destiny best primary weapons

Best Legendary Primary Weapons

Legendary Reviews Leave a comment

SUROS PDX-45 (Gunsmith)

  • Pros – High Stability.
  • Cons – Low Range.

Recommended Perks:

  1. SPO-28
  2. Perfect Balance, High Caliber Rounds, Hammer Forged, Fitted Stock
  3. Counterbalance, Hidden Hand, Rangefinder, Headseeker
  4. Rifled Barrel/Smallbore

Many Guardians have been waiting for months for the Gunsmith to bring us the perfect roll (and new weapons).

If you aren’t lucky enough to get Perfect Balance, then Smallbore is the best option in the final column, and either of the other three second column options will work. You can even match Smallbore with Perfect Balance to achieve literally maximum Stability, but you won’t get as much range as you could with Rifled Barrel.

High Caliber Rounds does well on the PDX-45, simply because the RoF is so fast that landing all of your shots will have the other person’s screen jumping almost constantly. Hammer Forged can help with the very low base Range, and Fitted Stock doesn’t give much of a stability bonus, but it’s still a helpful in tightening up the bullet spread. Counterbalance in the middle will always be the best choice for those who want to improve recoil direction, but with Perfect Balance it’s not absolutely necessary.

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The Clever Dragon (Iron Banner)

  • Pros – Very high aim assist. Above average mag size.
  • Cons – Low Range & Stability.

Recommended Perks:

  1. Iron Red Dot, Iron Warrior Sights
  2. Smallbore, Perfect Balance, Braced Frame, Send It, Hammer Forged
  3. High Caliber Rounds, Appended Magazine
  4. Counterbalance, Rangefinder, Headseeker, Hidden Hand, Glass Half Full, Outlaw, Feeding Frenzy

Long story short, this is the real deal. Joining The Waltz and the Grasp of Malok in the very low-impact pulse archetype, this one really doesn’t need perks to make it shine.

In the third column, HCR is a nice perk to combine with the fast RoF and flinch mechanics, but Appended Magazine can work very well with Smallbore or Braced Frame. In the last column Counterbalance is the god-roll choice, since the base recoil direction leaves a lot to be desired.

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Grasp of Malok (Will of Crota)

  • Pros – Large magazine, high aim assist.
  • Cons -Low stability, slow reload.

Recommended Perks:

  1. Red Dot-OAS, Red Dot-ORS1, Red Dot-ORES
  2. Counterbalance, Rangefinder, Headseeker, Life Support, Eye of the Storm
  3. Braced Frame/Smallbore/Perfect Balance, Hand Loaded, Fitted Stock
  4. Glass Half Full, Feeding Frenzy, Grenadier, Army of One

Part of one of the most popular archetypes in the current meta, a well-rolled Grasp is still the white whale for many people. Fortunately, the archetype has been padded by a couple of easier-to-acquire weapons, like The Waltz from FWC.

On this pulse rifle, any combination of Counterbalance and Perfect Balance, Braced Frame, or Smallbore will be helpful. The rest doesn’t really matter too much.

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Lord High Fixer

  • Pros – Good Range.
  • Cons – Average Stability.

Recommended Perks:

  1. SureShot IS/TrueSight IS
  2. Rangefinder, Outlaw
  3. Rifled Barrel, Reinforced Barrel, Hammer Forged, Hand Loaded, Explosive Rounds
  4. Hidden Hand/Icarus, Luck in the Chamber, Life Support, Reactive Reload, Third Eye

Lord High Fixer is still one of the most powerful mid-Impact hand cannons available. This video review overviews everything you need to know about it:

The Devil You Know

  • Pros – Decent stability.
  • Cons – Slow handling.

Recommended Perks:

  1. SureShot IS/TrueSight IS
  2. Rangefinder, Outlaw
  3. Rifled Barrel, Reinforced Barrel, Hammer Forged, Hand Loaded, Explosive Rounds
  4. Icarus, Hidden Hand, Luck in the Chamber, Life Support, Reactive Reload, Third Eye

This Vanguard hand cannon has a healthy amount of everything you need, and with a synergistic roll, can spar with the best. The Rangefinder/Rifled Barrel combo is considered to be the key to maximum performance.

In the last column, thanks to the high base aim assist, Icarus is a winner. But there are many other great choices as well, such as Hidden Hand or try Luck in the Chamber.

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The Palindrome

  • Pros – High range.
  • Cons – Too few to mention.

Best Vendor Perks:

  1. TrueSight IS
  2. Spray and Pray or Mulligan
  3. Rifled Barrel
  4. Rangefinder

Recommended Perks:

  1. SureShot IS/TrueSight IS
  2. Icarus, Outlaw, Hot Swap
  3. Rifled Barrel, Reinforced Barrel, Hammer Forged, Smallbore
  4. Rangefinder, Hidden Hand, Luck in the Chamber, Third Eye

One of the most popular vendor weapons in the Crucible, Palindrome has almost everything you could want in a hand cannon. With a near perfect roll right out of the gate, on top of fantastic base stats, this is just as good as Eyasluna.

If you get one to drop for you, the only way it could be better than the default roll is with Icarus, Outlaw, Hidden Hand, or LitC.

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CHAOS DOGMA~

  • Pros – High Range.
  • Cons – Low Stability.

Recommended Perks:

  1. Linear Compensator
  2. Triple Tap
  3. Smallbore (PvP), Extended Mag (PvE)
  4. Triple Double

This raid scout rifle is a member of the high-Impact archetype, like Cocytus on steroids.

Triple Double pulls a second round from your reserves every time Triple Tap procs, so if you play your cards right, you can go a very long time without reloading. These perks have fantastic synergy with the purpose of the weapon as a DPS machine for boss fights, and that utility more than makes up for its overall lack of outstanding stats. One of the best things about this weapon is the ability to kill in 2 headshots and 1 body shot, or 4 body shots, in PvP, thanks to the barrel perks that increase impact just enough.

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The Distant Star (Iron Banner)

  • Pros – Quick Reload.
  • Cons – Low Range.

Recommended PvP Perks:

  • Iron Red Dot or Iron Warrior Sights
  • Perfect Balance, Smallbore, Braced Frame, Hammer Forged, Injection Mold, Hand-laid Stock
  • Full Auto
  • Zen Moment/Hidden Hand, Life Support, Crowd Control, Eye of the Storm, Icarus, Firefly

A member of the intriguing MIDA-archetype, but unlike the MIDA, doesn’t possess a large magazine or decent stability.

In the second column, prioritize stability first, and then range. Stability will help maintain maximum RoF and accuracy. Range boosts reticle stickiness at longer distances. For this reason Smallbore is my second choice. Braced Frame is third, but be warned it’s going to have a severe effect on the already low mag size.

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SUROS DIS-47

  • Pros – Great stability & magazine.
  • Cons – Very low range, slow reload speed.
  • Gameplay.

Recommended Perks:

  1. SPO-28
  2. Perfect Balance/Hammer Forged, High Caliber Rounds, Fitted Stock
  3. Full Auto, Hidden Hand, Unflinching, Counterbalance
  4. Smallbore/Hand-laid Stock, Injection Mold

The SPO-28 sight will give you a small AA boost, and Full Auto is necessary to take advantage of this gun’s surprisingly fast TtK.

Any combination of the other bolded perks will work well together, but Perfect Balance & Smallbore, or Hammer Forged & Hand-laid Stock are my top picks.

The first pair will not quite push the Stability as high as it can go, but you’ll get a small Range boost on top of it. The second pair will give you more Stability, but Hammer Forged will be needed to add back in the Range penalty from Hand-laid.

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Zarinaea-D

  • Pros – High stability.
  • Cons – Slow reload speed.

Recommended Perks:

  1. SC Holo
  2. Crowd Control, Hot Swap, Army of One
  3. Rangefinder, Counterbalance
  4. Braced Frame, Smallbore, Rifled Barrel.

Somewhat of a dark horse, but this + Crowd Control does work when engaging multiple enemies. Counterbalance isn’t actually a necessity on this weapon.

If you’re lucky enough to get Rangefinder, paired with Braced Frame, you’ll have great Range (negating some of the damage drop off) and minimal vertical recoil. If you can’t get Braced Frame, Smallbore is a decent consolation prize, but the it might take a little more to control.

If you don’t get Rangefinder, but you have Counterbalance, Rifled Barrel can be an excellent perk to pair with it.

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Soulstealer’s Claw (House of Judgment)

  • Pros – Large mag size.
  • Cons – Low stability.

Recommended Perks:

  1. Red Dot-OAS, Red Dot-ORES
  2. Perfect Balance, Smallbore, Hand-laid Stock
  3. Lightweight, Single Point Sling, Quickdraw, Snapshot
  4. Counterbalance, Persistence, Rangefinder, Hidden Hand

Perhaps the most sought after of the HoJ rank-up packages, this auto rifle unfortunately can’t roll with Braced Frame, but the combination of Perfect Balance and Counterbalance is a decent substitute.

Column three’s perk do not matter, so be happy with whatever you get. If you can’t get Perfect Balance, Smallbore is a passable replacement, but the vertical recoil when combined with Counterbalance will be something to look out for. Hand-laid Stock can also go into the second column, which will give you the stability of Braced Frame, but it comes at the cost of your extra range.

If you don’t get Counterbalance, it’s not going to be a God Roll, but Persistence can help you stay on target after it activates, and Rangefinder and Hidden Hand are both solid.

Arminius-D

  • Pros – High aim assist, mag size, & quick reload.
  • Cons – Low range & stability.

Recommended Perks:

  1. SC Holo, LC Ranged
  2. Crowd Control, Hot Swap, Army of One
  3. Counterbalance
  4. Braced Frame, Smallbore

More Gunsmith love! This is one of the few ARs that remain usable. SC Holo is perfect for an aim assist boost, and Crowd Control is the best way to keep damage high.

As you might have guessed, Counterbalance is the only way to go in the middle column, and Braced Frame will combine with that to make the recoil very manageable.