Destiny 2 – Best Machine Guns for Season 15
Machine Guns are about to come back in fashion in Destiny 2 in a big way, due to a major buff coming in Season 15. Today I am going to check out some of the best machine guns to get in Destiny 2 right now, plus how to get them, so you can be ready when the new season starts.
Bungie outlined their plans in a recent update on July 1st by saying
“Machine Guns in PvE: Through playtesting and player feedback, we’ve found they’re not doing their intended job well enough, so we’re planning a noticeable change for Season 15.”
With that in mind let’s have a look at some of the best machine guns to go after.
Thermal Erosion
Thermal Erosion is a Legendary Power Machine Gun. It’s a Rapid-Fire Frame weapon meaning it has Deeper ammo reserves. Slightly faster reload when the magazine is empty. Looking at the stats it has 25 for impact, 33 for range, 38 for stability, 39 for handling, and 61 for reload speed. It’s a 900 RPM machine gun with 65 in the magazine.
For PVP, Killing Wind where final blows grant increased mobility, range, and handling for a short duration, and Dynamic Sway Reduction for the increase in accuracy and stability when holding down the trigger – both of these perks would be good to look out for.
For PVE Zen Moment where damage with this weapon causes increased stability and Demolitionist would be a good option. Currently, the most popular roll of this weapon has Zen Moment and Wellspring on there, with Wellspring generating ability energy on kills.
To get this weapon you want to run Empire Hunts. You can get this specific weapon from running The Warrior Empire Hunt, and there are 3 parts to the quest. To get access to Empire Hunts, you’re going to need to complete the campaign, and then clear the post-campaign missions with Variks.
Archon’s Thunder
Archon’s Thunder Legendary Power Machine Gun with a High-Impact Frame meaning the weapon is slow-firing and has high damage. This weapon is more accurate when stationary and aiming down sights. Looking at the stats we have Impact 70, Range 68, Stability 25, Handling 40, Reload Speed 40, Rounds Per Minute 360, and Magazine 44.
For PVE Rangefinder and Rampage would be a good roll. Mulligan and Thresh would also be a good roll for PvE. For PVP Quickdraw and Snapshot Sights would be good, or there is Killing Wind and Iron Grip.
To get this machine gun you have to run the quest in Season of the Splicer. It’s the reward for the end of the final step of the quest after you have to get the shotgun kills. This is the only place you can get it to drop at the moment. Normally, you’d be able to hand in tokens to Lord Saladin at the Tower and get the Iron Banner weapons in the loot pool.
Shattered Cipher
Shattered Cipher is a Legendary Power Void Machine Gun with a Rapid-Fire Frame meaning deeper ammo reserves. Slightly faster reload when the magazine is empty. Looking at the stats we have Impact 25, Range 28, Stability 40, Handling 41, Reload Speed 68, Rounds Per Minute 900, and Magazine 75.
For PVE I’d go for Chambered Compensator, Alloy Magazine, Under Pressure, and Adrenaline Junkie. Chambered Compensator will give you more stability and controls recoil, always good with a machine gun. Alloy Magazine means faster reloading when the magazine is empty. under pressure means more stability and accuracy when the magazine gets lower and Adrenaline Junkie is a new perk, where grenade final blows grant bonus damage and handling for a moderate duration. So make sure you get a grenade off, before shooting this weapon. Heating up and Rampage are also good perks for PVE.
For PVP Field Prep and Snapshot Sights would be a good roll, plus Fluted Barrel and Extended Mag. I don’t really use Machine Guns in PVP though, something like Rockets or a Sword tends to serve me much better, however, then if you like using them then go ahead. Let me know in the comments what rolls you like to take into PVP.
To get Shattered Cipher it’s a random drop from the seasonal activity in Season of the Splicer. There are two chests at the end of the Override activity, and the one on the right provides seasonal loot. This is where you’ll get the drop. Also, if you level up the Splicer Servitor, you’ll get a chance for a drop of some seasonal loot.
Seventh Seraph Saw
Seventh Seraph Saw is a high-impact frame machine gun, meaning slow firing and high damage. It’s also more accurate when aiming down sights. Looking at the stats we have 70 impact, 66 range, 30 stability, 35 handling, 38 reload speed, 360 RPM machine gun with 43 in the magazine.
For PVE Auto-loading Holster and Vorpal Weapon are decent perks. Also Clown Cartridge and Firing Line. For PVP, Zen Moment and Opening shot is a decent pick.
This one can be picked up from Banshee-44 when he’s selling it, as it’s in the world loot pool. Or you can get it from random drops from engrams and activities.
The SWARM (and Adept)
THE SWARM is a Legendary Power Machine Gun with a High-Impact Frame meaning it’s Slow-firing and high-damage. This weapon is more accurate when stationary and aiming down sights. Looking at the stats we have Impact 70, Range 72, Stability 40, Handling 42, Reload Speed 44, Rounds Per Minute 360 and Magazine 47.
The most popular roll out there in the community at the moment is Killing Wind and Dragonfly, this is probably a good PVE roll. Another decent one for PVE is Outlaw and Vorpal Weapon for that increase in damage against bosses on Vorpal and precision kills decreasing the reload time with Outlaw.
For PVP Dynamic Sway Reduction and Zen Moment would be a decent roll, but I am not sure this would be good in PVP (although let me know in the comments if you think I am wrong here).
To get THE SWARM you’ll need to run Nightfalls and it’s a random drop chance at the end. As you progress up the difficulty levels you do get more of a chance at the weapons, so I would focus on Legend or Master Nightfalls for the most efficient way of farming the weapon.
Corrective Measure (and Timelost)
Corrective Measure is a Legendary Power Machine Gun with an Adaptive Frame meaning it has a well-rounded grip, reliable and sturdy. Looking at the stats we have Impact 41, Range 57, Stability 61, Handling 48, Reload Speed 49, Rounds Per Minute 450 and Magazine 59.
For PVE Arrowhead Brake, Accurized Rounds, Rewind Rounds and Firefly would be a great roll. Arrowhead break helps control the recoil and increases handling speed. Accurized rounds give you that boost in range, meaning you can stay back while firing this machine gun. Rewind Rounds is the Vault of Glass exclusive perk where when the magazine is empty it’ll refill from reserves based on the number of hits. Finally, we have Firefly, another returning perk from Destiny 1, where precision kills with the weapon increase reload speed and causes the target to explode, dealing solar damage to nearby enemies.
For PVP Extended Barrel, Extended Mag, Dynamic Sway Reduction and Tap the trigger would be a decent roll for PVP. Machine Guns aren’t in a great place for PVP at the moment, so I probably would choose something a little more suited to PVP like Rockets, Swords, or a Grenade Launcher in the Power slot. But it’s worth testing and seeing what works for you.
To get this one it’s a random drop from encounters in the Vault of Glass raid. This is the only place in the game you can get this machine gun to drop. The corrective measure can drop from 1st encounter, Conflux, 3rd encounter, Templar, and the 5th encounter, Atheon. This means you have 3 chances in the raid for it to drop for you, and if you have 3 guardians, then 9 chances per week. There’s also the Time lost version if you want to do Master VOG.
Let me know your top machine gun, and share your favorite in the comments.
That’s it for this guide for the best machine guns for Season 15 in Destiny 2. For more Destiny 2 content like this check out This Week In Video Games on YouTube and subscribe today.