Destiny 2: The 10 Best Hand Cannons For PvE (2024)

Hand Cannons are the most iconic weapons in Destiny. Taking inspiration from revolvers in real life and the Magnum from Halo, Hand Cannons are high-damage weapons that can handle almost any situation from close to medium range.

There are so many Hand Cannons in Destiny 2 that it can be hard to pick which one is good. Despite the large roster, each Hand Cannon handles differently and offers unique pros and cons. Some Hand Cannons are better for killing hordes of enemies, while some stack so much damage that they can kill tankier major foes. Ranging from Exotic Hand Cannons to randomly rolled Legendaries, here are the ten best Hand Cannons players can use in Destiny 2.

Updated April 19, 2024, by Charles Burgar: Into the Light has brought back two fan-favorite Hand Cannons. Players can now chase Midnight Coup and Luna's Howl, and both weapons are surprisingly great in endgame PvE content—even Luna's Howl with its reworked Magnificent Howl perk. We've updated this list to include both weapons, showcasing their best perk combinations and notable synergies.

10 Lumina

How to obtain: Purchase from the Exotic Kiosk in the Tower. Costs 1 Exotic Cipher, 125,000 Glimmer, and 1 Ascendant Shard.

Lumina is a pure support weapon that just so happens to be a Hand Cannon, not the other way around. Defeating targets with this weapon will create Noble Rounds, a flipped version of Thorn's soul mechanic. Hipfiring this weapon will then release homing projectiles that heal and empower targets, granting both the recipient and the Lumina-wielder a 35% damage buff for a short duration.

This buff is significant because it's stronger than Radiant and Weapons of Light, both of which are 25% buffs. Optimized fireteams can use Lumina to gain a noticeable DPS increase for a short duration, even if they're dealing damage from a Well of Radiance. It's easy to use, offers great utility, and benefits from the 40% Exotic damage buff to red bars. Lumina does it all.

9 Nation Of Beasts

How to obtain: Last Wish raid.

What was once dubbed the Fatebringer of Destiny 2 as made obsolete when the Vault of Glass raid released back in Season of the Splicer. That's thankfully changed. All Last Wish weapons saw a major perk pool refresh during the year of Lightfall, Nation of Beasts being no exception.

Arguably the strongest perk combination here is Dragonfly paired with Voltshot, giving this weapon two add-clearing perks to shred through groups of enemies. Dragonfly lets you clear an entire wave of fodder units with a well-placed headshot, and Voltshot lets you Jolt majors for some extra damage. If you're looking for more damage in endgame content, give Dragonfly and Golden Tricorn a shot.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Dragonfly, Keep Away
• Column Two: Voltshot, Golden Tricorn

8 Eyasluna

How to obtain: Grasp of Avarice dungeon

Eyasluna is a monster inside of the Crucible due to its incredible stat package and solid PvP perks. Many players have disregarded this weapon in PvE, yet there's one powerful thing going for Eyasluna: Headstone. This perk allows Eyasluna to dish out immense AoE damage while synergizing with Stasis Aspects and Fragments.

Melee builds can equip an Aspect that generates Stasis shards, then use Headstone. Stasis builds that need additional survivability can throw on Whisper of Chains to gain 40% DR while near a Headstone crystal. The build possibilities are quite large for this gun. To make this playstyle even better, try to get an Eyasluna with Headstone and Unrelenting; Unrelenting triggers off Headstone kills.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Unrelenting, Rapid Hit
• Column Two: Headstone

7 Zaouli's Bane

How to obtain: King's Fall raid.

Zaouli's Bane is a Solar 140 RPM Hand Cannon with some great perk choices. This is the only 140 Hand Cannon in Destiny 2 that can roll with Incandescent, causing slain targets to explode while inflicting Scorch to nearby foes. Get a few rapid kills, and nearby enemies will Ignite.

You can pair Incandescent with Explosive Payload or Gutshot to make Zaouli's Bane excel at clearing fodder enemies in matchmade activities. If you prefer a more traditional Hand Cannon, you can get Firefly or One for All in the second column instead of Incandescent. It won't one-tap enemies in endgame content without some help from your build, but few Hand Cannons have a perk pool this good.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Explosive Payload, Pugilist
• Column Two: Incandescent, One for All, Firefly

Why Not Ephocal Integration?

Ephocal Integration is also a solid PvE Hand Cannon for players that don't own an Incandescent weapon yet. That said, Ephocal's biggest flaw is that it isn't craftable. Enhanced Incandescent inflicts more Scorch stacks, allowing it to Ignite targets sooner when paired with Ember of Ashes. Ephocal is still a great gun and worth grabbing if you can't run King's Fall, but Zaouli's Bane just barely wins out.

6 Luna's Howl

How to obtain: Onslaught activity and Brave Engrams.

Into the Light brought back the iconic Luna's Howl, a 140 RPM Hand Cannon that functions like a 180. It has minimal recoil, better AE than all other 140s, and has a unique perk called Magnificent Howl. Landing precision kills will load empowered rounds in your next magazine, dealing 50% more damage. Land a precision kill while the buff's active, and you'll be refunded a Magnificent Howl stack.

If you pair this with Subsistence, you'll be able to chain Magnificent Howl indefinitely by landing precision kills. If you aren't a skilled sharpshooter, you can also use Heal Clip and Incandescent for a powerful Solar Hand Cannon. Since this weapon's perks can be enhanced in Final Shape, it's a rather strong alternative to Zaouli's Bane if you can't stand that weapon's bulky view model.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Subsistence, Heal Clip
• Column Two: Magnificent Howl, Incandescent

5 Hawkmoon

How to obtain: Sold by Xur.

Most Guardians don't give Hawkmoon enough credit for what it does. It might not have its luck motif tied to its Exotic perk anymore, but Hawkmoon is still the one-shotting beast Destiny veterans remember it as.

Landing precision hits with this 140 RPM Hand Cannon grants stacks of Paracasual Charge, granting increased range, handling, and reload speed. When only one bullet is left in your magazine, Hawkmoon gains an absurd boost to its damage. With enough stacks, a single Hawkmoon bullet can one-shot most majors and even some bosses.

Champions lose half of their health in Legend and Master content to Hawkmoon's Paracasual Bullet, making it an excellent weapon to pair with any burst DPS weapon. It's a fantastic Hand Cannon that can kill fodder units and bosses with little issue.

Recommended Trait

• Column One: Rangefinder, Killing Wind, Surplus

4 Fatebringer

How to obtain: Vault of Glass raid (Templar and Gatekeeper encounters).

Fatebringer has proven itself to be Destiny 2's best Legendary Hand Cannon. This weapon features one of the best perk pools out of all Hand Cannons, a great stat package, and it has an Adept variant. Most players consider this Hand Cannon a PvP menace and nothing more, but this weapon is just as much of a powerhouse inside PvE activities.

Explosive Payload and Osmosis can both roll in the first column for Fatebringer. You can stagger just about every enemy with Explosive Payload while granting Fatebringer a passive 15% damage increase. Osmosis is far more interesting, as it allows Fatebringer to benefit from element-specific perks like Volatile Rounds, Unraveling Rounds, or Solar's Ember of Empyrean Fragment.

The second column is also fantastic. Frenzy is a great consistency bump for this weapon, Kill Clip makes your rounds hit much harder in mid-tier content, and Firefly makes Fatebringer an add-slaying machine when you land a precision kill. Just about every roll of this gun will serve you well, but a truly great roll of Fatebringer can only be matched by Exotics.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Explosive Payload, Osmosis
• Column Two: Firefly, Kill Clip, Frenzy

3 Midnight Coup

How to obtain: Onslaught activity and Brave Engrams.

Midnight Coup has usurped Fatebringer as the new top dog in the Kinetic slot, at least as far as Legendary Hand Cannons are concerned. This weapon has the same chase roll of Explosive Payload and Frenzy as Fatebringer, yet Midnight Coup has an origin trait and can be enhanced come Final Shape. That alone makes it better than Fatebringer, but Midnight Coup has some S-tier rolls of its own.

Firefly and One for All might be the strongest perk combination we've seen on a Hand Cannon. Land a precision kill to proc Firefly, then the explosion will proc One for All's 35% damage bonus. This buff should then buff Firefly's explosion damage. Paired with the bonus reload speed from Firefly, you have the perfect workhorse weapon for PvE endgame content.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Firefly, Explosive Payload
• Column Two: One for All, Frenzy, Desperate Measures

2 Malfeasance

How to obtain: Complete the "Darkness in the Light" quest (obtained from Gambit).

Malfeasance is the ultimate jack-of-all-trades Primary weapon in Destiny 2. This 180 RPM Hand Cannon counters Unstoppable Champions, can three-tap red bars in endgame content with a damage buff, and will always kill tankier enemies in five shots. That alone makes this gun a great pick for all PvE content.

But what makes Malfeasance truly spectacular is its synergy with the Hunter's Lucky Pants Exotic. This weapon goes from a solid add-clearing weapon into what's effectively a Special weapon when Lucky Pants' perk is active. You can easily reach the x10 damage buff from Lucky Pants since this weapon is a 180 RPM Hand Cannon, allowing you to achieve temporary DPS values that match Rocket Launchers.

Red bars instantly die. Majors drop in a heartbeat, and bosses take some serious damage from this combo. If you have a teammate using Witherhoard, you also get another damage buff thanks to the Taken Predator perk. This gun is great on its own, but if you can build around Malfeasance's strengths, it's easily one of Destiny 2's strongest Hand Cannons for PvE content.

1 Sunshot

How to obtain: Exotic Engrams found through Xur or world drops.

Season of the Witch has given Sunshot a chance to finally shine. Sunshot is the only 150 RPM Hand Cannon in Destiny 2, firing slightly faster than your usual 140 RPM variant. What makes this gun truly special is its Exotic perk, causing your enemies to explode on death. The weapon also has Explosive Payload baked into one of its perks to double-down on the explosive nature of this gun.

Thanks to the 75% damage buff to majors in Season of the Witch, Sunshot can now utterly obliterate hordes of adds in any activity. Every kill will create an explosion, and those explosions can also create explosions. Sunshot is effectively a Hand Cannon with Explosive Payload, Chain Reaction, and fires slightly faster. It took quite a few buffs, but Sunshot is now easily one of Destiny 2's strongest PvE Hand Cannons.