Source	Requirements	Weapon	Tier rank	Source ❘ Requirements	Verdict
Crown-Splitter	Aggressive	Void	S › Best	PVE	World Loot Pool	Free-to-Play	Crown-Splitter | Sword	Best ❘ S Excels in: PVE	World Loot Pool	Slot: Heavy | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Aggressive PVE God Roll: Relentless Strikes + Vorpal Weapon (also good: Whirlwind Blade) ► Crown-Splitter is absolutely dominating the PVE scene right now, and rightly so. It does the highest damage of any legendary sword in the game and when combined with the Energy Accelerant Mod found in this season's artifact. With the mod, it can deal insane DPS to Champions in the most difficult Nightfall: The Ordeals and destroy Bosses almost anywhere in the game. Crown-Splitter is unique to the Titan Class and it is the only Aggressive sword in the game. ► Average DPS: 20,429 with Jagged Edge.
Falling Guillotine	Vortex	Void	A › Strong	PVE	World Loot Pool	Free-to-Play	Falling Guillotine | Sword	Strong ❘ A Excels in: PVE	World Loot Pool	Slot: Heavy | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Vortex PVE God Roll: Relentless Strikes + Whirlwind Blade ► Falling Guillotine is still perhaps one of the best legendary weapons to have existed in Destiny. However, its nerfs in the past few seasons have seen it fall slightly down the pecking order in many player’s loadouts. Despite this, the presence of the top tier perks; Relentless Strikes and Whirlwind Blade makes it slightly better than its Solar counterpart, Eternity’s Edge. ► Average DPS: 18,094 with Jagged Edge.
Sola's Scar	Caster	Solar	A › Strong	PVE	Trials of Osiris	Free-to-Play	Sola's Scar | Sword	Strong ❘ A Excels in: PVE	Trials of Osiris	Slot: Heavy | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Caster PVE God Roll: Relentless Strikes (also good: Tireless Blade) + Chain Reaction (also good: Vorpal Weapon) ► Sola’s Scar is superior to its Caster Frame rival, Temptation’s Hook, for one simple reason: As a Solar weapon, it can create Warmind Cells. And Warmind Cells are incredibly strong, due to their incredible add clear capabilities. With additional top-tier perks such as Chain Reaction and Vorpal Weapon and the ability to work with Energy Accelerant Mod found in this Season's artifact, Sola’s Scar is an excellent sword.
Eternity's Edge	Vortex	Solar	A › Strong	PVE	World Loot Pool	Free-to-Play	Eternity's Edge | Sword	Strong ❘ A Excels in: PVE	World Loot Pool	Slot: Heavy | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Vortex PVE God Roll: Relentless Strikes + Surrounded ► Eternity’s Edge, Warlocks' specific sword, is the Solar equivalent to Falling Guillotine but without Whirlwind Blade. As a Vortex sword, it ranks higher than most other Legendary swords due to their superior ammo efficiency and high DPS, only second to Crown-Splitter in pure damage.

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Are Swords Meta?

So how do Swords stack against the competition? Before we look into lethality and ease of use (two of the most important factors to take into account in PVE), we need to be clear about the role Swords are supposed to fill. According to Bungie, these are the different roles for Heavy weapons:

Role	Explanation	Target Weapon types
Add Clear	Clearing weaker enemies faster than you could with a primary ammo weapon. For most content, primaries do the add clear job perfectly well, so this is most useful in high difficulty PvE.	Main: Machine Guns, Grenade Launchers, Swords Secondary: Rocket Launchers
Single Target Damage	Burning down a boss.	Main: Linear Fusion Rifles, Exotic Snipers, Swords Secondary: Grenade Launchers, Machine Guns
Burst Damage	Burning down a champion quickly, or for bosses with multiple damage phases, clearing a phase quickly.	Main: Rocket Launchers Secondary: Linear Fusion Rifles

Heavy 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:

Heavy weapons Meta for PVP

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

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Destiny 2 Swords sources: How to get them

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

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

Weapon	Drops from	Requires?	How to get it?
The Lament	Exotic Quest		This Exotic requires you to complete a dedicated Exotic quest. For more information, check out our Exotic Quests hub.
Black Talon	Exotic Engram		This Exotic 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).
Worldline Zero	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.
Sola's Scar	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.
Bequest	Deep Stone Crypt Raid		This elite weapon can only be found in the Deep Stone Crypt raid. For a detailed overview of all the weapons found in the newest Destiny 2 raid, this loot table covers both weapons and armor, per encounter.
Negative Space	Prophecy Dungeon		This weapon can only drop from Destiny 2's newest dungeon. For a detailed overview of all the weapons found in Prophecy, this loot table covers both weapons and armor per encounter.
Honor's Edge	Gunsmith		This weapon can drop when playing the Crucible playlist.
Crown-Splitter, Quickfang, Eternity's Edge, Falling Guillotine, Temptation's Hook, Steel Sybil Z-14	World Loot Pool		These Legendaries can randomly drop while playing the game, either as end-of-match rewards or when finding Legendary engrams.

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

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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?