by Owl Guy

January 22, 2024

Best Weapon Perks in Destiny 2: PvE Tier List

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Everyone wants to obtain the best Destiny 2 weapon perks for PvE, embark on Master Raid or GM Nightfall, and efficiently deal with any enemies. However, not everyone knows which perks are the best…

Destiny 2 is a game with an overwhelming amount of loot. Even if two weapons look the same, their perks can make them different. Perks change how the weapons behave and add unique properties to them.

For example, you might be in combat, and the perk increases your damage, or it will allow you to reload your weapons by shooting at Ammo Bricks or even recharge your abilities through takedowns! These are the perks on offer, but not all of them are as useful as they seem at first glance.

In this article on Destiny 2 best weapon perks, we want to talk about those that help in PvE activities. We already have discussed the best weapon perks for PvP but not those effective against combatants. So, get your notebook ready or bookmark this page because there’s a lot to discuss!

Ad-clear Perks

First and foremost, let’s look at the perks that either require a kill or aid to activate in ad-clear with a small but bonus damage. For context, ad-clear perks are designed to help eliminate significant groups of enemies within seconds, making them extremely useful in scenarios where endless waves of combatants need to be dealt with swiftly and efficiently.

This is just the first section out of five that will be in this article, but each is important in its own way in various situations. And to answer your biggest question: yes, we’re ranking Destiny 2 all weapon perks.

Chain Reaction

If you need a weapon for Ad-clear, there is no better perk than Chain Reaction. It explodes the targets you’ve killed, thereby hitting nearby enemies. The best guns with Chain Reaction can confidently be considered Forbearance and Salvager’s Salvo, which destroy everything in the arena in seconds.

One for All

Very simple Destiny 2 perk to activate but strong in damage — One for All is perfect for endgame content. All you need to do is quickly hit three different foes, and you’ll get 35% bonus damage, like the famous Bait and Switch. 

Golden Tricorn

Golden Tricorn is one of the most vital damage perks in the game, although it’s a struggle to activate. First, you must take down someone using a gun to receive a 15% bonus damage. Then, while this buff is active, you need to eliminate an enemy with an ability corresponding to this weapon’s element. Yes, it’s not easy, but it’s worth the effort for 50% bonus damage for 10 seconds.

Killing Tally

If you are lucky enough to obtain a new Trace Rifle or Machine Gun with the Killing Tally perk — you’re in luck. For each Final Blow, you’ll receive one stack of the buff, each giving you 10% damage. You may have up to 3 stacks, and they have no timer, instead, they disappear if you reload or holster the weapon. In combination with some Ammo perks, you are able to have Killing Tally x3 almost constantly, which is why it occupies such a high place in our Tier List.

Sword Logic

So far, Sword Logic can only be found on guns from Crota’s End, but this doesn’t prevent it from being one of the best PvE perks in Destiny 2. It works very complexly: when you defeat different types of enemies, such as Red Bar, Elite, Miniboss, and Boss, you’ll acquire an additional damage increase. Also, the stronger the enemy, the bigger the bonus will be. 

Frenzy

If you are in combat for a long time, Frenzy will undoubtedly come to your aid. Frenzy activates if you have taken or caused damage over 12 seconds, giving not only 15% increased damage but also 100 Handling and Reload Speed. Although losing this buff is easy, it still deserves the top line of our tier list.

Adrenaline Junkie

The best friend for any Grenade Builds, helping to deal with any enemy. Adrenaline Junkie has five stacks, each giving 6.7% bonus damage. You can get them simply by destroying foes with the weapon, but if you make a Grenade Final Blow, you’ll immediately get Adrenaline Junkie x5, which is 33.3% improved damage. A pleasant bonus will be increased Handling, which not all players will even notice.

Destiny 2 Damage Perks

The following Destiny 2 perks list is dedicated to the most commonly used ones for DPS Phases or dealing damage to Mini Bosses or Champions. Almost all of them are used only on Special or Heavy weapons.

Bait and Switch

For almost two years now, Bait and Switch have been considered as one of the must-have perks in Destiny 2 for any DPS Phase, and not without reason. To activate it, you just need to deal damage with all your weapons, and you will be rewarded with 35% bonus damage. There’s not much more to say about it, as guns like Supremacy, Cataclysmic, and Apex Predator speak for themselves.

Precision Instrument

It should be noted that this refers to Enhanced Precision Instrument, which is one of the best enhanced perks in Destiny 2! Unlike the regular version, its maximum bonus to precision damage is 30% instead of 25%. That’s why Doomed Petitioner has become one of the top choices for everyone’s loadout this season. For each hit with it, you get a Precision Instrument stack, and you can have six stacks simultaneously, giving 30% increased crit damage.

Controlled Burst

Although Controlled Burst is only found on Fusion Rifles, it doesn’t stop it from being a DPS Phase meta. The only thing you have to do to activate it is just hit with all Bolts to receive 20% bonus damage and 10% reduced charge time. Controlled Burst works best on the High-Impact Archetype, like Eremite.

Firing Line

And, of course, where would we be without the classic Firing Line, which is perfect for Dungeons or Raids? When near two allies, your Precision Damage is improved by 25%. It is mostly found on Sniper or Linear Fusion Rifles, which are often used for DPS Phases.

Abilities and Verbs Perks

Here are described Destiny 2 gun perks related to various Abilities or Subclass Verbs, like Jolt or Scorch. They often complement certain builds, though the finest representatives can work well on any Subclass.

Voltshot

Voltshot, using Jolt from the Arc Subclass, can be considered the best ad-clear perk after Chain Reaction. It works similar to Kill Clip, requiring reloading after a Final Blow. This will grant you the Voltshot buff, which applies Jolt to the next enemy you hit with the gun having a Voltshot. The main advantage of it over Chain Reaction is its availability on Primary Weapons.

Demolitionist

Grenades play a vital role in many builds, so everyone wants to have them as often as possible. That’s exactly what Demolitionist does: it restores some Grenade Energy from Weapon Final Blows. The features of Demolitionist don’t end there, as using a Grenade reloads your gun.

Chill Clip

After the Lightfall DLC, when many existing Subclass Verbs became effective against Champions, Chill Clip became one of the best weapon perks in Destiny 2 for stunning Unstoppable and Overload Enemies. As long as you have more than half of your ammo, each shot will apply 40 Slow Stacks, meaning every three shots will Freeze your enemy. Chill Clip works great on Riptide, which rightfully made our list of the best Fusion Rifles. 

Slice

With the release of Season of the Wish, Slice, found on some weapons, immediately caught the attention of many Guardians. After using a Class Ability, the gun with Slice will apply Sever to enemies for a few seconds. This Debuff reduces the enemy’s damage output by 40%, which can be extremely useful against Bosses.

Ammo Perks

This section of Destiny 2 weapon perks tier list contains perks related to weapon ammunition in one way or another. These perks can increase the magazine size or automatically reload the gun.

Envious Assassin

In our opinion, one of the most beloved and valuable reload perks is Envious Assassin. It works simply: a weapon with Envious Assassin replenishes its magazine based on the number of kills you’ve made with other weapons. If your gun has a full magazine, you are able to overfill it up to 150%! At the time of writing this article, you can even achieve a replenishment of up to 300% if you reactivate the perk when you have 250% magazine capacity or lower. Envious Assassin proves itself in any situation and constantly saves those with trouble reloading other weaponry, especially in the form of Destiny 2 enhanced perks!

Fourth Time’s the Charm

FTtC is incredibly useful in boss situations. It allows you to generate two rounds in the magazine for every four critical hits within two seconds. The time condition might be intimidating, but Fourth Time’s the Charm performs excellently when dealing damage with Sniper Rifles, Machine Guns, and Linear Fusion Rifles.

Reconstruction

Another perk that constantly comes to the rescue is Reconstruction. If your weapon has it, it will replenish the magazine by 10% every 4 seconds. Moreover, you can overflow the magazine up to 100%, which is perfect for many heavy slot weapons! You could even say that Reconstruction is one of the Destiny 2 best Rocket Launcher perks!

Triple Tap

If your gun doesn’t have FTtC, it likely has an alternative called Triple Tap. It works in the same way, but you receive one round and need to deal three precision hits within two seconds.

Rewind Rounds

If you don’t want to use other weapons to annihilate enemies and refill your main gun, and don’t want to wait for your weapon to reload, we suggest using Rewind Rounds because it is one of those Destiny 2 best perks for each weapon! It can refill your empty magazine by up to 60%, based on the number of hits you manage to make. While you won’t be able to shoot infinitely, this feature can be useful during ad-clear or even DPS phases.

Auto-Loading Holster

Auto-Loading Holster is simple in practice and as reliable as a Swiss watch. After holstering the gun, it refills in 2.5 seconds. The obvious application is DPS Phases, but even in regular content, it’s more than worthwhile, so don’t overlook it!

Weapon Stat Perks

How can we forget perks that provide various bonuses to Weapon Stats? Since we’re considering PvE, the most critical criterion will be an increase in Reload Speed.

Field Prep 

Since the release of Destiny 2, Field Prep has always been an excellent Heavy Slot perk that never fails. By crouching, you gain a massive bonus to Reload Speed, comparable to Feeding Frenzy 5x. Besides, Field Prep provides a significant bonus to Reserves, equivalent to two similar Mods in Chest.

Impulse Amplifier

Impulse Amplifier is not ideal, especially on Heavy, but its power on Glaives and Rocket Sidearms cannot be denied. Not only does it increase Projectile Speed, making it almost Hitscan, but it also significantly increases Reload Speed, and all this functions passively! You don’t need to make Final Blows or other things to have the bonus, which makes it one of the best. This is what makes it one of the best glaive perks in Destiny 2.

Rapid Hit

Rapid Hit is often a favorite on Hand Cannons, Scout, and Pulse Rifles, as it is able to provide up to 60 Reload Speed and a 0.92x Reload Multiplier. In order to activate it, you need to hit opponents in their Crit to receive one stack of Rapid Hit Buff. The maximum stored is five stacks, and they last only 2 seconds, so you need to act quickly.

Enlightened Action

Enlightened Action can be considered a younger brother of Rapid Hit, as they have a similar working principle. If the previous one gave bonuses to Reload for Precision Hits, you don’t need to aim for Crit here. Each hit provides you with one stack of Enlightened Action Buff, which gives +10 Handling and Reload Speed. There can be a total of six stacks, and even at their maximum, you get fewer bonuses than with Rapid Hit.

Keep Away

In Endgame content, especially Grandmasters, players often stay away from their opponents. In such situations, Keep Away, which gives Reload Speed and Range if no enemies are near you, is handy. Of course, losing all bonuses will be unpleasant if an enemy approaches you, but every perk should have its drawbacks.

Final Words on Destiny 2 Perks for PvE

That’s a wrap-up for a complex guide on the best weapon perks in Destiny 2 Season of the Wish. If you found this guide helpful, please leave a comment to let us know. We’ll continue to provide similar content based on your feedback!

Also, don’t forget to check out our article on the best Destiny 2 weapon perks for PvP if you want to learn how to dominate Guardians. If PvP doesn’t interest you, then perhaps you should assemble a top loadout with the help of the best PvE weapons in Destiny 2. There are many exotic and legendary examples, and with the latter, you are able to reinforce your knowledge of this Destiny 2 perks tier list.

Thanks for Reading! Owl is Flying Away.