I Ranked EVERY WEAPON ARCHETYPE in Destiny 2 (2022)

With the current season coming to a close, let's revisit the state of every weapon archetype in Destiny 2. I ranked everything in a not-tier list that sorts them all out by their performance in PvP.
This video was made in Season of the Haunted (S17), so if you're watching in a future season these rankings may have changed.
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PATREON: / ascendantnomad
DISCORD: / discord
TWITTER: / ascendantnomad
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0:00 - The Not-Tier List
1:40 - The Bad
4:26 - The Okay
9:01 - The Good
16:06 - The Great
22:24 - The Elite
27:01 - The New Kings Of The Crucible
28:34 - Outro

[@AscendantNomad]

And that's a wrap on Season 17, thank you all so much for sticking it through and watching these videos. Can't wait for the new season, more weapon reviews to come. Mandatory plug if you wanna support the channel: patreon.com/ascendantnomad

[@ollie3427]

where would adaptive smg’s be? you didn’t include agg bursts since there was 1 but did now there is 2, so where do risk runner and the hero’s burden place?

[@rat1835]

Where the 90rpm handcannons?🤔

[@kagekitsune98_56]

Take old gen consoles also into your weapon tests next time please People need to know the struggle of how limited the choices are when on old gen

[@kinglycaon0024]

What I've found with regards to Aggressive SMGs is that they all have really good Handling and Range, but lack Stability. The reason Ikelos and Title have hung on for me is their higher base Stability that allows them to consistently break what I call "The Minimum", which is 30 Stability, with just one good Stability perk or two moderate Stability perks.

[@kylemorris7161]

Okay I take but what I said on the last videos this take so much work and your beautiful clear voice is so informative 👌 that just makes so much better. Honestly really fun to watch. Just cause it's bad doesn't mean you can't get a 40streak with khvostov😊

[@dredgenmerciless3422]

Next time, I RANKED EVERY WEAPON BASED ON HOW IT WILL GET YOU LAID

[@AscendantNomad]

the CHAD Wish-Ender vs the VIRGIN Eyasluna finally a matchup for the ages

[@HaircombMan]

Tractor canon for sure

[@mickthick6170]

Leviathans breath users 😎

[@shadowofsunderedstar679]

Hand cannon mains in shambles rn

[@tyler77971]

Every LoW kill a person gets scientifically lowers their sperm count

[@gerudo6876]

I unironically could listen to you ramble, unscripted, about weapon viability for any period of time. i love this one, as always. see you next season

[@apollogan_]

I've become absolutely terrified of glaives over the last few months. Every time I match one in trials I always make sure to steer clear of it and call it out lmao. I also really like these not tier list tier lists because I start looking into different archetypes of weapons to add to my loadouts. It's a lot of fun trying new things and learning new weapons.

[@Pr3p9y_sky]

Arc lock with Necrotic Grips, Thorn and Glaive this season will be amazing to try :D

[@ziolan8970]

@@Pr3p9y_sky this build is going to make a lot of us warlocks act up, and the funny part is the eyes aren't on us right now.

[@dougcarey2233]

Stasis and trace rifles are great hard counters to glaives. So is Wither Horde.

[@connormchugh7605]

I would like to recommend symmetry as a hidden gem of the rapid-fire scout frames. Getting dynamic charge ×6 or 7 can be extremely rewarding

[@hjw2029]

Indeed. It’s the Jotunn of the primary slot

[@codym2108]

It isn't the most popular strategy, but you can use the alt fire with no stacks of revolution in an empowering rift for a 3 tap with light tracking. There are a couple maps with good anchor points for it. 1 Witherhoard in the lobby and you're done though.

[@nerdherder9340]

Idk why but it has never felt good to me. I like rapid scouts in general, but something just feels off with it

[@KYPspikes]

@@nerdherder9340 it's the same issue with rapid fires the stability and recoil. I think it's even worse on symmetry though.

[@TylorHuebner]

The thing that holds back lightweight bows for me is the horrible accuracy most of them have. Some of them have such bad accuracy stats that it's like you are constantly in air trying to shoot them.

[@chapystick_]

Literally it. I’ve gotten so many good rolls that I’d like to use in PVP but I literally *can not* hit anything outside of PVE

[@4zureSapphire]

The only thing that has held glaives in check so far is their projectile hit registration and consistency at further ranges. That will change at some point in the near future and when it does come to pass, then glaives will sit at the very top until bungie realizes.

[@leehowlett5064]

Cold snap every time ….with Glaives and Classy restoration this season , I’ve been virtually 100% stasis to counter 😳

[@joshtenney4143]

In the Firing Range Podcast when Chris Proctor was on he said they were going to have to do something about the shield mechanic in PvP because of the fixes they are doing to the hit registration. So they do know about it and are planning on it, we just need to hold them accountable for implementing it.

[@SavanBerry]

The Complete List, you're welcome.↓ [The Bad] •Rapid Fire Shotguns: 2:09 •Aggressive Frame Shotguns: 2:34 •Rapid Fire Fusión Rifles: 3:20 •Lightweight Bow: 3:54 [The Okay] •High Impact Auto Rifles: 4:44 •Rapid Fire Auto Rifles: 5:15 •Rapid Fire Scout Rifles: 5:38 •Lightweight Sidearms: 6:53 •Rapid Fire Snipers: 7:18 •Precision Shotguns: 7:47 •Trace Rifles: 8:13 [The Good] •Aggressive Hand Canons: 9:20 •Precision Hand Canons: 9:47 •Adaptive Pulse Rifles: 10:26 •Adaptive Auto Rifles: 10:58 •Precision Scout Rifles: 11:34 •Lightweight Scout Rifles: 12:18 •Precision Sidearms: 12:52 •Adaptive Burst Sidearms: 13:23 •Precision Bows: 13:53 •High Impact Fusions: 14:22 •Lightweight Shotguns: 14:53 •Slug Shotguns: 15:23 [The Great] •Aggressive Pulse Rifles: 16:23 •Rapid Fire Pulse Rifles: 16:52 •Precision Auto Rifles: 17:26 •High Impact Scout Rifles: 18:00 •Aggressive Submachine Guns: 18:26 •Adaptive Sidearms: 19:01 •Suros Rapid Fire Sidearms: 19:36 •Adaptive Fusión Rifles: 20:18 •Lightweight (And) WaveFrame Grande Launchers: 20:38 [The ELITE Nine] •Adaptive Hand Canons: 22:38 •High Impact Pulse Rifles: 23:10 •Lightweight Pulse Rifles: 23:40 •Lightweight Smgs: 24:09 •Aggressive Two-Burst Sidearms: 24:39 •Aggressive Snipers Rifles (And) Adaptive Snipers Rifles: 25:17 •Precision Fusión Rifles: 26:08 [Last Wearpon] 26:51

[@MBAgra]

Is Nomad and his team alright? Pretty sure all the testing and retesting can drive a person insane.

[@AscendantNomad]

*blinks twice*

[@uzifrr]

I love these types of ‘ranking’ videos. They’re always useful, and are made even more so by your descriptions and recommendations of each weapon/weapon archetypes.

[@elitesnakeeyes2712]

I can vouch for Aggressive Burst Sidearms. A max stability hip fire grip Breachlight being the reliable sniper support that I didn't know I need for my first climb to 5500 to get my Not Forgotten. I adorned that little pistol hot pink to never forget the most fun I had out gunning Spam rations and OEM Titans with the rag-tag team I had. Good times.

[@sentinelscg]

Return of the King

[@soooluscious5636]

So happy to see an updated version of this list! And ALWAYS glad to see a new video from you man!

[@ByroniusHuge]

Some of the best vids related to Destiny, thank you!

[@Rex_Stuph]

Have to agree. I had used the first two glaives in PVE a bit, but yesterday I got the Lubre's Ruin from VotD and thought I'd try it in Control because new toy and for a laugh. Few rounds here, few rounds there, had a heap of fun poking apes, didn't really think about numbers and suddenly 135 kills on it's tracker.

[@TheMcK777]

I know that Unstoppable Force is the key trait to want, but if you get a Grave Robber roll in the future give it a try. Never having to reload if you get a frag with the poke is convenient and fun.

[@Rex_Stuph]

@@TheMcK777 That would be soo good.

[@gerudo6876]

NOMAD YESSSSSS THANK YOU i needed a video, thank you so much

[@spyrie_]

Nice video. Appreciate the effort put into these, sir. All the best to you and yours.

[@the_mattador726]

I am so terrified of what glaives will become next season when they can proc melee based perks, thorn glaives, glaives that heal and give energy on kill, glaives that zap.

[@ianlilienthal531]

Great video Nomad! Thanks for the superb content. Keep it up!

[@HMRr0cks]

Thank you, Nomad!

[@sanjayg377]

The background score for each category, the build-up in his commentary, the gameplay.. the production value of the videos just keep getting better after the previous upload!!

[@Lolbsterbiscuit]

Thank you for your constant strive for quality when posting. We appreciate you!

[@NoiseTank]

My favorite part of your videos is how well you layer your colorful vocabulary. Seriously an inspiration.

[@Anoki_S1]

YESSSS! The vid ive been waiting for!!!! :D Edit: im always waiting for new Nomad vids. Love ya dude

[@2zen777]

Ive been waiting for a video on this

[@thevoidlord1796]

Great video! If you end up doing this again, I would appreciate you adding the RPMs/Charge Times/Draw Times for each archetype!

[@Mark___Zuckerberg]

Let’s Go! I’ve been waiting for this for so long.

[@CalixtoErico]

I am confused by Nomad’s relationship with ARs (amongst others). I’d genuinely watch full cards of him trying to go flawless with one of each archetype (with comments) to get a better understanding of his thought process. Edit: their range/ttk ratio is awful. I have to hit as many shots with an AR as I do with a pulses. But ARs are much more limited by range while having no significant peak shooting use/ability to play cover. Burst damage is modest at best and they aren’t even better than average as clean up guns. There is no scenario in which they are an ideal option or even the second best. Close range, sidearms and SMGs. Medium, hand cannon or pulse or even a well rolled SMG. Long range, bows, scouts, pulses or even a crazy 120 HC. Either Nomad has some secret sauce, or there is something I have missed entirely. Which is why I’d like to see him take an AR to trials and help me understand how he clicks with them. Bonus points if it’s a 450.

[@DarthPlagueisDH]

Autos are in a weird place, Some 720's are God tier (Chroma Rush) while most others are trash. 360s take very high skill for little reward, 600s are just easy but not the best and 450's are just overall the best archetype. Coming from an auto rifle main, they are best used for prefiring low health people with little worry besides a shotgun or fusion

[@ThePackman627]

Yeah because he's saying that 450s are really good and yet most auto rifles are kind of in a bad place

[@ThatGuy-rz6tv]

I don’t know how anyone even puts 450 ARs anywhere above mediocre. They consistently feel terrible and pretty much all of them have awful rolls. Chroma and Sweet Sorrow alone would demolish any available 450 AR

[@fireexe109]

@@ThatGuy-rz6tv Try a Surplus Rangefinder/Kill Clip Tigerspite my dude. As long as you're hitting headshots this thing's pretty good

[@pvpeet9374]

I love the fantastic work you do here, man. Keep it up, I regularly recommend your vids to my friends - old vids as well as new ones! And: can we get the track list? That background music is amazing!

[@garmgarmgarm494]

I'm not even that big of an In-N-Out Burger fan but they definitely deserve better than being called mediocre

[@PrincipeLucero]

I really love it when Nomad is about to start a toxic statement just to switch back to the convo 🤣 smooth

[@GloverGaming3]

That was a pretty good flow about the precision bow

[@daveadams6489]

Nomad... This is what I was talking about last night with the crazy quality on Twitter. Fucking fantastic mate, another pint owed! You went out for milk, came back with it, plus cereal and treats, the 340RPM pulse of KZbinrs. Brilliant to watch, interesting and thoughtful, mature and concise. Love to see it mate, thank you.

[@spectre6729]

Top tier content as always! Between your love of Insidious and Cammy's vids on Secant Filaments, I've racked up nearly 1k kills since finally crafting two separate rolls 2 weeks ago. I honestly can't put the thing down and I'm ready for Arc 3.0 with Verity's Brow so I can be a real menace.

[@dillarslk]

thank u so much for one last video before showcase... more destiny content to consume

[@jaumpm]

I cannot imagine the amount of work to do this video under the current Meta. Well done AN and Team. Well Done!!!

[@flamingscar5263]

With Glavies becoming stronger and stronger I will be having my witherhord by my side Glaives can't block witherhord at all, if you lay it on the ground it will damage behind the shield, if you direct hit them it will ignore the shield since witherhord technically applies a debuff for its damage If your worried about glaives I recommend learning the ways of the blight pipe of true might, witherhord

[@markmurex6559]

I hate the witherhord. It's potent, but that's one of the reasons I hate it. I hate the aesthetics of it, I hate what it does. I hate that so many use it.

[@Kirokill1]

Witherhoard in one slot. Glaive in the other slot. Become unstoppable force and immovable object

[@cormacvandermeulen7156]

Great video mate! Your voice makes me want to visit the UK

[@alanbunbun6961]

This format of ranking is much more comprehensive than an alphabetical tier list and I pretty much agree with all of your takes (even the shotgun ones, which I've never really thought about - they are kinda role dependent as hell lol). gotta love the poutine and "dad rifle" jokes. keep up the great work! great video as always!

[@jolamouche23]

As a french canadian, that poutine joke killed me lol. Great vid btw!

[@NatiTheCutie]

great new upload from the weapon archetype guy

[@leehowlett5064]

So sad to see my contingency plan/krait combo ranked so low….😞….love your vids mate…I’m glad you take your time over them, the quality really shows through 👍👍

[@KyleUndefined]

Crucible daddy just doesn't miss. Fantastic video, Nomad!

[@ashens0ul]

On rapid fire fusions I mostly agree but sort of like aggressive shotguns I think cartesian coordinate is an outlier that's still pretty good. Cartesian has nearly double the aim assist of other rapid fire fusions and can get high impact reserves to make up for the damage nerf. It still feels really good within it's range of about 15m, the only downside is it's one shot capability drops of way quicker than other fusion archetypes but that's made up for somewhat by the faster charge time.

[@day_tiger7981]

I just tried precision autos again and I was really surprised at how reliable and good they felt.

[@motesquid]

Loved the whole bit about glaives

[@Thetankengien39]

Would you consider doing a vid in this format for pve? Really love this style and the points you make are well made.

[@sabinecannon2836]

because of your last season weapon archetype ranking vid, I have absolutely fallen in love with Adaptive pulses like NTTE and especially Stars in Shadow. I have a range masterworked Stars in Shadow that rolled with Headseeker (my beloved) that I adore taking into PVP, and it always feels like it gives me a fighting chance, even when we're losing. The 2 burst crit kill always feels as nice as 3-tapping someone with handcannons, and it happens so fast, most players except the better ones never see it coming Shame I couldn't get The Messenger this season 😭

[@anunusualname5344]

Don’t you mean high impact pulses?

[@xBigxBrainxWarlockxMainx]

Ghost Ranking Next. Been trying to put my clanmates on, I need to Know Which Ghost is the Best! Seriously tho keep up this style, look so forward to these videos every time I see the Thumbnail!

[@lolgisticalofficer233]

I've got a Ringring Nail I've been enjoying for a while now with kill clip. Glad I held onto her.

[@patsonical]

Great video! Two questions though: what were the songs used throughout? and... where coriolis force? :P

[@syrial956]

Ayo GLAIVES?! DAMN WHO WOULDVE THOUGHT? Oh my time to go glaive! Oh wait-

[@ziolan8970]

I've watched this video at least 5 times now. I get bored in pvp and pve and try new archetypes out and this list is a great place to go to find weapons that you can learn and do well with. Also look how they did my slugs

[@jasoncrownover4551]

Thankfully they mentioned that they are looking at rapid fire fusions, they got hit way too hard. Praying for their recovery

[@itzdanie_]

Loved the info. But i have to throw everything out because what you said at 4:40

[@ReSpark141]

finally some love towards coriolis effect, extremely unique in its function, just ads to tighten up that spread

[@mstrmichael2839]

"Mad body to the damage" is going into my regular vocabulary.

[@SilentNumberXIII]

I love these not tier lists

[@thiccntender4525]

Man I've been using 180 scouts since year 1. Always been my favorite.

[@DrakoWulf]

I personally find rapid scouts to be fairly potent, at least in the hands of myself and others who enjoy them. They can be a bit roll dependent, and Servant Leader's zoom is kind of a meme, but I find them to be the scouts that are slightly worse at long range, but make up for it by being much more usable at mid range, and even a little bit at closer ranges (ignoring Servant Leader). I have most of my experience with Contingency Plan, Trustee, and Servant Leader, so I find the latter two more roll dependent, while Contingency Plan has a lot of amazing perks that make it solid for dueling. Now if only I could finally get a Trustee to roll with reconstruction...

[@HGWeegee]

I love my HIR Under Pressure Trustee, the second one I got when I was going for a surplus roll

[@DrakoWulf]

@@HGWeegee | The roll I want is Reconstruction + HIR.

[@EvanMcVeigh]

I have found the krait in particular to be really reliable in pvp and pve. It is easy to keep on target and roles with a lot of damage and precision Buffs often with a 50+ round clip. I can just empty in into a whole mess of heads and clear areas really fast.

[@MyNameIsAlph]

As an Adaptive Fusion lover I wish you could have said something about their limited consistency without Liquid Coils or HIR against higher resiliences thanks to increasing in bolts to kill, but I figure it's a bit too much maths for such a brief video per archetype

[@Glueeater26]

I main an adaptive frame peacebond with rangefinder swashbuckler and it’s one of the nastiest guns ive ever used

[@robocar74]

Something to consider for bows is that Hunter can keep drawing when double jumping. Making more airborne viable archetypes a useful feature. Not enough to change rankings but worth keeping in mind

[@gerudo6876]

came back to watch this, "Adaptive Snipers do mad body to the damage" @ 25:45

[@TheTorqueAholic]

Thanks Ascendant. 🤔 I’ve been tellin my clan we need to figure out ways to counter glaives. So far Witherhoard/GLs have been consistent

[@valeon7303]

Now that glaives can proc feedback fence on melee I am having way too much fun. Get a glaive combo on somebody, somebody else tries to punch me, laugh as they get eviscerated by lightning.

[@lathraktheomnipotent969]

Can we get an auto rifle tire list???plz n ty. Love your style and explination

[@MemoriesAreLost]

I got my first 14 "I made this for you"s... And my next 7 with Coriolis Force. And then I woke up.

[@ruben6658]

I've been saying for FOREVER how OP my Enigma is. I used to get made fun of maining HC/Glaive when it came out but boy were they wrong lol, I'm starting to feel bad how easy it is. Genuinely would've run double special if the ammo wouldnt get split between the two because you can literally use a glaive as a primary better than you can use a primary that way.

[@average_trans_furry]

i've been maining traces for the past year and i absolutely wish they got the recognition they deserve. wavesplitter has always been good but after its buff is absolutely nuts, Prometheus lens is the best training wheels trace by a long shot and is devastating in the right hands, and the holy grail of them all, ager's scepter is absolutely nuts especially on stasis warlock and void hunter. its honestly such a shame the traces are currently bugged and any damage perk on them (not external buff like radiant or WoL) do nothing in both crucible and pve. also yeah legendary traces are in a pretty bad spot right now as you said and cold heart is completely out shined by even the legendary options. they take alot of learning and getting used to but my god are they strong as hell in the hands of someone who knows them well.

[@legendarydogg0193]

coldheart users rise up

[@average_trans_furry]

@@legendarydogg0193 I'm more a wavesplitter/Ager's kinda person.

[@Cerberus1141]

Idk, Third Axiom and Collective (now that I got it 5 days ago) are my favorite pulses! XD

[@CapKong]

good on Nomad and his team, poor Shadow using those rapid fire fusions, also I appreciate that without fail Haethra will consistently use the most off meta armor and still slay out

[@TheMcK777]

Okay, so sincere question When *was* the last time the general viewerbase took the BrayTech out of the Vault or collections? Or the last time it even was in the Vault for players instead of being legendary shards?

[@ManOfParody]

This should be specified for PVP, and another should be done for PVE. I would love to watch that.

[@oathbound_a8961]

I have a fractethys WITHOUT choke, and it is a beast, but as you say, mine has opening shot (and slidshot) its a good apeshotgun, but its handling isn't touching something like my Risswalker with Quickdraw. I'd like to see trace rifles have their pvp time to kill nerfed but made infinite ammo in PvP.

[@johnjones5220]

At 9:15 there's a guy called "Joseph Stiglitz". Wasn't expecting the nobel prize winning economist to come up in this context

[@Rh3ttD4v1s]

will you update this when season 19 comes out?

[@MasterDustik]

I would like an Updated list of these weapons!

[@CastleContent]

Piss in your beer comment cracked me up lol

[@coop3965]

Invest in adaptive frame fusions? I got a trinary system that kicks ass, I’m already invested!

[@Lumini-3]

out of curiosity, can an ignition kill a glaive user, or does the shield also protect against the dmg from an ignition

[@benster62]

Great video. The music is a bit loud

[@abdan7262]

600 autos use to run the crucible. Shotguns got killed. I'm still able to have fun with my rapid fire fusions. As long they have high impact or liquid coils.

[@g3ic095]

I overall agree with all of these or can understand them except 720 autos. Could be bias but that’s always been my go to since sweet sorrows release.

[@tomlom69]

If I wanted to jump back into this game, would i realistically be able to? I want to play this game so bad. I had 2500 hrs in D1 and had at least 100 hrs into Vanilla D2, but I dropped it due to military service before CoO came out. Is it even worth it right now? Would it take forever to get the exotics and rolls i want? Do i need to spend real-world money on a lot of things to be successful? I should add, im a pve player mostly. I'll do pvp for quests and all that, but my main thing is raiding and endgame stuff like nightfalls.

[@Dedwagon]

man, i physically recoiled when rapid-fires were put in bad, it hurts

[@skybeetle771]

By the way, if you have spike nades on a lightweight gl, you can one shot with direct hits

[@KLGChaos]

I'm wondering what changes they'll be bringing to autos in season 19. They don't want to go back to a Gnawing Hunger meta, but in a game like this, you need autos to melt people pretty fast or they just get away. You can't really peek shoot with an auto like you can hand cannons or pulses. Plus, SMGs outclass them in almost every way except for range. And even then, some SMGs can easily compete.

[@obsidiandarkmatter581]

Ah I’m glad I’ve already practiced 450s even before they were meta lol gotta rewatch my gameplay video again lol

[@Mike_Viola]

Great vid.....but as a Cartesian user, its still a monster. If they nerf under pressure though.....game over for a the whole archetype

[@anothershellcialistturtle8568]

For me I love sub machine guns and fusions Ik it’s dirty but it’s good and I like it. I use the enyo-d and jötunn with peace keepers with a strong solar build

[@dragonslayer647]

Nice meme about coriolis. It would be really good if its natural spread wasnt so wild

[@TophatJohn]

Max range Zealot’s Reward is ridiculously good. I’m talking full bore, ranged masterwork 18 stability Zealots. As long as you have under pressure, it’ll be reliable.

[@lalozale]

I think I agree with rapid fire fusions as a whole BUT I have a god roll zealot´s reward and it is amazing

[@gerardyimdesign]

Any way you will rank every scout rifle? 🙏🏽

[@potato3457]

What are the musics in the background?

[@FumeiShichi]

Between the airborne accuracy nerfs to all specials and the range nerf to slug shotguns, the archetype might as well have been slaughtered for me. I think I could've dealt with one of the two nerfs for them but the combination destroyed my muscle memory related to distance with them and killed their potential in the space where I got close to half of my kills with them. I've yet to try the hip fire filo or heritage because I only played the first two or so weeks of the season and dipped before it became healing nade + classy restoration hell. I feel like those would be my only chances at using slug shotguns religiously as pseudo pellet shotguns until something gets changed for them. For now I'll be sticking to sniper rifles and occasionally lightweight shotguns.

[@NoobishSquirtle]

Subbed for the In n Out slander, screw their cardboard fries

[@rogueknyt6839]

the gambit pulse has desperado which slaps in pve