This article will overview the best weapons to pick up from the Tower vendors, but will also suggest the optimal perks to look out for if you’re able to get them from a package.
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Sniper Rifles
Event Horizon – Crucible
- Pros – High Range. Above average inventory. Can snipe Guardians out of their Supers, even at full armor, with 1 crit shot.
- Cons – Very low stability, aim assist, and equip speed. Below average reload speed. Low mag size.
Recommended Perks:
- Column 1 – ShortGaze SLH10
- Column 2 – Grenadier or Spray and Pray
- Column 3 – Smallbore
- Column 4 – Hidden Hand
This was the first weapon I purchased when RoI dropped, and I have to say I’m impressed. Stat-wise, it’s not the best, but the doing enough damage to kill Guardians out of their supers, and basically body shot anyone who has been breathed on is very rewarding in the current state of the Crucible.
The low RoF and lack of aim assist can get to you if you’re coming from a 1000YS or Longbow, but fortunately the vendor version comes with Hidden Hand and ShortGaze, two of the very best options for snipers. Smallbore doesn’t actually decrease the mag size, so you get a free boost to range and stability as well, and either Grenadier or Spray and Pray can be helpful in various situations.
Deposition VII – New Monarchy
- Pros – Can Revive Snipe. Above average reload speed and aim assist.
- Neutral – Average mag size and equip speed.
- Cons – Can’t kill most Supered Enemies with 1 crit shot. Below average range, stability, and inventory.
Recommended Perks:
- Column 1 – ShortGaze SLH10
- Column 2 – Snapshot
- Column 3 – Mulligan
- Column 4 – Unflinching
I’ve put quite a bit of time into this sniper archetype, and, although it’s not my favorite, they definitely do a good job filling the role between high-impact and high-RoF snipers, taking a little bit of the best of both. Still doing a respectable 134 to the body, and with two body shots taking on 0.67s, this archetype can be utilized as both a tool to take down wounded enemies and a quick-ish double tap weapon.
The roll on the vendor version is quite good, with my favorite scope, ShortGaze, and a very useful perk in Unflinching. Snapshot is passable in the absence of Quickdraw, and Mulligan actually activates enough to get you a few shots per game, depending on your accuracy. The overall stats of this weapon are middling, with nothing standing out in either direction, so, with the decent roll it comes with, I’d call it a good overall weapon.
Seventh Sense – Vanguard
- Pros – Fast body shot Time-to-Kill. Can Revive Snipe. High reload speed. Above average equip speed.
- Neutral – Average range, mag size, and stability.
- Cons – Can’t kill most Supered Enemies with 1 crit shot. Below average aim assist and inventory.
Recommended Perks:
- Column 1 – ViewTac SLH20 or Ambush SLH25
- Column 2 – Grenadier
- Column 3 – Quickdraw
- Column 4 – Firefly
Part of the Glass Promontory archetype, this weapon can be a fantastic tool in any playlist where revives are enabled. It offers the fastest two-tap body shot of all snipers that can still revive snipe, and comes with the excellent Ambush scope and Quickdraw perk. These things combine to make it a wonderful tool for the sniper looking for to get in and get out as opposed to hard-scoping.
Firefly and Grenadier aren’t the most useful of the perks, but they’re good enough for PvP. In terms of stats, the gun struggles a bit with aim assist and inventory, but it’s handling speed is top notch.
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Shotguns
Note: Field Choke, Linear Compensator, Accurized Ballistics all increase the damage per pellet by 2.5%. Aggressive Ballistics increases it by 5%. Soft Ballistics decreases it by 2.5%.
Last-Ditch 001 – Dead Orbit
- Pros – Very high range and max range. Can still hit the range cap using Hand Loaded and Hammer Forged with Aggressive Ballistics.
- Neutral – Average mag size.
- Cons – Below average reload speed. Very low aim assist and equip speed.
Recommended Perks:
- Column 1 – CQB Ballistics
- Column 2 – Quickdraw
- Column 3 – Hammer Forged
- Column 4 – Rangefinder
The Matador class of very high-impact shotguns was on a short hiatus during year two, but they’re making their return felt with the Dead Orbit Last-Ditch 001. With a tremendously high base range of 23, this gun is capable of killing Guardians with a single blast at distances other shotguns can only dream of.
The vendor version isn’t perfect, as it lacks a good barrel perk and Hand Loaded, and thus can’t max out the range stat, but Quickdraw, Hammer Forged, and Rangefinder make a deadly combination in their own right.
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Fusion Rifles
The Waiting – Future War Cult
- Pros – High impact/damage per bolt and stability. Above average range.
- Neutral – Average aim assist, bolts to kill, and mag size.
- Cons – Below average charge rate. Low reload speed.
Recommended Perks:
- Column 1 – Reflex
- Column 2 – Accelerated Coils
- Column 3 – Perfect Balance or Kneepads
- Column 4 – Rangefinder
Similar to the previous FWC fusion rifle, The Vacancy, The Waiting is a high impact model with surprisingly high base stability. It’s only drawback is the slower charge rate, which is why the vendor version with Accelerated Coils is a perfect compromise. It doesn’t lower the impact nearly enough to make it require another bolt to kill, so you get the benefit of a more rapid charge rate without the drawbacks.
Either Perfect Balance or Kneepads would be a fine choice in the third column, generally depending on whether you like to slide charge people with your fusion, or you want the extra help in tightening up the burst pattern. Rangefinder is still a wonderful perk for fusions, as the increased zoom leads to better bolt groupings.
Each New Day – Crucible
- Pros – Above average charge rate, impact/damage per bolt, and aim assist. High stability and mag size.
- Neutral – Average reload speed and bolts to kill.
- Cons – Low range.
Recommended Perks:
- Column 1 – Reflex
- Column 2 – Unflinching
- Column 3 – Snapshot or Hand-laid Stock
- Column 4 – Counterbalance
Easily comparable to the Ashraven’s Flight from TTK Iron Banner, Each New Day trades a little less range for more stability. It needs it, especially because the vendor version doesn’t have any good perks to improve the stability without sacrificing range, which is something I try hard to avoid on fusion rifles. Counterbalance will make the recoil pattern more vertical, but it will be up to you to control it.
Unflinching can help you to avoid being thrown off mid burst, and Snapshot is perfect for pre-charging then scoping in. If you really don’t feel like you can get a tight enough bolt spread without a stability perk, HLS can definitely help in that area, but the decrease in range is significant. Reflex is my favorite of the available sights, both for the aim assist boost and for the clear sight picture.
Worlds to Come 001 – Dead Orbit
- Pros – Above average charge rate and impact/damage per bolt. High stability.
- Neutral – Average bolts to kill, reload speed, mag size, and aim assist.
- Cons – Low range.
Recommended Perks:
- Column 1 – Reflex
- Column 2 – Snapshot
- Column 3 – Hammer Forged
- Column 4 – Hidden Hand
Basically a clone of Each New Day, Worlds to Come trades a bit of aim assist and an extra shot in the mag for a little bit of a better roll directed at highly skilled fusion users. Reflex and Snapshot are both still present, but we get Hammer Forged this time, which helps to give a solid jump to the range stat. Hidden Hand then drastically improves aim assist, making this gun the preferred choice for those people who have no problems controlling bolt spread without any help from perks.
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Rocket Launchers
The Warpath – Future War Cult
- Pros – High RoF. Very high blast radius.
- Neutral – Average mag size.
- Cons – Very low reload speed, velocity and inventory. Not good for PvP.
Recommended Perks:
- Column 1 – Linear Compensator
- Column 2 – Flared Magwell
- Column 3 – Heavy Payload
- Column 4 – Tracking
I truly only recommend this weapon for PvE. The slow speed will help with Tracking and make it easier for the rocket to adjust its path in the air, and the very large blast radius will guarantee that anything near its impact point will be damaged or destroyed. Flared Magwell is a luxury perk to help with reload speed, but it doesn’t do quite enough to offset the low inventory size and lack of tripod. If you have The Smolder from the post-April TTK Crucible Quartermaster, you’re better off using that.
Something Wicked – Crucible
- Pros – Very high blast radius. Above average velocity. High inventory.
- Neutral – Average reload speed and mag size.
- Cons – Very low RoF.
Recommended Perks:
- Column 1 – Soft Launch
- Column 2 – Grenadier or Last Resort
- Column 3 – Field Scout
- Column 4 – Cluster Bomb
The only rocket launcher that I’ll be picking up for myself, I look forward to trying out the new and improved Cluster Bomb perk in PvP. With high blast radius and decent velocity, the stats on this launcher are generally as good as you’ll get from a vendor weapon. In terms of perks, there’s no Tripod, sadly, nor Grenades and Horseshoes, which means this weapon will probably struggle to be tier 1 in PvP. However, thanks to it’s high inventory size, you only need to wear a chest armor piece with the heavy ammo perk to get three rockets per brick in the Crucible, as opposed to a chest piece and boots. Grenadier and Last Resort are both niche perks for a launcher, but in small team playlists I think Last Resort could provide more benefit.
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Machine Guns
Bonekruscher – Vanguard
- Pros – Very high range. Fastest Optimal TtK.
- Cons – Very low stability, mag size, and aim assist. Below average reload speed.
Recommended Perks:
- Column 1 – Linear Compensator
- Column 2 – Feeding Frenzy
- Column 3 – Quickdraw or Hand-laid Stock
- Column 4 – Crowd Control
One of my favorite archetypes of machine guns, the Bonekruscher has the fastest possible optimal TtK, and only needs two critical hits and a body shot to kill a full armor Guardian. The drawbacks of course are the low aim assist, mag size, and stability stats, but I feel it’s a fair trade-off. Linear Compensator will help with the recoil by making it mostly vertical, and Feeding Frenzy can help if you need to reload under pressure after an engagement.
Go with Quickdraw in the third column, if you can handle the recoil without Hand-laid Stock, because I hate taking away range from one of these weapons. You always want to do maximum damage and have as much aim assist as possible at longer distances with these guns, so you can net as many kills as possible without being forced to close in on targets. Crowd Control is a fantastic perk on machine guns, and can make it so that you only have to hit one crit and two body shots to get a kill immediately following a previous one.
Chaotic Neutral – Crucible
- Pros – Above average range and reload speed. High aim assist.
- Neutral – Average stability.
- Cons – Low mag size.
Recommended Perks:
- Column 1 – CQB Ballistics or Smooth Ballistics
- Column 2 – Feeding Frenzy
- Column 3 – Armor Piercing Rounds or Braced Frame
- Column 4 – Rangefinder
I love the archetype, but I’m not a fan of this roll. First off, it doesn’t have the necessary impact increasing barrel perk to bring down the body shot TtK. Second, although Feeding Frenzy and Rangefinder are excellent options, in the middle you have to choose between APR or Braced Frame.
Generally, I hate decreasing the mag size of machine guns because I feel like it always comes back to bite me, so I’d go with APR. Plus, APR now gives a slight range boost, and you might pick up some lucky overpenetration kills. This is really more of a gun to look out for if it drops with good random perks.