Machine guns received a buff in Destiny 2, so which ones should players invest in to expand their heavy weapon arsenal?
With the abundance of weapons in Destiny 2, it's not always possible to have every archetype in a viable spot for the current meta. The artifact mods have a lot to do with what types of weapons players will go for, and the greatest victim of that have been machine guns for some time now.
That said, Bungie has given machine guns some much-needed love recently. Starting season 17, machine guns now do 40% more damage against PVE enemies, and 20% more damage against bosses. This means machine guns are a decent choice when it comes to clearing ads, and some slower machine guns can be fantastic even against elite enemies like orange-bars, depending on their perk options. Here's which machine guns are the best as of now in Destiny 2.
Introduced in the seasonal pass of Season of the Risen, Grand Overture is quite the interesting Exotic machine gun. Unfortunately, it doesn't get the nice boss damage buff like many other entries on this list, but it's still a fun and somewhat powerful Exotic to play around with. The special power this Exotic has is the ability to straight up shoot out missiles.
Once players have shot out a few slugs, they can charge out a flurry of missiles to shoot. It's a bit on the unique side when it comes to machine guns, but for players looking for something unique that's also Arc-based, Grand Overture could be one of the options for the coming season 18 and Arc 3.0.
Reintroduced into the game in Season of the Haunted, Fixed Odds is a Solar machine gun. Players can now craft this machine gun by unlocking its patterns from the Duality dungeon loot pool, which can be quite a long and difficult task as the RNG isn't the best as of now. However, players who desperately need a Solar machine gun should look no further than Fixed Odds thanks to its incredibly Enhanced Perks.
The main advantage it has is the Enhanced Incandescent perk, which when paired with a powerful Solar build and especially the Ember of Char fragment, can become a beastly ad-clear tool. Now granted, this does take the heavy weapon slot, but in cases where boss damage isn't an issue, Fixed Odds can be a great ad-clear tool. Look for Field Prep in the first column as well for a boost in ammo reserves.
Players without any access to the Duality dungeon who still want a great Legendary machine gun that does Solar damage should hit the Iron Banner this coming season. Archon's Thunder is one of the weapon rewards that can be unlocked from Lord Saladin or can drop as a reward for matches and rank-ups in Iron Banner. Unfortunately, it's not a craftable weapon, but it does come with interesting perks, and with the Skulking Wolf Origin Trait getting a small buff, Iron Banner weapons are becoming more powerful.
Look for Field Prep for increased ammo reserves in the first perk slot, or alternatively Auto-Loading Holster. The second column has the option of Rampage or High-Impact Reserves, with a preference for Rampage, generally speaking.
For those who played recently during the Guardian Games, they may have unlocked the Exotic machine gun Heir Apparent. This machine gun is actually more powerful than one would think at first glance. It handles decently, with a good reload, but its main advantage comes from "scoping in", which spins the machine gun and will generate an Arc-based shield around the player while they shoot.
This can be a fun trick to pull off in PVP, and with Arc becoming powerful next season, who knows what kind of shenanigans players will be able to pull off with Heir Apparent? One thing is for certain: it can be an incredibly annoying weapon to play against in PVP, even if it's not the most powerful in the Crucible, and it may find some use in mid-tier PVE come Arc 3.0. If players have this in their vault, this could be the moment to dust it off.
Chain of Command is the Legendary weapon to unlock in season 17 from the various playlist vendors. Players can either play Vanguard Strikes, Gambit or Crucible to unlock it from Zavala, Drifter, or Lord Shaxx. Like with most seasonal Legendary weapons, it comes pre-masterworked with selected perks that make it an interesting and powerful Legendary weapon of choice.
The Chain of Command is a Stasis machine gun, which is a rarity. There's another option of Stasis further down below, but those who didn't play during season 16 may want to grab this from the Monument to Lost Lights Legacy tab once season 18 rolls around. In the first perk slot, players can choose Adrenaline Junkie or Osmosis, and the second slot combines Demolitionist and Adaptive Munitions. The only perk here that isn't the greatest is Adaptive Munitions, but otherwise, its perk pool is impressive.
For Origin Traits, players can pick between the three playlist Origin Traits depending on their preference: Vanguard's Vindication, One Quiet Moment, or Invader Tracker.
The Seventh Seraph Saw is one of the most powerful Legendary machine guns available in the game. Now, granted, players will need to wait around for it to become available at either Banshee-44 or Xur, but the wait will be rewarded, provided it drops into their stocks with some good perks.
The first perk column has a bunch of great options, including Auto-Loading Holster and Clown Cartridge. For more traditional players, Field Prep is always a safe choice for extra ammo. The real juice is in the second column, with two fantastic perks to look out for: either Vorpal Weapon or Firing Line, with a heavy preference towards Vorpal. It has a slower rate of fire than other machine guns, but each bullet does a lot of damage, giving it a similar "sniper"-like feel as Xenophage, but faster and lighter.
It's also Arc, making it a great pick-up for season 18.
For a machine gun that just feels great and traditional, Corrective Measure is a very safe choice for any player. This is a must-have for all Destiny 2 players regardless of what their favorite in-game activities are, because of how versatile it can be. Now, granted, players will need to play the Vault of Glass raid to get it, but it's a worthwhile investment for a machine gun that feels this smooth to use.
There are a few great perks to choose from, but Subsistence or Demolitionist is great in the first column. The second column is dedicated to Firefly, which will make ad-clearing with this machine gun a piece of cake. Corrective Measure will best compliment a Void build dedicated for ad-clearing and will play fantastically with something like Volatile Rounds. For mid-tier PVE it can also be decent against bosses but will fall off towards endgame PVE, like most other machine guns.
Players looking for another craftable machine gun can set their sights on Recurrent Impact. What makes this season 16 machine gun special is also the fact that it's a Stasis machine gun, which really makes it two of a kind at this point. Depending on its perks, it can become a powerhouse, but even with average perks it handles and shoots nicely, with a fast rate of fire.
To unlock its patterns, players will need to buy the Deepsight versions at the War Table and/or complete Psi-Ops Battlegrounds. The ideal perks here will be Subsistence in the first slot, paired with Headstone which is incredibly powerful if players can hit their critical hits on targets. In that case, it could be a great weapon for some Stasis builds. If Headstone doesn't inspire the player, Frenzy and Firing Line are also good options to consider.
Thunderlord may have been a niche, memey Exotic prior to the idea of Arc 3.0, but just one week away from the new Arc subclass means there's a real possibility that Thunderlord could actually be good in some way, shape or form. To get this Exotic, some degree of good RNG is required from the player, as it tends to drop from Exotic engrams randomly.
When players score kills with the Thunderlord, a pillar of lightning will strike from above where the target was. This makes Thunderlord fantastic for ad-clearing, especially if Bungie decides to make it complementary with any Arc mods and effects that it brings out in season 18. Recent news from TWAB has also revealed that Thunderlord will have intrinsic Overload anti-champion capacities, which could make this a viable choice to run even in endgame content in PVE during season 18.
Shadowkeep's Exotic machine gun Xenophage is an interesting one, and possibly the most versatile one of all the machine guns listed here. Its greatest use rate right now is in Gambit, where it can one-shot enemy invaders fairly easily due to its slow-firing but powerful long-range slugs that are also explosive. In some way, it's giving off Grand Overture vibes, but without the Arc projectiles.
Xenophage is a Solar machine gun, but it's definitely not an ad-clear weapon like Corrective Measure or Recurrent Impact. Similarly to the Seventh Seraph Saw, it can be a fantastic tool to one-shot certain enemies or targets, which is why the immense grind that goes into unlocking this weapon on the Moon is well worth the player's time. Do note that Xenophage does not gain extra damage against bosses, however.
Destiny 2 is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Stadia.
Tea lover and video game-obsessed writing enthusiast, Anastasia writes about games that leave an impression on her and make her come back time and time again.