Destiny 2 Pinnacle Weapons ranked
Are they still worth the grind?By Ric aka Primatrix | Sep 11, 2020
We know weapon sunsetting is coming. Soon, most of our favorite weapons will reach their maximum Power Level and won’t be viable for Endgame activities anymore.
All legendary weapons in Destiny 2 will be impacted, but the most noticeable losses will be Pinnacle weapons (and Rituals).
Pinnacle weapons, which are some of the best weapons in Destiny 2, will all be retired on November 20, 2020. This means they effectively have only 2 more months of Endgame life left. If you’re interested in chasing a Pinnacle weapon, you have to ask yourself:
How hard is the grind? And, is it still worth it?
In this post:
These are the different Tier levels used for the list:
- S Tier – Best: Highest ranking weapons in our Tier List.
- A Tier – Strong: Very strong weapons, 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. Also, you can filter and sort the list however you prefer!
⚠️ If you’re worried about losing most of your favorite weapons this Fall, remember Exotics won’t be affected. This is the right time to start chasing the Top Tier Exotics you’re still missing.
Destiny 2 Pinnacle tier list for PVE and PVP (as of September 2020)
| Weapon | Tier | Excels in | Drops from / Difficulty | Unique Perk (and my take) | Type | Slot | Drops from | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Revoker Sniper Rifle | Best ❘ S | PVP | Crucible Pinnacle ❘ Average | Slot: Kinetic | Ammo:  Special | Sunsets: Season 12"Reversal of Fortune: Missing a shot returns the bullet to the magazine after a short duration." ► One of the most popular weapons in Trials, Rekover is the perfect PVP sniper: low zoom, high power and it returns ammo, encouraging users to take more risks. | Sniper Rifle | Kinetic | Crucible Pinnacle |
 | The Mountaintop Grenade Launcher | Best ❘ S | PVE | Crucible Pinnacle ❘ Hard | Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Special | Sunsets: Season 12"Micro-Missile: This weapon fires in a straight line and has a massively increased projectile speed." ► The Mountaintop used to stupidly overpowered in both PVP and PVE. Since it was nerfed, it went overpowered to just very powerful. | Grenade Launcher | Kinetic | Crucible Pinnacle |
 | The Recluse Submachine Gun | Best ❘ S | PVE | Crucible Pinnacle ❘ Average | Slot:  Energy | Ammo: Primary | Sunsets: Season 12"Master of Arms: Kills with any weapon improve this weapon's damage for a short time." ► With a perk that is basically Rampage on steroids, The Recluse becomes an ad destroying machine once Master of Arms gers going. | Submachine Gun | Energy | Crucible Pinnacle |
 | 21% Delirium Machine Gun | Best ❘ S | PVE | Gambit Pinnacle ❘ Hard | Slot:  Heavy | Ammo:  Heavy | Sunsets: Season 12"Killing Tally: Kills increase this weapon's damage until it is stowed or reloaded." ► On top of having excellent base stats, 21% Delirium also has a "Rampage on steroids" perk that allows it to effortlessly destroy red bar enemies. | Machine Gun | Heavy | Gambit Pinnacle |
 | Wendigo GL3 Grenade Launcher | Best ❘ S | PVE | Vanguard Pinnacle ❘ Hard | Slot: Heavy | Ammo: Heavy | Sunsets: Season 12"Explosive Light: Picking up an Orb of Light increases the next grenade's blast radius and damage." ► The Wendigo GL3 is hands down one of the best boss-DPS heavy weapons in the game, especially with the changes to grenade launchers in Season 11. | Grenade Launcher | Energy | Vanguard Pinnacle |
 | Loaded Question Fusion Rifle | Strong ❘ A | PVE | Vanguard Pinnacle ❘ Average | Slot: Energy | Ammo: Special | Sunsets: Season 12"Reservoir Burst: When the battery is full, your next burst deals additional damage and causes enemies to explode on death." ► Loaded Question is by far the best Fusion Rifle for PVE. Few weapons can do crowd control so easily. | Fusion Rifle | Energy | Vanguard Pinnacle |
 | Not Forgotten Hand Cannon | Strong ❘ A | PVE | Crucible Pinnacle ❘ Hard | Slot: Energy | Ammo: Primary | Sunsets: Season 12"Magnificent Howl: Rapidly landing two precision shots increases the next shot's damage and range for a short duration." ► Also a victim of a serious nerf, this hand cannon went from the top choice for PVP to a strong choice. Nothing wrong with that, but it doesn't make its extremely hard quest justice anymore... | Hand Cannon | Energy | Crucible Pinnacle |
 | Luna's Howl Hand Cannon | Strong ❘ A | PVE | Crucible Pinnacle ❘ Hard | Slot:  Energy | Ammo: Primary | Sunsets: Season 12"Magnificent Howl: Rapidly landing two precision shots increases the next shot's damage and range for a short duration." ► Very similar to its sister hand cannon, Luna's Howl also suffered from a severe nerf that made too hard to obtain for what it can do. | Hand Cannon | Energy | Crucible Pinnacle |
 | Redrix's Broadsword Pulse Rifle | Strong ❘ A | PVP | Crucible Pinnacle ❘ Hard | Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Sunsets: Season 12 "Desperado: Reloading while Outlaw is active increases your rate of fire." ► Redrix's Broadsword was rarely seen in PVP or PVE but with the recent buff to high-impact Pulse rifles, Redrix's and the brand-new Cold Denial became much more lethal weapons in PVP. | Pulse Rifle | Kinetic | Crucible Pinnacle |
 | Hush Combat Bow | Average ❘ B | - | Gambit Pinnacle ❘ Average | Slot: Energy | Ammo: Primary | Sunsets: Season 12"Archer's Gambit: Hipfire precision hits grant a massive draw-speed bonus for a short duration." ► Bows are not the most popular weapon type right now, but if you're a fan, Hush can be a great option for PVE. It's insane at ad clearing, only surpassed by Trinity Ghoul. | Combat Bow | Energy | Gambit Pinnacle |
 | Edgewise Machine Gun | Average ❘ B | - | Vanguard Ritual ❘ Average | Slot: Heavy | Ammo: Heavy | Sunsets: Season 12⚠️ As a Ritual weapon (replacing Pinnacle weapons in Season 9), this doesn't have a unique perk. Instead, it offers 2 curated perks per slot that you can choose from. ► As most Ritual weapons in this list, this is a solid weapon, but it's still outclassed by other machine guns such as 21% Delirium, Thunderlord or the new Heir Apparent. | Machine Gun | Heavy | Vanguard Ritual |
 | Randy's Throwing Knife Scout Rifle | Average ❘ B | - | Crucible Ritual ❘ Average | Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Sunsets: Season 12 ⚠️ As a Ritual weapon (replacing Pinnacle weapons in Season 9), this doesn't have a unique perk. Instead, it offers 2 curated perks per slot that you can choose from. ► Perhaps the best Ritual weapon created so far, Randy's is surprisingly good in PVP for a Scout rifle. That's right, Scouts are still weak in PVP but if you must use one, Randy is for you. | Scout Rifle | Kinetic | Crucible Ritual |
 | Python Shotgun | Average ❘ B | - | Gambit Ritual ❘ Easy | Slot: Energy | Ammo: Special | Sunsets: Season 12⚠️ As a Ritual weapon (replacing Pinnacle weapons in Season 9), this doesn't have a unique perk. Instead, it offers 2 curated perks per slot that you can choose from. ► Not best in class for neither PVP nor PVE, Python is a decent shotgun with good perks for both PVP and PVE and can get the job done while you work towards the S tier shotguns in the game. | Shotgun | Energy | Gambit Ritual |
 | Exit Strategy Submachine Gun | Average ❘ B | - | Gambit Ritual ❘ Easy | Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Sunsets: Season 12 ⚠️ As a Ritual weapon (replacing Pinnacle weapons in Season 9), this doesn't have a unique perk. Instead, it offers 2 curated perks per slot that you can choose from. ► As most Ritual weapons in this list, this is a solid SMG, but it's still outclassed by other legendary SMGs such as The Recluse or the new Death Adder.► . | Submachine Gun | Kinetic | Gambit Ritual |
 | Point of the Stag Combat Bow | Average ❘ B | - | Iron Banner Ritual ❘ Easy | Slot: Energy | Ammo: Primary | Sunsets: Season 14⚠️ As a Ritual weapon (replacing Pinnacle weapons in Season 9), this doesn't have a unique perk. Instead, it offers 2 curated perks per slot that you can choose from. ► Bows are not a popular choice for PVP, which makes this weapon hard to sell because it was MADE for PVP. That said, it's still one of the best bows for PVP, only behind Le Monarque. | Combat Bow | Energy | Iron Banner Ritual |
 | Buzzard Sidearm | Weak ❘ C | - | Vanguard Ritual ❘ Easy | Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Sunsets: Season 12 ⚠️ As a Ritual weapon (replacing Pinnacle weapons in Season 9), this doesn't have a unique perk. Instead, it offers 2 curated perks per slot that you can choose from. ► As most Ritual weapons in this list, this is a fine weapon, but it's still outclassed by other legendary sidearms such as Last Hope or Breachlight. | Sidearm | Kinetic | Vanguard Ritual |
 | Komodo-4FR Linear Fusion Rifle | Weak ❘ C | - | Crucible Ritual ❘ Average | Slot: Heavy | Ammo: Heavy | Sunsets: Season 12⚠️ As a Ritual weapon (replacing Pinnacle weapons in Season 9), this doesn't have a unique perk. Instead, it offers 2 curated perks per slot that you can choose from. ► The Komodo-4FR is not a particularly bad weapon, but Linear Fusion Rifles as a whole are not in a great place right now and you'll be better off with a grenade launcher for example. | Linear Fusion Rifle | Heavy | Crucible Ritual |
 | Breakneck Auto Rifle | Weak ❘ C | - | Gambit Pinnacle ❘ Average | Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Sunsets: Season 12 "Onslaught: This weapon's rate of fire increases as you stack Rampage." ► Breakneck could be great, but it never recovered from a ridiculous nerf it received several seasons ago. Bungie is looking to fine-tune Assault rifles for next season (Season 12), and hopefully, it will be Breakneck's time to shine. | Auto Rifle | Kinetic | Gambit Pinnacle |
 | Oxygen SR3 Scout Rifle | Worst ❘ D | - | Vanguard Pinnacle ❘ Average | Slot: Energy | Ammo: Primary | Sunsets: Season 12"Meganeura: Dragonfly deals more damage based on the number of precision hits dealt beforehand." ► Whereas most Pinnacles ended with a nerf for being too powerful, the Oxygen SR3 was never good, mainly because it's part of an extremely poor weapon archetype. | Scout Rifle | Energy | Vanguard Pinnacle |
Top 5 PVE Pinnacle weapons in Destiny 2
If you’re mainly interested in PVE and would like to expand your arsenal, these are the top Pinnacles to consider. For each weapon, we’ll answer the question: Is it still worth it?
The Recluse
| Weapon Type: | Submachine Gun | Slot: | Energy |
| Ammo: | Primary | Retires: | Season 12 |
The Recluse quest steps:
This requires you to complete the “Stuff of Myth” triumph, which has the following objectives:
- Win matches in Crucible (significantly less if you play in the Competitive PVP Playlist
- Reach Fabled Glory rank (earned only in the Competitive PVP Playlist)
Is it still worth it?
Go for it!
For a long time, The Recluse was the most dominant and lethal PVE primary weapon in the game. It was part of the mandatory Izanagi’s Burden/Recluse loadout for Endgame PVE content. The Recluse ended up getting a much needed nerf in March 2020, but it’s still an extremely solid primary weapon for PVE.
This quest can’t be called easy but it’s certainly not as punishing as some of the others. If you enjoy playing Crucible, you can get The Recluse in a week.
The Mountaintop
| Weapon Type: | Grenade Launcher | Slot: | Kinetic |
| Ammo: | Special | Retires: | Season 12 |
The Mountaintop quest steps:
This long quest requires you to complete the “In Pursuit of Honor” triumph, which has the following objectives:
- 750 grenade launcher kills in PVP
- 75 double kills with grenade launchers (was 200) in PVP
- 25 Calculated trajectory medals (was 100) in PVP
- And finally: Reach Brave Glory rank in the Competitive PVP playlist
Is it still worth it?
Pass!
The Mountaintop used to be both stupidly over-powered and stupidly hard to get. Eventually, both the weapon and the quest got nerfed, but The Mountaintop remains a very strong weapon, especially for Endgame PVE. In fact, it still sits among the most used weapons in Raids.
That said, the grind required to get is still long and tedious. In fact, it’s arguably harder than most exotic quests in the game! With just 3 months to go before Bungie retires it, I cannot recommend it anymore, unless you’re a good PVP player that can get the kills relatively fast. But if that’s your case, you most likely already have it.
The newly released Witherhoard exotic is a good alternative for boss-damage in PVE.
21% Delirium
| Weapon Type: | Machine Gun | Slot: | Heavy |
| Ammo: | Heavy | Retires: | Season 12 |
21% Delirium quest steps:
This requires you to complete the “Notorious Hustle” triumph, which has the following objectives:
- Reset your Infamy rank
- Earn 75 multikills of five or more in Gambit
- Defeat Envoys and Primevals (350)
Is it still worth it?
You can try (unless you hate Gambit).
21% Delirium is one of the few Pinnacle weapons that never received a nerf and that’s strange because it has always been a powerhouse when it comes to getting rid of red bar enemies. If you’re looking for a good ad clearing legendary Machine gun, it doesn’t get much better than this.
The quest itself is reasonable, albeit you will have to play a lot of Gambit. Resetting your Infamy rank will take a while but if you focus on the other steps of the quest in parallel, you can get everything done at around the same time.
Wendigo GL3
| Weapon Type: | Grenade Launcher | Slot: | Heavy |
| Ammo: | Heavy | Retires: | Season 12 |
Wendigo GL3 quest steps:
This requires you to complete the following objectives:
- 1,500 Grenade Launcher final blows in Playlist Strikes or Nightfalls
- 500 Grenade Launcher multikills in Playlist Strikes or Nightfalls
- Earn points by defeating enemies in Playlist Strikes or Nightfalls
Is it still worth it?
Pass!
The Wendigo GL3 is an excellent boss-damage weapon. Hands down. The problem is the quest, which requires too much time playing Playlist Strikes or Nightfalls. There is a cheese involving a specific Nightfall, but Nightfalls being in rotation, I can’t recommend actively pursuing this anymore.
I play a lot of Destiny 2 and this one did take a while. Plus, Grenade Launchers are strong but swords are currently much stronger. If you do decide to tackle this one, Fighting Lion is your friend.
Loaded Question
| Weapon Type: | Fusion Rifle | Slot: | Energy |
| Ammo: | Special | Retires: | Season 12 |
Loaded Question quest steps:
This requires you to complete the following objectives:
- 500 Fusion Rifle kills in Strikes or Nightfalls
- 1,000 Arc kills in Strikes or Nightfalls
- 40 Strikes or Nightfalls completed
Is it still worth it?
Go for it.
Loaded Question is such a fun and strong weapon to use. Able to make enemies explode, Loaded Question is excellent at ad clearing.
Plus, you’ve probably done a big chunk of its quest passively. Now you probably only have the Fusion Rifle kills to go and that can be accomplished a little faster with Telesto.
Top 5 PVP Pinnacle weapons in Destiny 2
If you’re mainly interested in PVP though, these are the top Pinnacle weapons to consider. For each weapon, we’ll answer the question: Is it still worth it?
Revoker
| Weapon Type: | Sniper Rifle | Slot: | Kinetic |
| Ammo: | Primary | Retires: | Season 12 |
Revoker quest steps:
This requires you to complete the following objectives:
- 300 Sniper Rifle final blows in PVP
- 50 Sniper Rifle precision kills in PVP
- Earn 3,500 Glory in the Competitive PVP Playlist
Is it still worth it?
Go for it, but only if you enjoy PVP.
The Revoker has been one of the Top 2 most popular weapons in PVP for more than 3 months. Revoker is so good, Bungie is looking into changing how Sniper rifles behave, especially high-impact snipers, to encourage people to use something else.
The quest is not too bad if you regularly play PVP and enjoy using Snipers. If PVP is not your thing at all, you can skip this one as Revoker is not particularly good for PVE anyway.
Not Forgotten
| Weapon Type: | Hand Cannon | Slot: | Energy |
| Ammo: | Primary | Retires: | Season 12 |
Description
Not Forgotten quest steps:
This requires you to complete the following objectives:
- 500 kills using Luna’s Howl in the Competitive Playlist
- Reach Legend Glory Rank in the Competitive Playlist
Is it still worth it?
Hard pass!
Not Forgotten and Luna’s Howl used to be the best primary PVP weapons in the game but they were nerfed hard a few seasons ago. Unfortunately, their respective quests were not nerfed and they remain the longest and most difficult Pinnacle weapons to acquire in the entire game.
Hence, I recommend staying away from these as they are clearly not worth it anymore. Plus, serious PVP players prefer to use a Spare Rations, which can be farmed in Reckoning, or a Dire Promise nowadays.
Luna’s Howl
| Weapon Type: | Hand Cannon | Slot: | Energy |
| Ammo: | Primary | Retires: | Season 12 |
Luna’s Howl quest steps:
This requires you to complete the following objectives:
- Complete 10 matches in the Competitive PVP Playlist
- 150 Hand Cannon kills in the Competitive PVP Playlist
- 200 Solar kills in the Competitive PVP Playlist
- Complete 3 Rumble matches
- 100 Hand Cannon precision kills in the Competitive PVP Playlist
- Reach Fabled Glory Rank in the Competitive PVP Playlist
Is it still worth it?
Hard pass!
As said before, this is one of the longest and most difficult Pinnacle weapons to acquire in the entire game. That combined with the nerf it received, makes it impossible to recommend Luna’s Howl anymore.
The Mountaintop
| Weapon Type: | Grenade Launcher | Slot: | Kinetic |
| Ammo: | Special | Retires: | Season 12 |
The Mountaintop quest steps:
As covered before, this quest requires:
- 750 grenade launcher kills in PVP
- 75 double kills with grenade launchers (was 200) in PVP
- 25 Calculated trajectory medals (was 100) in PVP
- And finally: Reach Brave Glory rank in the Competitive PVP playlist
Is it still worth it?
Pass!
You can still see Mountaintop users slay in the Crucible but it’s nowhere near as powerful as it used to be when the duo Mountaintop/Recluse dominated Destiny 2’s PVP.
The quest to obtain it remains painful and long, especially for below-average PVP players. Unless you feel like grinding it during the next Momentum Control, I would stay away from this quest.
Randy’s Throwing Knife
| Weapon Type: | Scout Rifle | Slot: | Kinetic |
| Ammo: | Primary | Retires: | Season 13 |
Description
Randy’s Throwing Knife quest steps:
This requires you to complete the “Stuff of Myth” triumph, which has the following objectives:
- 14,000 points worth of Enemies defeated and medals in PVP
Earn 2,100 Glory in the Competitive PVP Playlist - 450 Scout Rifle Final blows in PVP
Is it still worth it?
Go for it, but only if Momentum Control is available!
Randy’s Throwing Knife is surprisingly good for a Scout rifle. In the hands of a capable PVP player, it shreds. Unfortunately, Scout rifles are in a poor state and most of us will do better with an Auto Rifle or a Pulse Rifle.
On top of that, the quest is extremely long, especially for a Ritual weapon (which are not as powerful as Pinnacles). I can only recommend chasing it when Momentum Control is available.
Ranking criteria:
For the record, as much as I tried to keep this list as objective as possible, it’s still based on my 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! A good example is Fighting Lion. Not the most efficient but sooooo much fun to use!
If you strongly disagree with some of the rankings here, feel free to share your thoughts in our Discord below. But more importantly, what is your own personal Top 3?
