RELATED: Destiny 2: Best Shaders
Luckily, Destiny 2 has an absolute abundance of decent Arc weapons. There’s something for just about every archetype, so no matter which game mode the player prefers and what their build is, they’re bound to find the weapon of their dreams on this list. Here’s which Arc weapons are the best in the game right now.
Updated on December 23, 2022, by Anastasia Maillot: The season of Arc 3.0 has passed, but Arc builds still continue to be quite good in the grand scheme of things in Destiny 2. Three additional Arc weapons worth getting have been added to this list, while some, like Divinity, that suffered a nerf in season 19, have been removed. Grand Overture has made an appearance in high DPS builds, which has brought about some interesting meta changes, and with the Ikelos weapons now craftable, players have a ton of exciting weapons and rolls to get their hands on. These are the top Arc weapons for Destiny 2 as of Season of the Seraph.
Honorable Mentions
The following weapons are great budget options for players who might not be equipped to go into raids and dungeons or might be missing resources to buy some of the other weapons on the list.
13 Out Of Bounds
How To Get: Crucible rewards
Out of Bounds came out during Season of the Plunder and is one of the most promising new Crucible weapons available. It’s an Arc SMG like the Ikelos SMG below, but what makes it special is its perk pool that truly stands out with a massive amount of overall great perks and tons of fantastic PVP perks.
Both perk columns have at least four or three desirable perk options, which is huge. For PVE, Golden Tricorn, Demolitionist, Threat Detector, Swashbuckler, and Adrenaline Junkie are all incredible perks to choose from. It’s the ideal close-range weapon for any Arc builds that rely on building up ability charge fast and on the fly.
12 Ikelos SMG
How To Get: Craftable once enough patterns are unlocked from Resonant Stem mini quests & Season of the Seraph vendor
Ikelos weapons are craftable in Season 19, and one of the more interesting ones is the Ikelos SMG V1.0.3. This new version of the older iteration can receive Enhanced perks once it’s crafted and leveled, which means it becomes even more of a powerhouse.
The really interesting part, however, is that it can now get the go-to PVE Arc perk Voltshot. This makes it incredibly desirable for any Arc 3.0 builds, so best farm it now that it’s widely available during the Season of the Seraph by focusing deepsights at the seasonal vendor and Resonant Stem treasure hunts.
11 Trespasser
How To Get: Witch Queen Exotics from the Exotics kiosk
Season 17 of Destiny 2 brought back the Trespasser, an Arc sidearm with a lot of promise. Though it failed to impress players during Solar 3.0, now that Arc has rolled around it almost feels like a natural choice for any sidearm users out there.
The Trespasser shoots in small bursts. Reload after killing a target, and the next Arc burst will be much greater. When the Unrepentant perk is active, Trespasser will reload automatically and carry on this buff. Sadly, Trespasser still isn’t the strongest choice when it comes to sidearms, even when sidearms have shown incredible progress in the last few seasons.
10 Insidious
How To Get: Vow of the Disciple raid
Long before Arc 3.0 was even a thing, many were expecting Insidious to be a good weapon, and it really is. It’s a bit heavier and sturdier than most pulse rifles, but with Enhanced Perks on a crafted Insidious, it can be quite the weapon to have as a Primary Arc option. It fires four bursts that deal a significant amount of damage, which partly makes up for how heavy and sluggish it can feel in the player’s hands.
RELATED: Destiny 2: Best Ways To Farm Bright Dust
Perks like Demolitionist, Adrenaline Junkie, and Vorpal Weapon are amazing on Insidious. It’s a nice basic weapon that players can unlock by completing runs of the Vow of the Disciple raid, and is well worth the grind.
9 Delicate Tomb
How To Get: Witch Queen Exotics in the Exotic kiosk
Season 18’s early season pass unlock is the Delicate Tomb fusion rifle. Initially, this fusion didn’t gain much popularity due to its unique, horizontal cone-like firing pattern when shot from the hip. That said, it’s that very firing pattern that makes it amazing for Arc builds and shooting several targets at a time.
This weapon is perfection for Arc 3.0 due to its intrinsic ability to create Ionic Traces on final blows, and overcharge itself when these Ionic Traces are picked up. It’s not just ideal for fusion rifle lovers, but for every Arc enthusiast.
8 Trinity Ghoul
How To Get: Exotic engrams
Bows are not a go-to for most players, but if there’s one bow to make an exception for, then it’s definitely Trinity Ghoul. This Exotic Arc bow has decent synergy with Arc 3.0, with the ability to create a chain lightning effect when players hit precision shots on enemies.
While it does need the right fragments and aspects to do the most, it’s one of those Exotics that is worth picking up for any Arc singe content. In particular, it will shine in Grandmaster Nightfalls that require a ton of ad-clearing and that come with that bonus damage to any Arc weapons and abilities.
7 Tarnished Mettle
How To Get: Season 18 activities and vendor rewards at the Star Chart
New in season 18, this scout rifle can be earned through seasonal activities like Ketchcrash. Ranking up at the Star Chart also has a chance to yield Tarnished Mettle, and with enough Deepsight versions, it can also be crafted.
Tarnished Mettle is the most accessible Arc scout rifle, and the best part is that it can roll with the new seasonal perk, Voltshot. Voltshot allows players to jolt a target when reloading after a kill, which pairs brilliantly with most Arc 3.0 builds.
6 Riskrunner
How To Get: Exotic quest for New Lights
Riskrunner is a fan-favorite Arc SMG, and this is the best season to bring it back. Sadly, SMGs don’t have any champion mods this season, but for activities like Master Ketchcrash, it can be fantastic thanks to the Arc shield it can provide when players take incoming Arc damage.
The Superconductor perk is also amazing as it creates chain lightning that pairs well with the Arc 3.0 abilities, aspects, and fragments. Plus, it’s an SMG that favors close-range combat, so it’s perfect for this season.
5 Forbearance
How To Get: Vow of the Disciple raid
One of the best fragments is the Spark of Beacons Arc fragment, which pairs well with any Arc Special weapons. Forbearance is without a doubt one of the best picks when it comes to special weapons, as it’s a Legendary that doesn’t take up an Exotic spot.
RELATED: Destiny 2: Best Grenade Launchers
Make sure to craft a Forbearance and level it up to get the Enhanced Perk. Players can look for perks like Ambitious Assassin and Chain Reaction for the best possible version.
4 Thunderlord
How To Get: Exotic engrams, given for free at the start of season 18
Thunderlord is back with a blast this season, as it now has an intrinsic anti-Overload perk to it. Moreover, machine guns deal extra damage against rank-and-file enemies as well as bosses, so it will do decently against some mid-tier PVE enemies.
Shots with Thunderlord generate lightning strikes, and with its newly introduced catalyst, it becomes an even greater force to be reckoned with, as lightning strikes will reload the gun from its existing reserves.
3 Long Arm
How To Get: Spire of the Watcher dungeon
Coming in to potentially dethrone Tarnished Mettle from Season of the Plunder is Long Arm, from the Spire of the Watcher dungeon introduced in Season of the Seraph. This Arc scout rifle is strikingly similar to the cult classic Dead Man’s Tale, an Exotic scout rifle that can be purchased from Xur with a random roll every week.
Rapid Hit and Explosive Payload and some of the early favorites for this scout rifle, and given it comes with its new Origin Trait that rewards firing from the hip, it’s definitely something to keep an eye on for players looking for a different kind of weapon with that DMT feel.
2 Stormchaser
How To Get: Duality dungeon
Linear fusion rifles are still the best DPS weapon when it comes to endgame content, for the most part, and for most situations in Destiny 2. For that reason alone, Stormchaser remains at the top and shares the DPS king spot with Cataclysmic.
Stormchaser can be acquired from the Duality dungeon and works best with perks like Vorpal Weapon or Firing Line. Better yet, pair it with Font of Might on an Arc subclass, and it becomes one of the best DPS weapons available.
1 Grand Overture
How To Get: Witch Queen Exotics tab in the Exotic kiosk
Grand Overture is an Arc machine gun that is performing extremely well in some of Season 19’s DPS tests. It’s even more interesting now that it’s more or less been confirmed that linear fusion rifles will receive a significant nerf come Lightfall, so now if ever, it’s time to try alternative DPS methods.
Grand Overture received a 50% damage buff this season, which means its missiles will do even more damage than before. It’s a gigantic buff to an Exotic that has gone under everyone’s radar and was fairly useless when it was first released. Buy it now at the Witch Queen Exotics tab while it shows promise.
Destiny 2 is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
MORE: Destiny 2: Best Exotic Armor Ornaments For Hunters
