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Though bows have their limited uses mostly in either some PVP scenarios or high-end PVE activities like Grandmaster Nightfalls that force certain champion mods on players, a recent TWAB published by Bungie has given a couple of Exotic bows intrinsic anti-champion capacities and made them far more interesting options in endgame PVE. With season 18 on the horizon as well and bows have been weak for a few seasons now, there’s a possibility this archetype is also returning. With this in mind, here are Destiny 2’s best bows available as of now.
Updated on December 20, 2022, by Anastasia Maillot: Bows are still shaky when it comes to Destiny 2’s meta. While some are incredibly useful and powerful, others feel underwhelming and weak, often ending up as infusion fodder for players. Season of the Seraph hasn’t changed that, especially when bows aren’t a go-to pick for anti-champion mods this season, and all champions can be handled without a player having to bust out a crusty combat bow from their vault. That said, bows will definitely keep returning to the game, and Bungie has shown its desire to make them more appealing and stronger in the future. For guardians who value preparing for the future, here’s which bows are the strongest in Destiny 2—and shouldn’t be sacrificed for infusion.
13 Hierarchy Of Needs
How To Get: Spire of the Watcher dungeon on Mars Ideal Perks: None, Exotic weapon
This Exotic combat bow that comes in Solar is the newest and probably the strongest addition to the bow category in Destiny 2. It drops as the dungeon Exotic from the final boss of Spire of the Watcher, so some degree of RNG is required to get this weapon. That said, it’s well worth the grind, and with a few Triumphs unlocked, players can increase their chances of getting it from the dungeon.
Hierarchy of Needs charges a Guidance Ring when damage is dealt with it. Once charged, players can shoot the ring in the air, and shooting through this ring creates seeking projectiles that track to enemies and deal more damage. Pair this up with a catalyst that boosts the bow’s draw time and reload speed, and it’s quite a beastly tool despite being a combat bow.
12 Whistler’s Whim
How To Get: Complete Trials of Osiris matches Ideal Perks: Rapid Hit and Kill Clip previously, now Rapid Hit or Rangefinder paired with Adrenaline Junkie
Whistler’s Whim was the talk of the community at the beginning of Season of the Plunder. It showed a lot of promise for a simple combat bow, which comes in the Kinetic form in the first weapon slot. The downside is, players would have to grind Trials of Osiris to even get a chance of this weapon dropping, and Adept versions required players to reach the Lighthouse on its respective week.
Following the season 19 nerfs introduced to Kill Clip, its previous godroll may not be as good as it once used to be. That said, it still has a few great perks worth playing around with, namely Rangefinder and Adrenaline Junkie.
11 Strident Whistle
How To Get: Strike loot pool and rewards from Zavala Ideal Perks: Well-Rounded or Archer’s Tempo, with Explosive Head or Incandescent
Weapons with Incandescent are always an interesting pick, especially with the new Solar subclasses available. Bows won’t typically make an appearance in most seasonal content, but when Grandmaster Nightfalls roll around, players will need to sometimes dig deep in their vaults to find weapons that match the anti-champion mods of the season.
Striden Whistle is the perfect pair for any Solar 3.0 builds, though it definitely was stronger in season 18 when Overload Bow was the go-to anti-champion mod. In season 19, luckily, players won’t need to bother too much with bows, but it might be worth keeping a Strident Whistle with Incandescent around for any future occasions.
10 Whispering Slab
How To Get: Purchased from Xur on available weeks, sometimes available on Dares of Eternity Ideal Perks: Archer’s Tempo paired with Vorpal Weapon
The Whispering Slab is an older weapon in Destiny 2 but is nothing to scoff at. In fact, its strength as a bow comes from the fact that it can be slotted into the Kinetic weapon slot, which is a rarity when it comes to the majority of bows. Kinetic bows are sort of a necessity every player should have at least one, for endgame PVE purposes.
This bow has a lightweight frame, which also increases its appeal. Players will be able to draw it fast and move quickly with it equipped, and when that’s paired with some of the perks it can drop it, it’s hard to say no to it. For PVE purposes, Vorpal Weapon is a must-have and can be paired with Archer’s Tempo for a draw-time boost. In order to get this bow, keep an eye out for the Dares of Eternity loot pool rotation, as well as on Xur’s inventory when he arrives on Fridays to sell his wares.
9 Under Your Skin
How To Get: Craftable, rewarded for Season of the Risen activities and the War Table Ideal Perks: Archer’s Tempo paired with Explosive Head
Introduced in season 16, Under Your Skin is one of the seasonal weapons players could score from the War Table or by completing Psi-Ops Battlegrounds. Gather enough Deepsight versions of this bow, and it can be crafted, which is one of its greatest advantages, as players will want to unlock the Enhanced Perks for this Void bow as soon as possible.
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Now, the downside with this bow is its long draw time, but it does do increased damage. To counteract its long draw time, players should get the Archer’s Tempo perk in the first column, and Explosive Head in the second. Explosive Head pairs wonderfully with any Void builds that include Volatile Rounds.
8 Wish-Ender
How To Get: The Shattered Throne dungeon in the Dreaming City
On to some Exotic bows now, the Wish-Ender is a weapon that players can unlock by completing its unique quest in the Shattered Throne dungeon located in the Dreaming City. The Wish-Ender is a pretty heavy Exotic bow and has a significant draw time, which can make it feel sluggish, but it does deserve its spot on this list for several reasons.
First of all, its unique perk allows it to see through walls when the player draws the bow fully. This is a niche feature but can be helpful in some endgame PVE, especially since the Wish-Ender is now also receiving an intrinsic anti-barrier trait, making it ideal for Grandmaster Nightfalls.
Better yet, the Wish-Ender naturally does additional damage against Taken enemies, so when brought along to any activities that feature Taken, such as The Corrupted or Lake of Shadows Nightfalls, it will hit like a truck.
7 Le Monarque
How To Get: Monument to Lost Lights Exotic archives
Another Exotic bow that’s much more famous is Le Monarque, which comes in the flavor of Void in the Energy weapon slot. Typically, this bow has seen a ton of use in PVP, due to its ability to poison enemies on hit and therefore hinder their health regeneration. It’s likely Le Monarque will remain a favorite in PVP as well due to this very reason.
That said, PVE players shouldn’t forget about this Exotic either, because Bungie is determined to make Le Monarque more interesting in endgame PVE content as well. It will receive an intrinsic anti-overload perk in season 18, which means it can be a fantastic addition to a player’s arsenal when tackling those pesky Overload champions.
6 Fel Taradiddle
How To Get: Craftable weapon unlocked from Wellspring rewards in the Throne World Ideal Perks: Killing Wind or Archer’s Tempo, paired with Explosive Head or Successful Warm-Up
Players who are still looking for more craftable bows should look no further than the Fel Taradiddle bow, which is available from the Wellspring activity in Savathun’s Throne World. To unlock it, players will need to double-check the bow is currently in the loot pool rotation. After enough Deepsights have been unlocked, players can craft the Fel Taradiddle and level it up with some interesting Enhanced Perks.
The Fel Taradiddle is another Kinetic slot bow, which makes it a powerful, one-of-a-kind choice. Its best perks are similar to those that Under Your Skin can get, which means Archer’s Tempo and Explosive Head, but players can also opt for Killing Wind and Successful Warm-Up, with Killing Wind being the weakest choice of the bunch.
It’s another lightweight frame bow, so players who can’t seem to get their hands on the Whispering Slab can grind for this bow instead.
5 Ticuu’s Divination
How To Get: Monument to Lost Lights Exotic archives
Ticuu’s Divination is another Exotic bow, which was sort of a missed opportunity for Bungie in Solar 3.0. It’s a Solar weapon that creates explosions but doesn’t mesh with any of the scorch and ignition effects introduced for Solar 3.0. That being said, Ticuu’s is getting a tiny buff for season 18, with its abysmal draw time increased to make shooting with it easier and more enjoyable overall.
Ticuu’s Divination is best used in PVE. Players can first hip-fire the bow to shoot explosive bolts, and then aim down sights to detonate the bolts with a second shot. This makes it one of the strongest bows in terms of ad-clearing, though only if a bow is absolutely needed. If season 18 features bows as an anti-champion weapon, Ticuu’s could potentially be an interesting pick-up for Nightfalls with a Solar burn.
4 Biting Winds
How To Get: Beyond Light campaign reward Ideal Perks: Killing Wind or Rapid Hit and Explosive Head
Back to more Kinetic bows, since they’re a must-have for just about any type of player, the Biting Winds bow introduced in Beyond Light is something worth getting. Now, unlike some of the other Kinetic bows on this list, Biting Winds does not have a lightweight frame and will feel significantly more sluggish when used by players. That said, its damage will be better.
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For perks, players should look for Explosive Head in the second column. The first column is more of a personal preference, but Killing Wind and Rapid are generally speaking safe choices for players who don’t have a strong opinion on the matter. For this bow, the easiest way to get it is to head to Europe and complete the Beyond Light campaign, where it’s a reward for one of the quest steps.
3 Arsenic Bite-4b
How To Get: Legendary Engrams and Vendor rewards Ideal Perks: Rampage with either Explosive Head or Archer’s Tempo
Since Arc 3.0 is pretty much here, it’s important to consider any Legendary Arc weapons that might come in handy in any Elemental Well builds. The Arsenic Bite-4b is one such option. It’s a budget choice and something that could come in handy primarily in PVE, and in any activities that benefit from Arc burn as well.
It’s a random drop, which means it can be hard to get, but if players do get it, they should keep an eye out for perks like Explosive Head or Archer’s Tempo in the second column. The first column can take Rampage, which makes it a bit more unique from the rest of the bows.
This is also a lightweight frame bow, which means it will feel less sluggish to use than some other, high-impact bows.
2 Trinity Ghoul
How To Get: Exotic Engrams
One of the greatest questions for Arc 3.0 is whether or not Trinity Ghoul will have functionality with the Arc 3.0 effects and abilities. At the time of writing this list, this remains uncertain. However, given that Trinity Ghoul could become a beastly ad-clear weapon, it has been added to this list regardless, as it’s a wonderful Exotic bow to get in preparation for Arc 3.0
Trinity Ghoul’s special ability is to create a chain lightning effect. When an arrow is fired, it splits into two. Like most Exotic bows, Trinity Ghoul has a longer draw time, which can make it feel a little bit sluggish, but not quite as heavy as the Wish-Ender for example.
A bit of RNG is required to get Trinity Ghoul, as it drops randomly from Exotic engrams.
1 Leviathan’s Breath
How To Get: Monument to Lost Lights Exotic archives
No doubt the most unique bow on this list, Leviathan’s Breath is the only bow that is found in the heavy weapon slot. This Void heavy combat bow can be bought from the Exotic archives and is a worthy investment for any hardcore PVE players looking for weapons with intrinsic anti-champion capabilities. In this case, Leviathan’s Breath is strong against Unstoppable Champions.
The whole concept of this bow is stunning and staggering enemies. Players will fire a massive bolt that will bush enemies back and stagger them. Despite bows having a niche role as of late, many PVE players still turn to the Leviathan’s breath as an option, even in Grandmaster Nightfalls.
Destiny 2 is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Stadia.
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