Best Destiny 2 Shotguns: PVE and PVP Tier list ranking

As Destiny 2’s Season 13 begins, many players, including both veterans and New Lights, wonder what the meta is and what weapons they should bring to PVP and PVE.

But with so many weapons to chose from, this can be a daunting question to tackle. We’ll help you cover the basics, with a dedicated series of posts covering all the weapon types in D2. But today, we present you with an in-depth overview of a weapon type that has been top tier since Destiny 1: Shotguns.

In this guide, we’ll cover both Exotic and Legendary shotguns (including their PVP and PVE god rolls) and provide a verdict on how good each weapon is. But more importantly, this tier list will also give you a good overview of where shotguns as a whole stand today.

Destiny 2 Shotguns 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 TTK & DPS: You’ll see us talk a lot about TTK, or time-to-kill, and DPS, damage per second, throughout this guide. TTK is important in PVP, because the lower the TTK, the quicker you can kill your opponent. DPS is important for PVE, because the higher the DPS, the more damage you can deal to a Boss.

More Destiny 2 Tier lists:

Best Destiny 2 PVP Shotguns

When it comes to PVP, Shotguns remain as strong as they have ever been. It’s no wonder many players barely use their primary weapons anymore. If you’re looking for the best PVP shotgun in Destiny 2, there are 2 clear (and equally viable) alternatives:

• Aggressive Pellet Shotguns
• Precision Slug Shotguns (such as The Chaperone and Heritage)

But overall, the king remains unchallenged:

 

Felwinter’s Lie

Weapon Type:	Shotgun	Slot:	Energy
Ammo:	Special	Source:	Exotics Kiosk

The undeniable king of the Crucible, Felwinter’s Lie has the most kills in PVP in the entire game. In spite of receiving an indirect nerf (with the removal of the Quickdraw perk), it’s still the go-to shotgun for the vast majority of players. Why? Because it’s incredibly consistent, has extreme one-hit-kill distances (for a pellet shotgun), and is very easy to use.

Best Destiny 2 PVE Shotguns

In PVE, deciding what shotgun to use is even easier. If you’re looking for the most lethal, DPS-dealing shotgun, you’ll have to go with a top-tier Slug shotgun:

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

Heritage

Weapon Type:	Shotgun	Slot:	Kinetic
Ammo:	Special	Source:	Raid

Unlike Felwinter’s Lie, Heritage is an excellent shotgun you’ll have to work for. Locked behind the Deep Stone Crypt raid, getting a good roll will require consistent raiding. But once you have a good roll, namely, a roll including the elusive Recombination + Reconstruction combo, you’ll have one of the best PVE weapons in the entire game (both in terms of DPS numbers and ease of use).

Destiny 2 Shotguns 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:

Destiny 2 Exotic Shotguns sources

This is how you can obtain the several Exotic shotguns in our Tier list:

• Exotic Quest: Some Exotics, such as The Chaperone, require you to complete a dedicated Exotic quest. For more information, check out our Exotic Quests hub.
• Exotics Kiosk: Most Exotic nowadays 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.
• Random Engrams: Finally, some Exotics can only randomly drop while playing the game or by acquiring Exotic engrams (most notably from the Season Pass or from Xur).

If you’re interested in the Legendary shotguns, read on.

Destiny 2 Legendary Shotguns sources

This is how you can obtain the several Legendary shotguns in our Tier list:

• Deep Stone Crypt Raid: Some elite weapons, such as Heritage, 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.
• Trials of Osiris: Astral Horizon 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 Astral Horizon becomes part of the weekly drops.
• Prophecy Dungeon: The IKELOS shotgun 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.
• World Loot Pool: Some Legendaries can only randomly drop while playing the game, either as end of matches rewards or when finding Legendary engrams.

Finally, several sources (such as Playlists, Garden of Salvation raid, etc) 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?