The Best PvE Hand Cannons In Destiny 2

Hand Cannons are the most iconic weapons in Destiny. Taking inspiration from revolvers in real life and the Magnum from Halo, Hand Cannons are high-damage weapons that can handle almost any situation from close to medium range.

There are so many Hand Cannons in Destiny 2 that it can be hard to pick which one is good. Despite the large roster, each Hand Cannon handles differently and offers unique pros and cons. Some Hand Cannons are better for killing hordes of enemies, while some stack so much damage that they can kill tankier major foes. Ranging from Exotic Hand Cannons to randomly rolled Legendaries, here are the ten best Hand Cannons players can use in Destiny 2.

Updated February 26, 2025, by Charles Burgar: Hand Cannons have received some great additions in Episode: Heresy. Unloved might be the best workhorse burst-fire HC in the game, while Posterity has become a surprisingly strong option thanks to the recent rework to Redirection. As a result, we’ve updated this list with new Hand Cannons, reranked most entries, and updated our perk recommendations for Fatebringer.

10

Eyasluna

How to obtain: Grasp of Avarice dungeon

Eyasluna is a monster inside of the Crucible due to its incredible stat package and solid PvP perks. Many players have disregarded this weapon in PvE, yet there’s one powerful thing going for Eyasluna: Headstone. This perk allows Eyasluna to dish out immense AoE damage while synergizing with Stasis Aspects and Fragments.

Melee builds can equip an Aspect that generates Stasis shards, then use Headstone. Stasis builds that need additional survivability can throw on Whisper of Chains

to gain 40% DR while near a Headstone crystal. The build possibilities are quite large for this gun. To make this playstyle even better, try to get an Eyasluna with Headstone and Unrelenting; Unrelenting triggers off Headstone kills.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Unrelenting,
  Rapid Hit

• Column Two: Headstone

9

Posterity

How to obtain: Deep Stone Crypt raid.

Posterity itself hasn’t changed since its original reprisal, but the sandbox and certain perks have received some love in recent seasons. This is the only Hand Cannon that can roll with Redirection, a perk that was reworked in Heresy to build two stacks on hitting red bars. Damaging a major or tougher will deal 100% more damage, consuming three stacks (two if enhanced). This fixes the low DPS that 180 Hand Cannons have against Majors, giving Posterity a serious leg up in difficult content.

You can pair this with Voltshot for an excellent workhorse Primary. Bear in mind that Voltshot hits don’t iterate Redirection stacks, but this is still a highly synergetic combination of perks. If you have the pattern for this weapon, consider crafting it and giving it a try.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Voltshot, Reconstruction
• Column Two: Redirection, Frenzy

8

Ancient Gospel

How to obtain: Garden of Salvation raid.

Ancient Gospel has received a serious makeover with its reissue in Year 7. It is now a Void 140 RPM Hand Cannon, and its perk combinations are nothing short of incredible. If you never got the curated roll of Kindled Orchid from Black Armory, you can get the same iconic combination of Rampage and Kill Clip on Ancient Gospel, increasing your damage by 57% while both perks are active.

If you want a more traditional add clear weapon, look no further than Destabilizing Rounds with Explosive Payload. Kills with this weapon will debuff nearby targets with Volatile. If any nearby enemies are hit by the initial explosion, you’ll gain Volatile Rounds for a short duration. Paired with the 15% damage buff from Explosive Payload, you have an excellent Primary weapon for most PvE content.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Destabilizing Rounds, Rampage
• Column Two: Explosive Payload, Kill Clip

7

Hawkmoon

How to obtain: Sold by Xur.

Most Guardians don’t give Hawkmoon

enough credit for what it does. It might not have its luck motif tied to its Exotic perk anymore, but Hawkmoon is still the one-shotting beast Destiny veterans remember it as.

Landing precision hits with this 140 RPM Hand Cannon grants stacks of Paracasual Charge, granting increased range, handling, and reload speed. When only one bullet is left in your magazine, Hawkmoon gains an absurd boost to its damage. With enough stacks, a single Hawkmoon bullet can one-shot most majors and even some bosses.

Champions lose half of their health in Legend and Master content to Hawkmoon’s Paracasual Bullet, making it an excellent weapon to pair with any burst DPS weapon. It’s a fantastic Hand Cannon that can kill fodder units and bosses with little issue.

Recommended Trait

6

Midnight Coup

How to obtain: Onslaught activity and Brave Engrams.

Midnight Coup competes with Fatebringer for the Kinetic slot, at least as far as Legendary Hand Cannons are concerned. This weapon has the same chase roll of Explosive Payload and Frenzy as Fatebringer, yet Midnight Coup has a few more tricks up its sleeve, including a strong origin trait and some unique perk synergies.

Firefly and One for All might be the strongest perk combination we’ve seen on a Kinetic Hand Cannon. Land a precision kill to proc Firefly, which will then proc One for All’s 35% damage bonus. This buff should then buff Firefly’s explosion damage. Paired with the bonus reload speed from Firefly, you have the perfect workhorse weapon for PvE endgame content.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Firefly, Explosive Payload
• Column Two: One for All, Frenzy, Desperate Measures

5

Zaouli’s Bane

How to obtain: King’s Fall raid.

Zaouli’s Bane is a Solar 140 RPM Hand Cannon with some great perk choices. This is one of a select few 140 RPM Hand Cannons in Destiny 2 that can roll with Incandescent, causing slain targets to explode while inflicting Scorch to nearby foes. Get a few rapid kills, and nearby enemies will Ignite.

You can pair Incandescent with Explosive Payload or Gutshot to make Zaouli’s Bane excel at clearing fodder enemies in matchmade activities. If you prefer a more traditional Hand Cannon, you can get Firefly

or One for All in the second column instead of Incandescent. It won’t one-tap enemies in endgame content without some help from your build, but few Hand Cannons have a perk pool this good.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Explosive Payload, Pugilist
• Column Two: Incandescent, One for All, Firefly

Why Not Ephocal Integration?

Ephocal Integration is also a solid PvE Hand Cannon for players that don’t own an Incandescent weapon yet. That said, Ephocal’s biggest flaw is that it isn’t craftable. Enhanced Incandescent inflicts more Scorch stacks, allowing it to Ignite targets sooner when paired with Ember of Ashes

. Ephocal is still a great gun and worth grabbing if you can’t run King’s Fall, but Zaouli’s Bane just barely wins out.

4

Fatebringer

How to obtain: Vault of Glass raid (Templar and Gatekeeper encounters).

Fatebringer has proven itself to be Destiny 2’s best Legendary Hand Cannon. This weapon features one of the best perk pools out of all Hand Cannons, a great stat package, and an Adept variant. Most players consider this Hand Cannon a PvP menace and nothing more, but this weapon is just as much of a powerhouse inside PvE activities.

Explosive Payload and Kinetic Tremors can both roll in the first column for Fatebringer. You can stagger just about every enemy with Explosive Payload while granting Fatebringer a passive 15% damage increase. Kinetic Tremors is a great choice if you’re using this weapon to damage majors, although it takes a whopping five shots to trigger. And as its original reprisal, Osmosis remains an option if you want to play with keyword synergies like Volatile Rounds.

The second column is also fantastic. Frenzy is a great consistency bump for this weapon, Elemental Honing gives you up to a 40% damage buff if your build has access to every damage type, and Firefly makes Fatebringer an add-slaying machine when you land a precision kill. Just about every roll of this gun will serve you well, but a truly great roll of Fatebringer can only be matched by Exotics.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Explosive Payload, Osmosis, Kinetic Tremors
• Column Two: Firefly, Elemental Honing, Frenzy

3

Unloved

How to obtain: Sundered Doctrine dungeon.

If you love burst-fire Hand Cannons and want a strong PvE Primary, look no further than Unloved. Without even talking about perks, this weapon’s origin trait gives it Explosive Payload against red bars and Exhaustion application against tougher foes. Having a free 15% damage buff in PvE content is incredible and opens up your damage column for a damage/utility hybrid like Frenzy.

The first trait column also has strong options, including AoE perks like Hatchling and Dragonfly. Even Lucky Pants

Hunters can lean into boss DPS with Elemental Honing in the second column. So long as you’re OK with the strange recoil pattern of two-burst Hand Cannons, Unloved is absolutely worth farming for.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Dragonfly, Hatchling
• Column Two: Frenzy, Elemental Honing

2

Malfeasance

How to obtain: Complete the “Darkness in the Light” quest (obtained from Gambit).

Malfeasance

is the ultimate jack-of-all-trades Primary weapon in Destiny 2. This 180 RPM Hand Cannon counters Unstoppable Champions, can three-tap red bars in endgame content with a damage buff, and will always kill tankier enemies in five shots. That alone makes this gun a great pick for all PvE content.

But what makes Malfeasance truly spectacular is its synergy with the Hunter’s Lucky Pants

Exotic. This weapon goes from a solid add-clearing weapon into what’s effectively a Special weapon when Lucky Pants’ perk is active. You can easily reach the x10 damage buff from Lucky Pants since this weapon is a 180 RPM Hand Cannon, allowing you to achieve temporary DPS values that match Rocket Launchers.

Red bars instantly die. Majors drop in a heartbeat, and bosses take some serious damage from this combo. If you have a teammate using Witherhoard

, you also get another damage buff thanks to the Taken Predator

perk. This gun is great on its own, but if you can build around Malfeasance’s strengths, it’s easily one of Destiny 2’s strongest Hand Cannons for PvE content.

1

Sunshot

How to obtain: Exotic Engrams found through Xur or world drops.

Season of the Witch has given Sunshot

a chance to finally shine. Sunshot is the only 150 RPM Hand Cannon in Destiny 2, firing slightly faster than your usual 140 RPM variant. What makes this gun truly special is its Exotic perk, causing your enemies to explode on death. The weapon also has Explosive Payload baked into one of its perks to double-down on the explosive nature of this gun.

Thanks to the 75% damage buff to majors in Season of the Witch, Sunshot can now utterly obliterate hordes of adds in any activity. Every kill will create an explosion, and those explosions can also create explosions. Sunshot is effectively a Hand Cannon with Explosive Payload, Chain Reaction, and fires slightly faster. It took quite a few buffs, but Sunshot is now easily one of Destiny 2’s strongest PvE Hand Cannons.