Destiny 2: 18 Best Weapons to Craft Guide

Weapon crafting was introduced to Destiny 2 with The Witch Queen expansion earlier this year, and since then, we’ve gotten many new weapons to craft. The weapon crafting system has been both applauded and critiqued — no matter what your opinion, you’ll still want to make use of the system. The introduction of enhanced perks on these craftable weapons has practically made it a necessity. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the best weapons to craft in Destiny 2!

Destiny 2: Best Craftable Weapons by Type

We’ve got the best weapons to craft separated by category: Kinetic, Energy, and Heavy Weapons.

Kinetic Weapons

Kinetic weapons are the “less” powerful option, but they’re just as important as Energy weapons. They come in either neutral or Stasis energy types, and are an essential part of every build. There are only a few truly great craftable Kinetic weapons right now, but we’ll still take a look at them here.

1. Submission

Submission comes from the Vow of the Disciple raid, which explains its cool aesthetic. In terms of gameplay, it’s one of the best all-round SMGs in the Kinetic slot. Submission doesn’t do anything crazy, but shines due to its simplicity. You don’t have to think at all while using this weapon. Just point it at enemies and go crazy.

While Submission might be difficult to get, it’s definitely worthwhile. It has a really solid perk pool for an SMG, and the origin trait from VoW weapons is nothing to overlook (even though all origin traits are somewhat underwhelming). If you’re someone who likes to do raids, you should definitely look into crafting a Submission.

PVE God Roll:

• Frenzy (enhanced) or Demolitionist (enhanced)
• Overflow (enhanced) or Subsistence (enhanced)
• Accurized Rounds, Tactical Mag, or Appended Mag
• Corkscrew Rifling or Arrowhead Break

Recommended Perks (PVE only):

• Frenzy (enhanced)
• Overflow or Subsitence (enhanced)
• Accurized Rounds
• Corkscrew Rifling

Where to Farm the Pattern: Vow of the Disciple raid

2. Disparity

Disparity is the first of the Season 19 weapons to make it onto this list. It’s an Aggressive Burst frame Pulse Rifle in the Kinetic slot, and it’s fantastic. Since we don’t have a ton of good craftable Pulse Rifles yet, it’s nice to see one this strong.

Desperado, along with either Outlaw or Rapid Hit is good on any Pulse, and the enhanced versions are even better. Disparity is definitely a solid Pulse that has the potential to be good even in late game content.

Recommended Perks (PVE or PVP):

• Desperado (enhanced)
• Outlaw or Rapid Hit (enhanced)
• Accurized Rounds (PVP) or Tactical Mag (PVE)
• Arrowhead Brake or Corkscrew Rifling

Where to Farm the Pattern: Focusing Umbral Engrams at the H.E.L.M. or Heist Battlegrounds (seasonal activity)

3. Succession

Even though Sniper Rifles aren’t too prevalent these days, Succession remains strong thanks to its newly-added craftable version. Since the DSC weapons can get Reconstruction (a perk that allows passive weapon reloading over time), they’ll always be somewhat strong.

This is especially true on Succession, as it’s perhaps the weapon that benefits from Reconstruction the most. Succession is great to have for any situation that might require a Sniper Rifle, even if there might not be a ton of them right now.

Recommended Perks:

• Vorpal Weapon (enhanced)
• Reconstruction (enhanced)
• Tactical Mag
• Fluted Barrel or Arrowhead Brake

Where to Farm the Pattern: Deep Stone Crypt raid

4. Syncopation-53

Syncopation-53 is great for one reason — it’s a really solid Stasis weapon. Stasis Kinetic weapons are always great since there still isn’t a huge amount of them, and since you get the pattern for Syncopation pretty easily, why not craft one? This one can actually be used effectively for both PVE and PVP, so we’ll list the god roll for each.

PVE God Roll:

• Headstone (enhanced), Vorpal Weapon (enhanced), or Frenzy (enhanced)
• Outlaw (enhanced)
• Ricochet Rounds, Extended Mag, Armor-Piercing Rounds
• Arrowhead Break or Corkscrew Rifling

PVP God Roll:

• Rangefinder (enhanced) or Headseeker (enhanced)
• Moving Target (enhanced)
• Ricochet Rounds, Extended Mags, or High-Impact Reserves
• Corkscrew Rifling or Hammer-Forged Rifling

Where to Farm the pattern: Shaping: Extraction quest

5. Deliverance

Deliverance is another Stasis Kinetic weapon, and it also has the benefit of being one of the only Kinetic Fusion Rifles in the game. It’s worth getting for that reason alone! It’s another weapon from the VoW raid, and I would personally recommend only trying to focus one raid weapon at a time until you get it, then moving on to the next. Deliverance is solid in both PVE and PVP, so we’ll include both god rolls.

PVE God Roll:

• Chill Clip (enhanced)
• Demolitionist (enhanced)
• Accelerated Coils, Enhanced Battery, or Liquid Coils
• Arrowhead Break or Corkscrew Rifling

PVP God Roll:

• Chill Clip (enhanced)
• Perpetual Motion (enhanced)
• Accelerated Coils, Enhanced Battery, or Projection Fuse
• Arrowhead Break or Corkscrew Rifling

Where to Farm the Pattern: Vow of the Disciple raid

Energy Weapons

Energy weapons are often the most essential part of a build. They allow you to break energy shields easily and often have elemental advantages you can use, like Scorch or Volatile Rounds. You always want a good Energy weapon, and these are some of the best.

1. Zaouli’s Bane

Zaouli’s Bane is incredible thanks to its perks. While it feels fine without optimized perks, once you put Incandescent on it, you’ll understand why it’s good. Combine that with Explosive Payload, and you have a Hand Cannon that holds its own in any content, especially if you can make use of its Solar capabilities. For any Solar-related builds, Zaouli’s Bane is absolutely a must-have.

Recommended Perks (PVE only):

• Incandescent (enhanced)
• Explosive Payload (enhanced)
• Accurized Rounds
• Arrowhead Brake

Where to Farm the Pattern: King’s Fall raid

2. Tripwire Canary

Tripwire Canary is the last of the Season 19 seasonal weapons on this list. The reason it’s included is because having a strong Bow is often necessary, and there honestly aren’t many good options.

Tripwire can get Explosive Head, which makes it do bonus damage, and Archer’s Tempo, which is great for accurate players. For situations where an Arc Bow might be useful, Tripwire Canary is a really good pick.

Recommended Perks:

• Explosive Head (enhanced)
• Archer’s Tempo or Dragonfly (enhanced)
• Carbon Arrow Shaft or Compact Arrow Shaft
• Agile Bowstring or Tactile Bowstring

Where to Farm the Pattern: Focusing Umbral Engrams at the H.E.L.M. or Heist Battleg

3. IKELOS_SMG_V1.0.3

Now that the IKELOS weapons have been updated and made craftable in Destiny 2, the SMG is right back at the top of the meta. If you like SMGs, this is probably the best in the game right now in the Energy slot. It obliterates anything Arc-related, and thanks to its perks can be used in just about any content. This thing is insanely good, especially once fully leveled.

Recommended Perks:

• Voltshot (enhanced)
• Feeding Frenzy (enhanced)
• Seraph Rounds
• Corkscrew Rifling

Where to Farm the Pattern: Focusing Umbral Engrams at the H.E.L.M. or Resonance Amp locations

4. CALUS Mini-Tool

CALUS Mini-Tool was easily one of the best SMGs in the game during Season of the Haunted thanks to the Solar artifact mods, but I expect it’ll still be great going forward for Solar subclass users. It might not be the best in the upcoming Arc-based season, but it should be a great pick in the future. For Solar users, though, this is one of the best weapons in the game right now.

PVE God Roll:

• Incandescent (enhanced)
• Unrelenting (enhanced)
• Tactical Mag or Appended Mag
• Corkscrew Rifling or Smallbore

Where to Farm the pattern: Opulent Chests on the Derelict Leviathan or focusing at the H.E.L.M. (after unlocking the upgrade for it at the Crown of Sorrow)

5. The Epicurean

The Epicurean is a great Fusion Rifle for PVP, with its Precision Frame and variety of PVP-oriented perks. It also has a really great visual design and its scope is one of the best in the game. The Epicurean is only really good for PVP, but it’s excellent for that purpose. The only downside is it can be annoying to farm, but once you get one, it pays off.

PVP God Roll:

• Rangefinder (enhanced) or Moving Target (enhanced)
• Snapshot Sights (enhanced) or Well-Rounded (enhanced)
• Accelerated Coils or Projection Fuse
• Arrowhead Break or Chambered Compensator

Where to Farm the Pattern: Duality dungeon (first and last encounter)

6. Nezarec’s Whisper

Nezarec’s Whisper is the only Arc Glaive in the game right now (other than the Exotic one), so if you’re hoping to abuse potential Arc mods next season on a Glaive, it’s a great prospect. Glaives in general haven’t been as good as we had hoped going into The Witch Queen, but perhaps this one could see some serious play in the near future.

*PVE God Roll:

• Frenzy (enhanced), Vorpal Weapon (enhanced), Adrenaline Junky (enhanced), or Unstoppable Force (enhanced)
• Impulse Amplifier (enhanced) or Demolitionist (enhanced)
• Alloy Magazine or Extended Mag
• Ballistic Tuning or Supercooled Accelerator

*God Rolls for Glaives are dependent on if you actually intend to block with it. For Glaives in general, I recommend looking through all available rolls on light.gg.

Where to Farm the Pattern: Binding Vestiges of Dread after Nightmare Containment completions or focusing in the H.E.L.M. after unlocking the upgrade

7. Beloved

Beloved’s return is a welcome sight for PVP snipers. It has been one of the best PVP snipers for a long time, and it’s already established its place in the Crucible once again in only months. For PVP players, a good Beloved is essential. It also looks cool, too, which is a nice bonus.

PVP God Roll:

• Moving Target (enhanced) or Quickdraw (enhanced)
• Snapshot Sights (enhanced)
• Ricochet Rounds
• Fluted Barrel

Where to Farm the Pattern: Opulent Chests on the Derelict Leviathan or focusing on the H.E.L.M. once you have the upgrade

8. Hollow Denial

Hollow Denial is the only craftable Trace Rifle and is also one of few legendary Trace Rifles at all. Its perk pool is really good, and it’s generally a fun weapon to use. It’s great to pick up for future content that might necessitate a Trace Rifle, so get one while they’re still easily accessible.

PVE God Roll:

• Killing Tally (enhanced) or Dragonfly (enhanced)
• Adaptive Munitions (enhanced) or Lead From Gold (enhanced)
• Enhanced Battery
• Arrowhead Break or Corkscrew Rifling

Where to Farm the pattern: Binding Vestiges of Dread after Nightmare Containment completions or focusing in the H.E.L.M. after unlocking the upgrade

Heavy Weapons

Heavy weapons are typically the most powerful weapon in a build, so having craftable ones is excellent. Unfortunately, there aren’t very many craftable Heavy weapons right now, but it seems almost guaranteed that more will come in the future.

1. Taipan-4FR

Since Taipan-4FR is basically given out for free via the quest meant to introduce players to weapon crafting, you’ll definitely want one. Not only is it one of the easiest patterns to get, but it’s also consistently one of the strongest DPS weapons available. Taipan is commonly the best weapon for raid bosses and easy activities alike, so we highly recommend it.

Recommended Perks (PVE only):

• Firing Line (enhanced)
• Triple Tap (enhanced)
• Enhanced Battery
• Arrowhead Brake

Where to Farm the Pattern: “Foundry Resonance” quest

2. The Other Half

The reason you’ll want a crafted The Other Half is its Eager Edge perk. This perk allows players to lunge forward much farther than usual, and it can be easily glitched to send you flying forward massive distances (demonstration video).

It’s the main way people skip sections of activities, so having one can definitely help out. If you like the idea of skipping annoying jumping puzzles, you might wanna grab one of these and learn how to optimize its strange interactions.

Recommended Perks:

• Vorpal Weapon or Whirlwind Blade (enhanced)
• Eager Edge (enhanced)
• Swordmaster’s Guard
• Jagged Edge

Where to Farm the Pattern: Dares of Eternity or opening treasure chests at Xur’s Treasure Hoard

3. Retrofit Escapade

Retrofit Escapade is a very strong Heavy Machine Gun that also comes from the new seasonal activities (during Season 19). As a Machine Gun with both the new Target Lock perk and Fourth Time’s the Charm, it has lots of massive damage potential. Not only can it do serious damage to bosses, but Retrofit Escapade is also fantastic for killing powerful enemies quickly.

Recommended Perks:

• Target Lock (enhanced)
• Fourth Time’s the Charm (enhanced)
• Appended Mag
• Arrowhead Brake or Chambered Compensator

Where to Farm the Pattern: Focusing Umbral Engrams at the H.E.L.M. or Heist Battlegrounds (seasonal activity)

4. Cataclysmic

Cataclysmic is the Linear Fusion Rifle from the Vow of the Disciple raid, and it has a very unique perk pool. Instead of the standard perks for good Linear Fusion Rifles, like Firing Line and Clown Cartridge, it has perks that make it feel drastically different from every other LFR in the game. If you optimize your DPS with Cataclysmic, you can get some of the highest DPS numbers possible right now.

Cataclysmic is just about tied with Taipan-4FR for the title of best Linear Fusion Rifle at the moment. Since it comes from a raid, however, it is definitely harder to get. Cataclysmic is the more complex of the two weapons, and is only better if you optimize your loadout for the Bait and Switch perk.

Alongside Witherhoard or another high-damage Exotic (like Izanagi’s Burden or Arbalest), Cataclysmic is the best. You just have to focus on not forgetting to activate its perks.

Recommended Perks (PVE only):

• Bait and Switch (enhanced)
• Fourth Time’s the Charm (enhanced)
• Enhanced Battery
• Fluted Barrel or Arrowhead Brake

PVE God Roll:

• Bait and Switch (enhanced)
• Fourth Time’s the Charm (enhanced)
• Enhanced Battery or Accelerated Coils
• Arrowhead Break, Fluted Barrel, or Corkscrew Rifling

Where to Farm the Pattern: Vow of the Disciple raid

5. Fixed Odds

Fixed Odds is one of two craftable Machine Guns currently available (the other being Recurrent Impact). The perks Fixed Odds gets are quite a bit better than those of Recurrent Impact (even though it’s still pretty good), so that’s why we’ve chosen it as the better option. Fixed Odds is a great Heavy Machine Gun for ad-clear, which makes it a good option in many activities.

PVE God Roll:

• Incandescent (enhanced) or Killing Tally (enhanced)
• Feeding Frenzy (enhanced)
• Accurized Rounds or Tactical Mag
• Arrowhead Break or Chambered Compensator

Where to Farm the Pattern: Duality dungeon (last encounter)

Join the High Ground

Thanks for reading this article on the best weapons to craft in Destiny 2! Be sure to check out our other Destiny 2 guides and come back next season for articles on all the new seasonal content. You can also sign up for our newsletter for access to new & exclusive subscriber content.

Happy gaming!

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