Destiny 2 Power Weapons Guide (and Tier list)

[toc] Destiny 2 is all about the gunplay, and by extension, the weapons. They all feel different and changing weapon types can sometimes feel like changing games. For that reason, weapon guides play an important role around here.

Today, we focus on the most powerful weapon class in the game: Power weapons (officially referred to as Heavy weapons). We’ll cover both Exotic and Legendary weapons (including their PvP & PvE god rolls) and give you an overview of the current Meta.

List updated as of Season of the Haunted’s release (S17).

What are Power weapons in Destiny 2?

Also referred to as Heavy weapons, Power weapons sit in the Heavy slot. There are only 8 weapon types that can use Heavy ammo, and can therefore be equipped in the Power slot:

Weapon Type	Main Role
Rocket Launchers	Burst Damage
Grenade Launchers	Add Clear
Swords	Add Clear, Single Target Damage
Linear Fusion Rifles	Single Target Damage
Machine Gun	Add Clear
Shotguns*	–
Combat Bows*	–
Sniper Rifles*	Single Target Damage

* The only few Heavy Shotguns, Bows, and Snipers are Exotics.

Unlike Energy weapons that can only deal either Solar, Arc, or Void damage, Heavy weapons can also deal Stasis damage. In fact, Power weapons and Kinetic weapons are the only guns able to deal Stasis damage.

While Kinetic and Energy weapons both include Primary and Special ammo weapons, Power weapons only include guns that use Heavy ammo, aka, the purple ammo boxes. Needless to say, Heavy weapons are the most powerful in the game but their ammo is the most difficult to find.

Best Heavy weapons in Destiny 2: Tier list

Now that we’ve covered all the basics regarding Power weapons, it’s time we move on to what you’re probably here for: What are the best Power weapons in Destiny 2?

The list below includes what we consider the top-tier Heavy 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:

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.

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

Heavy weapons list: The complete list

In case you’re looking for something much more specific (i.e. an Arc Precision Linear Fusion rifle) that you couldn’t find above, this list includes every Heavy weapon still viable in Destiny 2: