Which makes a lot of sense considering broken weapons like the Hard Light and SUROS Legacy. That said, those aren’t the only Auto Rifles worth using. And there are more than a few that will get you far in Strikes, Raids, and The Crucible. Whether you’re a new player looking for their first decent Auto Rifle, or a seasoned warrior in need of some guidance when choosing from their stockpile of unused guns, here are some of the best auto rifles you can pick up and run with.
15. Uriel’s Gift
How To Get: This Legendary Energy Auto Rifle can be found in Legendary Engrams from all sources. Uriel’s Gift used to be an absolute beast of a weapon back in Destiny 2’s first year running. As of Season 9 it has returned, and it’s better than ever. Its Precision Frame makes its recoil pattern easy to manage so every shot lands as you attempt to cut someone in half with this Arc-damaging laser. While many traits like Kill Clip and Tap the Trigger are really useful on this rifle, my favorite has to be Ricochet Rounds. This increases range further and gives the weapon surgically-precise shooting.
14. Ghost Primus
How To Get: The Ghost Primus can be acquired from the Leviathan raid on Nessus. It is also contained in Imperial Engrams from Benedict 99-40. This Legendary Kinetic Auto Rifle is all about landing easy precise shots at a distance thanks to its solid range and Adaptive Frame, which makes the gun easier to handle in general. If you want to take it to the next level, some great traits you can work towards getting are the Corkscrew Rifling Barrel for some more range and stability. And also the Ambitious Assassin, which overflows your magazine with bullets when you pull off kills in rapid succession.
13. Sweet Business
How To Get: This Exotic gun can be obtained as a random loot drop by playing PVE or PVP. You can also purchase it from Xûr from time to time. As an Exotic Auto Rifle, this Kinetic gun shines for its unique traits – Business Time and Payday, which make the Gatling Gun look match its functionality. With Business Time, the more you fire continuously, the longer your range and rate of fire. To make the Sweet Business viable you need to practice preemptive spinning around corners, or whenever it seems like you’ll need to mow down enemies soon. It may seem like a lot. But at least you don’t have to worry about reloading, as the Payday trait will do that for you every time you pick up ammo.
12. Arc Logic
How To Get: For this Legendary Auto Rifle, you’ll need to complete the Essence of Failure quest on the Moon, murdering some enemies and finding a “Captive Cord” under a statue in the Lunar Battlegrounds. This Arc-damaging gun may have a very classic design. And its Adaptive Frame isn’t anything too exciting either. But at 600rpm, this stable weapon will melt down anything given the right traits. Outlaw and Triple Tap can be a great combination for skilled shooters, as one makes you reload faster after precise kills, and the other one outright gives you back bullets when you land precise shots. If you’re more of a sprayer, then Overflow and Rampage are a good alternative.
11. Breakneck
How To Get: The Drifter offers a quest for the Breakneck, involving 40 Gambit Matches and a lot of murder. Get everything done and you’ll get this amazing gun as your reward. Just like the previous entry, this Legendary Kinetic Auto Rifle looks pretty standard. But once you get a couple of kills in you’ll notice it cuts through enemies like a hot knife through butter. This is thanks to the Onslaught/Rampage weapon trait combo. While Rampage increases the damage for each consecutive kill up to 3x, Onslaught further enhances your weapon by increasing your rate of fire with each Rampage stack.
10. Misfit
How To Get: Getting the Misfit is a question of perseverance. It’s available as a random Legendary world drop, and as a random reward from vendor rank-ups. This auto rifle is about getting as many shots into your enemies as possible in the shortest amount of time. It has a Rapid-Fire Frame that gives it deep magazines and a short reload time, so you’ll experience little downtime while raining destruction upon your enemies. It also has a stupidly efficient Aim Assist, so you’ll do well even if you’re not great at keeping enemies within your sights. Getting one with Rampage is ideal for increased damage. But Under Pressure – which improves stability and accuracy as the magazine empties – is also a great option.
9. Seventh Seraph Carbine
How To Get: For this straight-shooting rifle, you’ll need to reach Rank 3 for the EDZ Seraph Bunker added for Season of the Worthy, then complete a bounty for the weapon. As a Precision Frame Auto Rifle, this Legendary Kinetic weapon can consistently damage targets at pretty long ranges, and its recoil is easy to predict. Since it’s a bit on the slow side at 450rpm, something like Rampage or Swashbuckler is ideal to boost damage. Vorpal Weapon might be a good roll as well, making your weapon more effective against foes with their Super active, which is quite useful in both PVP and PVE.
8. Monte Carlo
How To Get: This Exotic Kinetic Auto Rifle is currently in the world loot pool, meaning it can randomly drop at any point during a Raid, a Strike, or any other such activity. Looking more like an SMG with a bayonet than a rifle, the Monte Carlo is among the most unique weapons in the game. Thanks to its Monte Carlo Method and Markov Chain traits, this rifle makes your melee moves an even more vital part of combat. Each melee kill makes your weapon stronger and has a chance to completely reload it. The Monte Carlo, in turn, will recharge your melee ability with each shot. And sometimes refill it entirely with a kill. If you’re a Hunter or a Warlock packing some serious melee heat, this is the one to go for.
7. Gnawing Hunger
How To Get: You can find the Gnawing Hunger as a drop from enemies in The Reckoning tiers 2 and 3. Specifically, the Likeness of Oryx boss drops the curated roll version. In contrast with most Auto Rifles, the Gnawing Hunger deals Void damage. So it’s ideal for raids and strikes with a lot of purple shield-toting enemies. If you want to make this weapon the best it can be, you’ll need to get one with something like Arrowhead Brake for increased stability and recoil reduction (which you’ll need with any 600rpm weapon). It also has access to Demolitionist, which regenerates grenade power with each kill. Furthermore, using your grenades will reload the weapon. Get a good rotation going and you’ll never stop pulverizing enemies in PVE or PVP.
6. Tommy’s Matchbook
How To Get: Tommy’s Matchbook is available through the Premium Rewards Box awarded to Season Pass holders in Season of the Worthy. Free players can also get it by grinding Season progression up to Rank 35. This Exotic Energy Auto Rifle is excellent for builds with health regeneration abilities, as its Ignition Trigger ability increases damage after sustained fire due to overheating, which also ends up burning the user. At 720rpm, with a massive magazine and the extra damage from overheating, this thing will melt down anything standing in your path. Especially in PVE.
5. Galliard-42 XN7568
How To Get: This Legendary Energy Auto Rifle can be found as a random drop while completing Forges, or by killing Forge Saboteurs. A Black Armory version of the Galliard-42 seems to be just what the gun needed to achieve greatness. Not only does it have a wonderful Mass Effect-like aesthetic bound to draw in fans of BioWare’s space epic, but it’s capable of splitting enemies precisely in half thanks to excellent handling and stability. Along with the tried and true Outlaw/Kill Clip combo, Under Pressure coupled with High-Impact Reserves can be a brutal roll on this weapon.
4. Steelfeather Repeater
How To Get: This Halo-like Legendary Kinetic Auto Rifle can be acquired from the Sundial, but only after you’ve activated the Tangled Shore Obelisk by collecting 50 Sundial Components. The Steelfeather Repeater shines for its amazing trait pool, including excellent perks like Feeding Frenzy, Swashbuckler, and Vorpal Weapon. However, being a 720rpm Rapid-Fire Frame rifle, it’ll benefit the most from something like Arrowhead Brake for diminished recoil.
3. The Summoner
How To Get: The Summoner is a cycling reward from the Trials of Osiris. This Legendary Energy Auto Rifle is an Adaptive Frame weapon with nice handling and manageable recoil, which can be further improved by traits like Arrowhead Brake. Ultimately this makes it a very precise gun. Once that’s taken care of, you’ll want to increase your range and keep your mags supplied to make the most of this 600rpm weapon. Light Mag for extra range and reload speed is a great option, as is Rampage for increased damage. Get a good roll and you’ve got a Solar-damage laser in your hands.
2. SUROS Regime
How To Get: This returning weapon from the original Destiny can be found in Exotic Engrams from all sources. You can also get it from Powerful Engrams by fulfilling weekly milestones. This devastating Exotic Kinetic rifle is one of the weapons you’ll be seeing around the most. Especially since it’s not too hard to get, and it packs a powerful punch. The SUROS Legacy trait makes the bottom half of every magazine more powerful, and you’ll even get some health regeneration from kills with those bullets. You’ll find that easy to achieve thanks to Spinning Up, which makes sustained fire increase the 600rpm rate of fire even further.
1. Hard Light
How To Get: This OP gun can be obtained from Exotic Engrams from all sources. It may also be bought from Xûr. Returning from the original Destiny more powerful than ever, the Hard Light dominates the Auto Rifle meta thanks to its insane Exotic traits. The Fundamentals gives this weapon the unique ability to cycle between Solar, Arc, and Void damage, which makes it the Victorinox Multi-tool of Auto Rifles. That’s incredible by itself. But it’s further complemented by Volatile Light, which makes this gun’s rounds over-penetrate, ricochet off hard surfaces, and receive no damage drop from firing at long distances. It’s great in PVE, amazing in PVP, and a great choice for anyone who likes packing serious heat.
