The Best Linear Fusion Rifles in Destiny 2

Human Made

Kody is our expert Destiny 2 and shooter genre writer. He lives in Oregon.

If you want to deal out massive damage in Destiny 2, you need the right power weapon. Rocket launchers and grenade launchers deal out large-scale AOE but lack accuracy. Swords are excellent for walloping large and small enemies alike but are useless from long-range. And machine guns fall somewhere in the middle of damage, accuracy, and range.

Luckily there is another option — the best linear fusion rifles in Destiny 2! This power weapon is like a sniper rifle and fusion rifle with just a hint of rocket launcher impact for good measure. It’s certainly unique amongst other weapons, meaning you’ll want to carefully choose which one you run with.

So, which linear fusion rifle is the best? Let’s find out.

9 Best Destiny 2 Linear Fusion Rifles

Beyond Light and Season of the Chosen drastically diminished the amount of available linear fusion rifles. The overall reliability of these weapons hasn’t changed, but that last round of sunsetting has made it simple to decide which linear fusion rifles are worth using.

October 2021 Update: Bungie just can’t seem to go wrong with the Exotic weapons they introduce with the season pass. Season of the Lost not only shifts the landscape for Linear Fusion Rifles but accompanies it with some excellent (and somewhat broken) Armor Mods to make them even more useful. On top of that, the Trials of Osiris relaunch has some truly excellent rewards that include a very useful Linear Fusion Rifle.

So, between some solid weapon design and Perk changes, there’s really never been a better time to start using this weapon type.

1. Lorentz Driver

The Destiny 2 best linear fusion rifle

Why is it one of the best? I can’t remember a time where a Linear Fusion Rifle was introduced and everyone started running it. That’s simply how good this Season of the Chosen Seasonal weapon is. Residing in your Energy slot, it holds a quick charge shot rate, a deep clip, and ridiculously steady aim. Then of course there are the Perks.

Lagrangian Sight automatically marks targets, highlighting them in red for an almost permanent period of time. If you take out the marked target, you snag a telemetry stack which can be obtained three times without dying. Doing so gives you increased weapon damage for 30 seconds.

Then there’s the EM Anomaly trait which pulls enemies in and releases an explosion if you land a precision final blow. Both of these separately is strong Perks, but together it makes for an equally useful weapon for tracking in PvP and ad clearing in PvE.

What’s it good for? The precision damage and AOE abilities make this equally useful in PvE and PvP.

How do I get it? Season Pass reward. Obtained at Rank 1 for season pass owners and Rank 35 for free.

2. Reed’s Regret

Destiny 2’s best Stasis Linear Fusion Rifle

Why is it one of the best? Most Trials of Osiris reward weapons have become excellent with the recent refresh. As far as Reed’s Regret goes, that’s mainly due to it being a Stasis Legendary weapon that can roll with some excellent Perks to make up with the relatively even base stats. The Perk pool also makes it one that you can attempt to cater exclusively for Crucible or PvE play.

If you can try to roll for Triple Tap and Firing Line to increase your damage output while still taking advantage of Reed’s high accuracy. On the flip side, you can also attempt to roll Surplus to make sure that you can quickly switch, load and fire when playing PvP. In any case, you have options and the ability to stack up your base power with some Stasis-specific elemental well Mods.

What’s it good for? Both PvE and PvP depending on your Perk rolls.

How do I get it? Random drop from completing Trials of Osiris matches or focusing Trials Engrams.

3. Threaded Needle

The Destiny 2 best Legendary linear fusion rifle

Why is it one of the best? This linear fusion rifle is constantly dropping if you’re playing any seasonal activities. Thankfully, it’s currently the best option in this weapon class due to the consistently high damage, stability, and reload speed stats it tends to drop with. And no matter the perks you roll, this will be the best linear fusion rifle for PvE.

Rolling Rapid hit with Frenzy allows you to capitalize on this weapon’s already impressive accuracy. And Vorpal Weapon with Killing Wind can make this an excellent option to mix up with low-level ADS and boss-types simultaneously. To put it simply, the stats are solid, the perks are all great, and it’s easy to farm. What more could you want?

What’s it good for? It’s best for PvE, PvP, and Gambit due to the high-level base stats and damage/accuracy-focused perk options.

How do I get it? Acquire it from the Season of the Chosen season pass or as a random world drop in Battlegrounds.

4. Arbalest

The best linear fusion rifle for PvP

Why is it one of the best? Dealing with specific energy shield types is a pain unless you have a weapon that can either change element-type or bypass the system altogether. The Kinetic frame of the Arbalest does the latter in both PvP and PvE, making it one of the best options when this modifier is active.

Besides that, it’s one of the most accurate weapons in all of Destiny 2. You can’t help but get headshots from incredibly long distances, making this one of the best replacements for sniper rifles available. Being an Exotic, it does lack the ability to roll additional aim/damage perks but makes up for it with its inherent trait to avoid shields.

What’s it good for? Use it in PvP and PvE when elemental shield modifiers are active.

How do I get it? Acquire it from random Exotic Engram drops or purchase it from Xur.

5. The Queenbreaker

The best Exotic linear fusion rifle in Destiny 2

Why is it one of the best? There was a time when Queenbreaker was hands down the best. More recent additions have pushed it down just a bit, but it still serves as an excellent long-range weapon to run against high-level enemies.

Thanks to the slower charge and higher damage rate, it’s perfect for taking on low-level targets or Guardians from a distance. It’s also useful against majors and boss-types, thanks to the blinding perk that disorients enemies and allows you to keep stalling any high-damage attacks with precision shots. It’s definitely a special use case, but well worth using if you like to play the sniper role.

What’s it good for? It’s best in PvE, PvP, and Gambit if used from a distance.

How do I get it? Acquire it from random Exotic Engram drops or purchase it from Xur.

6. Sleeper Simulant

The best linear fusion rifle for Gambit

Why is it one of the best? Basically a laser light show, the Sleeper Stimulant is excellent for taking on larger groups of enemies. The real benefit of this weapon is that it doesn’t require you to be accurate, and landing the initial shot is simply a benefit. The Exotic perk causes any shots to continuously ricochet around targets, meaning you can land precision damage and extend the area of effect for a short time after.

It’s perfect for taking on bosses surrounded by Minor enemies or taking down Guardians in tight spaces. Just keep in mind that the charge rate is a bit lengthy if you don’t have the Catalyst, meaning this weapon is best used from a distance.

What’s it good for? Try it out in Gambit, PvP, and PvE due to the reflective firing perk.

How do I get it? Acquire it through the Exotic Kiosk in the Tower.

7. Corsair’s Wrath

The best linear fusion rifle for perk farming

Why is it one of the best? Another linear fusion rifle that’s relatively easy to farm, Corsair’s Wrath benefits from a deep and diverse PvE-oriented perk pool. You can roll options that match virtually any way you’d like to play, and it helps make up for the somewhat mediocre base stats.

Like to follow-up with a grenade toss or Super after landing a critical hit? Run with Demolitionist or Thresh alongside Outlaw. Want to keep unloading the clip on high-level enemies? Shoot for High-Impact Reserves and Killing Wind. Again this is an easy one to farm out and provides some of Destiny 2’s best linear fusion rifle perks for mid-tier PvE encounters.

What’s it good for? It’s best in PvE and Gambit due to the DPS heavy perk pool.

How do I get it? Acquire it as a random drop by completing Wrathborn hunts.

8. Tarantula

The go-to bare-bones Linear Fusion Rifle

Why is it one of the best? Tarantula is one of those weapons that you likely get way too many of. While in the past that was obnoxious and meant some more Legendary Shards and some Weapon Parts, you might want to start taking a closer look. Thanks to a few seasonal updates, the Tarantula now drops just as commonly, but with a wider range of useful Perks.

Field Prep and Kill Clip, for example, make for an excellent PvP or PvE option that synchronizes increased damage with reload speed. Feeding Frenzy is equally useful here as well as Dragonfly if you like to leverage elemental explosions. Wellspring can also be a great grab, but you really need to be sure you can rack up kills to make it useful.

All in all, Tarantula has shifted from middling to a solid and easy to obtain Perk farming weapon.

What’s it good for? A great backup option for both PvE and PvP if you have the right Perks.

How do I get it? Random Legendary Engram drops.

9. Komodo-4FR

The best linear fusion rifle for Crucible

Why is it one of the best? Ritual weapons were always well worth the grind when released. Now, you can unlock one of the best by having the right materials to purchase from the Exotic Kiosk. The real benefit is s the multiple perk options you can switch between. In this case, you can use either Moving Target No Distractions along with Eye of the Storm or Box Breathing.

Typically, Moving Target and Eye of the Storm will be what you stick with since this weapon is best used for Crucible. You can decide to run it in PvE, but this weapon’s base power makes it fairly useless against boss-types or Majors. Even so, just having the option to switch is well worth testing it out.

What’s it good for? Use it in PvP and Gambit due to the perk options you can switch between.

How do I get it? Acquire it through the Exotic Kiosk in the Tower.

Stay On Target

The best linear fusion rifles in Destiny 2 may not be the go-to power weapon class out there, but they can still come in handy if you choose the right option. Be sure to let your Fireteam know that they shouldn’t keep dismantling those Threaded Needle drops by sharing this article on your favorite social channel. And for more on Destiny 2, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter.

Happy gaming!

Update Log

10/2021 Updates

Lorentz Driver and Reed’s Regret added bumping Threaded Needle to the #3 spot.
Tarantula added to the #8 spot due to the wider range of available Perks.

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The Best Linear Fusion Rifles in Destiny 2