[toc] Weapon perks are an integral part of the whole Destiny 2 experience. They are, in part, what makes some weapons truly great.
But perks are more complex than you’d think. For example, some perks are excellent for PvE but stink for PvP, and some perks work great on a specific weapon type but are mediocre elsewhere.
In this guide, we cover every damage perk in the game and help you figure out which ones are the best suited for your needs (PvE, PvP, endgame, casual, etc).
Weapon perks chart: Damage perks
The table below covers all general damage perk available in the game. These are the perks that can be found on most weapon types.
A lot of this data comes from the excellent Destiny 2 Damage Buffs/Debuffs guide.
| - | Weapon Perk | PvE Damage increase | PvP Damage increase | Duration | Activation | Effects | Type | Weapons | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Incandescent | 30 scorch | - | Kills apply scorch to nearby enemies. Killing Powerful enemies and Players increases the range to 8 meters. | General | Various | Season 17 | |
 | Voltshot | Jolts targets | 7s | Reloading after a Kill applies Jolt on the next hit. Chain lightning will release to enemies near it. | General | Various | Season 17 | |
 | Killing Tally | 1 Stack: 10% 2 Stack: 20% 3 Stack: 30% | - | Kills Increases weapon damage until the weapon is stowed or reloaded | General | Various | Season 17 | |
 | Bait and Switch | 35% | 10s | Activates when dealing damage with all your weapons. | General | Various | Season 16 | |
 | Focused Fury | 20% | 11s | Activates after scoring 50% of magazine as precision hits. | General | Various | Season 16 | |
 | Blunt Execution Rounds | 500% | 100% | 10s | Activates when damaging nearby combatants with melee abilities. +100 Handling bonus | General | Various | 30th Anniversary |
 | Golden Tricorn | 10% on weapon kill 50% w/ matching grenade/melee kill | 7.5% on weapon kill 45% w/ matching grenade/melee kill | 7s - 10s | Activates on weapon kill, then requires grenade or melee kills of the same damage type. | General | Various | 30th Anniversary |
 | One for All | 35% | 10s | Hitting three separate targets. | General | Various | ||
 | Multikill Clip | 1 Stack: 17% 2 Stack: 33% 3 Stack: 50% | 5s | Reloading after kills. Automatically refreshes on Reload. | General | Various | ||
 | Kill Clip | 33% precision hits 30% body hits | 5s | Reloading within 3.8s after a kill. | General | Various | ||
 | Adrenaline Junkie | 1 Stack: 6.6% 2 Stack: 13.2% 3 Stack: 20% 4 Stack: 26.6% 5 Stack: 33.3% | 4.5s | Gains 1 stack per weapon kill, gains all 5 stacks with a grenade kill. | General | Various | ||
 | Swashbuckler | 1 Stack: 6.6% 2 Stack: 13.2% 3 Stack: 20% 4 Stack: 26.6% 5 Stack: 33.3% | 4.5s | Gains 1 stack per weapon kill, gains all 5 stacks with a melee kill. | General | Various | ||
 | Surrounded | 30% 40% w/ Spec mod | - | Activates when three or more enemies are within 8 meters. PS: Lower increase on Swords. | General | Various | ||
 | Rampage | 1 Stack: 10% 2 Stack: 21% 3 Stack: 33% | 3.5s 4.5s w/ Spec mod | Activates and refreshes on kills. | General | Various | ||
 | Frenzy | 15% | - | Being in combat for 12 seconds. +50 Handling and Reload | General | Various | ||
 | Explosive Payload / Head | 15% on body shots | ← PVE only | - | Projectiles create an area-of-effect detonation on impact. | General | Various | |
 | Timed Payload | 16% on body shots | ← PVE only | - | Projectiles attached to enemies explode after a short delay. | General | Various | |
 | Harmony | 20% | 7s | Ready weapon within 3s after a kill with another weapon. +15 Handling | General | Various | Season 15 | |
 | Disruption Break | 50% | 5.5s | Breaking an enemy's shield makes them take 50% more Kinetic damage. Works on Barrier champions. | General | Various | ||
 | Vorpal Weapon | 20% Primaries 15% Specials 10% Heavies | 20% Primaries 10% Specials 5% Heavies | - | Works against Minibosses, Champions, Bosses, and Vehicles in PVE. Works against Guardians in their supers in PVP. | General | Various | |
 | Adagio | 20-27% as per on weapon type | 5s | Getting a kill decreases rate of fire while increasing damage. 15% to 20% slower rate of fire, based on weapon type | General | Various | ||
 | Box Breathing | 31-37% Snipers | - | Aiming this weapon for 1.5s without firing grants bonus precision damage. Bonus Range and Accuracy | General | Various | ||
 | Firing Line | 20-21.5% as per weapon type | ← PVE only | - | Activates when close to two allies. | General | Various | |
 | High Impact Reserves | 12.1% to 25.6% | 3% to 6% | - | Rounds at the end of the magazine deal increasingly more damage (starting at 50% of magazine). | General | Various | |
 | Headseeker | 8% | - | Body shot increases precision damage for a short time. | General | Various | ||
 | Armor-Piercing Rounds | 5% To shields | ← PVE only | - | Shoot at enemies with shields (works on Barrier Champions). | General | Various | |
Specific perks chart: Damage perks
Whereas the table above covers general damage perks that can be found on a variety of weapon types, this table covers only the specific damage perks that can only roll on select weapon types:
| - | Weapon Perk | PvE Damage increase | PvP Damage increase | Duration | Activation | Effects | Type | Weapons | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Unstoppable Force | 30% | 4s | Gain projectile damage upon blocking damage with your Glaive Shield. | Specific | Glaives | Season 16 | |
 | Explosive Light | 25% | - | Picking up an Orb of Power increases the next projectile's blast radius and damage. | Specific | Rocket Launchers | Season 15 | |
| Lasting Impression | 20% | - | Rockets attach on impact and detonate after a delay, increasing blast radius and damage. | Specific | Rocket Launchers | ||
| Cluster Bomb | 24% Max | - | Rockets spawn 8 cluster bombs upon detonation. | Specific | Rocket Launchers | ||
 | One-Two Punch | 200% | ← PVE only | - | Hitting an enemy with every pellet in a shot increases melee damage. | Specific | Shotguns | |
| Trench Barrel | 50% | ← PVE only | 5s or 3 shots | After a melee, weapon gains increased damage. Bonus Handling and Reload | Specific | Shotguns | |
 | Full Court | 25% Max distance | - | Increases detonation damage as the projectile travels further before exploding. | Specific | Grenade Launchers | ||
| Spike Grenades | 50% to Impact only | - | Direct hits do increased damage. Bonus Stability | Specific | Grenade Launchers | ||
 | Kickstart | 20% | - | Sprint for a short duration. Bonus Charge Time | Specific | Fusion Rifles | ||
| Reservoir Burst | 25% | - | When the battery is full, weapon deals additional damage and causes killed enemies to explode. | Specific | Fusion Rifles | ||
 | Desperado | Rate of fire increased 30% | 6s | After Reloading within 6 seconds of a Precision Kill, the delay after shooting is reduced by 30% for 6 seconds. Can be refreshed. | Specific | Pulse Rifles | ||
A piece of the puzzle
Having the right perks will make the difference between a great gun and a mediocre one. But weapons and perks are only a piece of the puzzle. In order to tackle the most challenging content Destiny 2 has to offer, you’ll need more than just a god-rolled weapon. You’ll also need a powerful build and a good usage of the different buffs and debuffs at your disposal. These are covered in separate guides:
Best Damage perks in Destiny 2
10. Reservoir Burst: Best Season 15 PvE
Description: When the battery is full, your next burst deals additional damage and causes enemies to explode on death.
Why we like it: Finally, Reservoir Burst is our bonus pick. Whereas it can’t roll on anything other than a select group of Fusion rifles, it’s still a top-tier perk allowing you to easily clear ads. Plus, with the Particle Deconstruction seasonal mod, Fusion rifles are extremely powerful this season.
9. Vorpal Weapon: For end game PvE
Description: Increased damage against bosses, vehicles, and Guardians with their Super active.
Why we like it: Vorpal Weapon is always a safe bet when it comes to Raids, Dungeons, or Nightfalls. Offering a “free” damage increase that doesn’t require a kill to proc, Vorpal Weapon is as consistent a perk as it can get.
8. Firefly: For casual PvE
Description: Precision kills with this weapon increase reload speed and cause the target to explode, dealing Solar damage to nearby enemies.
Why we like it: A somewhat new addition to the game, Firefly is similar to Dragonfly, but also provides increased reload speed. While not the best choice for Master or Grandmaster content due to its beefy ads, Firefly works wonders in most other PVE content.
7. Blunt Execution Rounds: For PvP and PvE Melee builds
Description: Damaging nearby combatants with melee abilities dramatically increases handling and damage. Expires after a short duration or the next shot.
Why we like it: One of the newest perks in the game, Blunt Execution Rounds can only roll in the brand-new BxR-55 Battler pulse rifle. For this reason, and the fact it requires a little more setup to activate, this perk can’t be ranked much higher. Having said that, if you manage to proc it, its damage increase is one of the highest there is in the entire game.
If you enjoy the BxR-55 Battler and don’t mind punching a lot, Blunt Execution Rounds might become your new favorite perk.
6. Headseeker: For high stakes PvP
Description: Body shots landed with this weapon increase precision damage for a short time.
Why we like it: This perk is often brushed off due to its “low” damage buff. And granted, +8% sounds laughable compared to the others. But in a high stakes PVP match, on a top-tier weapon such as The Messenger pulse rifle, that little bump provided by Headseeker can help you secure optimal kills when you shouldn’t.
That added forgiveness (miss a headshot but get a buff instead) is more than enough to justify its presence, especially in endgame PVP where each duel, each kill, counts.
5. Rampage: For casual PvP and PvE
Description: Kills with this weapon temporarily grant increased damage. Stacks 3x.
Why we like it: Rampage is a good all-around damage perk that gets the job done in both PVE and PVP. It’s not ranked higher because its damage increases are not as high compared to other perks. But it’s still extremely easy to proc and refresh. Just get kills and watch your damage go up.
4. Kill Clip: For Casual and endgame PvP
Description: Reloading after a kill grants increased damage.
Why we like it: Yes, I just said that Multikill Clip is “better” than Kill Clip, and that’s the case for most PVE content, but when kills are harder to come by, Kill Clip will be a safer option. This is especially true for the Crucible. Securing multiple kills on a single magazine is extremely rare, whereas getting one kill can be doable.
With one single kill, Kill Clip can offer a massive damage increase that will make a difference in PVP, be it casual 6v6 matches or tougher 3v3 matches.
3. Explosive Payload: For endgame PvE
Description: Projectiles create an area-of-effect detonation on impact.
Why we like it: While kill-based damage perks get most of the spotlight (they do offer the highest damage increases after all), Explosive Payload (and Explosive Head) are still excellent choices when tackling endgame content.
Endgame content is notorious for having extremely beefy enemies, including its ads. This neutralizes most kill-based perks but Explosive Payload will always provide a damage increase. Plus, Explosive Payload works insanely well against Champions, especially Overload Champions.
2. Multikill Clip: For general PVE
Description: Reloading grants increased damage based on the number of rapid kills made beforehand.
Why we like it: The souped version of Kill Clip, Multikill Clip is the most lethal damage perk for “casual” PVE in the entire game. Again, there are other perks that can offer technically higher damage increases, but Multikill Clip requires almost no setup and can offer insanely high uptime, provided there are plenty of easy-to-kill red bars.
Whereas One of All shines where even red bar enemies are hard to kill, Multikill Clip when kills come easy. Plus, it refreshes with each reload, allowing you to keep its effects active as long as you have ads to kill.
1. One for all: For end game PVE
Description: Hitting three separate targets increases damage for a moderate duration.
Why we like it: One for All is hands down the most efficient damage perk in the game. Granted, there are other perks that offer higher damage increases, but none is as easy to proc and has such a long duration as One for All. Its ease of use and uptime make it a favorite, especially for endgame content in which getting kills is not easy.
Indeed, this perk only requires you to hit enemies, not kill them, to activate its effects.
Your turn
Hopefully, deciding what weapon rolls you should keep should be much easier than before. Do keep in mind that these tables only cover damage perks, which means only half of the picture is shown (nearly all weapons can only offer one damage perk per roll, with the other perk reserved to non-damage perks such as reload perks).
For a much more comprehensive look into these and all the other types of perks, Court’s Damage Buffs/Debuffs is a must.
So, what are your favorite perks? Let us know in the comments below!
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