The Best Machine Guns In Destiny 2

Machine Guns are one of Destiny 2’s most fun weapon archetypes to use. These Heavy weapons deal great damage against Major enemies while clearing hordes of enemies just as easily. While they were missing during the first year of Destiny 2, they made their triumphant return in Year 2.

Since Thunderlord returned in Festival of the Lost in Year 2, Machine Guns have become a fan favorite among the Destiny 2 community. Those who value ammo usage and fun factor should look into using this archetype of weapon. Here are the ten best Machine Guns in Destiny 2.

Updated March 12, 2025, by Charles Burgar: Machine Guns received some strong new additions in recent seasons, notably Watchful Eye from Episode: Heresy. We’ve updated this list to include some of this season’s best LMGs, including Watchful Eye and the updated Corrective Measure.

10

Qullim’s Terminus

How to obtain: King’s Fall raid; craftable.

Qullim’s Terminus is a Stasis Machine Gun with a massive magazine and some fantastic perks. Runneth Over, the weapon’s origin trait, immediately sets it apart from other Machine Guns, giving this weapon Clown Cartridge that scales off nearby teammates.

As for perks, Unrelenting with Firefly or Headstone is a great combination if you want an add-clearing machine that keeps you alive. If you want to take Qullim’s into the Crucible, Dynamic Sway Reduction and Eye of the Storm make it incredibly easy to land headshots from a distance. It can also roll with Slickdraw if you can’t stand the weapon’s slow handling speed. Overall, Qullim’s Terminus is a great Machine Gun that will serve you well in PvE and PvP.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Unrelenting, Dynamic Sway Reduction (PvP)
• Column Two: Firefly/Headstone, Eye of the Storm (PvP), Wellspring

9

Watchful Eye

How to obtain: Episode: Heresy content.

Watchful Eye is the love child of Thunderlord

and Hammerhead. This weapon has the same model and overall feel as Hammerhead but with an electric perk pool that fits its Arc damage type. You can get Jolting Feedback to inflict Jolt on targets, Rolling Thunder to gain Bolt Charge on kills, or Elemental Honing to gain a massive damage increase for using multi-element builds.

While this weapon doesn’t have many strong magazine-based traits, it has some good perks in the first column. Overflow is fantastic for bypassing reloads if you can spawn ammo bricks. Field Prep greatly increases your ammo reserves, and Wellspring helps with ability uptime if your build has other means of auto-reloading this gun. If you’re looking for a good Arc LMG, Watchful Eye won’t let you down.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Overflow, Field Prep, Wellspring
• Column Two: Jolting Feedback, Rolling Thunder, Killing Tally, Elemental Honing

8

Fixed Odds

How to obtain: Duality dungeon; craftable.

Fixed Odds is a High-Impact Frame Machine Gun, reprised years after it was sunset. This weapon seems lackluster on paper, but this weapon can roll with one of the best add-clearing perks in Destiny 2: Killing Tally.

Killing Tally makes a return on Fixed Odds, and while it isn’t as good as 21% Delirium, Fixed Odds is still a powerhouse with this perk. Three kills grant a 30% damage buff, something that compounds the 40% damage buff Machine Guns got this season. Paired with Field Prep, this weapon is an add-clearing machine that can chunk through majors just as easily. And if you’re a Titan main, throw on Actium War Rig to give this gun a bottomless magazine.

Besides Killing Wind, Incandescent is a great second column perk as well, giving this weapon a slightly weaker version of Dragonfly that procs on all kills. For PvP, Under Pressure and Rangefinder will serve you well, giving you a Machine Gun that’s incredibly accurate and can hit headshots with ease. It won’t top Commemoration, although it’s far from a bad choice inside the Crucible.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Field Prep, Under Pressure (PvP)
• Column Two: Killing Tally, Incandescent, Rangefinder (PvP)

7

Grand Overture

How to obtain: Purchased from the Exotic Kiosk in the Tower.

You might be surprised to see this on the list. Grand Overture has seen a plethora of buffs throughout Year 5 and has slowly become a devastating burst DPS weapon for all PvE content. This Machine Gun loads high-damage rockets with every shot you land, stacking up to 20 times. When you need something to die 20 times over, hold the reload key to unleash the rocket salvo.

Grand Overture is absurdly powerful at shredding Champions, minibosses, and even pumping out some good DPS numbers against bosses with short vulnerability periods. Buff yourself with Font of Might and a damage buff, then rip and tear through any enemy that’s on your screen. It’s a clunky weapon that isn’t particularly great at add clear or PvP, but as far as burst DPS weapons go, Grand Overture is up there with the likes of Parasite and The Fourth Horseman.

6

Retrofit Escapade

How to obtain:

Operation: Seraph’s Shield
.

Machine Guns are now a viable DPS option. Well, Retrofit Escapade is. This is one of few Machine Guns that can get the Target Lock perk, increasing your damage the longer you hit the same target. It grants a 17% damage buff for hitting the same target for a couple of seconds, ramping up to 40% with continuous fire.

That alone isn’t enough to make MGs a meta DPS option, but Retrofit Escapade has two other advantages:

1. It deals Void damage, allowing it to benefit from Volatile Rounds.
2. It can get Fourth Time’s the Charm.

Fourth Time’s the Charm on a Rapid-Fire Frame is absurdly powerful with a damage perk. If you can buff your magazine capacity through Extended Mag, you can fire nearly 200 bullets before needing to reload. Hunters should be especially interested since Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk now gives Nightstalkers easy access to Volatile Rounds during DPS phases.

When you merge all of these elements together, you get a Machine Gun that is fantastic against majors and Champions alike. If you want a great Heavy weapon that can do a little of everything, Retrofit Escapade won’t disappoint.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Fourth Time’s the Charm
• Column Two: Target Lock

5

Avalanche

How to obtain: The Dawning event.

Avalanche is back in this year’s Dawning event, complete with a new suite of perks. This year’s Avalanche is the best variant yet, featuring some S-tier perks that make it perfect for clearing out adds, damaging bosses, and everything in between. And if you’re a PvP player looking for a good Machine Gun, Avalanche has a whopping 90 base aim assist, the highest out of all MGs in the game.

For perks, you’re looking for Ambitious Assassin and Target Lock. The former loads Avalanche with a massive magazine if you land a few multikills beforehand, allowing Target Lock to ramp up your damage as you lay into a boss. Target Lock ramps up to a massive 40% damage buff, something you can easily maintain with Ambitious Assassin’s overflowing magazine. Needless to say, get this gun whenever the Dawning is active.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Ambitious Assassin, Auto-Loading Holster, Subsistence
• Column Two: Target Lock, Incandescent

4

Thunderlord

How to obtain: Exotic Engrams and occasionally sold by Xur.

Ever since auto-reloading was removed in Shadowkeep, Thunderlord became a forgotten Exotic in the eyes of many. That is until recently. With the massive buffs to Machine Guns in Year 5 and Season of the Plunder adding a Catalyst to Thunderlord, this Machine Gun is finally worth using.

Thunderlord is a 450 RPM Machine Gun that ramps up its fire rate as you hold the trigger, creating a bolt of lightning every few shots. Killing targets will create lightning strikes as well, making this weapon a devastating add-clearing option for endgame content. More importantly, its Catalyst allows Thunderlord to reload a portion of its magazine upon creating a lightning strike, allowing you to fire up to 153 shots without reloading.

Thunderlord’s sustained DPS is better than most Machine Guns, it clears hordes with ease, and it can stun Overload Champions. Simply put, Thunderlord is the ultimate jack of all trades for your Heavy slot.

3

Commemoration

How to obtain: Deep Stone Crypt raid; craftable.

Commemoration received a major perk refresh in Season of the Seraph, and it has cemented itself as an S-tier weapon ever since. This is the only Machine Gun that can roll with Reconstruction and Killing Tally, allowing you maintain a permanent 30% damage buff in most PvE content. Simply stop shooting to reload your weapon, and kill enemies to ramp up Killing Tally’s damage bonus. It’s not great for boss DPS, but it’s excellent for slaying adds and majors.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Reconstruction, Subsistence
• Column Two: Killing Tally, Rampage

2

Hammerhead

How to obtain: Onslaught activity and Brave Engrams.

Hammerhead is stacked with good qualities. It has a whopping 90 aim assist, excellent perks, and the Indomitable origin trait that regenerates ability energy with kills. Calling this weapon strong would be an understatement. It’s one of the strongest Machine Guns in Destiny 2, full stop.

Rewind Rounds and Killing Tally is a great combination for fans of Commemoration, but Hammerhead can outperform every LMG with Rampage and Onslaught. Both perks can roll on this gun simultaneously, and the results are devastating. If you can land three kills, this weapon can annihilate Champions in seconds. It’s also a good PvP LMG, capable of rolling with Fourth Time’s the Charm to improve the weapon’s ammo economy.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Rewind Rounds, Rampage, Fourth Time’s the Charm
• Column Two: Killing Tally, Onslaught

1

Corrective Measure

How to obtain: Vault of Glass raid; craftable.

Corrective Measure has received a complete makeover in Episode: Heresy. The weapon was updated to a 600 RPM Machine Gun, a fast-firing archetype that hits like a truck at the cost of recoil. Fortunately, this weapon’s reticle and high base stats make it an easy LMG to control, allowing you to focus on damage perks.

In that regard, Corrective Measure is absurdly strong. Destabilizing Rounds can be paired with a myriad of strong damage perks—Killing Tally, Elemental Honing, and One for All. If you aren’t a fan of Destabilizing Rounds or have another source of Volatile Rounds, you can get Redirection in the first column, doubling your damage against elite units when ramped up. You can even run Firefly to deal two damage types at once. It’s effectively an Exotic weapon disguised as a Legendary.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Destabilizing Rounds, Redirection, Firefly
• Column Two: Killing Tally, Elemental Honing, One for All