Published on: Mar 4, 2015 @ 13:19
Everybody wants to get their hands on the best Exotic and Legendary weapons, but when you’re first starting out, what should you use?
You may not realize it, but some of the best weapons in Destiny might be in your inventory right now!
When you’re ready to replace your Rare weapons, we’ve got a growing list of Legendary reviews.
For Exotic weapon tips, we’ve reviewed them all, and also have them placed in PvE and PvP tiers.
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If you’re new to Destiny, or need some non-Legendary weapons, try these:
- Galahad-E (auto rifle)
- Civilian Applications (sniper rifle)
- That Beautiful Glow (fusion rifle)
- Evergreen II.I (pulse rifle)
- Backhanded Compliment (hand cannon)
- Affentheater C/L-A (rocket launcher)
- The Stranger’s Rifle (pulse rifle)
- Gallows Cure (scout rifle)
- Black Chasma ESc (shotgun)
- Bronzed Thutmose-D (machine gun)
These weapons will be most useful in normal Crucible matches, where Attack value doesn’t make a difference.
What Rare weapons do you consider the best of the best? Share your thoughts!
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Galahad-E
This weapon’s name will echo down through the ages. It has earned a prestigious reputation with its coveted High Impact/Low RoF archetype, great magazine size and balanced traits throughout. With the arrival of patch 1.1.1, it has fallen from grace somewhat, taking the brunt of the impact nerf, but is still particularly deadly in the right hands.
If you manage to score the right perks, you will have yourself a vicious weapon for Crucible. The Galahad-Eis affectionately referred to by the community as the “Mini-Suros”, for its similar flair for guaranteeing sure and steady precision shot chains.
It drops in some of the earlier strike playlists, or from Primary Blue Engrams. [ROC strikes drop distinctive Red weapons, Tiger: turquoise, the earlier Strikes drop a light blue set of weapons].
Civilian Applications
This weapon can be one of the most obscenely overpowered weapons in the Crucible, especially if you’re lucky enough to get Final Round; that last bullet will one-shot enemies anywhere on the body!
If you find a perch near some special ammo, you can deliberately shoot down to the last round and wait for your target. This is one of the few sniper rifles with the required Impact to ensure one-shot Final Round kills while also having a low enough magazine size to take advantage of it early and often.
If you were unable to score an Efrideet’s Spear with Final Round, keep an eye out for this monster before you scrap your secondaries.
However, If you aren’t lucky with the perks, it’s basically just another cumbersome, slow-RoF sniper.
That Beautiful Glow
An incredible fusion rifle, this beast comes with an impressively fast charge time, almost on par with the well renowned Helios FR5.
Along with the quick charge speed, it’s got a very stable recoil pattern, which means it will dish out a phenomenally deadly and accurate bursts. If you land the Accelerated Coils perk you’ll be unstoppable with one of the quickest charging fusion rifles in Destiny.
It’s worth mentioning that Bronzed Nox Volo V has nearly identical stats, so be on the lookout for that as well.
We’ve also got a top 5 list of Legendary fusion rifles.
Evergreen II.I
This is simply a must-have because of its devastating 2-burst kill in the Crucible. It has impressively soft recoil, excellent control and respectable range; you’ll never have to worry about the weapon veering off your target due to its impressive base stability.
Boasting an above average magazine size, it’s also got the highest Impact, tied with New Heart LDD which we featured in our first edition.
Backhanded Compliment
Sharing the same appearance as Timur’s Lash, this hand cannon has an impressive balancing point with its higher rate of fire – without the undue sacrifice of DPS .
When you are confronting rushing enemies like Thrall and Dregs, Backhanded Compliment will give you the edge you need with a great heap of stopping power and the rate of fire to take advantage of it.
It’s versatile and an absolute joy to use with a healthy magazine size of 8.
Affentheater C/L-A
You probably just see a name that is impossible to pronounce: Affenth-Eater? Affen-Theater? Affent-Heater? Who knows… but that’s beside the point.
This rocket launcher has functionality that may go overlooked; namely, its long-range bombardment capabilities are second to none. If you get this weapon with Tracking Rounds you simply have the apex of rare rocket launchers.
Affentheater C/L-A has the near highest velocity of all rare rocket launchers. Thus, it is very good at reliably hitting enemies at extreme distances, without the need for excessive leading. Both shells will always reach their target promptly.
The Stranger’s Rifle
Everybody had it (and probably dismantled it) but it’s now almost perfect for the Crucible. Its open sights, full auto capability, stable firing and high range makes it a very smooth and balanced choice.
If for some reason you never finished the story, now is the time! Upon completion of the Black Garden on any difficulty you will be rewarded this unique rare from the Exo Stranger – not too bad for saving the galaxy.
If you’re looking for something with more Impact, try out Echo 33 or Corona Msc.
Gallows Cure
This is rapid-fire scout rifle that deals very respectable damage in the Crucible. However, It’s got the lowest Impact rating of any Scout Rifle, so it’s recommend that you don’t bring it into PvE
With the fastest rate of fire it’s the perfect weapon for suppressing fire and stagger support. High Caliber rounds would allow it to perform this duty with even more proficiency.
Black Chasma ESc
This is the Bronzed Chasma Esc’s distant cousin (we featured it in our first edition).
Black Chasma ESc has a remarkable reload speed and the highest rate of fire, with much higher stability than its cousin. This is a great shotgun for chaining kills.
Its one downside, the range, can be compensated for with perk luck; both Shot Package and Hammer Forged are ideal for making this beast an outright monster. Inferno is waiting!
Bronzed Thutmose-D
If you’re a fan of the rate of fire that Against All Odds and Jolder’s Hammer has, you’ll love this machine gun.
It’s almost got the highest magazine size of the low RoF/high Impact archetype, only behind Xerxes-E. With a startling high base range, it is only lacking for stability. Rodeo or the proper barrel can remedy this. Consider Spray & Play for maximum uninterrupted firing time.
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Conclusion
Don’t overlook some of these amazingly designed beauties. You’ll be surprised how well some of them perform, and if you’re lucky enough to get the perks you want, you might even prefer using these Rare weapons over their Legendary alternatives!
Though the statistics of weapons can easily be compared in Destiny by simply holding down a button, such a mechanism only allows for a cursory look at the base damage per bullet of a weapon.
It cannot be stressed enough though that while such data can be used with a little math and a weapon comparison chart to determine what your favorite class of weapon can do, the weapon’s perks are just as important, and the rare weapons have the potential for some great perks.
Once you’ve exhausted your Rare weapon(s) and are ready to move on, check out this weapon spreadsheet by Reddit user exxtrooper. Use it to get a sense of how weapons in Destiny stack up against each other.