Best Weapons for Free-to-Play Destiny 2 Players
When you start your adventure in Destiny 2, you want to try the game first before investing in it. Sometimes you might be interested in the best free-to-play weapons for Destiny 2 that you can get, especially some Exotic ones with cool perks. Unfortunately, most of them are behind the DLC fence, and you have to run around with anything in your inventory. We have received numerous requests to have an article on this topic. Consequently, after reading all what we have to offer, you will gain insights into the best firearms to acquire in the free-to-play version of Destiny 2. Thus, you can confidently embark on your gaming journey and make informed decisions regarding weapon selection.
All Best Free-to-Play Weapons in Destiny 2
Primary
Having an excellent Primary weapon in your inventory is very useful, as many of them are incredibly beneficial to clear mobs quickly. The following five examples are must-have weapons for Destiny 2 free players.
Riskrunner
- How to Get It: “Risk/Reward” quest or Exotic Engrams
That’s an incredibly good Exotic to have as a F2P player, and it is very easy to acquire. Riskrunner has the following two unique traits:
- Arc Conductor: When taking harm from Arc, this SMG is boosted and provides resistance against that damage type. You can extend the effect by destroying foes or retaking the same kind of damage
- Superconductor: When Arc Conductor is active, there is a chance to create a lightning chain while firing and return some ammo
The gift of the aforementioned Exotic is wholly tied to Arc since there are too many sources of such damage in the game. Because of that reason, Riskrunner could be the first favorite Exotic item to new players due to its ease of use and fast clearing mobs. But do not forget the main thing: upgrading it to Masterwork. After obtaining the Catalyst, Riskrunner gets a better range, which is incredibly important for any SMG.
Outbreak Perfected
- How to Get It: Monument to the Lost Light
A couple of years ago, Outbreak Perfected was an integral part of the PvE meta. Right now, it’s a great Exotic Pulse Rifle in end-game activities, but it doesn’t get much love these days.
The main weapon’s gimmick among all Pulse Rifles in Destiny 2 is SIVA nanites, which appear on the enemy after precision takedowns or rapid hits. Moreover, the more of these nanites on the enemy, the more harm the weapon does.
But! That’s not all. After all, the Exotic reveals itself fully after making a Catalyst, which further upgrades these cute nanites by raising the damage and spawns an additional amount of them after taking down an enemy if they were on the target at the moment. Thus, this makes Outbreak Perfected just the perfect weapon in any boss fights or clearing phases.
IKELOS_SMG_V1.0.3
- Best Perks: Smallbore, Seraph Rounds, Feeding Frenzy/Threat Detector, Voltshot
- How To Get It: Random Wolrd Drop or Obtainable from Xur or Banshee-44
A new classic that will probably be relevant for a long time, even among free-to-play Destiny 2 weapons. Getting IKELOS SMG is quite challenging because it drops completely randomly and it all depends on the RNG god. Nevertheless, players are now able to farm godroll more easily, as it possible to get a red border for any craftable weapon from Deepsight Harmoniser. This feature is available to F2P players, which means they’ll have a chance to make a godroll that turns IKELOS SMG into the best gun. Additionally, we recommend keeping an eye on our old friend Xur, who brings gifts, including this gun, every week! You can check Xur’s location at this page!
In terms of perks, we suggest taking the following from the third column:
- Feeding Frenzy: Increases reload speed after quick takedowns by up to 100
- Threat Detector: Triggered by one or two enemies within 15 meters. Improves the reload speed up to 60 but also boosts equally important stats like stability
In the fourth column, the obvious favorite is Voltshot, which overcharges IKELOS after defeating an enemy and reloading, which causes a jolt on the next hit.
Hung Jury SR4
- Best Perks: Arrowhead Brake, Tactical Mag/Flared Magwell, Rapid Hit/Shoot to Loot, Kinetic Tremor/Frenzy/Firefly
- How to Get It: Nightfalls or Vanguard Focused Decoding
It’s hard to imagine going into Grandmaster Nightfall without a ranged weapon. You are very lucky because Commander Zavala has one of the best Scout Rifles in Destiny 2, which can often be seen in top weapons for free-to-play Destiny 2.
Let’s move on to the analysis of perks. If you’re not a fan of long reloading, you’ll find Rapid Hit in the third column very promising, which improves the annoying aspect after every Precision Hit. However, if you’re willing to put up with it, Shoot to Loot, which picks up ammo on hit, could easily become your favorite bonus. In the fourth column, you’ll find three great perks for any gameplay style:
- Kinetic Tremor to destroy mobs with long HP bar with shockwaves
- Frenzy increases passive damage to 15%
- Firefly to annihilate crowds of weak mobs with explosions after Precision Final Blows
Strident Whistle
- Best Perks: Elastic String, Fiberglass Arrow Shaft, Archer’s Tempo, Incandescent/Explosive Head
- How to Get It: Vanguard Ops or Vanguard Focused Decoding
Unfortunately, there are no Exotic Bows available for F2P players, and they are all very good. But that’s not a reason to be upset. After all, you can get an excellent Legendary bow from Zavala and his activities! Selecting perks in the third column will be easy, as you won’t find anything better on bows than Archer’s Tempo, which reduces draw time per Precision Hit. In the fourth column, Incandescent is great to have in Solar builds because it sets enemies on fire after Precision Final Blows, and speaking of all other subclasses, take Explosive Head, which increases damage by 15%.
Special
With the Primary weapons covered, let’s now delve into the Special ones. In the following sections, we will discuss five specific weapons that will prove invaluable to you, even during challenging end-game activities.
Arbalest
- How to Get It: Quest or Exotic Engrams
Arbalest has only recently joined the free-to-play family but has long established its place in the meta. This means that the named Linear Fusion Rifle took its well-deserved place in the free-to-play weapon meta in Destiny 2. Why did the players start liking Arbalest so much? The reason is quite simple, it’s very effective against barrier enemies and Champions, and instantly destroys opponents’ shields. In addition, Disruption Break makes foes more susceptible to Kinetic damage. We definitely recommend this rifle for Raids and Nightfalls.
Merciless
- How to Get It: Exotic Engrams
Sometimes during the DPS Phase, Heavy Ammo ends, and you need to hit the boss with something. Merciless easily comes to your aid, which shows excellent damage numbers and may even be not inferior to some Heavy Weapons! That’s all thanks to the Exotic Perk, which speeds up Charge Time with every hit. Catalyst only improves range, but sometimes it can help you a lot.
Riptide
- Best Perks: Arrowhead Brake, Enhanced Battery, Auto-Loading Holster/Lead from Gold, Chill Clip
- How to Get It: Crucible Matches or Crucible Focused Decoding
It’s safe to call Riptide as one of the best Fusion Rifles for F2P in the whole game, and there is one good reason: the Chill Clip perk. Because of it, your weapon slows down the target if your ammo in the magazine is more than half. In two hits, the target will be frozen, allowing the weapon to deal a lot of damage to enemies around you as they shatter to pieces. So what’s so special about Chill Clip? With the release of Lightfall, subclass verbs can now stun Champions, including Slow (Anti-Overload) and Freeze (Anti-Unstoppable). With one weapon, you’re fully ready to get in the fight at the Grandmaster, isn’t that a miracle? For a more pleasant experience, acquire Auto-Loading Holster to have automatic reloading, as well as Lead from Gold if you quickly run out of ammo.
Harsh Language
- Best Perks: Quick Launch, High-Velocity Rounds, Stats for All/Envious Assassin, Destabilizing Rounds/Repulsor Brace
- How to Get It: Random world drop or can be bought from Banshee-44
In Destiny 2, you often need every possible means against mob clears, and this Wave Grenade Launcher will do just fine. Stats for All helps you speed up Reload Speed when hitting three different enemies, and with Envious Assassin the grenade launcher automatically recharges on takedowns with your other weapons. If you play Void Build and are able to obtain Volatile Rounds easily, then you could easily increase your survivability thanks to the Repulsor Brace perk. In any other case, it is better to use Destabilizing Rounds, which will make enemies around defeated targets Volatile.
Irukandji
- Best Perks: Arrowhead Brake, Tactical Mag, Fourth Time’s The Charm, Firing Line
- How to Get It: Random world drop or can be bought from Banshee-44
Need a good legendary Sniper Rifle? Well, Irukandji is the perfect Sniper Rifle for F2P players and more!
Obtaining Irukandji is on par with IKELOS in terms of difficulty, and alas, obtaining a godroll for it is not a simple task either, mainly due to the inability to craft it. If you are still lucky and get a combination of FTTC and Firing Line, then congratulations. The bottom line is that both perks synergize well, the former returns two ammo on crit hits while the latter buffs owner damage and two teammates nearby too. We can say that it’s qan excellent choice to own in the cooperative passage of Nightfalls, Dungeons, or Raids.
Heavy
The issue of Heavy weapons was tricky, as Bungie didn’t make the range as diverse as it was above. Nevertheless, if we were to make a Destiny 2 free-to-play weapon tier list, then all of these weapons would be on the S-tier.
Sleeper Simulant
- How to Get It: Monument to the Lost Light
Sleeper Simulant is a must-have in any DPS phase due to its massive damage and range. This weapon fires lasers that bounce off surfaces, giving them a chance to hit the enemy or yourself even if they miss. However, Catalyst is highly recommended for Sleeper Simulant, as it lowers Charge Time and allows you to fire incredibly fast, making it especially effective against bosses.
Thunderlord
- How to Get It: Exotic Engrams
One of the best machine guns that is perfect as an ad clear monster, which also slays Overload Champions and takes down some bosses. And yes, that’s one of those Exotic weapons for F2P. Thunderlord is unique, it accelerates over time while shooting, creating Lightning Strikes on rapid hits or final blows. You can even improve the effect of these lightning strikes by making the Catalyst cause Thunderlord to partially reload, which is ideal in a long-term bombardment of a boss or an enemy with a long HP bar. Thanks to the Feeding Frenzy perk, it’ll also recharge quickly if you make rapid takedowns.
The Hothead
- Best Perks: Volatile Launch, Impact Casing, Auto-Loading Holster/Field Prep/Demolitionist, Explosive Light/Clown Cartridge/Vorpal Weapon
- How to Get It: Vanguard Legacy Focusing
Among all the legendary Rocket Launchers, The Hothead is the best and often ends up in free-to-play Destiny 2 loadouts, but the path to getting it can turn this MMO shooter into an Engram Opening Simulator. There are a lot of good perks, and there is no limit to the ideal roll, which is why even obtaining one good Rocket Launcher doesn’t end the opening of engrams. Below are the combos that we would like to recommend:
- Field Prep and Clown Cartridge: In our opinion, that’s the best combo to quickly reload your gun while crouching and load two rounds into the magazine instead of one after this action
- Demolitionist and Explosive Light: A great option to have in DPS Phases, especially if your build is focused on grenades. You can not reload after spending Rockets’ cartridges but throw another grenade to return the cartridge. Previously picked Orbs of Power will improve the damage and blast radius of the next projectile
- Auto-Loading Holster and Vorpal Weapon: A good combo if you didn’t get previous perks. While your Rocket Launcher is in a holster, it’ll recharge in 2.5 seconds. The damage against bosses and vehicles also increases by 10% thanks to Vorpal. Very convenient and allows you to give more room for combinations in other slots!
Only three of these perk picks can completely change loadouts for non-paying players.
Corrective Measure
- Best Perks: Arrowhead Brake, Tactical Mag, Subsistence/Rewind Rounds, Firefly
- How to Get It: Vault of Glass Raid
With the release of the Lightfall DLC, Machine Guns received another buff that finally made them a really good choice in any activity, including Raids and GM Nightfalls. You can get Corrective Measure in the Vault of Glass raid, but don’t worry, it’s free to all players. Subsistence and Rewind Rounds fill your magazine ammo, but if the first perk does it for Final Blows, then the second one is for simple hits, which will be useful when damaging miniboss or boss. Firefly, as we wrote earlier, makes destroying crowds of opponents easier.
Wendigo GL3
- Best Perks: Hard Launch, Spike Grenades, Auto-Loading Holster/Field Prep, Explosive Light/Frenzy
- How to Get It: Nightfalls
Even though Heavy Grenade Launchers in F2P didn’t get a foothold in the meta, this one is better to have, at least in the future. The Auto-Loading Holster assists you in combining the Wendigo with other guns to improve your DPS. At the same time, the Field Prep increases your reserves and enhances your Reload Speed while crouched. Explosive Light can easily be called the best perk on Wendigo GL3, as it will increase damage by almost 50% after picking-up Orb of Power.
PVP
We have listed all the possible weapons in PvE but haven’t touched PvP at all. Thus, we have compiled a list of the top five guns that are good in their aspects in this particular game mode.
The Jade Rabbit
- How to Get It: Exotic Engrams
Let’s start our list of Best FTP weapons in Destiny 2 with the Scout Rifle named The Jade Rabbit, which has seen a lot of changes but is still very good. The unique Exotic Perk will raise Body Shot damage on fast Precision Hits, which is never a bad thing. But of course, the essence of this Exotic is great Base Stats and Zen Moment, which reduces recoil and flinch, which is very important for Scout Rifles.
Forerunner
- How to Get It: “Magnum Opus” Quest
The Exotic sidearm Forerunner is a huge nod to Halo’s Magnum. Surprisingly, it copies Magnum not only visually, but also the technical side too. That is, its range, firing rate due to the 200 RPM Frame, stability, and effectiveness against players in PvP is incredibly high. With this Special Sidearm, it is possible to take out an opponent in three headshots and if your Aim is trained well enough, then you’ll like it.
Autumn Wind
- Best Perks: Arrowhead Brake, Ricochet Rounds, Rangefinder, Headseeker/Moving Target
- How to Get It: Crucible Matches
A great Pulse Rifle that’s great in mid-range fights that are fairly common. However, if you want to take down Guardians at a great distance, Rangefinder will help you with this, which significantly increases the range. Moving Target is a good choice if you’re a player who never misses, but we still suggest Headseeker on Autumn Wind. Named perk enhances Precision Damage and Aim Assistance after Body Shots.
Found Verdict
- Best Perks: Smallbore, Accurized Round, Slideshot/Surplus, Opening Shot
- How to Get It: Vault of Glass Raid
How can you fare in PvP without a Shotgun, right? Fortunately, in the same free Vault of Glass Raid, there is just one copy, which also has an Adept Version. If you are a sliding and aggressive gameplay fan, then Slideshot (boosts the range) will be your priority choice. For the rest, Surplus is best in its business because it improves your Handling for each charged Ability. Opening Shot, which increases Range and Accuracy, is considered the best perk to own in all Shotguns.
Out Of Bounds
- Best Perks: Smallbore, Ricochet Rounds, Dynamic Sway Reduction/Killing Wind, Rangefinder/Kill Clip
- How To Get It: Crucible Matches or Crucible Focused Decoding
Out of Bounds is the most suitable in PvP of all the possible SMGs, especially due to the ease of getting. This SMG has a lot of perks. A lot, really! Still, we are only interested in 2 perks from each column.
Dynamic Sway Reduction is a great SMG perk in the third column as it improves weapon stability by holding down the trigger. At the same time, Killing Wind is an equally perfect perk, giving 50 mobility, 40 handling, and 20 range by simply defeating an enemy.
In the fourth column, you might be interested in Rangefinder, which increases range, or Kill Clip, which increases damage by 25% after taking down an opponent and reloading. The choice between the two of them depends on your own preference, as each of them is good in its own way.
Final Words
And just like that, we got to the end of our list. We made it as diverse and useful as possible so that you may get your desired answers for everything. You can safely continue to play for free, with a really huge range of Destiny 2 weapons without spending money. If you want to thank us somehow, then leaving a positive comment and liking the article would be greatly appreciated. And we will know that you want to see more of such guides. In a meantime, you can check out our article about getting all Upgrade Materials in Destiny 2.
Thanks for reading! Owl is flying away.
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