Destiny 2 DPS chart: The Highest DPS weapons

Short for Damage per Second, DPS dictates how much damage you can deal to Bosses or Majors. Combining burst damage, rate of fire, and reload speeds, DPS is the best indicator of a weapon’s lethality in PVE.

For the sake of clarity, DPS in Destiny 2 is calculated per archetype and not per weapon (excluding some Exotics). For example, all adaptive Sniper Rifles deal the same damage per bullet at the same rate of fire and therefore do the same DPS. What differentiates them are aesthetics, stat distribution, and perks.

In this post, we will keep things simple and focus on the base DPS values of every weapon archetype in the game, therefore excluding Damage perks. The table below will also include examples of the best weapons per archetype.

The chart below uses the excellent data from the Damage Chart Madness spreadsheet. A big thank you Reddit user IAMADragonAMAA for a great job.

Destiny 2 DPS values as of Season 14

Just as the Destiny 2 Meta and TTK values, DPS values can also dramatically change from season to season. The data below is up to date with Season of the Splicer:

Damage numbers: In this guide, DPS refers to the average damage per second a weapon can inflict. You can read more about the methodology used here.

Heavy Weapons

-	Weapon Type	Archetype	Specs	Average DPS	Burst DPS	Total Damage	--	Best in Class
	Grenade Launchers	Adaptive	With Spike Grenades perk	18,327	21,855	131,130		Crowd Pleaser
	Grenade Launchers	Anarchy	-	-	8,252	990,240		Anarchy
	Grenade Launchers	The Colony	-	14,050	17,089	102,536		The Colony
	Grenade Launchers	The Prospector	-	20,529	25,567	148,752		The Prospector
	Grenade Launchers	Rapid-Fire	With Spike Grenades perk	15,273	22,236	133,418		Outrageous Fortune
	Grenade Launchers	Precision	With Spike Grenades perk	14,655	18,061	195,057	-	-
	Linear Fusion Rifles	Precision	-	13,521	16,107	322,140		Threaded Needle
	Linear Fusion Rifles	The Queenbreaker	With Marksman Sights	13,705	16,107	351,430		The Queenbreaker
	Linear Fusion Rifles	Sleeper Simulant	With its Catalyst	16,242	20,211	316,344		Sleeper Simulant
	Machine Guns	High-Impact	-	4,952	6,618	264,728		THE SWARM
	Machine Guns	Thunderlord	-	7,758	10,688	202,158		Thunderlord
	Machine Guns	Adaptive	-	5,388	7,161	221,527		Commemoration
	Machine Guns	Rapid-Fire	-	6,129	8,215	167,581		Thermal Erosion
	Machine Guns	Heir Apparent	-	10,144	11,453	305,400		Heir Apparent
	Machine Guns	Xenophage	-	14,680	17,584	228,592		Xenophage
	Rocket Launchers	Adaptive	-	14,368	-	198,282		Hoosegow
	Rocket Launchers	Aggressive	With Impact Casing perk	14,687	-	202,685		Hezen Vengeance
	Rocket Launchers	High-Impact	-	14,368	-	198,282		Code Duello
	Rocket Launchers	Precision	-	14,368	-	198,282		Royal Entry
	Rocket Launchers	The Wardcliff Coil	-	14,440	-	226,704		The Wardcliff Coil
	Rocket Launchers	Eyes of Tomorrow	-	11,850	-	261,888		Eyes of Tomorrow
	Rocket Launchers	Deathbringer	-	31,129	-	429,583		Deathbringer
	Rocket Launchers	Two Tailed Fox	-	16,500	-	306,072		Two-Tailed Fox
	Rocket Launchers	Truth	-	17,322	-	132,222		Truth
	Shotguns	Tractor Cannon	-	11,879	12,320	129,360		Tractor Cannon
	Shotguns	Legend of Acrius	-	21,602	21,602	212,090		Legend of Acrius
	Sniper Rifles	Whisper of the Worm	-	17,924	17,924	268,866		Whisper of the Worm
	Sniper Rifles	D.A.R.C.I.	-	15,265	18,963	170,667		D.A.R.C.I.
	Swords	Adaptive	With Jagged Edge perk	17,532	-	319,822		Honor's Edge
	Swords	Aggressive	With Jagged Edge perk	20,429	-	413,487		Crown-Splitter
	Swords	Vortex	With Jagged Edge perk	18,094	-	279,650		Falling Guillotine
	Swords	Caster	With Jagged Edge perk	15,078	-	298,546		Sola's Scar
	Swords	Lightweight	With Jagged Edge perk	17,466	-	435,241		Quickfang
	Swords	The Lament	-	19,071	-	587,097		The Lament
	Swords	Black Talon	-	19,968	-	312,599		Black Talon
	Fusion Rifles	One Thousand Voices	-	16,556	17,991	273,456		One Thousand Voices
	Combat Bows	Leviathan's Breath	-	-	12,291	242,585		Leviathan's Breath

Special Weapons

-	Weapon Type	Archetype	Specs	Average DPS	Burst DPS	Total Damage	--	Best in Class
	Fusion Rifles	Adaptive	-	8,321	9,026	140,265		Trinary System
	Fusion Rifles	Rapid-Fire	-	8,771	9,498	150,920		Null Composure
	Fusion Rifles	Precision	-	7,680	8,660	178,621		PLUG ONE.1
	Fusion Rifles	Aggressive	-	9,677	10,774	250,236		Coriolis Force
	Fusion Rifles	High-Impact	-	7,986	8,924	200,129		Glacioclasm
	Fusion Rifles	Merciless	-	14,129	15,905	166,681		Merciless
	Fusion Rifles	Bastion	-	10,923	12,490	229,320		Bastion
	Fusion Rifles	Jötunn	-	9,726	10,982	224,029		Jötunn
	Fusion Rifles	Telesto	-	9,656	10,512	312,372		Telesto
	Grenade Launchers	Lightweight	-	5,573	12,837	162,605		Ignition Code
	Grenade Launchers	Lightweight	With Spike Grenades perk	6,052	13,940	176,572		Salvager's Salvo
	Grenade Launchers	Witherhoard	-	3,601	-	740,985		Witherhoard
	Hand Cannon	Eriana's Vow	With First Glance perk	11,603	12,456	224,208		Eriana's Vow
	Linear Fusion Rifles	Arbalest	-	11,325	13,412	287,500		Arbalest
	Shotguns	Rapid-Fire	-	9,862	14,538	130,838		IKELOS_SG_v1.0.2
	Shotguns	Precision Slug	-	12,862	14,039	155,508		Heritage
	Shotguns	Precision	-	8,330	9,810	162,994		Retold Tale
	Shotguns	Lightweight	-	10,573	12,171	109,536		Seventh Seraph CQC-12
	Shotguns	Aggressive	-	8,787	9,644	157,806		Found Verdict
	Sniper Rifles	Aggressive	-	8,611	11,191	139,883		Succession
	Sniper Rifles	Adaptive	-	8,725	11,398	121,576		Uzume RR4
	Sniper Rifles	Izanagi's Burden	With its Catalyst	15,056	-	181,880		Izanagi's Burden
	Sniper Rifles	Cloudstrike	-	15,926	19,784	178,059		Cloudstrike
	Sniper Rifles	Rapid-Fire	-	10,040	13,445	86,430		IKELOS_SR_v1.0.2
	Trace Rifles	Coldheart	At Max charge	9,500	10,667	359,132		Coldheart
	Trace Rifles	Prometheus Lens	-	4,618	5,217	208,669		Prometheus Lens
	Trace Rifles	Divinity	-	7,182	7,455	192,836		Divinity
	Trace Rifles	Wavesplitter	With Orb pick up	8,961	9,998	266,614		Wavesplitter

Primary Weapons

-	Weapon Type	Archetype	Specs	Average DPS	Burst DPS	Total Damage	--	Best in Class
	Auto Rifles	Rapid-Fire	High aim assist, very low range	3,906	4,542	280,847		Reckless Oracle
	Auto Rifles	Precision	High range, low aim assist	3,369	4,073	225,888		Shadow Price
	Auto Rifles	Adaptive	High handling, decent elsewhere	3,555	4,300	295,840		Gnawing Hunger
	Auto Rifles	High-Impact	Excellent range, low handling and stability	3,361	3,993	298,144		False Promises
	Combat Bows	Lightweight	640 ms Draw time	-	3,265	229,704		Arsenic Bite-4b
	Combat Bows	Precision	680 ms Draw time	-	3,215	252,221		Biting Winds
	Combat Bows	Le Monarque	-	-	3,969	357,225		Le Monarque
	Combat Bows	Wish Ender	-	-	4,137	391,952		Wish-Ender
	Hand Cannon	The Last Word	Exotic Perk: Weapon fires full auto	3,965	5,438	162,400		The Last Word
	Hand Cannon	Aggressive	High range, low stability and handling	2,965	3,843	224,816		Igneous Hammer
	Hand Cannon	Precision	High stability, poor handling	2,865	3,639	131,004		Posterity
	Hand Cannon	Adaptive	Good stability, decent range	2,724	3,464	163,295		Ace of Spades
	Pulse Rifle	Lightweight	Excellent handling, low range	2,573	3,046	160,805		Chattering Bone
	Pulse Rifle	Aggressive	Excellent range, low aim assist	2,744	3,232	241,312		Sacred Provenance
	Pulse Rifle	Rapid-Fire	High aim assist, low range	2,771	3,285	137,970		The Time-Worn Spire
	Pulse Rifle	High-Impact	High range & recoil, low aim assist	2,720	3,281	250,128		The Messenger
	Pulse Rifle	Adaptive	High handling, decent range	2,825	3,246	194,778		The Third Axiom
	Scout Rifle	Rapid-Fire	High stability, very low range	3,352	4,104	170,460		Trustee
	Scout Rifle	Precision	High stability, decent elsewhere	3,015	3,489	204,688		Royal Chase
	Scout Rifle		Good Range, Good stability	4,942	6,769	568,588		Dead Man's Tale
	Scout Rifle	High-Impact	Excellent range, low aim assist	3,046	3,578	340,578		The Guiding Sight
	Scout Rifle	Lightweight	Excellent aim assist & handling, low range	3,318	3,807	219,264		Night Watch
	Sidearm	Lightweight	High handling, very low range	5,284	6,645	149,510		Anonymous Autumn
	Sidearm	Adaptive	High aim assist, decent elsewhere	5,137	6,431	192,937		Drang
	Sidearm	Precision	Excellent aim assist, low stability & handling	4,742	6,193	205,794		Lonesome
	Sidearm	Omolon Adaptive	High stability, decent elsewhere	5,020	6,355	356,452		The Last Dance
	Sidearm	Aggressive Burst	High aim assist, low stability & handling	5,331	6,193	320,151		Brass Attacks
	Sidearm	SUROS Rapid-Fire	Good recoil, very low range & aim assist	4,881	6,380	140,353		The Fool's Remedy
	SMG	Precision	Excellent range & aim assist, low handling	3,875	5,645	220,155		Seventh Seraph VY-7
	SMG	Aggressive	High range, low aim assist	4,591	6,558	206,031		IKELOS_SMG_v1.0.2
	SMG	Lightweight	High aim assist and handling, low range	4,663	6,833	180,378		Multimach CCX
	SMG	Adaptive	High stability & range, poor recoil	4,300	6,075	187,110		Riskrunner

These are important things to understand when reading these tables:

1. Damage perks will significantly change maximum DPS values
2.  
3. Times-to-kills are listed with optimal damage (maximum damage at close range) and damage falloff will dramatically affect the listed numbers (SMGs and sidearms in particular).

Destiny 2 Power Weapons: What is the Meta?

Keep in mind that the top Power weapons are not only defined by their raw DPS or Total Damage. Many other things come into play. Some of them, almost as important as raw damage.

For example, just as damage numbers and ease of use are extremely important, a weapon’s role is critical too. This is specially true for Heavy weapons:

Based on that, when choosing a Power weapon, always keep in mind the type of damage you need.

 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.

The Last Word

Seasoned PVE players have a good understanding of the current PVE meta, and by extension, DPS values. However, if all of this is new to you, the chart above will help you better decide what weapons to bring to your next PVE challenge.

And by the way, even if you’re a veteran, it’s always good to have these figures at hand!