Destiny 2 Arc Weapons: The Complete list

Sometimes, even the best weapons in the game won’t be good enough if their element doesn’t match your enemies’. This is especially true for Master and Grandmaster content. For that reason, knowing which weapons, per element, are best in class is extremely important in Destiny 2.

In this guide, we will cover the best Arc weapon in Destiny 2, explain what makes them special, and provide you with a comprehensive list including every Arc weapon in the game.

Updated as of Season of Plunder’s release (S18).

What are Arc weapons in Destiny 2?

Arc weapon can sit on either the Energy slot or Heavy slot on your character. As their name implies, they can deal Arc elemental damage, which makes them perfect for activities filled with Arc enemy shields. Arc weapons can come in all flavors, including Primary, Special, and Heavy ammo weapons.

Best Arc weapons in Destiny 2: Tier list

The list below includes what we consider the top-tier Arc weapons in the game, for both PVE and PVP. By only including S Tier weapons, you can rest assured these are the most lethal guns out there:

Art	Weapon	Type	Archetype	Rarity	Ammo	Element	Requirements	In loot pool?	Ammo?	Element?	Tier	Excels	Source	Craftable?	Requires	Released	Slot	Can be Crafted?
	Hierarchy of Needs	Combat Bow	Exotic	Exotic	Primary	Solar	Deluxe Edition	Yes	Primary	Solar	Best ❘ S	PvE	Spire of the Watcher Dungeon		Deluxe Edition	Season 19	Energy	Craftable
	Tarnished Mettle	Scout Rifle	Lightweight	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvE	Seasonal activity		Free-to-Play	Season 18	Energy	Craftable
	Mechabre	Sniper Rifle	Aggressive	Legendary	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Special	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvP	Event: Festival of the Lost		Free-to-Play	Season 18	Energy	No
	Horror's Least	Pulse Rifle	Rapid-Fire	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvP	Nightfall: The Ordeals		Free-to-Play	Season 17	Energy	No
	Stormchaser	Linear Fusion Rifle	Aggressive	Legendary	Heavy	Arc	Deluxe Edition	Yes	Heavy	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvE	Duality Dungeon		Deluxe Edition	Season 17	Heavy	No
	Insidious	Pulse Rifle	Aggressive Burst	Legendary	Primary	Arc	The Witch Queen	Yes	Primary	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvE + PvP	Vow of the Disciple Raid		The Witch Queen	Season 16	Energy	Craftable
	Forbearance	Grenade Launcher	Wave	Legendary	Special	Arc	The Witch Queen	Yes	Special	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvE	Vow of the Disciple Raid		The Witch Queen	Season 16	Energy	Craftable
	Matador 64	Shotgun	Precision	Legendary	Special	Arc	30th Anniversary	Yes	Special	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvP	Grasp of Avarice Dungeon		30th Anniversary	30th Anniversary event	Energy	No
	The Hothead	Rocket Launcher	Adaptive	Legendary	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	No	Heavy	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvE	Nightfall: The Ordeals		Free-to-Play	Season 15	Heavy	No
	Found Verdict	Shotgun	Aggressive	Legendary	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Special	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvP	Vault of Glass Raid		Free-to-Play	Season 14	Energy	No
	THE SWARM	Machine Gun	High-Impact	Legendary	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	No	Heavy	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvE	Nightfall: The Ordeals		Free-to-Play	Season 13	Heavy	No
	Salvager's Salvo	Grenade Launcher	Lightweight	Legendary	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Special	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvE	Exotic Kiosk		Free-to-Play	Season 13	Energy	No
	Divinity	Trace Rifle	Exotic	Exotic	Special	Arc	Shadowkeep	Yes	Special	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvE	Exotic Quest		Shadowkeep	Season 8	Energy	No
	Trinity Ghoul	Combat Bow	Exotic	Exotic	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvE	Exotic Engram		Free-to-Play	Season 4	Energy	No

As a reminder, these are the different Tier levels used for our rankings:

• 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.

Note that this list is the result of the many different Tier lists we’ve done so far.

Arc Weapons: The complete list

In case you’re looking for something much more specific (i.e. a Arc adaptive hand cannon) that you couldn’t find above, this list includes every Arc weapon still viable in Destiny 2:

Art	Weapon	Type	Archetype	Rarity	Ammo	Element	Requirements	In loot pool?	Ammo?	Element?	Tier	Excels	Source	Craftable?	Requires	Released	Slot	Can be Crafted?
	Iterative Loop	Fusion Rifle	Rapid-Fire	Legendary	Special	Arc	Lightfall	Yes	Special	Arc	Ongoing...	-	Neomuna		Lightfall	Season 20	Energy	Craftable
	Prodigal Return	Grenade Launcher	Lightweight	Legendary	Special	Arc	Season 20	Yes	Special	Arc	Ongoing...	-	Seasonal activity		Season 20	Season 20	Energy	Craftable
	Phyllotactic Spiral	Pulse Rifle	High-Impact	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Lightfall	Yes	Primary	Arc	Ongoing...	-	Neomuna		Lightfall	Season 20	Energy	Craftable
	Hand in Hand	Shotgun	Aggressive	Legendary	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Special	Arc	Ongoing...	-	World loot pool		Free-to-Play	Season 20	Energy	No
	Nasreddin	Sword	Adaptive	Legendary	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Heavy	Arc	Ongoing...	-	World loot pool		Free-to-Play	Season 20	Heavy	No
	Hierarchy of Needs	Combat Bow	Exotic	Exotic	Primary	Solar	Deluxe Edition	Yes	Primary	Solar	Best ❘ S	PvE	Spire of the Watcher Dungeon		Deluxe Edition	Season 19	Energy	Craftable
	Gunnora's Axe	Shotgun	Pinpoint Slug	Legendary	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Special	Arc	Strong ❘ A	PvE + PvP	Iron Banner		Free-to-Play	Season 19	Energy	No
	Dark Decider	Auto Rifle	Rapid-Fire	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Average ❘ B	PvE	Iron Banner		Free-to-Play	Season 19	Energy	No
	Tripwire Canary	Combat Bow	Lightweight	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Season 19	Yes	Primary	Arc	Average ❘ B	PvE	Seasonal activity		Season 19	Season 19	Energy	Craftable
	Blowout	Rocket Launcher	Adaptive	Legendary	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Heavy	Arc	Average ❘ B	PvE + PvP	Playlist: Crucible		Free-to-Play	Season 19	Heavy	No
	Wendigo GL3	Grenade Launcher	Adaptive	Legendary	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Heavy	Arc	Ongoing...	-	Nightfall: The Ordeals		Free-to-Play	Season 19	Heavy	No
	Albruna-D	Sniper Rifle	Aggressive	Legendary	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Special	Arc	Ongoing...	-	Playlist: Gambit		Free-to-Play	Season 19	Energy	No
	Path of Least Resistance	Trace Rifle	Adaptive	Legendary	Special	Arc	Season 19	Yes	Special	Arc	Ongoing...	-	Seasonal activity		Season 19	Season 19	Heavy	Craftable
	Long Arm	Scout Rifle	Aggressive	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Deluxe Edition	Yes	Primary	Arc	Ongoing...	-	Spire of the Watcher Dungeon		Deluxe Edition	Season 19	Energy	No
	Terminus Horizon	Machine Gun	High-Impact	Legendary	Heavy	Arc	Deluxe Edition	Yes	Heavy	Arc	Ongoing...	-	Spire of the Watcher Dungeon		Deluxe Edition	Season 19	Heavy	No
	Tarnished Mettle	Scout Rifle	Lightweight	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvE	Seasonal activity		Free-to-Play	Season 18	Energy	Craftable
	Mechabre	Sniper Rifle	Aggressive	Legendary	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Special	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvP	Event: Festival of the Lost		Free-to-Play	Season 18	Energy	No
	Delicate Tomb	Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Exotic	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Special	Arc	Strong ❘ A	PvE	Exotic Kiosk		Free-to-Play	Season 18	Energy	No
	Planck's Stride	Machine Gun	Rapid-Fire	Legendary	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Heavy	Arc	Ongoing...	-	Seasonal activity		Free-to-Play	Season 18	Heavy	Craftable
	Out of Bounds	Submachine Gun	Lightweight	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Ongoing...	-	Playlist: Crucible		Free-to-Play	Season 18	Energy	No
	Brigand's Law	Sidearm	Rapid-Fire	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Ongoing...	-	Seasonal activity		Free-to-Play	Season 18	Energy	Craftable
	Sailspy Pitchglass	Linear Fusion Rifle	Precision	Legendary	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Heavy	Arc	Ongoing...	-	Seasonal activity		Free-to-Play	Season 18	Heavy	Craftable
	The Inquisitor	Shotgun	Pinpoint Slug	Legendary	Special	Arc	Lightfall	Yes	Special	Arc	Ongoing...	-	Trials of Osiris		Lightfall	Season 18	Energy	No
	Midhas’s Reckoning	Fusion Rifle	High-Impact	Legendary	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Special	Arc	Ongoing...	-	King's Fall Raid		Free-to-Play	Season 18	Energy	Craftable
	Horror's Least	Pulse Rifle	Rapid-Fire	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvP	Nightfall: The Ordeals		Free-to-Play	Season 17	Energy	No
	Stormchaser	Linear Fusion Rifle	Aggressive	Legendary	Heavy	Arc	Deluxe Edition	Yes	Heavy	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvE	Duality Dungeon		Deluxe Edition	Season 17	Heavy	No
	Forgiveness	Sidearm	Aggressive Burst	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Lightfall	Yes	Primary	Arc	Strong ❘ A	-	Trials of Osiris		Lightfall	Season 17	Energy	No
	Trespasser	Sidearm	Exotic	Exotic	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Strong ❘ A	PvE + PvP	Season Pass		Free-to-Play	Season 17	Energy	No
	Gallu RR3	Sniper Rifle	Adaptive	Legendary	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Special	Arc	Average ❘ B	-	World loot pool		Free-to-Play	Season 17	Energy	No
	Nezarec's Whisper	Glaive	Adaptive	Legendary	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Special	Arc	Average ❘ B	PvE	Seasonal activity		Free-to-Play	Season 17	Energy	Craftable
	The Wizened Rebuke	Fusion Rifle	High-Impact	Legendary	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Special	Arc	Average ❘ B	PvP	Iron Banner		Free-to-Play	Season 17	Energy	No
	Dead Weight	Shotgun	Rapid-Fire	Legendary	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Special	Arc	Weak ❘ C	-	Playlist: Gambit		Free-to-Play	Season 17	Energy	No
	Insidious	Pulse Rifle	Aggressive Burst	Legendary	Primary	Arc	The Witch Queen	Yes	Primary	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvE + PvP	Vow of the Disciple Raid		The Witch Queen	Season 16	Energy	Craftable
	Forbearance	Grenade Launcher	Wave	Legendary	Special	Arc	The Witch Queen	Yes	Special	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvE	Vow of the Disciple Raid		The Witch Queen	Season 16	Energy	Craftable
	Sweet Sorrow	Auto Rifle	Rapid-Fire	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Deluxe Edition	Yes	Primary	Arc	Strong ❘ A	PvP	PsiOps Battlegrounds		Deluxe Edition	Season 16	Energy	Craftable
	Cantata-57	Hand Cannon	Adaptive	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Strong ❘ A	PvP	World loot pool		Free-to-Play	Season 16	Energy	No
	Grand Overture	Machine Gun	Exotic	Exotic	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Heavy	Arc	Average ❘ B	PvE	Exotic Kiosk		Free-to-Play	Season 16	Heavy	No
	Crisis Inverted	Hand Cannon	Adaptive	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Weak ❘ C	-	Playlist: Crucible		Free-to-Play	Season 16	Energy	No
	Come to Pass	Auto Rifle	High-Impact	Legendary	Primary	Arc	The Witch Queen	Yes	Primary	Arc	Weak ❘ C	-	Wellspring		The Witch Queen	Season 16	Energy	Craftable
	Tarnation	Grenade Launcher	Rapid-Fire	Legendary	Heavy	Arc	The Witch Queen	Yes	Heavy	Arc	Weak ❘ C	-	Wellspring		The Witch Queen	Season 16	Heavy	Craftable
	Edge of Concurrence	Glaive	Exotic	Exotic	Special	Arc	The Witch Queen	Yes	Special	Arc	Worst ❘ D	-	Exotic Quest		The Witch Queen	Season 16	Energy	Craftable
	Matador 64	Shotgun	Precision	Legendary	Special	Arc	30th Anniversary	Yes	Special	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvP	Grasp of Avarice Dungeon		30th Anniversary	30th Anniversary event	Energy	No
	Hero of Ages	Sword	Vortex	Legendary	Heavy	Arc	30th Anniversary	Yes	Heavy	Arc	Strong ❘ A	PvE	Grasp of Avarice Dungeon		30th Anniversary	30th Anniversary event	Heavy	No
	Half-Truths	Sword	Adaptive	Legendary	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Heavy	Arc	Average ❘ B	PvP	Dares of Eternity		Free-to-Play	30th Anniversary event	Heavy	Craftable
	The Hothead	Rocket Launcher	Adaptive	Legendary	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	No	Heavy	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvE	Nightfall: The Ordeals		Free-to-Play	Season 15	Heavy	No
	A Sudden Death	Shotgun	Aggressive	Legendary	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Special	Arc	Strong ❘ A	PvP	Prophecy Dungeon		Free-to-Play	Season 15	Energy	No
	Wolftone Draw	Combat Bow	Precision	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Strong ❘ A	PvE + PvP	Xûr		Free-to-Play	Season 15	Energy	No
	Contingency Plan	Scout Rifle	Rapid-Fire	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Average ❘ B	PvP	World loot pool		Free-to-Play	Season 15	Energy	No
	Darkest Before	Pulse Rifle	Rapid-Fire	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Average ❘ B	PvP	Prophecy Dungeon		Free-to-Play	Season 15	Energy	No
	Sorrow's Verse	Auto Rifle	Adaptive	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Average ❘ B	-	Playlist: Crucible		Free-to-Play	Season 15	Energy	No
	Found Verdict	Shotgun	Aggressive	Legendary	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Special	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvP	Vault of Glass Raid		Free-to-Play	Season 14	Energy	No
	PLUG ONE.1	Fusion Rifle	Precision	Legendary	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	No	Special	Arc	Strong ❘ A	PvE	Nightfall: The Ordeals		Free-to-Play	Season 14	Energy	No
	Archon's Thunder	Machine Gun	High-Impact	Legendary	Heavy	Solar	Free-to-Play	No	Heavy	Solar	Strong ❘ A	PvE	Iron Banner		Free-to-Play	Season 14	Heavy	No
	Stochastic Variable	Submachine Gun	Lightweight	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Strong ❘ A	PvE	World loot pool		Free-to-Play	Season 14	Energy	No
	Occluded Finality	Sniper Rifle	Aggressive	Legendary	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	No	Special	Arc	Average ❘ B	PvP	Iron Banner		Free-to-Play	Season 14	Energy	No
	Arc Logic	Auto Rifle	Adaptive	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Average ❘ B	-	Moon		Free-to-Play	Season 14	Energy	No
	The Number	Auto Rifle	Precision	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Weak ❘ C	-	World loot pool		Free-to-Play	Season 14	Energy	No
	The Vision	Sidearm	Omolon Adaptive	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Weak ❘ C	-	World loot pool		Free-to-Play	Season 14	Energy	No
	A Fine Memorial	Machine Gun	Adaptive	Legendary	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Heavy	Arc	Weak ❘ C	-	Moon		Free-to-Play	Season 14	Heavy	No
	Night Terror	Sword	Adaptive	Legendary	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Heavy	Arc	Weak ❘ C	-	Moon		Free-to-Play	Season 14	Heavy	No
	Finite Impactor	Hand Cannon	Aggressive	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	No	Primary	Arc	Worst ❘ D	-	Iron Banner		Free-to-Play	Season 14	Energy	No
	THE SWARM	Machine Gun	High-Impact	Legendary	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	No	Heavy	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvE	Nightfall: The Ordeals		Free-to-Play	Season 13	Heavy	No
	Salvager's Salvo	Grenade Launcher	Lightweight	Legendary	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Special	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvE	Exotic Kiosk		Free-to-Play	Season 13	Energy	No
	Shadow Price	Auto Rifle	Precision	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	No	Primary	Arc	Average ❘ B	-	Nightfall: The Ordeals		Free-to-Play	Season 13	Energy	No
	Waking Vigil	Hand Cannon	Adaptive	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Average ❘ B	PvE + PvP	Dreaming City		Free-to-Play	Season 13	Energy	No
	The Keening	Sidearm	Adaptive	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Average ❘ B	PvE	Playlist: Crucible		Free-to-Play	Season 13	Energy	No
	Heretic	Rocket Launcher	Aggressive	Legendary	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Heavy	Arc	Average ❘ B	PvE	Moon		Free-to-Play	Season 13	Heavy	No
	Apostate	Sniper Rifle	Rapid-Fire	Legendary	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Special	Arc	Average ❘ B	-	Moon		Free-to-Play	Season 13	Energy	No
	Eternal Blazon	Scout Rifle	Lightweight	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Average ❘ B	PvE	World loot pool		Free-to-Play	Season 13	Energy	No
	Sleepless	Rocket Launcher	High-Impact	Legendary	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Heavy	Arc	Average ❘ B	PvE	Dreaming City		Free-to-Play	Season 13	Heavy	No
	The Third Axiom	Pulse Rifle	Adaptive	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Weak ❘ C	-	Playlist: Vanguard		Free-to-Play	Season 13	Energy	No
	Tarantula	Linear Fusion Rifle	Precision	Legendary	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Heavy	Arc	Weak ❘ C	-	World loot pool		Free-to-Play	Season 13	Heavy	No
	Adored	Sniper Rifle	Adaptive	Legendary	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Special	Arc	Strong ❘ A	PvP	Exotic Kiosk		Free-to-Play	Season 12	Energy	No
	Xenoclast IV	Shotgun	Lightweight	Legendary	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Special	Arc	Strong ❘ A	PvP	Playlist: Vanguard		Free-to-Play	Season 12	Energy	No
	Cloudstrike	Sniper Rifle	Exotic	Exotic	Special	Arc	Beyond Light	Yes	Special	Arc	Strong ❘ A	PvE + PvP	Exotic Quest		Beyond Light	Season 12	Energy	No
	Posterity	Hand Cannon	Precision	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Beyond Light	Yes	Primary	Arc	Average ❘ B	PvE	Deep Stone Crypt Raid		Beyond Light	Season 12	Energy	Craftable
	Blast Battue	Grenade Launcher	Adaptive	Legendary	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Heavy	Arc	Weak ❘ C	-	Xûr		Free-to-Play	Season 12	Heavy	No
	Subzero Salvo	Rocket Launcher	Precision	Legendary	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Heavy	Arc