The Best Swords In Destiny 2

Season of the Worthy brought many changes to Destiny 2, one of the largest being an overhaul to Swords. Their stats have been reworked, perks have been rebalanced, and their overall power has been increased.

While not much has changed since then, Swords are still an incredibly useful tool for most PvE content. While some players avoid this archetype due to boss stomps, many tend to avoid Swords since their perk pool is so different. Once you get used to their playstyle, Swords are some of the best weapons in the game, and everyone should have a few good ones. Here are the ten best Swords everyone needs in Destiny 2.

Updated March 10, 2025, by Charles Burgar: Episode: Heresy’s latest additions have spiced up the Sword meta in PvE somewhat. We’ve updated this list to include Abyssal Edge, the first Sword to get Flash Counter and Redirection. We’ve also added an entry for Ergo Sum, Destiny 2’s strangest yet most powerful Exotic Sword.

10

Heartshadow

How to obtain: Duality dungeon (final encounter).

Heartshadow

is a Sword tailored towards Void builds, specifically Nightstalkers. This blade has a heavy attack that unleashes a series of Void projectiles, dealing moderate damage when they make contact with an enemy. Damaging a target with the orb inflicts a 15% Weaken. Heavy attack kills make you invisible.

This weapon creates an interesting gameplay loop of using a heavy attack, light attacking five times, and then heavy attacking again. The damage is subpar by today’s standards, yet the utility of going invisible at will can be incredibly useful in solo content.

9

Ill Omen

How to obtain: Pale Heart activities; craftable.

There’s one reason to farm this Sword: Incandescent and Chain Reaction. This roll leads to some of the most absurd add clear you can find on a Sword. A single kill will trigger Incandescent and Chain Reaction. The Chain Reaction explosions will then proc Incandescent, which can trigger an Ignition on anything that survives the firework show this weapon puts out. It’s an incredibly fun roll, although it’s by no means a meta option for Sword DPS.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Incandescent
• Column Two: Chain Reaction

8

Half-Truths

How to obtain: Xur’s Treasure Trove; craftable.

The Energy Sword from the Halo franchise has made it into Destiny 2. Well, half of the sword made it. Half-Truths is an energy blade in the Adaptive archetype, and it features some iconic perks for speedrunners and more casual players alike.

Half-Truth’s ace up its sleeve is Eager Edge, a perk that increases sword lunge distance upon immediately switching to your Sword. This lunge distance is immense, extending further than Worldline Zero’s

Exotic perk. Skating with Swords is easier than ever, even for Hunters.

As an actual Sword, Half-Truths is solid but has been powercrept in recent seasons. Duelist’s Stance and Assassin’s Blade make for a decent workhorse weapon that can kill majors with ease. If you don’t use your Sword that often, keep your eyes open for a roll with Tireless Blade and Harmony. If you like Swords at all, you should consider farming for a good Half-Truths roll.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Duelist’s Stance, Tireless Blade
• Column Two: Eager Edge, Assassin’s Blade, Harmony

7

Falling Guillotine

How to obtain: Onslaught activity.

As far as DPS is concerned, Falling Guillotine is a tricky Sword to rank. It has one of the strongest perk pools out of any Sword on this list, yet its intrinsic Vortex Frame holds it back. This frame has been nerfed multiple times since its inception, and it struggles to compete with the likes of Bequest with Surrounded.

With that said, if Bungie ever buffs this archetype in the future, you’ll want a good roll in your Vault. Vorpal Weapon with either Surrounded or Whirling Blade is ideal here. It can also get Eager Edge if you need an Eager Edge Sword, although we suggest you farm The Slammer instead.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Vorpal Weapon, Frenzy
• Column Two: Surrounded, Whirling Blade

6

Abyssal Edge

How to obtain: Episode: Heresy content; craftable.

Abyssal Edge is a Wave-Frame Sword that launches shockwave projectiles with its heavy attack, which you can then follow up with a lunging strike that deals heavy damage. It’s a strong weapon family for slaying adds that we seldom get, but Abyssal Edge isn’t desirable for its archetype.

This weapon has one of the strangest yet most potent perk combinations we’ve seen on a Sword: Flash Guard with Redirection. Blocking incoming damage will emit a short-range blast that counts as hitting enemies, which grants Redirection stacks without consuming ammo. This means you can get an easy 30 stacks of Redirection just through blocking.

Redirection will then buff your damage against tougher units by a whopping 100 percent, one of the strongest damage buffs in the game. This will last for the next ten Sword swings, 15 if enhanced. This is fantastic for burst DPS windows in raids and dungeons, although the damage falls off in sustained DPS environments. But if you need something dead quick, it’s tough to beat this roll.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Flash Counter
• Column Two: Redirection

5

Bequest

How to obtain: Deep Stone Crypt raid; craftable.

Despite Bequest’s rather lackluster Adaptive Frame

, this Sword is easily one of the best Swords you can use currently. Obtained from the Deep Stone Crypt raid, Bequest has an excellent perk pool and the highest Impact rating out of every Adaptive Sword, meaning it outputs more damage than any other Adaptive Sword.

Tireless Blade

and Surrounded give this weapon a great amount of damage per strike, exceeding what Falling Guillotine is capable of. If you want to use your Sword to kill majors, consider a roll with Assassin’s Blade

. Bequest is a fantastic choice for all playstyles, and it’s quite easy to farm once you get a raid team together.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Tireless Blade, Relentless Strikes, Wellspring
• Column Two: Surrounded, Assassin’s Blade, One for All

4

The Other Half

How to obtain: Xur’s Treasure Trove (low drop chance); craftable.

If you couldn’t tell, this is the second half of the Halo Energy Sword, complementing the Half-Truths Sword you normally receive from Xur’s Treasure Trove. Both Swords might look the same, but The Other Half rolls with far more powerful perk combinations than its Arc cousin.

This Sword rolls with Eager Edge in its first column instead of the second column, letting you utilize this Sword’s absurd mobility alongside a damage perk like Vorpal Weapon. The second column is fantastic, giving you options like Vorpal Weapon, Frenzy, and Whirlwind Blade. If you don’t mind using something besides Eager Edge, Relentless Strikes and Duelist’s Trance are good options.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Eager Edge, Relentless Strikes
• Column Two: Frenzy, Whirlwind Blade, Vorpal Weapon

3

The Lament

How to obtain: Complete the “Lost Lament” quest. Requires Beyond Light ownership.

Falling Guillotine can’t match the raw damage output of Lament, an Exotic chainsword that was pulled straight from Warhammer 40K and placed into the Destiny universe.

Holding the block button will cause Lament to rev up, causing light attacks to unleash a flurry of deadly attacks that accumulate stacks of Banshee’s Wail

. Get this buff to x9, then use a heavy attack to expend every charge, dealing a ludicrous amount of damage to whoever is near you. This Sword is good enough to kill raid bosses or the toughest Nightfall Champions with little issue.

2

The Slammer

How to obtain: Potential Nightfall reward.

Falling Guillotine has been given a makeover, a new name, and a powerful perk pool. Obtained from Nightfalls, The Slammer is a Vortex Sword that deals Stasis damage, allowing it roll with the fairly rare Cold Steel perk, inflicting Slow with every strike. That alone makes The Slammer worth getting, but it gets even better.

This is currently the only non-30th Anniversary weapon that can get Eager Edge in the first perk column, making this an S-tier PvP weapon and a solid option for speedrunners. Better yet, it can be paired with powerful damage perks like Bait and Switch or One for All in the final column. It has all the utility and damage you’d want from a Legendary Sword.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Eager Edge, Chain Reaction
• Column Two: Bait and Switch, Cold Steel, One for All

1

Ergo Sum

How to obtain: Pale Heart Overthrow and Pathfinder.

Ergo Sum is the result of The Craftening, a bug-turned-event where players could create weapons with virtually any perk in the game. Bungie must have been inspired by that event when designing Ergo Sum because that is exactly what this weapon is, only in Exotic form.

This weapon has a randomly-rolled intrinsic frame, perks, and Exotic trait. And those traits are taken from other Exotics in the game, not just standard perks. You can get a Wave-Frame Sword that spawns Telesto bolts, a Lightweight Sword that spawns Colony nanites, or a Caster frame that triggers Solar explosions.

Ergo Sum is also the only Sword in Destiny 2 to use Special ammo.

There’s no one set god roll here due to its varied perk pool. A Caster frame with The Perfect Fifth

is arguably the highest DPS Sword in the game, especially if another member of your fireteam is running an Ergo Sum with Wolfpack Rounds

—yes, this Sword can give your allies Wolfpack Rounds, firing explosive nanites with each swing. It’s as absurd as it sounds.

And if you’re in the mood to clear adds, you can’t top a Wave Frame with Arc Conductor

. Your heavy attack will unleash a high-damage fissure that will grant Arc Conductor on kill, turning you into a walking tesla coil for a few seconds. It’s absurdly strong for slaying anything but the toughest bosses. In those situations, you can simply swap to another Ergo Sum with a Perfect Fifth. It’s the ultimate Sword for PvE content, provided you can get the right roll.

Recommended Traits