[toc] Let’s be honest. Destiny 2 is all about the weapons.
It’s about feeling powerful while wielding the many excellent weapons the game has to offer. But it’s also about challenging you and making you want to grind until you have the best weapons in the game.
Bottom line: Getting the best weapons is a major part of the Destiny 2 experience. And if you’re looking for the next best thing to grind, the guide below is for you.
Destiny 2 weapon sources
There are 11 different ways to get weapons in Destiny 2:
 | Nightfall: The Ordeal | Playlist |  Free-to-Play |
 | Vow of the Disciple | Raid |  The Witch Queen |
 | Deep Stone Crypt | Raid |  Beyond Light |
 | Garden of Salvation | Raid |  Shadowkeep |
 | Last Wish | Raid |  Forsaken Pack |
 | Vault of Glass | Raid | Free-to-Play |
 | Grasp of Avarice | Dungeon |  30th Anniversary |
 | Prophecy | Dungeon | Free-to-Play |
 | Trials of Osiris | Crucible | The Witch Queen |
 | Iron Banner | Crucible | Free-to-Play |
 | Dares of Eternity | Activity | Free-to-Play |
 | Xûr | Vendor | Free-to-Play |
 | Gunsmith | Vendor | Free-to-Play |
 | Exotic Engrams | Exotics | Free-to-Play |
 | Exotic Kiosk | Exotics | Various... |
 | Exotic Quests | Exotics | Various... |
1. Raids & Dungeons
Home to some of the most sought-after weapons in the game, raids and dungeons are some of the most straightforward methods to acquire top-tier weapons in Destiny 2.
Each encounter of each dungeon and raid has a chance to drop specific loot. This makes it possible to actively farm for the weapon you’re looking for. Be aware that raids are locked to one clear per week per character, giving you a maximum of three chances to get what you want per week. Prophecy and Grasp of Avarice are the two exceptions to this rule: They can both be farmed indefinitely.
In any case, these loot tables for Grasp of Avarice, Prophecy, Vault of Glass, and Deep Stone Crypt will show you exactly what weapon drops from where.
2. Trials of Osiris
Trials of Osiris has gone through many ups and downs. Mostly downs if we’re being honest. But the one thing it has always gotten right is the loot, namely its weapons. Trials of Osiris weapons are notoriously good. Often best in class.
As the ultimate endgame PVP activity in Destiny 2, Trials of Osiris has excellent weapons to offer. And since the start of Season of the Lost (this season), the system to earn loot and target farm rewards has been greatly improved. In fact, Trials features perhaps the best system to target farm exactly the weapons you want.
Even if you hate Trials, its weapons are well worth it. Trust me, your time will be well spent, especially when Trials: Freelance is available. This guide covers every Trials weapon, including Adept versions and their rotation.
3. Nightfall: The Ordeals
Bungie has made a lot of efforts to improve Destiny 2’s loot this past year. And they’ve vastly improved the associated grind too. Nightfall weapons are perhaps one of the best examples.
One one of the most challenging activities in the game (when playing on Master and Grandmaster difficulty), Nightfalls finally have the loot to properly reward you for your efforts. Nightfalls now reward unique weapons that can’t be found elsewhere, and some of them are real bangers.
Farming them is straightforward but the drop rates are rough and you’ll want to only play Master and Grandmaster Nightfalls if you want to efficiently farm for weapons. This guide covers every Nightfall weapon, their weekly rotation, and more.
4. Exotic Quests (and Kiosk)
Some of the best weapons in the game are Exotics. These being special items, they often require you to complete cool and unique missions to acquire them. This guide includes every Exotic quest in the game and provides you with their requirements and video guides to help you complete them.
Unfortunately, many Exotic quests have been removed from the game and put into the Destiny Content Vault. Those weapons can still be acquired but they now have to be purchased for a hefty price at the Monument to Lost Lights in the Tower, also referred to as the Exotics kiosk. This resource page includes every Exotic Kiosk weapon and cost.
5. Exotic engrams
Most of the Exotic weapons from Year 1 can only drop from Exotic engrams. These are unique engrams that randomly drop when playing the game, which means it is technically impossible to target farm these weapons…
That said, there are methods to significantly increase the number of Exotic engrams you can find in any given week. You should visit Xur every weekend and Nightfall: The Ordeals at the highest difficulties can also easily reward you with Exotic engrams.
You won’t be able to target specific weapons, but be aware that Exotic engrams will always reward you with armor and weapons you don’t already have. Once every weapon and armor from the Exotic engram pool has been added to your Collection, Exotic engrams will reward you exclusively with high stat Exotic armor.
One of the best sights in the entire game…
6. Seasonal activities
Taking into account that every new Season costs $10, Bungie will obviously spend a lot of time creating exciting activities and enticing weapons to convince you to buy the season. Therefore, you can expect seasonal weapons to be above average. In fact, every season will come with a handful of top-tier weapons to keep you grinding.
Now that Seasonal content lasts for an entire year, there are too many activities to list here. You can refer to the two tables below for a complete view of every Seasonal activity currently available and what weapons they each offer.
7. Iron Banner
There’s a lot to be said about Iron Banner. The game mode feels stale and outdated and it features perhaps the worst farming system in the entire game.
Indeed, whereas Trials of Osiris now lets you target-farm specific weapons, Iron Banner still uses the same archaic tokens system it has for years. Turn in tokens to get an Iron Banner reward. With 18 weapons and an armor set in the loot pool, getting the weapon you want is extremely difficult… And that’s a shame because some of the newer Iron Banner weapons are very good.
A taste of Iron Banner’s weapons
8. Playlist activities
Playlist activities used to be the less rewarding activities in the entire game. Nowadays, they all offer unique weapons to each mode, and some of them are actually quite good.
Bungie usually adds 2 new weapons for each activity per season. With currently 6 weapons available per mode, it isn’t easy to target-farm these. Plus, each weapon has an enormous perk pool, which makes finding a god roll nearly impossible… On the flip side, drop rates are slightly higher than before, and if you use the right Ghost mod, you’ll be surprised by the quantity of Playlist weapons you’ll amass over time.
9. Events
There are four events in Destiny 2 in any given year: The Dawning for Christmas, Festival of the Lost for Halloween, Guardian Games, and Solstice of Heroes.
Limited in time by nature, this means you have only a couple of weeks to farm these event-specific weapons per year. The good news is that farming these is quite easy: The loot pools are very small and the drop rates are decent enough to guarantee a few good rolls if you take the time to participate.
The Dawning’s Glaciocasm
10. Destination weapons
Some weapons can only be found on specific planets. These are reserved to only Europa, the Moon, and the Dreaming City and drop from completing specific bounties, missions, and events occurring within those planets.
There isn’t much more to say about these. For the most part, they are average, but some of them could be considered best-in-class. For farm those, each planet offers straightforward methods to farm them. For example, completing bounties on the Moon or quests from Variks on Europa.
11. World loot pool and Gunsmith
Finally, there are many weapons that can only drop randomly while playing the game or by visiting the Gunsmith in the Tower. As you’ll see in the weapons list below, the World loot pool is enormous, which means that farming them will be extremely difficult…
But on the flip side, most of those weapons are pretty average, giving little reason to want to farm them at all. Some of those weapons are fine, and you should always think twice before dismantling them, but you will be better of target farming weapons from other sources.
Destiny 2 weapon farming: All sources
While the list above covers the main methods to get weapons in Destiny 2, the list below covers absolutely every weapon source in the game:
| Content Type | Source | Location | Farming | Fireteam needed? | Fireteam needed | Requires | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Endgame | Deep Stone Crypt raid | Europa | Weekly | Yes | Yes |  | Beyond Light |
| Endgame | Grasp of Avarice dungeon | Cosmodrome | Repeatable | Yes | Yes |  | 30th Anniversary |
| Endgame | Prophecy dungeon | Tower | Repeatable | Yes | Yes |  | Free-to-Play |
| Endgame | Pit of Heresy dungeon | Moon | Weekly | Yes | Yes | | Free-to-Play |
| Endgame | Vault of Glass raid | Director | Weekly | Yes | Yes | | Free-to-Play |
| Endgame | Last Wish raid | Dreaming City | Weekly | Yes | Yes | | Free-to-Play |
| Endgame | Garden of Salvation raid | Moon | Weekly | Yes | Yes | | Free-to-Play |
| Endgame | Nightfall: The Ordeal | Playlist: Vanguard | Repeatable | Yes | Yes | | Free-to-Play |
| Crucible | Trials of Osiris | Playlist: Crucible | Repeatable | No | No | | Beyond Light |
| Crucible | Iron Banner | Playlist: Crucible | Repeatable | No | No | | Free-to-Play |
| Exotics | Exotic Quests | Various | Spot | No | No | | Beyond Light |
| Exotics | Exotic Engrams | World drops | Repeatable | No | No | | Free-to-Play |
| Exotics | Monument to Lost Lights | Tower | Repeatable | No | No | Various | Various |
| Destinations | Europa | Europa | Repeatable | No | No | | Beyond Light |
| Destinations | Moon | Europa | Repeatable | No | No | | Beyond Light |
| Destinations | Dreaming City | Europa | Repeatable | No | No | | Beyond Light |
| Events | Dawning | Tower | Repeatable | No | No | | Free-to-Play |
| Events | Festival of the Lost | Tower | Repeatable | No | No | | Free-to-Play |
| Events | Guardian Games | Tower | Repeatable | No | No | | Free-to-Play |
| Events | Solstice of Heroes | Tower | Repeatable | No | No | | Free-to-Play |
| Playlist | Pursuit weapons | Tower | Spot | No | No | | Free-to-Play |
| Playlist | Playlist: Crucible | Tower | Repeatable | No | No | | Free-to-Play |
| Playlist | Playlist: Gambit | Tower | Repeatable | No | No | | Free-to-Play |
| Playlist | Playlist: Strikes | Playlist: Vanguard | Repeatable | No | No | | Free-to-Play |
| Seasonal | Shattered Realm | Dreaming City | Repeatable | No | No |  | Season 15 |
| Seasonal | Astral Alignment | Dreaming City | Repeatable | No | No |  | Deluxe Edition |
| Seasonal | Override Missions | H.E.L.M | Repeatable | No | No | | Deluxe Edition |
| Seasonal | Battlegrounds | Playlist: Vanguard | Repeatable | No | No | | Deluxe Edition |
| Seasonal | Wrathborn Hunts | Tangled Shore | Repeatable | No | No | | Deluxe Edition |
| Seasonal | Dares of Eternity | Eternity | Repeatable | No | No | | Free-to-Play |
| World Loot | Gunsmith | Tower | Repeatable | No | No | | Free-to-Play |
| World Loot | World Loot Pool | Various | Repeatable | No | No | | Free-to-Play |
Destiny 2 best weapons and how to get them
Finally, the table below shows you exactly what weapons drop from each source. If you ever wondered how to get a specific weapon in Destiny 2, you only need to search for it below:
| Content type | Source | Requires? | Weapons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Endgame | Grasp of Avarice Dungeon | | 1000 Yard Stare, Eyasluna, Hero of Ages, Matador 64 |
| Endgame | Vault of Glass Raid | | Corrective Measure, Fatebringer, Found Verdict, Hezen Vengeance, Praedyth's Revenge, Vex Mythoclast, Vision of Confluence |
| Endgame | Prophecy Dungeon | | A Sudden Death, A Swift Verdict, Darkest Before, Judgment, The Last Breath, The Long Walk |
| Endgame | Deep Stone Crypt Raid | | Bequest, Commemoration, Eyes of Tomorrow, Heritage, Posterity, Succession, Trustee |
| Endgame | Garden of Salvation Raid |  | Accrued Redemption, Ancient Gospel, Divinity, Omniscient Eye, Prophet of Doom, Reckless Oracle, Sacred Provenance, Zealot's Reward |
| Endgame | Last Wish Raid |  | Age-Old Bond, Apex Predator, Chattering Bone, Nation of Beasts, One Thousand Voices, Techeun Force, The Supremacy, Transfiguration, Tyranny of Heaven |
| Endgame | Nightfall: The Ordeals | | Hung Jury SR4, PLUG ONE.1, Shadow Price, The Comedian, The Hothead, The Palindrome, THE SWARM, Uzume RR4 |
| Endgame | Pit of Heresy Dungeon | | Premonition |
| Crucible | Trials of Osiris | | Astral Horizon, Exile's Curse, Eye of Sol, Igneous Hammer, Reed's Regret, Shayura's Wrath, Sola's Scar, The Messenger, The Scholar, The Summoner, Tomorrow's Answer |
| Crucible | Iron Banner | | Archon's Thunder, Bite of the Fox, Crimil’s Dagger, Finite Impactor, Forge's Pledge, Multimach CCX, Occluded Finality, Orewing's Maul, Peacebond, Riiswalker, Shining Sphere, Swarm of the Raven, Talons of the Eagle, The Fool's Remedy, The Forward Path, The Guiding Sight, The Steady Hand, The Time-Worn Spire |
| Exotics | Exotic Quest | Varies | Ager's Scepter, Cloudstrike, Dead Man's Tale, Deathbringer, Forerunner, Gjallarhorn, Hawkmoon, Malfeasance, No Time to Explain, Riskrunner, Salvation's Grip, The Chaperone, The Lament, Wish-Ender, Xenophage |
| Exotics | Exotic Engrams | | Arbalest, Black Talon, Borealis, Cerberus+1, Coldheart, Crimson, D.A.R.C.I., Fighting Lion, Graviton Lance, Hard Light, Lord of Wolves, Merciless, Monte Carlo, Prometheus Lens, Skyburner's Oath, Sunshot, SUROS Regime, Sweet Business, Telesto, The Colony, The Huckleberry, The Jade Rabbit, The Prospector, The Queenbreaker, The Wardcliff Coil, Thunderlord, Tractor Cannon, Trinity Ghoul, Two-Tailed Fox, Vigilance Wing, Wavesplitter |
| Content Vault | Monument to Lost Lights | Varies | Ace of Spades, Anarchy, Bad Juju, Bastion, Cryosthesia 77K, Devil's Ruin, Duality, Eriana's Vow, Felwinter's Lie, Izanagi's Burden, Jötunn, Le Monarque, Legend of Acrius, Leviathan's Breath, Lumina, MIDA Multi-Tool, Outbreak Perfected, Point of the Stag, Polaris Lance, Rat King, Ruinous Effigy, Sleeper Simulant, Sturm, Symmetry, Tarrabah, The Fourth Horseman, The Last Word, Thorn, Ticuu's Divination, Tommy's Matchbook, Traveler's Chosen, Truth, Whisper of the Worm, Witherhoard, Worldline Zero |
| Destination | Moon Destination | | A Fine Memorial, Apostate, Arc Logic, Blasphemer, Dream Breaker, Every Waking Moment, Heretic, Loud Lullaby, Love and Death, Night Terror, One Small Step, Tranquility |
| Destination | Europa Destination | | Arctic Haze, Bonechiller, Hailing Confusion, High Albedo, Subzero Salvo, Biting Winds, Coriolis Force, Thermal Erosion |
| Destination | Dreaming City Destination | | Abide the Return, Retold Tale, Sleepless, Tigerspite, Twilight Oath, Vouchsafe, Waking Vigil |
| Events | Solstice of Heroes | | Compass Rose |
| Events | Guardian Games | | Heir Apparent |
| Events | Festival of the Lost | | Braytech Werewolf, Horror Story, Jurassic Green |
| Events | Dawning | | Avalanche, Cold Front, Glacioclasm, Zephyr |
| Playlist | Pursuit weapons | | Adored, Ascendancy, Null Composure, Salvager's Salvo |
| Playlist | Strikes | | Empty Vessel, Punching Out, Royal Entry, The Third Axiom, Xenoclast IV |
| Playlist | Gambit | | Borrowed Time, Bottom Dollar, Crowd Pleaser, Servant Leader, Trinary System |
| Playlist | Crucible | | Frozen Orbit, Sorrow's Verse, Stars in Shadow, Survivor's Epitaph, The Keening, Wishbringer |
| Seasonal | Dares of Eternity | | BxR-55 Battler, Half-Truths, Pardon Our Dust, Retraced Path, The Other Half, Wastelander M5 |
| Seasonal | Shattered Realm | | Canis Major, Fractethyst, Iota Draconis, Vulpecula, Wolftone Draw |
| Seasonal | Season Pass | | Chrysura Melo, Lorentz Driver, Shattered Cipher, Sojourner's Tale |
| Seasonal | Override | | Chroma Rush, Farewell, Gridskipper, Ignition Code |
| Seasonal | Battlegrounds | | Code Duello, Extraordinary Rendition, Far Future, Imperial Needle, Threaded Needle |
| Seasonal | Wrathborn Hunts | | Blast Battue, Brass Attacks, Corsair's Wrath, Deafening Whisper, Friction Fire, Royal Chase |
| World Loot | World Loot Pool | | Annual Skate, Arsenic Bite-4b, Bad Omens, Berenger's Memory, Cartesian Coordinate, Cold Denial,Contingency Plan, Crown-Splitter, Death Adder, Eternal Blazon, Eternity's Edge, Falling Guillotine, False Promises, First In, Last Out, Gnawing Hunger, Hollow Words, Hoosegow, IKELOS_HC_v1.0.2, IKELOS_SG_v1.0.2, IKELOS_SMG_v1.0.2, IKELOS_SR_v1.0.2, Last Dance, Last Perdition, Legal Action II, Lonesome, Long Shadow, Main Ingredient, Memory Interdict, Nature of the Beast, Negative Space, Night Watch, Outrageous Fortune, Pleiades Corrector, Quickfang, Retrofuturist, Scathelocke, Shepherd's Watch, Spoiler Alert, Steel Sybil Z-14, Stochastic Variable, Tarantula, Temptation's Hook, The Deicide, The Number, The Vision, Toil and Trouble, Truthteller, Whispering Slab, Widow's Bite, |
| World Loot | Gunsmith | | Dire Promise, Distant Tumulus, Drang, Enigma's Draw, Escape Velocity, Honor's Edge, Interference VI, Jian 7 Rifle, MIDA Mini-Tool, Seventh Seraph Carbine, Seventh Seraph CQC-12, Seventh Seraph Officer Revolver, Seventh Seraph SAW, Seventh Seraph SI-2, Seventh Seraph VY-7, Timelines' Vertex, True Prophecy |
You now know how to get every single weapon in Destiny 2!
