Top 10 Hand Cannons to get in Destiny 2

This week in video games February 14, 2023February 17, 2023 Top 10 Hand Cannons to get in Destiny 2

Hand Cannons are one of the most popular weapon types in Destiny 2, and we have some great Legendary and Exotic versions in the game good for both PVE and PVP content. Today I’m going to check out the 10 best hand cannons in Destiny 2, plus we’ll go through great rolls and how to get them, so you can head into the game mode of choice and leave your enemies quaking in their boots.

Without futher delay, let’s dive right into the list of the top 10 best hand cannons in Destiny 2.

Exhalted Truth (Legendary)

Exalted Truth is a Legendary Energy Hand Cannon with an Adaptive Frame meaning it has a well-rounded grip, reliable and sturdy. Exhalted Truth is a great hand cannon. It’s base stats are much better than other apadtive energy hand cannons, plus it can compete with Palindrome, and other fan favourite hand cannons like Eysluna. Rose is another grat hand cannon, although that one is in the kinetic slot, but it can certainly compete, making it a great reason to go into Trials this season.

The perk pool with this weapon is fantastic. As well as good single perks, this one laos has rare perk combinations not found on other weapons of a similar type, like Rangefinder and Kill Clip, which was only obtainable on kinetic hand cannons previously. Repulsor Brace is another good one, given it’s a void hand cannon, so you can tke advantage of that overshield buff in Season of the Seraph.

For PVE Fluted Barrel, Tactical Mag, Outlaw, Kill Clip would be good. For PVP Hammer-Forged Rifling, Accurized Rounds, Killing Wind, and Kill Clip would be good. You can get this one in Trials of Osiris.

Fatebringer (Legendary)

Fatebringer is a Legendary Kinetic Hand Cannon with an Adaptive Frame meaning it has a well-rounded grip, reliable and sturdy. For PVE Hammer-Forged Rifling, Appended Mag, Explosive Payload, Firefly would be good. For PVP Corkscrew Rifling, Accurized Rounds, Explosive Payload, and Killclip.

To get Fatebringer it’s a random drop from the Vault of Glass raid. This is free for all players, the only barrier to entry is finding a team and jumping in to play. Fatebringer drops from a couple of encounters in the raid. It can drop after you beat The Templar (3rd encounter) or after the beat The Gatekeeper (4th encounter). You can also ge the time lost version too.

Eyasluna (Legendary)

Eyasluna is a Legendary Kinetic Hand Cannon with an Adaptive Frame meaning it has a well-rounded grip, reliable and sturdy. Also, this kinetic hand cannon deals stasis damage, so it does allow you to create stasis crystals and could work very well in stasis builds with the right mods.

For PVE Outlaw and Kill Clip is a classic combination, although given this is a stasis weapon, then Headstone is pretty good too, with the improvements to stasis crystals in the recent balance patch. For PVP Perpetual Motion & Moving Target would be a good roll.

To get this one it’s a random drop from the final boss of the Grasp of Avarice Dungeon, found on the Cosmodrome. To get access to this you will need to purchase the 30th Anniversary Pack, which you can get through all the platform stores.

The Last Word (Exotic)

The Last Word is one of the best Exotic Hand Cannons in the game, and is particularly good in PVP, due to its high rate of fire. It’s a permanent staple of the top 10 weapons for competitive PVP, and today I’m going to run through all the steps for how to get it, plus how to get the materials used to buy it, so you can get your hands on this The Last Word nice and quickly.

The Last Word is an Exotic Kinetic Hand Cannon

Fan Fire – This weapon fires full auto. Hip-fire shots deal bonus precision damage while increasing reload speed and accuracy.
Hip-Fire Grip – Increases accuracy, stability, and precision hit targeting when firing from the hip.

To get The Last Word you can buy this from the Tower from the Exotic Kiosk in the Tower, which you can find next to the Vault and it’s called Monument to Lost Lights.

Thorn (Exotic)

Thorn is an Exotic Kinetic Hand Cannon with some excellent exotic perks including.

Mark of the Devourer – Rounds pierce targets and deal damage over time. Kills with this weapon leave behind Remnants.
Soul Devourer – Absorbing a Remnant strengthens Mark of the Devourer and partially refills the magazine.

To get Thorn you can buy this from the Tower from the Exotic Kiosk in the Tower, which you can find next to the Vault and it’s called Monument to Lost Lights. At the time of making the guide you do require the Forsaken Expasion to be able to buy this, and all the exotics from Forsaken.

Hawkmoon (Exotic)

Hawkmoon is another great Exotic hand cannon. You can get this one from Xur, and it’s interesting because it comes with a random perk each week. Perks like Opening Shot, Rangefinder, Outlaw are all very good, plus you get the exotic perk too Paracausal Shot.

Paracausal Shot – Final blows and precision hits with Hawkmoon grant stacks of Paracausal Charge. The final round in the magazine deals bonus damage based on the number of stacks. Stowing Hawkmoon on the final round removes this bonus.

Check in with Xur each week to get your hands on this one.

Austringer (Legendary)

If you are looking for a decent hand cannon for PVP then Austringer is a good bet especially given you can craft it. Eyasluna and Rose are decent alternatives, but personally I like Austringer, it’s a great feeling weapon. Austringer is Legendary Kinetic Hand Cannon with an Adaptive Frame meaning it’s a well-rounded grip, reliable and sturdy.

To get Austringer in Season of the Haunted you’ll want to open up Opulent Chests on the Derelict Leviathan. These Opulent Chests are located around the Leviathan, however, you can’t open them without an Opulent Key. You get Opulent Keys by opening loot chests on the Derelict Leviathan, and also you can get these at the end of the Nightmare Containment activity.

Once again it’s a craftable weapon, so make sure to get those red borders before Lightfall and before the Crown of Sorrow leaves the HELM.

Crimson (Exotic)

Crimson isn’t like any other hand cannon. It looks like a hand cannon, but it definitely doesn’t sound like one or fire like one. Crimson has a couple of interesting perks – the first one being Banned Weapon, which allows it to shoot three rounds at the same time like a Pulse Rifle. It also has something called Cruel Remedy, which is a lot like the original Red Death and you get healed when you get kills.

Finally though, and perhaps crucially, if you get precision kills then the magazine gets reloaded. This is pretty much a game-changer in PVP and PVE when you pair the healing with the reloading.

Unfortunately, there’s no exotic quest for this weapon, which means you either have to rely on luck from Exotic engrams, or you can buy it from Xur when he sells it. You can get exotic engrams on the season pass each season, and you can find them out there in the wild, although quite rare they are possible to find from activities. Nightfall Ordeals are another good source of Exotic rewards.

Ace of Spades (Exotic)

Ace of Spades is an exotic hand cannon introduced in Destiny 2: Forsaken. Ace of Spades is the trusty Hand Cannon of Cayde-6, and was built specifically for him by Banshee-44. The gun is taken by Uldren Sov during the story events of Forsaken before being reclaimed by the Guardian.

Memento Mori – Reloading after a kill loads magazine with a few extra-damage bullets. Grants radar while aiming down sights.
Firefly – Precision kills with this weapon increase reload speed and cause the target to explode, dealing Solar damage to nearby enemies.

To get Ace of Spades you can buy this from the Tower from the Exotic Kiosk in the Tower, which you can find next to the Vault and it’s called Monument to Lost Lights.

Rose (Legendary)

Rose is a Legendary Kinetic Hand Cannon with a Lightweight Frame meaning it has superb handling. Move faster with this weapon equipped. For PVE Corkscrew Rifling, Tactical Mag, Rapid Hit, and Explosive Payload would be good. For PVP Smallbore, Accurized Rounds, Perpetual Motion and Opening Shot would be good.

To get Rose you will need to complete the quest from Shaxx. Currently he’s offering a quest called ‘Dividing the Ladder’, where you have to take part in the competitive playlist in cruicble. Once you complete the quest, you’ll get a static roll of Rose. As well as the hand cannon Rose, you’ll get access to weekly challenges related to the competitive division. Once per week you’ll be able to complete a challenge in comp and you’ll get a random rolled version of Rose. Therefore, you’ll have 3 chances per week to get random rolls, if you have 3 guardians on your account.

Let me know in the comments what you think, and let me know if I’ve missed anything.