With the abundance of weapons inDestiny 2, it’s not always possible to have every archetype in a viable spot for the current meta. The artifact mods have a lot to do with what types of weapons players will go for, and the greatest victim of that have been machine guns for some time now.
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That said, Bungie has given machine guns some much-needed love recently. Starting season 17, machine guns now do 40% more damage against PVE enemies, and 20% more damage against bosses. This means machine guns are a decent choice when it comes to clearing ads, and some slower machine guns can be fantastic even against elite enemies like orange-bars, depending on their perk options. Here’s which machine guns are the best as of now inDestiny 2.
Updated on June 04, 2025, by Anastasia Maillot:Bungie is still desperate to get more players to pick up machine guns, and while seasons 17 and 18 saw some machine guns receive interesting updates like intrinsic anti-champion capabilities and damage buffs, they continue to be a largely neglected archetype. That hasn’t stopped new machine guns and a few older ones from making their entrance into Destiny 2. Almost every season has seen one new machine gun added to the loot pool, which is proof of how much Bungie wants this archetype to become the new meta (of sorts). In season 19, these are thebest machine guns in Destiny 2.
14Unwavering Duty
This new Trials of Osiris weapon is entering the Trials loot poolin Season of the Seraph. It’s a Solar heavy machine gun, so it likely won’t be the main reason why people will jump into Trials games, but it does have some incredibly desirable perks, at least for a machine gun.
Auto-Loading Holster is great on any machine gun due to the abysmal reload time, and with Incandescent in the second slot, Unwavering Duty is a perfect ad-clearing tool for any Solar builds that rely on scorching targets. It may not be a major boss DPS weapon in endgame PVE, but it will definitely work well in seasonal content.
13Terminus Horizon
Among the new weapons introduced inthe Vex-themed Spire of the Watcher dungeon located on Marsis Terminus Horizon. An Arc machine gun, it comes with a Tex Mechanica Origin Trait, called Tex Balance Stock, which increases the reload speed and handling of the weapon, while also allowing players to move quicker while aiming down sights.
Most notably, this Arc machine gun has the potential to get the Voltshot perk, which pairs nicely with any Arc builds similar to how Incandescent is a great pair to Solar builds. It will make short work of ads in most seasonal content, even if it isn’t an endgame PVE weapon.
12Quillim’s Terminus
The remastered King’s Fall raid introduced Quillim’s Terminus, another Stasis machine gun. It’s easily the weakest weapon found in the raid, but in terms of overall perks and compared to other machine guns, it’s still a powerhouse. Completing the Master challenges also allows players to gain access to its Harrowed version with additional perks, though it can also be crafted with enough patterns unlocked.
Its second column in particular holds some incredible perk options for machine guns, including good old Firefly and the Stasis-focused Headstone. Stasis heavies are occasionally a bit difficult to slot into builds, but Quillim’s Terminus could theoretically work in a Stasis build for seasonal content—though not endgame.
11Commemoration
Commemoration now deserves a special mention among other fantastic machine guns, since all Deep Stone Crypt weapons are craftable as of season 19 and will gain the Bray Inheritance Origin Trait. This Origin Trait is one of the best yet seen in the game, charging ability energy whenever players deal damage with the weapon.
Commemoration is a Void machine gun, alongside the Vault of Glass Corrective Measure and the seasonal Retrofit Escapade machine gun. Out of those three, Commemoration remains one of the best, especially now that it has a powerful Origin Trait.
10Fixed Odds
Reintroduced into thegame in Season of the Haunted, Fixed Odds is a Solar machine gun. Players can now craft this machine gun by unlocking its patterns from the Duality dungeon loot pool, which can be quite a long and difficult task as the RNG isn’t the best as of now. However, players who desperately need a Solar machine gun should look no further than Fixed Odds thanks to its incredibly Enhanced Perks.
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The main advantage it has is the Enhanced Incandescent perk, which when paired with a powerful Solar build and especially the Ember of Char fragment, can become a beastly ad-clear tool. Now granted, this does take the heavy weapon slot, but in cases where boss damage isn’t an issue, Fixed Odds can be a great ad-clear tool. Look for Field Prep in the first column as well for a boost in ammo reserves.
9Archon’s Thunder
Players without any accessto the Duality dungeonwho still want a great Legendary machine gun that does Solar damage should hit the Iron Banner this coming season. Archon’s Thunder is one of the weapon rewards that can be unlocked from Lord Saladin or can drop as a reward for matches and rank-ups in Iron Banner. Unfortunately, it’s not a craftable weapon, but it does come with interesting perks, and with the Skulking Wolf Origin Trait getting a small buff, Iron Banner weapons are becoming more powerful.
Look for Field Prep for increased ammo reserves in the first perk slot or Auto-Loading Holster. The second column has the option of Rampage or High-Impact Reserves, with a preference for Rampage, generally speaking.
8Heir Apparent
For those who played recently during the Guardian Games, they may have unlockedthe Exotic machine gun Heir Apparent. This machine gun is actually more powerful than one would think at first glance. It handles decently, with a good reload, but its main advantage comes from “scoping in”, which spins the machine gun and will generate an Arc-based shield around the player while they shoot.
This can be a fun trick to pull off in PVP, and with Arc becoming powerful next season, who knows what kind of shenanigans players will be able to pull off with Heir Apparent? One thing is for certain: it can be an incredibly annoying weapon to play against in PVP, even if it’s not the most powerful in the Crucible, and it may find some use in mid-tier PVE come Arc 3.0. If players have this in their vault, this could be the moment to dust it off.
7Chain Of Command
Chain of Command is the Legendary weapon to unlock in season 17 from the various playlist vendors. Players can either play Vanguard Strikes, Gambit or Crucible to unlock it from Zavala, Drifter, or Lord Shaxx. Like with most seasonal Legendary weapons, it comes masterworked with selected perks that make it an interesting and powerful Legendary weapon of choice.
The Chain of Commandis a Stasismachine gun, which is a rarity. There’s another option of Stasis further down below, but those who didn’t play during season 16 may want to grab this from the Monument to Lost Lights Legacy tab once season 18 rolls around. In the first perk slot, players can choose Adrenaline Junkie or Osmosis, and the second slot combines Demolitionist and Adaptive Munitions. The only perk here that isn’t the greatest is Adaptive Munitions, but otherwise, its perk pool is impressive.
For Origin Traits, players can pick between the three playlist Origin Traits depending on their preference: Vanguard’s Vindication, One Quiet Moment, or Invader Tracker.
6Seventh Seraph Saw
The Seventh Seraph Saw is one of the most powerful Legendary machine guns available in the game. Now, granted, players will need to wait around for it to become available at either Banshee-44 or Xur, but the wait will be rewarded, provided it drops into their stocks with some good perks.
The first perk column has a bunch of great options, including Auto-Loading Holster and Clown Cartridge. For more traditional players, Field Prep is always a safe choice for extra ammo. The real juice is in the second column, with two fantastic perks to look out for: either Vorpal Weapon or Firing Line, with a heavy preference towards Vorpal. It has a slower rate of fire than other machine guns, but each bullet does a lot of damage, giving ita similar “sniper”-likefeel as Xenophage, but faster and lighter.
It’s also Arc, making it a great pick-up for season 18.
5Corrective Measure
For a machine gun that just feels great and traditional, Corrective Measure is a very safe choice for any player. This is a must-have for allDestiny 2players regardless of what their favorite in-game activities are, because of how versatile it can be. Now, granted, players will need toplay the Vault of Glass raidto get it, but it’s a worthwhile investment for a machine gun that feels this smooth to use.
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There are a few great perks to choose from, but Subsistence or Demolitionist is great in the first column. The second column is dedicated to Firefly, which will make ad-clearing with this machine gun a piece of cake. Corrective Measure will best complement a Void build dedicated to clearing ads and will play fantastically with something like Volatile Rounds. For mid-tier PVE it can also be decent against bosses but will fall off towards endgame PVE, like most other machine guns.
