Destiny 2 PvE DPS mastery: Tips, techniques, and builds
Learn all of the Destiny 2 PvE DPS techniques and become the most powerful Guardian!
Table of Contents
At one moment, you’ll get to a point when you feel like you’ve known everything about Destiny 2. You need to figure out what to do next, but you’ll likely assume the content ceiling is reached. But there’s a possibility that you may have missed some raids and sometimes have problems completing them. Most fireteams often get stuck on bosses due to the need for one thing: better DPS.
In this article, we’ll tell you what DPS in Destiny 2 PvE is, how to improve it, and what is required. We have a lot of work to do, so let’s dive right in and start exploring our material!
What does DPS mean and how can I improve it?
DPS or Damage Per Second is a simple metric of how much damage (dmg) you deal to an enemy every second. You can often see numbers flying around when shooting down the enemy, and in Raids or Dungeons, after the wipe or defeating the final boss, see the total damage numbers. Your dmg depends on various factors, whether it be a weapon in your hand, subclass, Exotic armor, buffs, debuffs, or multiple other little factors that synergize with each other.
The following sections analyze each element in detail to understand how it affects DPS.
Choice of guns and perks
The very first and most important step is selecting the best weapons for DPS in Destiny 2 PvE. Each gun has unique features and can be effective in entirely different ways. Prominent examples include:
- Heavy Grenade Launchers: Highly effective against most bosses in the game, especially those with a small crit spot.
- Sniper or Linear Fusion Rifles: Ideal for bosses that are far away or have a large crit spot, such as Oryx in King’s Fall or The Witness.
- Some bosses can be defeated much faster using specific weapons, such as Parasite against Atraks-1 or The Wardcliff Coil against Raneiks.
This is why, if you’re heading into a raid, it’s crucial to keep the best guns in your inventory for any situation.
Interesting Fact: The same type of weapon is sometimes capable of differentiating tremendously from the other in terms of damage. How so? It’s pretty simple: perks and their archetypes. Too often, players don’t understand “How to increase DPS in Destiny 2 PvE,” and one perk is being able to completely change the gun’s performance, just like an archetype.
For instance, you get the best legendary Sniper Rifle, The Supremacy, and its perks are Discord and Opening Shot. You decide to use it on the boss. Unfortunately, both perks are completely useless, and this sniper seems like total garbage. At the same time, your teammate also uses it and deals much more damage because of Rewind Rounds and Bait and Switch, which increases its damage and fills its clip with ammo. For clarity, have more examples with detailed numerals: DPS chart in Destiny 2 PvE.
DPS subclasses and exotic armor
As much as you want to play Strand Hunter or Arc Warlock, these subclasses don’t deal that much harm to enemies. If you desire to maximize your damage to opponents, then you have to sacrifice something. But then, which subclass and Super should you choose? We’ll analyze this to better understand DPS in Destiny 2 PvE.
Warlocks subclass and exotics
Every Warlock knows the importance of maintaining the Well of Radiance during any DPS phase. This Super heals and provides bonus gun damage to all Fireteam members standing in it. However, with the release of The Final Shape (TFS), this is no longer always the best option. In some cases, the Well of Radiance can easily be replaced with a simple Healing Grenade combined with Speaker’s Sight alongside the Song of Flame Super. If the team already has sufficient healing and damage buffs, you can opt for the Prismatic subclass with Nova Bomb and an Exotic Class Item like Spirit of the Star-Eater.
Titans subclass and exotics
Titans have a more limited range of choices. Currently, there are two popular Supers: Thundercrash and Twilight Arsenal. Both are strong and deal significant damage, especially when paired with Spirit of the Star-Eater or Cuirass of the Falling Star. However, there are situations where other Supers can also be useful. For example, Glacial Quake performs exceptionally well against Raneiks from Vesper’s Host.
Hunter subclass and exotic
Hunters can be considered a DPS class due to their extensive selection of Exotics and Supers. First and foremost, you must know about the Celestial Nighthawk. This helmet converts three Marksman Golden Gun shots into a single powerful shot that deals massive damage. Don’t overlook the Void Super, which applies the strongest debuff in the game. More on this will be discussed later in the article.
Buffs and Debuffs
There are a huge number of buffs and debuffs in the looter shooter, which are challenging to figure out. Some can stack together to have more effect, while others don’t. We can describe all of them indefinitely. Therefore, we have only described the most essential and powerful buffs and debuffs you could use.
Debuffs
The strongest Debuff during Episode: Revenant is 30%, which you are able to achieve in three ways:
- Void Hunter’s Tether
- Tractor Cannon
- Felwinter’s Helm
The easiest option for DPS would be Super Hunter. Regardless, it only lasts for a short time. If you have the opportunity to be close to the boss, then Tractor Cannon is a great option. Regarding Felwinter’s Helm, it’s too difficult and inefficient to use.
The most common Debuff you’ll see in the game would be 15%, and it is much easier to place on the enemy than the options above. The most popular weapon representative is Divinity, which, in addition to the Debuff, creates a vast sphere that counts as a Crit Spot. Any weapon or Ability that has the capability to cast Weaken will also increase harm against enemies by 15%.
It is important to note that all debuffs don’t stack with each other, but one could overlap another. For example, you can use Divinity for Crit Spot along with Tractor Cannon for 30% bonus damage.
Buffs
The situation is much more confusing with buffs, and explaining all the pitfalls is a topic for a separate article. This spreadsheet will assist you if you want to get to know them better, especially if you want to know how to optimize DPS in Destiny 2 raids or dungeons.
Radiance and Well of Radiance are the most straightforward and potent buffs. They’ll raise the damage by your weapon to 25%. And we have good news for you: they stack with Weapon Surge Mods, and you are able to set them into Legs armor. The increased damage depends on the number of copies inserted (10%/17%/22%), so always use three of the same mods to be more effective.
Three best damage per second builds
The Supers of each class are just as important during the DPS phases, as guns aren’t the only thing that matters here. Keep one effective Hunter, Warlock, and Titan build to improve PvE DPS in Destiny 2.
Destiny 2 DPS guide final words
So, now you know how to improve PvE DPS in Destiny 2! Achieving great damage in this looter shooter can be easy if you understand all the game’s mechanics and how to use them correctly. Knowing debuffs, buffs, weapons, tactics, and so on will keep you getting much better at endgame PvE activities.
We hope our DPS tips for Destiny 2 PvE will assist you and your allies in battles and against bosses. And if so, be sure to share your results in the comments! We wish to improve our guide with your feedback so that we can work together to achieve even more success. Also, you should check out the best DPS weapon in Destiny 2 to get even better in this matter!
Thanks for Reading. Owl is flying away!
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