Hand Cannons are some of Destiny 2's best weapons for PvP, whether in Crucible or the Trials of Osiris. These types of weapons typically come with a high-stat package that favors damage, range, and recoil control. Additionally, Hand Cannons are great weapons to use in 1-v-1 situations, and they typically have perks that increase damage, range, and reload speed for landing precision hits.
While Hand Cannons don't have any perks that come with the Season of the Lost artifact, they are still some of the best weapons players can choose to use in PvP. While Aggressive Frame Hand Cannons received a nerf for PvP at the beginning of the season, this particular type of Hand Cannon is still one of the best choices available. Hand Cannons have a unique versatility, able to support loadouts as either primary or secondary weapons and pairing nicely with Sniper Rifles, Pulse Rifles, and Shotguns.
The five best Hand Cannons for PvP in Destiny 2 are the Palindrome, Sunshot, The Last Word, Fatebringer, and Igneous Hammer. Many different kinds of Hand Cannons are effective in Destiny 2's PvP, so the thing that mainly separates these five from any other are their perks.
Best PvP Hand Cannons In Destiny 2: Season Of The Lost
Palindrome
The Palindrome is a 140 RPM Adaptive Frame Energy Hand Cannon that is incredibly lethal and easy to use at the same time. This is the weapon all players should seek to grab if they're looking for a better PvP 140 RPM Energy Hand Cannon. Palindrome comes with many great perks and can only be received as a reward from Destiny 2's Nightfall missions during certain weeks. Additionally, players can earn an Adept Palindrome by completing Grandmaster Nightfalls.
These are the perks players should seek for their PvP Palindrome in Destiny 2:
- Smallbore Legendary Barrel: Increases range and stability
- Ricochet Rounds Legendary Magazine: Increases range and stability, and applies a ricochet effect to bullets
- Outlaw Legendary Perk 1: Precision kills greatly decrease reload time
- Rangefinder Legendary Perk 2: Aiming the Palindrome increases its effective range and zoom magnification
Sunshot
Sunshot is an Exotic Solar Energy Hand Cannon and the only 150 RPM Hand Cannon in Destiny 2. Sunshot's exotic intrinsic perk is called "Sunburn," and it allows Sunshot to fire explosive rounds and highlight the targets that take damage. "Sun Blast" is a unique perk to Sunshot as well, granting this weapon the ability to create solar energy explosions after defeating an enemy. In PvP, Sunshot excels for both having a 150 RPM rate of fire and being able to take advantage of enemies standing close to one another, something commonly encountered even in Trials of Osiris.
Sunshot is earned through Exotic Engrams from any source, including from Xur and the Crucible, Gambit, and Vanguard rank rewards. Additionally, players can acquire the catalyst for Sunshot, which significantly increases its range and stability. The catalyst can be obtained by completing either Strikes or Crucible matches, and getting it requires 500 weapon kills and 1,000 Sun Blast explosion kills.
The Last Word
The Last Word is another Exotic Hand Cannon, except this weapon is obtainable from the Exotic Archive kiosk in the Tower. This unique weapon is a Kinetic Hand Cannon that fires off 225 RPM as the only automatic Hand Cannon in Destiny 2. It's a particularly great choice for PvP because of its high damage, rate of fire, and easy-to-control recoil direction when firing from the hip. The Last Word can be fired while aiming down sights, but the problem is that this weapon becomes increasingly inaccurate if it isn't hip-fired.
This weapon is further encouraged to be fired from the hip thanks to its Fan Fire exotic intrinsic perk. Hip-fire shots allow The Last Word to deal bonus precision damage while increasing its reload speed and accuracy. Since The Last Word is a great weapon to use in close- and mid-range fights, many higher-tier Crucible and Trials of Osiris players prefer to pair this Hand Cannon with a sniper rifle.
Fatebringer
Fatebringer is a Legendary 140 RPM Adaptive Frame Kinetic Hand Cannon that, while also being a great PvE weapon, is a fantastic choice for players looking to score a great Hand Cannon for PvP. Fatebringer can only be obtained from the Vault of Glass raid on Templar and Gatekeeper encounters, but, after it's earned the first time, Fatebringer can be acquired from secret chests throughout the raid. While Fatebringer has many perks that it can possibly drop with, only a few are really viable for PvP. Additionally, players can earn a Timelost Fatebringer from Master Vault of Glass raids.
These are the perks players should seek for their PvP Fatebringer in Destiny 2:
- Hammer-Forged Rifling Legendary Barrel: Increases range stats
- Accurized Rounds Legendary Magzine: Increases range stats
- Explosive Payload Legendary Perk 1: Creates an area-of-effect detonation on projectile impact
- Opening Shot Legendary Perk 2: Increases range and accuracy on the opening shot of the attack
Igneous Hammer
Igneous Hammer is a Legendary 120 RPM Aggressive Frame Energy Hand Cannon that hits opponents hard with high accuracy. Igneous Hammer is the choice Hand Cannon in Destiny 2 for many players in PvP, particularly for Trials of Osiris. Although this type of Hand Cannon received a PvP nerf at the beginning of Season of the Lost, it remains a solid choice in these game modes. Additionally, the Igneous Hand Cannon is a weapon that can only be earned as a reward from the Trials of Osiris, and the Adept Igneous Hammer can be earned on certain weeks by getting a Flawless passage.
These are the perks players should seek for their PvP Igneous Hammer in Destiny 2:
- Corkscrew Rifling Legendary Barrel: Increases range, stability, and handling
- High-Caliber Rounds Legendary Magazine: Increases range and slightly knocks back targets, causing them to flinch
- Rapid Hit Legendary Perk 1: Temporarily increases stability and reload speed for rapid precision hits
- Moving Target Legendary Perk 2: Increases movement speed and target acquisition when moving while aiming down sights
Destiny 2 is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S, and Google Stadia.