Destiny 2 Best PVE Weapons right now

As you get more involved with Destiny 2, one of the first questions you’ll have is: What are the best weapons in the game?

That question is not as easy to answer, as it all depends on whether you’re looking for the top weapons for PVP, PVE, casual, or endgame content.

Today, we’ll focus on the best PVE weapons in 2022. We’ll cover both Exotic and Legendary weapons (including their PVE god rolls), and give you an overview of the current PVE meta. For the sake of clarity, we’ll split our selection of weapons into three categories: primary, special and heavy weapons.

Destiny 2 Best PVE Primary weapons

List updated as of The Witch Queen’s release (S16).  

In this section, we cover the best Primary PVE weapons. And by Primary, we mean either Kinetic or Energy weapons that use Primary ammo. Just remember Primary weapons use “normal” ammo, aka, white ammo boxes:

Destiny 2 Best PVE Special weapons

In this section, we cover the best Special PVE weapons. And by Special, we mean either kinetic or Energy weapons that use Special ammo. Just remember, Special weapons use “Special” ammo, aka, green ammo boxes:

Don’t miss our: Destiny 2 guides covering all the major weapon sources:

Destiny 2 Best PVE Heavy weapons

In this section, we cover the best Heavy weapons for PVE. In other words, weapons that use “heavy” ammo, aka, purple ammo boxes:

Destiny 2 PVE Meta

Every sandbox change comes with a new meta. And while we love to criticize Bungie for not changing the meta often enough, the last few seasons have significantly altered the hierarchy of PVE weapon types in Destiny 2.

About DPS: DPS, or damage per second, is important for PVE, because the higher the DPS, the more damage you can deal to a Boss or Major. You can read all about it in our DPS guide.

PS: If you’re looking for the complete rundown of the state of the current Meta for PVP and PVP, check out our Destiny 2 Meta weapons guide.

We now covered the absolute best PVE weapons this season, but it’s still important to understand how the different weapon types compare with each other.

Destiny 2 Meta refers to the most used weapons for a particular activity. Generally, these weapons are the most used because they are the most powerful/efficient.

These are the different Tier levels used for these Tier lists:

• 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 S Tier and moves down until it reaches the bottom Tier:

PVE Primary weapons meta

PVE Special weapons meta

For the sake of clarity, the categories below do not include Exotics that use an abnormal type of ammo, such as  Eriana’s Vow or Arbalest.

If you’re particularly interested in Exotic weapons, check out our Exotic Tier list.

PVE Heavy weapons meta

As you can see, the Meta can completely change in a heartbeat. You can rest assured, though, as this overview is up to date with the current season and will be updated as soon as a new meta arrives.

Destiny 2 Best PVE loadouts

Up until now, we have split our Top PVE guns into Primaries, Special and Heavy weapons. This makes sense when comparing weapons against each other.

But once you start building towards the ultimate loadout, a weapon’s slot becomes crucial. That’s because you can only carry one Kinetic, one Energy, and one Heavy weapon at a time. For example, if you’re committed to using Trinity Ghoul as your Primary weapon, then your Special weapon will have to sit on the Kinetic slot.

In this section, we’ll share some of the most popular PVE loadouts right now. This is how our Top PVE weapons look like, filtered by slot and not by ammo type:

Destiny 2 Best PVE Kinetic weapons:

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Destiny 2 Best PVE Energy weapons:

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PVE Loadout examples

If we mix and match the top kinetic and energy weapons, some of the potential top PVE loadouts might be something like this:

-	Kinetic	--	Special	---	Heavy	Meta
	Fatebringer		Cartesian Coordinate		Gjallarhorn	PVE
	Witherhoard		Funnelweb		Palmyra-B	PVE
	Osteo Striga		Forbearance		Reed's Regret	PVE

Methodology

About the DPS numbers: As mentioned before, the DPS figures used for this Tier list come from the excellent Damage Chart Madness database.

As explained in that document:

Average DPS represents a weapons performance when emptying all of its reserves, with only full magazines. This factors in that the first magazine is already loaded, and you keep firing until the last mag is empty. Effectively, a combination of Burst DPS and Sustain DPS. The most accurate representation of a gun’s performance in most circumstances.

Bear in mind this number is done with luna/rally/fieldprep reload buffs

That document also includes Sustained DPS in case you want to get into the nitty-gritty.

Your Turn

Hopefully, this list should help you plan and prepare for Beyond Light. We did our best to include both Legendary weapons and Exotics, as well as the top tier, most difficult to obtain weapons, and easier to get, yet still great alternatives.

Did we miss your current favorite PVE weapon? Do you have a particularly good PVE loadout you would like to share? Let us know in the comments section below!

For the record, this list is based on my experience playing the PC version of the game.