Destiny Legendary Guns Comprehensive Guide

Destiny Legendary Guns Comprehensive Guide by WidowsBootie

EDIT: TO CLARIFY; Guide is not for Exotics. This is for which legendaries to keep or try to obtain. You can keep ALL exotics even after dismantling by going back to the collection in the Vault, and that’s why they are not included in most of the lists. The ones that are, are there because there is exclusively not much better.

I will be breaking the guide into several parts.

  • The first will consist of a large list similar to my first post of all the guns that you may want to keep.
  • The second will be dedicated to power weapons.
  • The third part will break down the current best guns for PvE.
  • The fourth part will break down the current best guns for PvP.

Without further ado, lets get started!


PART ONE: Legendaries to look out for!

Legend:

  • K = Kinetic
  • E = Energy

Auto Rifles

Legendary NameArchetypeLocation
Ghost Primus600 RPM KRaid
Origin Story450 RPM KVanguard / Zavala
Scathelocke600 RPM KLegendary Engrams
The Number450 RPM EFuture War Cult / Cayde Chest
Perseverance720 RPM ELegendary Engrams
Prosecutor450 RPM ETrials of the Nine
Uriel’s Gift450 RPM ELegendary Engrams
Valakadyn720 RPM ELegendary Engrams

Handcannons

Legendary NameArchetypeLocation
Bad News110 RPM KLegendary Engrams
Better Devils140 RPM KCrucible / Shaxx
Judgement140 RPM KTrials of the Nine
Midnight Coup150 RPM KRaid
Annual Skate140 RPM ELegendary Engrams
Minuet-42140 RPM EBanshee-44

Pulse Rifles

Legendary NameArchetypeLocation
Lincoln Green540 RPM KLegendary Engrams
Nightshade450 RPM KVanguard / Zavala
Relentless320 RPM KTrials of the Nine
The Time-Worn Spire540 RPM KIron Banner
Inaugural Address360 RPM ERaid

Scout Rifles

Legendary NameArchetypeLocation
Call To Serve180 RPM KLegendary Engrams
Nameless Midnight180 RPM KVanguard / Zavala
Black Scorpion-4sr260 RPM ELegendary Engrams
Conspirator200 RPM ERaid
The End180 RPM ETrials of the Nine
Manannan SR4200 RPM EBanshee-44
Pleiades Corrector200 RPM EFuture War Cult / Cayde Chest
Seven-Six-Five200 RPM ELegendary Engrams

Sidearms

Legendary NameArchetypeLocation
Minimum Distance260 RPM KLegendary Engrams
The Last Dance415 RPM ELegendary Engrams
Last Hope415 RPM ELegendary Engrams

Sub-Machine Guns

Legendary NameArchetypeLocation
Adjudicator600 RPM KTrials of the Nine
Antiope-D600 RPM KBanshee-44
Mida Mini-Tool900 RPM EEDZ Weapon Quest
Hero’s Burden900 RPM EIron Banner

PART TWO: Power Weapons!

So the reason I am separating power weapons to a different section is because:

A: I’m not going to list archetypes here, and

B: I am not recommending as many here as I did in the previous categories.

So let’s get into it!

Power Weapons

Legendary NameWeapon ClassLocation
Main IngredientFusion RifleVanguard / Zavala
Shock and AweFusion RifleLegendary Engrams
The Wizened RebukeFusion RifleIron Banner
Play of the GameGrenade LauncherCrucible / Shaxx
Curtain CallRocket LauncherVanguard / Zavala
Sins of the PastRocket LauncherRaid
Gravity SlingshotShotgunDead Orbit / Cayde Chest
Hawthorne’s Field ForgedShotgunLegendary Engrams
RetrofuturistShotgunCrucible / Shaxx
A Sudden DeathShotgunTrials of the Nine
Alone as a GodSniper RifleRaid
A Single ClapSniper RifleLegendary Engrams
Show of ForceSniper RifleLegendary Engrams
The Long WalkSniper RifleTrials of the Nine
QuickfangSwordCampaign Completion as Hunter
It Stared BackSwordRaid
Steel Sybil Z-14SwordCrucible

PART THREE: Best guns for PvE!

Now for this part of the guide I’m going to explain why certain weapons are so good in PvE, and why these are the ones you should prioritize obtaining if your main focus is PvE content.

Kinetic “Legendary” Weapon Choices

  • 1. Nameless Midnight

If you’ve played Destiny 2, you’ve seen this weapon everywhere. For a very good reason. The Explosive Rounds perk is imperative to PvE right now, it helps to clear adds quickly, while also providing Flinch to important-to-stagger enemies (Psions @ Calus, Yellow and Orange Health enemies). Nameless Midnight also seems to be the best user of this perk, undoubtedly as it takes away the weakness of scout rifles (high damage, but single target) and let’s you deal with groups of enemies that much easier.

  • 2. Better Devils

I’m going to make this simple and short; do you like Handcannons? Do you like killing multiple adds at a time? Use this gun.

  • 3. Origin Story

The 450 RPM Auto Rifles are currently in a phenomenal spot right now. They have a very high range, a decent RoF, and consistently do high damage. Origin Story is no stranger to this, and is extremely good at killing bosses and ripping through adds like a knife through butter. If this wasn’t enough, Origin story has the rampage perk which deals increased damaged for a limited time after every kill stacking up to 3 times. I don’t know how else to sell this thing to you.

If you’re looking for other options for a legendary in your kinetic slot in PvE, here are some other recommendations that don’t exactly need an in-depth explanation.

  • Ghost Primus
  • Nightshade
  • Midnight Coup

Energy “Legendary” Weapon Choices!

Now here’s where things give you a customization on what you want to run. A lot of the guns in your energy slot will depend on what you’re running in your kinetic slot. Scout in Kinetic? Mida-mini or Uriel’s Gift to deal with adds close up! Love handcannon’s but need your kinetic slot for something else? Run Annual Skate or Minuet-42! They feel fantastic in PvE if you know how to use them. There is not much more I could say here for the energy slot, but I will say this, running Mida Mini-Tool for end-game content is very useful for the speed bonus, it’s overall a decent gun, and the speed is highly effective in PvE content. With that said, you’ll usually catch me running Annual Skate or Uriel’s Gift here as I just enjoy those guns.

Power “Legendary” Weapon Choices

  • Sins of the Past
  • Curtain Call

These rocket launchers are your best friend for taking down bosses. The AOE cluster bomb perk and massive blast radius simply do an insane amount of damage on bosses, especially when paired with Lunafaction rifts or Titan Rally Barricades. Use them.

Aside from these 2 legendaries (Sins of the Past being the better choice if you have it), I don’t recommend other legendaries in this slot. If I’m not using one of these, this is where my exotic goes. Either Wardcliff (adds and orange health enemies) or Merciless (need high damage quickly)

I am constantly running the raid for my friends, new players and my clan. These are the legendary guns I use to effectively run the Raid (fastest time being 35~ mins) and all other PvE content quickly and effectively. Of course a lot comes down to personal preference, but using some of these powerful guns is detrimental to success.

To end the brief guide I have here for PvE, I will list recommended loadouts for each raid encounter to do the job as effectively as possible:


EDIT: SPOILER WARNING FOR THOSE WHO STILL WISH TO RAID BLIND. SPOILER WARNING.


Castellum

  • Kinetic: Better Devils, Origin Story, Ghost Primus, Nameless Midnight, Midnight Coup
  • Energy: Annual Skate, Mida Mini, Uriels Gift, Last Hope, Minuet-42
  • Power: Wardcliff Coil

Baths

  • Kinetic: Better Devils, Ghost Primus, Origin Story, Nameless Midnight, Midnight Coup
  • Energy: Last Hope, Uriel’s Gift, Mida Mini
  • Power: Merciless

Pleasure Guardens

  • Kinetic: Auto Rifle
  • Energy: Mida Mini, Last Hope, Uriel’s Gift
  • Power: Sins of the Past/Curtain Call (use these over the others, easily the most effective way to kill the dogs), Hawthorne’s, Legend of Acrius, It Stared Back, Merciless

Gauntlet

  • Kinetic: Nameless Midnight, Origin Story, Ghost Primus
  • Energy: Mida Mini, Annual Skate, Minuet-42, Uriel’s Gift
  • Power: Wardcliff Coil (1 shots the centurions)

Calus

  • Kinetic: Nameless Midnight, Origin Story, Ghost Primus, Sweet Business (if no coldheart)
  • Energy: Coldheart, (scout or auto rifle if no coldheart)
  • Sins of the Past/Curtain Call (use these), Merciless

and there you have it, those are my personal recommended loadouts for running the raid effectively!


PART FOUR: Best weapons for PvP!

If you play a lot of PvP, there’s a good chance you’ve been killed A LOT by what’s good. Mida, Origin Story, Antiope, Last Hope, and the one I hate love the most, Uriel’s Gift!

But there are some others that are very effective, and you shouldn’t give them up right away.

With that said, to succeed in PvP you need good loadouts that you’re comfortable on, and stick to them / practice to consistently win your 1v1’s.

Here are some rundowns of the best guns for PvP.

  • Mida Multi-Tool

Alright, you knew this was going to be here, even though this is a legendaries guide, the portion for PvP and is pretty hard not to mention this with how dominant it is. Mida Multi-Tool does no thing in particular exceptionally cool or well, what it does succeed in doing is being great across the board, in the best scout rifle archetype (200 RPM) with HCR for massive flinch and a constant mini-map, not to mention the speed bonus. This weapon is an excellent tool no doubt, and you guys don’t need me to explain that.

  • Antiope-D

When I first started this game, I didn’t know much about PvP, what I did know what that I was killed by this gun a lot, but I had a hard time getting kills with it myself. If this sounds like you, don’t give up, after putting a decent amount of hours into practicing with this gun, I can easily say it’s become my favourite in PvP. It’s the best SMG Archetype (600 RPM) with a crazy fast TTK, once you learn how to control the recoil / getting flinched with this gun, you WILL love it. It seriously feels like Destiny 1 TTK when you are consistently hitting your shots, top that off with Kill Clip, which helps you win 1v2’s A LOT more, and an insanely high range for an SMG and you have yourself a monster of a weapon.

Note: Adjudicator is another gun quite similar to Antiope-D in the same archetype. The only flaw is that it does not have Kill Clip perk, but it is still a very good and fun gun to add to your arsenal as well.

  • Get killed by a guy in the corner Last Hope

I don’t have much to say about this gun other than that it is insanely good, it has such a high TTK and if you are hitting your shots, this is a great gun for being aggressive. The no recoil laser-like advantage of this gun is just way too good when paired with the 3 round burst. Only drawback to this gun is it really does have a pretty bad range.

  • Nightshade/Time-Worn/Lincoln

Although Pulse Rifles are kind of in a rough spot right now, there are some exceptions that actually exceeded my expectations. These are them. If you can hit your entire burst with these guns, you will rip right through your enemies. Of course they do have obvious flaws, being that they are outshined by Scouts long range, and outshined by Sidearms and SMG’s close range. With Auto’s in such a good place as well, these guns are really up to preference, but at least worth trying out!

  • Uriel’s Gift

I really want to hate this gun

I mean, I really do but I cannot deny that it is everywhere and it is VERY powerful. The high damage-super melting-flinch inducing machine that is Uriel’s Gift is just way too good at everything to be ignored. If you want to do well, pick this thing up.

  • Conspirator/Pleiades/Manannan

These scouts are the Mida’s counter parts in the energy slot, while they don’t all have HCR (Pleiades does, Banana has ER’s) they still feel very effective, and if you want to run something like Antiope-D or Nightshade, or Judgement or whatever! These are all very very good at covering the disadvantages of being shorter ranged with your primary. I highly recommend using one of these if you aren’t running a scout in your primary slot.

Short power weapon list:

  • Main Ingredient
  • Shock and Awe
  • Wizened Rebuke
  • The Long Walk
  • Sins/Curtain Call
  • Quickfang
  • Steel Sybil
  • Retrofuturist
  • A Sudden Death
  • Tractor Cannon HAHAHAH SEE YA NERD (troll)

and finally, honorable mentions that I personally have fun with in the crucible:

  • Annual Skate
  • Minuet-42
  • Judgement
  • Adjudicator
  • The End
  • Inaugural Address
  • Mida Mini
  • The Number
  • Perseverance
  • Valakadyn
  • The Last Dance
  • Wardcliff
  • Hero’s Burden
  • Swift Ride
  • Bad News
  • The Melee Button
  • Rat King + Nightstalker + Reload Mod (try it)

EDIT: If a gun you really like did not make the list, it does not mean it’s necessarily a bad gun. Only the greater alternatives / most popular / known to be successful guns are already here on the lists. If one is requested enough I will gladly add it to the list, thank you and sorry for the confusion.

EDIT 2: Added some stuff, reduced some archetypes to only the best weapons


Okay! Well that wraps up my guide, I really do hope it helps some people out, I put a lot of time into this and just want to see it be used!

I won’t be adding a whole lot to this guide until the next batch of guns are released, but when they are I will do a very a large update to things that I have feedback on, so any is appreciated!

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