Due to Destiny 2 being a looter shooter, players have a large amount of weapons to chase—over 150 of them from Year Five alone. The Witch Queen added dozens of powerful weapons to the pool, whether because they had good stats or excellent perk combinations or because they excelled at their roles (and usually due to a mixture of both).
With Lightfall fast approaching, players may farm and craft some of the best weapons from this year's game. The drop sources for some weapons are changing (or are being removed) when Lightfall drops. Here are a few of the best weapons you should farm or craft in Lightfall, whether you're looking for powerful guns to add to the arsenal or just want to narrow down the final Patterns before the loot tables change.
In Destiny 2, the best weapons you should craft before Lightfall are
After the content of Lightfall, we've selected the finest craftable weapons that can excel at their roles or fulfill a specific need. Some of these weapons will not be affected by Lightfall (like Vow of the Disciple or Dares guns), but seasonal weapons will see a change in how to acquire their Patterns once that content is vaulted.
- Sources: Warmind Nodes and Season of the Seraph focusing; Derelict Leviathan and Season of the Haunted focusing
In The Witch Queen, two of the game's most powerful SMGs have been reissued. In addition to their usual firepower, they also have access to the Light 3.0-tuned Voltshot and Incandescent, which make them ideal guns to have in your arsenal. Due to the vaulting of Year Five seasonal content, it will likely be even more difficult to acquire their Patterns after Lightfall.
- Source: Dares of Eternity
Pardon Our Dust isn't going away since it's tied to Dares of Eternity, but there's plenty of reason to create it before Lightfall. Both Spike and Blinding Grenades can be useful when trying out challenging content or soloing the Lightfall campaign on Legend. Other fantastic features include Vorpal Weapon, Demolitionist, Rampage, and Adrenaline Junkie.
- Sources: Vow of the Disciple (Forbearance), Season of the Risen (Explosive Personality)
Wave-Frame grenade launchers offer a lot of upside, while Season of the Risen's Explosive Personality offers an array of damage/utility bonuses. Keep them handy when you need to destroy a small mob of enemies.
- Source: Vow of the Disciple
If you want a craftable fusion rifle with a Chill Clip, Riptide is the top selling item in fusion rifles ahead of Lightfall. Both will stun an Overload Champion and an Unstoppable Champion, making them some of the finest weapons to farm before Lightfall.
The Vow of the Disciple fusion rifle is more powerful but takes longer to charge than Riptide's 780ms. With the sheer amount of benefits in Riptide, Deliverance might be the finest option for your Deliverance.
- Source: World drops
In Lightfall, the nerfs to linear fusion rifles might leave way for a rocket launcher-centric meta, but Palmyra-B is powerful enough to justify a visit whenever you need a rocket launcher, and it's also accessible enough that you can unlock its Pattern easily.
- Sources: The Witch Queen campaign (Striga), Season of the Seraph (Revision Zero)
The Enclave offers both Exotic Primaries, and there are plenty of reasons why players should have both in their arsenal. Osteo Striga is a poisonous beast that explodes its magazine and explodes its bullet with kills. This weapon can easily clear rooms, thanks to its 40 percent boost against red-bar enemies.
With its built-in Anti-Barrier, Revision Zero is a decent alternative (though it fails to Wish-Ender). More important, the way players can acquire and upgrade Revision Zero is changing with Lightfall, so you might as well get it and its four catalysts before the expansion lands just to be on the safe side.
- Sources: Season of the Seraph (Retrofit), Deep Stone Crypt (Commemoration)
Lightfall's nerf to linear fusion rifles and the buff to machine guns' damage and reserves, these two might have more scope to shine. The Charm/Target Lock combination from Retrofit Escapade is already deadly enough without help, and Commemoration's Fourth Time's The Charm or Reconstruction combined with Firing Line or Killing Tally might help it stand out.
- Source: World drop, Enclave quest
The Taipan-4FR can still be a solid weapon, despite its small size after the upcoming tweaks to linear fusion rifles. Strong combinations like Triple Tap/Firing Line can still justify the Taipan's inclusion in guardians' loads.
Before Lightfall, choose the best weapons.
Most of the weapons on this list will likely remain available after Lightfall since they relate to specific content such as dungeons and core playlists. Once Lightfall lands, players will need to rely on RNG to obtain good rolls on them.
- Source: Crucible (Riptide), World drop (Aurvandil)
Aurvandil and Riptide are identical weapons, but they differ in their ability to fire. Chill Clip is a very sought-after bonus due to the upcoming Champion changes in Lightfall. This allows for huge amounts of freezing.
- Sources: World Drop (Funnelweb), Vanguard (Prolonged Engagement), Crucible (Out of Bounds)
The Witch Queen added three new options for Add-Your-Girl SMGs, while Funnelweb was a tried-and-true classic since the expansion was released, and Prolonged Engagement was launched in Season of the Seraph. There's no denying that these are all 900rpm SMGs, which quickly rose to prominence thanks to Funnelweb. They're also ritual weapons, so they're pretty much guaranteed.
- Source: Season of the Seraph ritual weapon
Since Beyond Light's sunsetting, Void pulse rifles have remained absent, but Veles-X provides a fresh new option to the pool. Tunnel Vision isn't as powerful as Gambit's Yesteryear, but all players will benefit from Repulsor Brace/Golden Tricorn. The plus is, you don't even need to farm for a good roll.
- Source: Duality
Lingering Dread is a powerful breech-loading grenade launcher that has some unique features. Most notably, you may go with Blinding or Spike Grenades with Auto-Loading Holster or Ambitious Assassin to go with Chill Clip (and the upcoming Champion changes).
- Source: Nightfalls
This grenade launcher has reintroduced a classic design along with new features. While it may still work with the Auto-Loading Holster/Explosive Light combo that made its name, it also adds Cascade Point to the mix, which helps boost its damage. With the nerf to linear fusions and a bump to Heavy grenade launchers, it might be worth having a spare Wendigo GL3 on your back pocket in case the