Destiny 2 Weapon Perks Guide: Season 20

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).

Updated as of Season of Defiance (S20).

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.

-	Weapon Perk	PvE Damage increase	PvP Damage increase	Duration	Activation | Effects	Type	Weapons	Released
	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

A lot of this data comes from the excellent Destiny 2 Damage Buffs/Debuffs guide.

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
	Incandescent	30 scorch		-	Kills apply scorch to nearby enemies. Killing Powerful enemies and Players increases the range to 8 meters.	Specific	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.	Specific	Various	Season 17
	Kinetic Tremors	Sustained damage emits a shockwave that damages any nearby targets.		-	Scoring multiple hits against a single target emits 3 damaging shockwaves from its location at the time of activation.	Specific	Various
	Destabilizing Rounds	Final blows cause nearby targets to become volatile.		-	Weapon Kills apply Volatile to other enemies in a 6.5-meter radius around the target.	Specific	Various
	Repulsor Brace	Grants a 45 HP Void Overshield		8s	On Weapon Kill against an enemy affected by a Void Debuff.	Specific	Various

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

These are some of the most tried-and-true damage perks in Destiny 2.

Reservoir Burst: For general PVE

 Excels in 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.

Vorpal Weapon: For end-game PvE

 Excels in 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.

Headseeker: For high-stakes PvP

Excels in 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.

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.

Kill Clip: For Casual and endgame PvP

Excels in 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.

Explosive Payload: For endgame PvE

 Excels in 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.

Multikill Clip: For general PVE

 Excels in 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.

One for all: For end game PVE

 Excels in 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!