It’s been a long time coming, but it looks like we’re moving into an Auto Rifle META in Lightfall. Bungie is buffing most primaries to help them compete with SMGs, but Autos are getting perhaps the most noticeable bump. That’s why I’m going over the 12 best Auto Rifles in Destiny 2. There’s never been a better time to farm some Autos – and these are the best of the best.
Gnawing Hunger
Element: Void
Source: World loot pool
Best For: PvE and PvP
Gnawing Hunger was been an S-tier Auto Rifle for so long now. I guarantee that most of you have at least one god roll of this thing sitting in your Vault, collecting dust, waiting for an Auto META. Well. that time is now – so get rooting through DIM.
As a Void weapon, Gnawing Hunger has synergy with Volatile Rounds. Throw that on top of a Subsistence/Rampage god roll and a 43 base mag, and you have one of the best Add-clear primaries in the game right now. For all of you PvP heads, a Tap the Trigger/Kill Clip roll will be your best bet, but there are a lot of god roll combinations on offer here.
The Summoner
Element: Void
Source: Trials of Osiris
Best For: PvP
As is typically the case for Trials of Osiris weapons, The Summoner is best in class for PvP Auto Rifles. It’s about as good as it gets, actually, so much so that no other Auto is worth grinding for when this is available. Granted, Gnawing Hunger will still outgun it at closer ranges.
What makes The Summoner the best PvP Auto Rifle in Destiny 2 is how fundamentally solid it is. It’s an Adaptive Frame weapon with really strong base stats and a Rangefinder / Multikill Clip roll that will make Guardians cry. PvE-wise, there’s nothing here worth talking about – but this is the pinnacle of PvP Auto Rifles.
Rufus’s Fury
Element: Strand
Source: Root of Nightmares Dungeon
Best For: PvP
Rufus’s Fury is possibly the most exciting Auto Rifle since Gnawing Hunger. It’s a Rapid Fire Frame with a massive base 55 mag, is craftable, and has phenomenal base stats. In particular, 58 stability means that thing is practically a laser beam – making it a top choice for PvP players.
Roll-wise, you’ve got an obvious choice of Rewind Rounds/Target Lock. Target Lock is broken in Crucible right now – giving you a consistent damage buff just for shooting, and that scales off your mag size. Rewind Rounds refills your mag when it’s empty based on how many hits you got, but it doesn’t add to your total mag, letting the two perks work beautifully with each other.
Chroma Rush
Element: Kinetic
Source: No longer obtainable
Best For: PvE and PvP
This has been my go-to Auto of choice since I got one back in Season of the Splicer. It’s a Rapid Fire Frame with a base 51 magazine, and pretty much every perk you could ever want on a PvE Auto. In column three, you’ve got a choice between Subsistence and Feeding Frenzy, while in column four your options are Adrenaline Junkie or Rampage.
For PvP, Moving Target/Tap the Trigger is a solid choice, as is anything with Kill Clip. Chroma Rush isn’t as flashy as some weapons we’ve gotten since the subclass rework, but that doesn’t stop it from being one of the best Auto Rifles. A large magazine combined with solid perks means that this will always be a top choice, especially when Autos have a Champion mod.
Quicksilver Storm
Element: Kinetic/Strand
Source: Lightfall Deluxe Edition
Best For: PvE
Quicksilver Storm is locked behind a paywall – so if you’re not willing to splash the cash on the Ligthfall Deluxe Edition or upgrade, you’re not going to be able to get your hands on it. That’s a shame, too, becuase it’s been slicing Adds up since Bungie addressed a bug impacting its damage. It’s possibly got the best Add-clear potential out of any weapon that doesn’t roll with a subclass verb perk.
The rockets the weapon fires off deal really solid damage, and while the grenade launcher is slow, it’s a great anti-Major tool. You’ve also got the luxury of turning the weapon Strand when you get the Catalyst, so you can incorporate it into all of your new builds. You do have to give up your Exotic slot for Quicksilver – but I think it’s worth it.
The Last Breath
Element: Void
Source: Prophecy Dungeon
Best For: PvE
Back before we had all these fancy 3.0 subclass verbs, we build-crafters had to get by with weapon perk synergy. I’ve always loved a good grenade build, and in pursuit of that – I spent hours grinding for a god rolled Last Breath with Demolitionist and Adrenaline Junkie. I’m glad I did, too, because it’s only gotten better with the new subclasses.
For non-Demo fans, you do have the option of Subsistence in column three. However, I would argue that Gnawing Hunger is a better Subsistence Auto than the Last Breath. Only seek this one out if you’re looking for an Auto to run as a primary in a grenade build.
Krait
Element: Stasis
Source: World loot pool
Best For: PvE
I’m a sucker for a good Stasis build, and while Krait may not be best-in-class anymore, I still run it as a reliable primary that plays perfectly into my Stasis builds. If you don’t have an interest in a Headstone weapon, this Auto isn’t for you. There are better alternatives within this archetype, but none of them roll with that aforementioned perk.
To complement that, Subsistence is an obvious pick. Granted, you won’t see as much stopping power on higher difficulties, but for regular content – you’ll be clearing Adds by the dozen, all while keeping your Stasis engine powered.
Lodbrok-C
Element: Kinetic
Source: World loot pool
Best For: PvP
Personally, I can’t stand Kinetic Hakke weapons. Something about them just bothers me. So, I can’t attest to the power of the Lodbrok personally beyond being on the other side of it in the Crucible. It’s a strange mid-range Auto that can outgun a lot of weapons it shouldn’t.
That’s down to a Perpetual Motion/Dynamic Sway Reduction and Tap the Trigger roll. This turns what should otherwise be an unnotable High-Impact Frame into a laser beam that, again as I said, wins gunfights it was no right to. I should know, they’re usually against me.
Scathelocke
Element: Kinetic
Source: World loot pool
Best For: PvE
Scathelock is a poor man’s Gnawing Hunter. It’s got a worse Frame, is Kinetic instead of Void, and yet is still incredible on account of them sharing a similar god roll. Scathelocke’s potential maxes out with Subsistence/Adrenaline Junkie, rather than Rampage.
Personally, I prefer this roll, but there’s no denying that for all of Scathelocke’s power, it does feel like a slightly suboptimal version of Gnawing Hunter. That being said, it’s a good tech option for when you need a good Auto but can’t free up your energy slot.
Monte Carlo
Element: Kinetic
Source: Exotic Engrams
Best For: PvE
You wouldn’t normally think about Auto Rifles when putting together a melee build. Shotguns are generally used for that sort of thing. However, Monte Carlo breaks those norms by being one of the best melee regen engines in the game, despite being an Exotic Auto Rifle.
Montecarlo has inherent Swashbuckler and a melee version of Demolitionist. A handful of kills with this thing is going to power up your melee, and damage stacks with each weapon and melee kill. For subclasses lacking in melee regeneration, this thing is a godsend. Again, you won’t see it as much as a Tractor Cannon or Shotgun, but its a great slash choice for certain builds.
Ammit AR2
Element: Solar
Source: World loot pool
Best For: PvE
For the most part, the Auto RIfle archetype is dominated by old-school rolls that are lacking in the subclass synergy department. The Ammit AR2 is one of a few ARs to receive a reward that introduced a 3.0 verb perk, in this case, Incandescent. Unfortunately, you don’t have Subsistence to pair with that. However, Triple Tap does roll in column three, which somewhat helps the Ammit’s low 33-round mag.
Either way, just the presence of Incandescent means that the Ammit is one of the best Auto Rifle primaries in Destiny 2. Its Add-clear capabilities are thought the roof when paired with a Scorch-based Solar build. You will see better results out of a Gnawing Hunger with Volatile Rounds, but this doesn’t require as much extra investment to do work.
Sweet Sorrow
Element: Arc
Source: No longer obtainable
Best For: PvP
Sweet Sorrow was an Arc Auto Rifle that was introduced to Destiny 2 with Witch Queen. Specifically, it was a Season of the Risen weapon. Despite ARs not being popular at the time, this managed to stand out as a best-in-class option for PvP, and that’s more true now that Autos are in fashion.
If you do manage to find one of these from a vendor, the roll you’re looking for is Perpetual Motion with Tap the Trigger. Even if the weapon doesn’t have the roll, buy five of them and hold on to them. Bungie is planning to let you focus weapons into Deepsights at some point, and Sweet Sorrow is craftable.
Conclusion
Those were what I consider to be the 12 best Auto Rifles in Destiny 2 for the year of Lightfall. It looks like we might be going into an Auto Rifle META, so there’s never been a better time to stop being lazy and grind some of these out.
