Pulse Rifles are a popular weapon type in Destiny 2, plus we have many devastating legendary and exotic pulse rifles in the game. Today I want to run down the top 10 Pulse Rifles, plus let you know how you can ge them, so you can take on enemies in PVE or PVP with ease in Destiny 2.
Without any delay, lets dive into the list.
Revision Zero
Revision Zero is an exotic kinetic pulse rifle with the exotic perk called Hunter’s Trace.
Hunter’s Trace – This weapon fires special shield-piercing ammunition. Precision hits grant targeting data. [Alternate Weapon Action] to swap to the alternate scope, loading high-damage rounds based on the amount of targeting data. Strong against [Shield-Piercing] Barrier Champions.
The weapons also has two origin traits.
Hakke Light Burst Fire: Fires a stable burst of four lightweight rounds.
Hakke Heavy Burst Fire: Fires a less stable burst of two high-damage, high-range rounds.
We also have four catalysts
Pressurized Refit: Improved stability and accuracy as the magazine gets lower.
4-Timer Refit: Rapidly landing precision hits will return two rounds to the magazine.
Frenzy Refit: Each rapid kill with this weapon progressively increases reload speed for a short time.
Outlaw Refit: Precision kills greatly decrease reload time.
You can get this one from the Operation Seraph Shield mission as part of the Exotic Mission Rotator.
Different Times
Different Times is a Legendary Kinetic Pulse Rifle with a Rapid-Fire Frame meaning it has deeper ammo reserves. Slightly faster reload when magazine is empty. The origin trait on this one is Unsated Hunger which increased handling, reload speed, and stability when no abilities are fully charged.
For PVE Smallbore, Appended Mag, Outlaw and Hatchling would be good. For PVP Arrowhead Break, Ricochet Rounds, Moving Target, and Multikill Clip would be good.
To get Different Times you’ll need to take part in the seasonal activities called Deep Dive and Salvage, which can be accessed via the H.E.L.M. You will need to own Season of the Deep to play these activities. You can also focus Deep Engrams at the H.E.L.M. for Season of the Deep loot, including Different Times. This one will be going away at the end of February 2024.
Bad Juju
Bad Juju is an Exotic Kinetic Pulse Rifle that comes with the perk String of Curses.
String of Curses – Kills refill the magazine, increase damage for a short duration, and grant Super energy based on the strength of String of Curses. Fires full-auto.
Hip-Fire Grip – Increases accuracy, stability, and precision hit targeting when firing from the hip.
It maybe an old one, but it’s a good one. You can get it from the Monument to Lost Lights or Xur.
No Time To Explain
No Time To Explain is one of the best Pulse Rifles in Destiny 2 hands down which is very versatile and useful in both PVP and PVE. It’s a 340 rpm pulse making is good for medium and long range encounters, and it packs a serious punch! It’s the perks tha make this gun though, so let’s check that one out.
Rewind Again – Precision shots and shots against combatants slowed or frozen by Stasis will return to the magazine.
Time Slip – At 10 stacks of Rewind Again a small portal will open shooting bullets from an alternate timeline version of this weapon. Precision hits extend the portals duration.
This one has been deadly in PVP for a long time, but it’s also good in PVE content. You can get this by completing the Beyond Light Campaign.
Psi Hermetic V
Psi Hermetic V is a Legendary Kinetic Pulse Rifle with a High-Impact Frame meaning it’s slow firing and high damage. This weapon is more accurate when stationary, moving slowly, and aiming down sights. The Origin Trait on this one is Wild Card where final blows with this weapon have a chance to create experimental submunitions at the target’s location.
For PVE Arrowhead Brake, Tactical Mag, Enlightened Action and Kill Clip would be good. For PVP Arrowhead Brake, Accurized Rounds, Moving Target and Headseeker would be good.
You can get Psi Hermetic V from any legendary engram, given it’s a world drop weapon. Legendary engrams, Pinnacle engrams plus Banshee-44 sells world drop weapons, so if you are lucky you’ll be able to pick this one up from the gunsmith in the Tower.
Syncopation-53
Syncopation-53 is a Legendary Kinetic Pulse Rifle with an Adaptive Frame meaning a well-rounded grip, reliable and sturdy.
Given it’s an adaptive frame, this is going to be very good in PVE activities. It’s also a stasis, kinetic weapon meaning you will be able to clear a bunch of enemies if you are lucky enough to get the right perks on the pulse rifle. This is also an underrated weapon in PVP given its lethality at medium to long-range.
For PVE Corkscrew Rifling, Appended Magazine, Outlaw and Headstone would be a decent roll. For PVP Smallbore, High-Caliber Rounds, Moving Target, and Rangefinder would be good.
The Syncopation-53 Pulse Rifle is a world drop weapon, meaning you can get it from loads of activities in the game like Strikes, Crucible, Gambit matches and other activities like public events. You can also pick this weapon up from vendors when they are selling it, and Banshee-44 is worth checking out because he’s sold it a few times already this season, plus you could get a very decent roll from Banshee-44.
Oversoul Edict
Oversoul Edict is a Legendary Energy Arc Pulse Rifle with a Rapid-Fire Frame meaning deeper ammo reserves. Slightly faster reload when magazine is empty.
For PVP Arrowhead Brake, Armor-Piercing Rounds, Keep Away and Sword Logic would be good. For PVE Arrowhead Brake, Ricochet Rounds, Encore, and Voltshot would be good.
To get Oversoul Edict you’ll want to run Crota’s End Raid in Destiny 2. You can find this in the Legends tab in the Director. You’re going to need a team, so either find some clanmates, friends or find a team through LFG, Bungie has a good one on their website or mobile app.
You can get Oversoul Edict from the 2nd encounter (Cross the Bridge) or the 3rd encounter (Ir Yut, The Deathsinger). Once you have it drop for you, it’s also possible to get Oversoul Edict from the secret chest, plus you can pick one up from the raid vendor at the end (the sword in the ground after you beat Crota). This is also a craftable weapon, so get 5 red borders and extract the deepsight to craft your very own Oversoul Edict at the Enclave on Savathun’s Throne World.
Outbreak Perfected
Outbreak Perfected is a fantastic Kinetic Pulse Rifle, mainly down to its perks. Let’s check them out in a little more detail.
The Corruption Spreads – This weapon creates SIVA nanite swarms on rapid hits and precision kills.
Parasitism – This weapon does more damage to enemies based on the number of SIVA nanites that attach to them.
The thing you notice with Outbreak Perfected is the speed this thing fires at, it’s very fast and very effective. The main perks are great for DPS by creating SIVA nanite swarms that attach to enemies. You can literally tear through enemies in Strikes, Nightfalls and Raids. As well as the Exotic perks it comes with Outlaw, where precision kills increase the reload speed.
You can pick this up from the Monument to Lost Lights in the Tower.
BxR Battler
The BXR-55 Battler is a Legendary Energy Pulse Rifle dealing Solar damage and it comes with a custom frame called the Legacy PR-55 Frame. This means it’s a customized frame with dramatically increased accuracy, stability, and targeting while hip firing. The weapon doesn’t feel exactly like the Halo Battle Rifle, but Bungie has done the best they can to put the weapon in the game as true as they can give the weapon archetypes in Destiny 2. You can add a shader called Wicked Overgrowth to make it look even more like the Battle Rifle. One interesting thing about the weapon is it has a aim down sights design. A few of the Halo themed weapons have this design, but it’s very different to other pulse rifles and does set it apart.
For PVE Corkscrew Rifling, Accuried Rounds, Outlaw, and Kill Clip would be a decent roll. Corkscrew gives you that increase in range, handling and stability and Accurized Rounds gives you even more range. Outlaw is where precision kills decrease reload time, and finally Kill Clip means reloading after a kill increases the damage output.
For PVP Chambered Compensator, Steady Rounds, Snapshot Sights, and Rangefinder would be good. Chambered Compensator gives you more stability, handling and helps with recoil. Steady Rounds then greatly increase stability and slightly decreases range. Snapshot sights gets the weapon in your hands as fast as possible, and Rangefinder gives you a hefty boost to the range.
You can get this one from Dares of Eternity.
Graviton Lance
This is hands down the best Pulse Rifle in the game right now. This is an Exotic Energy Pulse Rifle, and here are the exotic perks.
Black Hole – Second shot of a burst rips a hole through space-time, doing high damage and recoil with no falloff.
Cosmology – Kills with this weapon cause enemy targets to detonate and spawn Void projectiles that track targets.
You can get this one from Xur, by grabbing his Exotic engram, or if you are lucky he’ll be selling it sometime soon. Xur has drop protection, meaning he should give you new exotics you don’t have, so if you have a stash of legendary shards then this is definitely a good way to spend them.
The Catalyst is a random drop from Strikes or Crucible matches and it’s well worth levelling up because it adds Vorpal Weapon to an already powerful Exotic Pulse Rifle. To upgrade it you’ll need 500 kills with the weapon, plus 1000 Cosmology Kills, which are the void orbs that rain after getting kills. The Cosmology kills are slightly harder to get, so I would focus on solo activities like Lost Sectors, where other Guaridans cannot steal compete for kills.
Let me know what you think of this list of pusle rifles and if there’s anything missing, let me know.