Destiny 2 has seen a rework to its subclasses throughout The Witch Queen and its subsequent seasons. These changes have highly encouraged monochromatic builds, loadouts that focus on using a single element. With Solar 3.0 being so powerful, now is the perfect time to find a good Solar weapon.
Recently released Solar weapons can roll with Incandescent, a Solar variant of Dragonfly that Scorches targets. It’s likely Solar weapons will see further Solar-exclusive perks in future seasons. But for now, these weapons serve as some of the most unique and powerful Solar weapons you can use in Destiny 2.
Updated September 25, 2023, by Charles Burgar: Season of the Witch has made certain Solar weapons much more competitive. Hand Cannons received a 75% damage buff against majors, turning Sunshot into one of the game’s best PvE weapons. The Eremite Fusion Rifle is also making waves in the PvE DPS meta thanks to its archetype and perk combinations. We’ve updated this list to include both weapons, explaining why Sunshot and Eremite are some of the strongest Solar weapons you can use in the current sandbox.
This list focuses on PvE content. Entries are in no particular order.
10 Tyranny Of Heaven
How to obtain: Last Wish raid.
Tyranny of Heaven used to be the worst Bow in Destiny 2 without question. It had horrible base stats, was part of the worst Bow archetype, and had a lackluster perk pool. While Lightweight Frames still aren’t that great, Tyranny of Heaven’s reprisal in Season of the Deep gave this weapon a much-needed makeover.
This is the first Bow in Destiny 2 that can roll with Dragonfly and Incandescent, causing two simultaneous explosions upon landing a precision kill. This is Ticuu’s Divination but in Legendary form, and the Scorch applied by Incandescent makes this weapon perfect for Solar builds. For more general add clear, Successful Warm-Up and Golden Tricorn makes this weapon a powerhouse in seasonal and Legend-tier content. Land a Bow kill, defeat a target with an ability, then enjoy your Bow that now charges near-instantly and deals 50% more damage. PvE players that want a good Bow can’t go wrong with Tyranny of Heaven.
Recommended Traits:
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Column One:
Dragonfly, Successful Warm-Up, Explosive Head -
Column Two:
Incandescent, Golden Tricorn
9 Acasia’s Dejection
How to obtain: Root of Nightmares raid.
Acasia’s Dejection is a fantastic Trace Rifle for players that run double Special loadouts. Compared to Retraced Path, Acasia’s Dejection features a perk pool that’s focused more on sustained DPS. It’s currently the only Trace Rifle that can roll with Target Lock, supported with Rewind Rounds, Reconstruction, or Envious Assassin.
All three reload perks are great and down to preference, but Target Lock is the real star of the show here. Being able to ramp up this gun’s damage with sustained damage makes it excellent against majors, Champions, and weaker bosses in low-level content. It’s overall a fantastic Trace Rifle that fits perfectly in double Special loadouts.
Recommended Traits:
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Column One:
Rewind Rounds, Reconstruction, Envious Assassin -
Column Two:
Target Lock, Incandescent, Frenzy
8 Judgment Of Kelgorath
How to obtain: Occasionally sold by Banshee-44
If you’re a fan of Glaives or melee builds in general, Judgment of Kelgorath is something you’ll want to farm for. This Glaive can get Close to Melee, a fantastic perk that grants a major damage buff to your Glaive’s melee attack and ranged projectile. Paired with Overflow or Demolitionist, you have a hard-hitting Special weapon that can limit incoming damage, dish out great melee damage, and eliminate targets from a distance. Few weapons have that degree of versatility.
Recommended Traits:
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Column One:
Overflow, Demolitionist -
Column Two:
Close to Melee
7 The Lament
How to obtain: “Lost Lament” quest.
What could be better than a hard-hitting Sword? What about a chainsword? The Lament is an Exotic Sword ripped straight out of the Warhammer 40K universe, ripping through your enemies with its chainsaw blade and absurdly high base damage.
Compared to Legendary Swords, Lament can break Barrier Champion shields, deal absurd damage with its light and heavy attack combo, and even heal you. It won’t dominate the Crucible Heavy meta, but this weapon has become a staple for close-range boss DPS.
6 Apex Predator
How to obtain: Last Wish raid.
Apex Predator received a massive perk refresh in Season of the Deep, now featuring the strongest single-target DPS perk combination we’ve seen on a Rocket Launcher. That combination is Reconstruction with Bait and Switch. Reconstruction is effectively Clown Cartridge and Auto-Loading Holster melded into one perk, allowing you to load two rockets in the magazine simply by holstering the weapon. This pairs nicely with Explosive Light for dungeons and GM Nightfalls.
If you’re someone that frequently raids, Apex Predator can also roll with Bait and Switch, a massive 35% damage buff for ten seconds by landing an attack with all three of your weapons. This gives Apex Predator one of the highest single-target DPS values out of any Heavy weapon in Destiny 2, provided your weapon is buffed with Gjallarhorn’s Wolfpack Rounds. Simply put, Apex Predator is a meta option for virtually all PvE activities in Destiny 2.
Recommended Traits:
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Column One:
Reconstruction, Demolitionist -
Column Two:
Bait and Switch, Explosive Light
5 Sunshot
How to obtain: Exotic Engrams and Xur.
Season of the Witch gave most Hand Cannons a 75% damage buff against majors, including Sunshot. This has morphed this already great Hand Cannon into a one-tapping machine in virtually all PvE content. One or two shots can take down just about every red bar in the game, even on GM difficulty, causing their corpse to violently explode. These explosions can cause a chain reaction, clearing entire rooms in a couple of seconds. Pair this weapon with Radiant or some surge mods, and you can disintegrate just about every fodder enemy in the game.
4 The Eremite
How to obtain: Season of the Witch activities; craftable at the Enclave.
The Eremite is the new DPS king of Fusion Rifles, which is somewhat surprising since this is a seasonal weapon. The Eremite drops from Season of the Witch activities and is fully craftable. Most players will want to craft one with Envious Assassin and Controlled Burst, increasing the weapon’s magazine size, damage, and charge time when both perks are active.
This combination of perks make the Eremite one of Destiny 2’s more consistent Special DPS weapons, dealing slightly more damage than Cartesian Coordinate with Vorpal Weapon. If you care more about add clear, you can replace Controlled Burst with Reservoir Burst to cause every Envious Assassin shot to detonate targets. It’s an amazing weapon with a great suite of perks for PvE content. If you never got your hands on a good Cartesian Coordinate, the Eremite is an amazing alternative.
Recommended Traits:
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Column One:
Envious Assassin, Lead from Gold -
Column Two:
Controlled Burst, Reservoir Burst
3 Cataclysmic
How to obtain: Vow of the Disciple raid (Acquisition and Caretaker encounters).
Cataclysmic is a hard-hitting Linear Fusion Rifle with great perks. Fourth Time’s the Charm is a first for an LFR, letting this weapon firing up to ten rounds before reloading. You can pair this with Bait and Switch—a massive damage buff that occurs when damaging a target with all three of your weapons—to deal some amazing DPS numbers in raids and GM Nightfalls. It’s also craftable, something no other Linear Fusion Rifle can boast.
Recommended Traits:
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Column One:
Fourth Time’s the Charm -
Column Two:
Bait and Switch
2 Gjallarhorn
How to obtain: “And Out Fly the Wolves” quest.
Gjallarhorn needs no introduction. It’s arguably the most iconic Exotic in the franchise, cheesing bosses in Destiny’s original launch all the way to buffing Rocket Launcher DPS in Destiny 2. That’s right, Gjallarhorn buffs other Rocket Launchers now.
While the damage of Gjallarhorn isn’t the pinnacle of PvE DPS, it acts as a sort of support weapon, granting allied Legendary Rocket Launchers Wolfpack Rounds and vastly improved reload speed. So long as one person in your fireteam is using Gjallarhorn, everyone on your team is using Gjallarhorn. Don’t jump into Destiny 2’s endgame without this weapon in your inventory.
How to obtain: Occasionally sold by Xur.
Similar to Drang, CALUS Mini-Tool is a reprised version of the MIDA Mini-Tool that has a new perk pool. This version of the Mini-Tool can roll with some incredible perks, notably Incandescent. It works just as well as you’d expect on an SMG, creating multiple Ignites during a gunfight if enemies are packed together.
If you don’t like Incandescent, CALUS Mini-Tool has some great alternatives. Surrounded is a great perk for SMGs if you play in their intended range. Disruption Break can be useful in Master-tier content, and PvP players can get some mileage out of Eye of the Storm and Tap the Trigger. There’s nothing the CALUS Mini-Tool is bad at.
Recommended Traits:
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Column One:
Unrelenting, Grave Robber, Threat Detector -
Column Two:
Incandescent, Surrounded (PvE), Tap the Trigger (PvP)