Destiny has a weird relationship with Sniper Rifles. Some of the best snipers in Destiny 2 are genuinely a part of the highest DPS strats in the game, while others are completely useless. Likewise, some of them dominate the Crucible, while others struggle to put up a good performance.
You don’t know how to tell the difference between a good and bad Sniper Rifle in Destiny 2, but I do, which is why I’ve listed 12 of the best.
Izanagi’s Burden
Element: Kinetic
Source: Monument to Lost Light
Best For: PvE and Gambit
Sniper Rifles haven’t been META in Destiny’s PvE sandbox for a long, long time. However, Izanagi’s Burden always has been, making it one of the best snipers in Destiny 2 based on usage rate alone. It’s an integral part of many end-game high-damage strategies, so much so that using it with a Rocket is META, but using any other Sniper Rifle would be considered trolling.
Izanagi’s Burden has four shots in the mag. If you have the Catalyst, you can hold your reload button to consume those four shots and combine them into one powerful one. This single powerful shot deals upwards of 250k reliably and pairs with an Auto-Loading Rocket Launcher for the best DPS in the game not named Starfire Protocol. This consumed shot also one-shot-kills Invaders to the body in Gambit.
Cloudstrike
Element: Arc
Source: Beyond Light Exotic Quest
Best For: PvE and PvP
In terms of PvE META viability, the only Sniper Rifle that can give Izanagi’s Burden a run for its money is Cloudstrike. Despite being an energy weapon, Cloudstrike is a key part of many hot-swap damage strategies, including one of the most common ones used on Nezarec in the Lightfall Root of Nightmares Raid.
Cloudstrike’s rapid precision hits create a lightning storm at the point of impact, dealing incredible AOE damage for a time, especially if it hits multiple boss damage points. The pure damage from this allows it to be viable in certain encounters, much like Izanagi’s. Unlike Izanagi’s, Cloudstrike is also great in Crucible because precision kills create lightning at the target’s location – imagine that in Control.
Praedyth’s Revenge
Element: Kinetic
Source: Vault of Glass Raid
Best For: PvE and PvP
When I talk about Sniper Rifles being good for PvE in this list, I mean in general. With the exception of Izanagi’s, and now Cloudstrike for Nezarec, there are no META snipers. So, when I say Praedyth’s Revenge is good for PvE, I mean it’s as good as a sniper can be in that current sandbox. To that effect, Rewind Rounds/Firefly on this thing makes a pretty good Add-clear sniper, even for higher difficulties.
Of course, the only real reason you should be running snipers like this is for PvP – where they very much are META. In the case of Praedyth’s Revenge, you’ll want No Distractions or Moving Target combined with Opening Shot – depending on your style of sniping. Praedyth’s drops from the Vault of Glass, which may present a challenge to some. It’s more than worth it for Crucible mains, though.
Defiance of Yasmin
Element: Kinetic
Source: King’s Fall Raid
Best For: PvE and PvP
Defiance of Yasmin is King’s Fall resident sniper, and it’s as good as it always has been. Like other snipers, it’s not the best in PvE. However, Defiance has some of the best PvP sniper perks in Destiny 2, making it a top-tier pick for taking into Trials or the Crucible, especially since it’s a Kinetic weapon. What’s more, it’s craftable, so you can have multiple rolls for different situations/maps.
To get the PvE roll out of the way, Lead from Gold or Shoot to Loot will be good column three perks, combined with Firing Line in column four. This is as much damage as you’ll get out of a PvE sniper and will make Defiance META if snipers are ever in fashion. For PvP, You’ve got either No Distractions or Snapshot Sights in column three, with either Moving Target or Opening Shot in column four. Any combination will do.
Eye of Sol
Element: Kinetic
Source: Trials of Osiris
Best For: PvP
Eye of Sol’s perks rotated when Lightfall dropped. Despite that, it’s as good as it ever was – if not better. It’s as good as a PvP Sniper Rifle is going to get, which is fairly common for weapons that drop from Trials of Osiris. PvE players have nothing to love here, but Crucible and Trials sweats need one of these in their Vault.
Your T1 roll should be Moving Target/Snapshot Sights. This is a classic PvP sniper roll that continues to put up great results for fast-paced players. Provided you’re good enough to hit your shots, this Eye of Sol roll will outgun any sniper not using its roll, at least if they’re not already ADSing. It’s a CQC sniper, and that’s surprisingly good in Destiny 2’s PvP sandbox.
Beloved
Element: Solar
Source: No longer obtainable
Best For: PvP
Unfortunately, Beloved is no longer obtainable except through sheer luck from Xur or Banshee. It was the Season of the Haunted Sniper Rifle, so if you didn’t get it crafted back then, you’re out of luck. That’s a massive shame, too, because this is effectively an energy version of Eye of Sol, freeing up that Kinetic spot for something like an Ace of Spades.
As you might expect, your go-to roll here is Moving Target/Snapshot Sights. The only major difference between this and Eye of Sol is energy type. While I prefer my primary to go in my energy slot, I know a lot of Guardians are Kinetic mains, especially Hand Cannon users. Beloved frees up that Kinetic slot, unlike Eye of Sol. Having both will add so much more flexibility to your loadout – trust me.
Adored
Element: Arc
Source: Monument to Lost Light
Best For: PvE and PvP
I adore Adored. It might just be my favorite sniper in Destiny 2. It’s an old ritual playlist weapon, so you’ll have to purchase it from the Monument to Lost Light in the Tower. That means you don’t have to worry about getting a good roll, though. Admittedly, Adored doesn’t particularly excel in either PvE or PvP, but its ease of use and effectiveness is why I love it so much.
For PvE, you have Triple Tap and Vorpal. Sure, Vorpal isn’t as strong as it used to be, but it’s still one of the best solo DPS perks in the game. Combined with Triple Tap and a backup mag mod, you’ll get seven Vorpal shots per reload, which is pretty good. PvPers will have Snapshot Sights/Killing Wind. Again, not the very best, but absolutely useable.
Uzume RR4
Element: Solar
Source: Nightfall Strikes
Best For: PvE and PvP
The Uzume RR4 has far from the highest potential in the game. That being said, it’s still a reliable, farmable option with quite a few decent god rolls worth considering. It’s not exactly a min/max sniper – if you want the best of the best, you’ll have to look elsewhere. If you’re looking for something reliable in a pinch, though, you won’t find much better than the Uzume RR4.
A typical PvE roll for this weapon would be Triple Tap with either Vorpal, High-Impact Reserves or Explosive Payload/Dragonfly if you want something for Add-clear. PvP players don’t have many options compared to PvE mains, but Snapshot Sights/High-Impact is always a half-decent option for the Crucible. Granted, I wouldn’t bring it into Trials anytime soon.
Whisper of the Worm
Element: Solar
Source: Monument to Lost Light
Best For: PvE
Gather around, I want to tell you story. Back in the golden age of Destiny 1, with the original King’s Fall Raid, there was a Sniper Rifle called Black Spindle. This itself was a successor to the Black Hammer, and it dominated the META. Bosses fell before the might of this thing. Unfortunately, the Destiny 2 reprisal of it doesn’t live up to the glory of one of the best snipers in Destiny history, for both 1 and 2.
Whisper of the Worm has the same basic idea as Spindle. Landing all your shots as precision hits refills your mage, missing a shot has a chance to return it, and you deal higher base precision damage. While Destiny 2’s bosses are far more mobile than D1’s, if snipers ever get a considerable PvE buff, expect to see Whisper back in the picture. Have one in your back pocket, just in case.
Mechabre
Element: Arc
Source: Festival of the Lost
Best For: PvE and PvP
Mechabre is a Festival of the Lost weapon. The Festival only comes around once a year on Halloween, so if you want one of these, you’ll have to wait until then. Whether or not that wait is worth it depends on you. This is one of the best snipers in Destiny 2, sure, but there are better non-event exclusive snipers out there for you to hunt down.
What sets Mechabre apart from all of them, and why I’m including it, is Voltshot. You might think this perk doesn’t work well on snipers, and you would be right. However, I still maintain it’s one of the best Add-clear perks in the game, and worth building around. I think Mechabre has potential as a Legendary and above Voltshot sniper. You can get decent Add-clear from this thing while staying safe in cover, and that’s vital.
Succession
Element: Kinetic
Source: Deep Stone Crypt Raid
Best For: PvE
Deep Stone Crypt’s resident Sniper Rifle isn’t going to go breaking any records anytime soon. However, it’s a remarkably strong sniper that happens to be craftable. If snipers ever become popular in PvE, this thing is going to be one of the best, both for Add-clear and boss DPS. Granted, it’s not going to outclass some of the entries higher up on this list regardless.
In column three, you’re going to want Reconstruction. This DSC perk lets your Succession refill slowly from your reserves when you’re not using it, up to double its original ammo capacity. This is great for short, burst DPS. In column four, you have Firing Line if you’re looking for a boss/Raid sniper, or you can run Recombination to fully lean into that burst DPS potential.
If there’s one thing you take away from this list, let it be that you need to craft seasonal weapons while they’re here. Some of the best snipers in Destiny 2 are no longer obtainable because their seasons have left, and the same can be said about every other weapon type in the game. The Ikelos sniper from Season 19 is no different, even more so considering it rolls Incandescent.
Unlike Voltshot, Incandescent activates on every kill, not just after reloading – making it the better Add-clear option of the two. However, given that the Ikelos sniper is no longer obtainable, I’ve put Mechabre above it despite this being better for Add-clear. Combine Incandescent with Fourth Time’s the Charm or Overflow, and you’ll have remarkably strong end-game Add-clear potential.
Conclusion
Those were what I consider to be the 12 best snipers in Destiny 2 as of Season of Defiance. While they’ll always be popular in PvP, snipers haven’t had the best go of things recently in the PvE sandbox. If anything’s due for a buff, it’s them, so it might be worth hunting a few of these snipers down before that happens.
