[Top 10] Destiny 2 Best PvP Hand Cannons

Updated:

19 Dec 2022

What are the best Hand Cannons in Destiny 2?

The most recognizable weapons in Destiny are hand cannons. Hand Cannons are high-damage weapons that can handle practically any circumstance from close to medium range, drawing inspiration from real-world revolvers and the Halo Magnum.So let’s discuss what are the top 10 Hand Cannons for PvP in Destiny 2, which range from Exotic Hand Cannons to randomly rolled Legendaries.

It can be challenging to choose the best Hand Cannon in Destiny 2 because there are so many of them. Although there are many Hand Cannons, each one handles differently and has its own advantages and disadvantages.

10. The Steady Hand

Forged in honor of Perun, and a just and unwavering resolve.

The Steady Hand Hand Cannon is a potent weapon that works well in PvP activities. It is comparable in damage to Bottom Dollar, dealing Kinetic damage with a 92 Impact and 120 RPM.

The stability of The Steady Hand, which currently has a base stat of 32, will rise when a player masterworks this weapon. This weapon features many valuable perks that make it excellent for both PvP and PvE, unlike the Bottom Dollar Hand Cannon or other Legendary Hand Cannons.

The Steady Hand Stats

Impact: 92
Range: 60
Stability: 25
Handling: 20
Reload Speed: 20
Reload Time: 3.88 seconds
Aim Assistance: 65
Inventory Size: 40
Zoom: 14
Recoil: 85
Bounce Intensity: 15
Rounds Per Minute: 120
Magazine: 8

PvP God roll:

Barrel: Truesight HCS

Magazine: High Caliber Rounds

Perk 1: Slideshot

Perk 2: Swashbuckler

Why The Steady Hand is great for PvP

For those who enjoy more kinetic playstyles that involve zooming over the map, The Steady Hand is fantastic.
Gamers of all skill levels will be able to use the weapon effectively because it has a high impact, range, and aim assist.

How to get The Steady Hand

There is currently no clear method for obtaining the Steady Hand, which previously dropped through trading iron banner tokens.

9. The Last Word

"Yours, until the last flame dies and all words have been spoken." —Shin Malphur to you, as you journey forth into the unknown

In the PvP community, The Last Word is a contentious weapon. Last Word is viewed as corny and powerful by some players while being practically unplayable by others. Why is there such a difference? input devices

The Last Word is either a headshot magnet or one of Destiny 2’s most merciless Hand Cannons, depending on your chosen input method. Controller users enjoy Last Word’s fantastic 225 RPM and sticky aim assist. Users of mouse and keyboards will encounter a weapon that is significantly more severe and generally demands pixel-perfect accuracy.

Exotic Perks:

Fan Fire

This weapon fires full auto. Hip-fire shots deal bonus precision damage while increasing reload speed and accuracy.

Hip-Fire Grip

Increases accuracy, stability, and precision hit targeting when firing from the hip.

The Last Word Stats

Impact: 78
Range: 20
Stability: 40
Handling: 20
Reload Speed: 80
Reload Time: 2.3 seconds
Aim Assistance: 40
Inventory Size: 40
Zoom: 11
Recoil: 100
Bounce Intensity: 0
Rounds Per Minute: 225
Magazine: 8

Why The Last Word is excellent for PvP

The Last Word is virtually unbeatable in PvP and has an ideal TTK of 0.53 at SMG range.
Using a controller makes this gun much better.

How to get The Last Word

Like all the older exotics, you can only get The Last Word from the Monument to Lost Lights weapon vault in the Tower.

To craft the weapon, you’ll need to bring a hefty list of materials:

1x Exotic Cipher
125,000 Glimmer
200 Etheric Spiral
1x Ascendant Shard

8. Igneous Hammer (Adept)

Forged by fire and might.

The Igneous Hammer was first introduced in Season of the Chosen, and it dominated the hand cannon weapon category until the craftable Austringer made a comeback in Season of the Haunted. The Igneous Hammer's stats still outclass most of the 120 rpm hand canons the game has to offer, even though it is currently not as strong as it once was.

The adept version of this weapon is a significant improvement because it comes with mods that give you more control. Any perks combined with rampage are excellent choices. The consistency of this weapon has remained the same despite all the nerfs, although two tapping with it needs a more compact setup.

Igneous Hammer (Adept) Stats

Impact: 92
Range: 65
Stability: 35
Handling: 37
Reload Speed: 30
Reload Time: 3.55 seconds
Aim Assistance: 69
Inventory Size: 55
Zoom: 14
Recoil: 95
Bounce Intensity: 5
Rounds Per Minute: 120
Magazine: 9

PvP God roll:

Barrel: Hammer-Forged Rifling (Range +10)

Magazine: Ricochet Rounds (Range +5, Stability +10)

Perk 1: Killing Wind

Perk 2: Rampage

Why Igneous Hammer (Adept) is great for PvP

As an aggressive frame with serious damage and strong recoil, Igneous Hammer. geared at long-range shooting
It has a fantastic perks pool mainly focused on PvP.

How to get Igneous Hammer (Adept)

Players can obtain the Igneous Hammer (Adept) from the lighthouse chest, which can only be unlocked by going flawless in trials.

7. Dire Promise

"If you think this world ends well, you are mistaken." —Arach Jalaal

In Destiny 2 Season of the Worthy, the Light Weight Frame Hand Cannon Dire Promise is back. Since Dire Promise is a world drop, the only ways to obtain one are through the cryptarch or by discovering a legendary engram. It may come with some average perks, but how the gun feels in your hand and how it recoils make it one of the greatest hand canons for PvP in Destiny 2. The Opening Shot Perk, which will boost the accuracy and range of your opening attack, is one of the best PvP Perks it can offer.

Dire Promise Stats

Impact: 84
Range: 42
Stability: 47
Handling: 57
Reload Speed: 49
Reload Time: 3 seconds
Aim Assistance: 83
Inventory Size: 60
Zoom: 14
Recoil: 84
Bounce Intensity: 16
Rounds Per Minute: 140
Magazine: 11

PvP God roll:

Barrel: Hitmark HCS

Magazine: Ricochet Rounds

Perk 1: Opening Shot

Perk 2: Rangefinder

Why Dire Promise is great for PvP

Dire Promise's lightweight frame improves handling and enables lightning-fast weapon swaps.
140 rpm hand cannons are less effective on larger maps due to their increased visible recoil. Guardians should only use this hand cannon on small maps where players can benefit from its handling and aim assistance.

How to get Dire Promise

Dire Promise is added to the loot pool of rewards from the dares of eternity. You just need to watch out for the rotation weapons and can easily farm this weapon.

6. Thorn

"To rend one's enemies is to see them not as equals, but objects—hollow of spirit and meaning." —13th Understanding, 7th Book of Sorrow

Thorn is an exotic hand cannon first featured in season 6. Since then, it has been fantastic for the game’s PvE and part of its PvP content. With its crisp edges and subtle green highlights, this weapon looks fantastic. It is a primary ammo-using kinetic slot weapon that damages the enemy with kinetic energy.

Thorn is a Weapon of Sorrow that poisons its target with every shot, dealing them damage over time (sometimes known as “DoT”).Thorn's poison-inflicting ability makes it one of Destiny 2's best Hand Cannons in the proper hands, despite its inferior range and stability compared to Legendaries.

Exotic Perks:

Mark of the Devourer

Rounds pierce targets and deal damage over time. Kills with this weapon leave behind Remnants.

Soul Devourer

Absorbing a Remnant strengthens Mark of the Devourer and partially refills the magazine.

Thorn Stats

Impact: 84
Range: 34
Stability: 55
Handling: 65
Reload Speed: 40
Reload Time: 3.25 seconds
Aim Assistance: 85
Inventory Size: 60
Zoom: 14
Recoil: 100
Bounce Intensity: 0
Rounds Per Minute: 140
Magazine: 11

Why Thorn is great for PvP

The exotic perk of thorn is built for PvP as the poisoning will stop health regen andl be easy for other teammates to finish.
You can use a Radiant build and two-tap almost everyone with it.
You can use Thorn's DoT in Trials and Elimination to stop the enemy from recovering health, reviving, or grabbing heavy ammunition.

How to get Thorn

You can only get Thorn from the Monument to Lost Lights weapon vault in the Tower.

To craft the weapon, you’ll need to bring a hefty list of materials:

1x Exotic Cipher
125,000 Glimmer
200 Dusklight Shard
1x Ascendant Shard

5. Hawkmoon

Stalk thy prey and let loose thy talons upon the Darkness.

Hawkmoon, one of the most sought-after Hand Cannons from Destiny 1, has made a comeback in Destiny 2. Its Exotic perk's randomness was moved to the way it was acquired.

On Hawkmoon, players can now acquire random rolls, offering some customization. The gun is superb, with a powerful Exotic perk and an amazing stat combination. Hawkmoon’s consistency is further improved by Paracasual Charges, enabling cunning players to one-shot Supers and other Guardians under the appropriate conditions. Choosing this non-craftable hand Cannon has become essential if you like something with great impact damage and little recoil.

Exotic Perks:

Paracausal Shot

Final blows and precision hits with Hawkmoon grant stacks of Paracausal Charge. The final round in the magazine deals bonus damage based on the number of stacks. Stowing Hawkmoon on the final round removes this bonus.

Transformative

Future drops of this weapon will have random rolls.

Hawkmoon Stats:

Impact: 84
Range: 52
Stability: 63
Handling: 70
Reload Speed: 59
Reload Time: 2.74 seconds
Aim Assistance: 93
Inventory Size: 52
Zoom: 14
Recoil: 96
Bounce Intensity: 4
Rounds Per Minute: 140
Magazine: 8

Why Hawkmoon is great for PvP

Paracasual Charges improve Hawkmoon’s consistency

You can one-shot Supers and other Guardians using the paracasual shot under the appropriate conditions.

How to get Hawkmoon

You can purchase this weapon by going to Xur's shop; there is an additional tab. You may purchase the Destiny 2 Hawkmoon by clicking the arrow to the right. Certainly not cheap;it costs

125,000 Glimmer
200 Legendary Shards
1 Exotic Cipher
1 Ascendant Shard

4. Fatebringer

Delivering the inevitable, one pull at a time.

The Vault of Glass Hand Cannon offers a staggering array of benefits. In addition to dropping with Explosive Payload and the raid-only Rewind Rounds, which refills the magazine based on hits, it can also drop with Firefly rolls, making a weaker Ace of Spades (with the benefit of not occupying an Exotic slot). Additionally, a rare 140rpm occupies the Kinetic slot, albeit, since its release, that spot has faced some stiff competition.

Fatebringer Stats

Impact: 84
Range: 46
Stability: 57
Handling: 55
Reload Speed: 46
Reload Time: 3.08 seconds
Aim Assistance: 84
Inventory Size: 53
Zoom: 14
Recoil: 98
Bounce Intensity: 2
Rounds Per Minute: 140
Magazine: 11

PvP God roll:

Barrel: Corkscrew Rifling or Hammer-Forged Rifling

Magazine: Accurized Rounds

Perk 1:Tunnel Vision or Explosive Payload

Perk 2: Killclip or Opening Shot

Why Fatebringer is great for PvP

There are some amazing traits that Fatebringer can roll. Undoubtedly, the best PvP perk for a hand cannon is explosive payload.
Additionally, this weapon has an Adept variation (called Timelost) that increases its stats even more while allowing you to use Adept mods.
It boasts one of the greatest stat packages in its archetype, incredible range, and remarkable consistency.

How to get Fatebringer

You can get Fatebringer as a reward from completing the Templar section of Vault of Glass or from the chest that follows the Gatekeepers section (a.k.a. the Gorgons).

3. Austringer

An Earth artifact, refashioned to suit the Emperor's modest tastes.

Austringer returned in season 17 as a weapon you can craft with enhanced perks. Some claim that this hand cannon, when equipped with enhanced perks, might even outperform the infamous Eyasluna, but in the end, it all comes down to preference and playstyle.

Outlaw and Rangefinder are two essential perks for Austringer. Despite this, some players prefer an aggressive playstyle and may choose a game like Eye of the Storm. Players should craft this monstrous hand cannon, especially those who take PvP seriously.

Austringer Stats

Impact: 84
Range: 46
Stability: 59
Handling: 47
Reload Speed: 46
Reload Time: 3.08 seconds
Aim Assistance: 75
Inventory Size: 53
Zoom: 14
Recoil: 95
Bounce Intensity: 5
Rounds Per Minute: 140
Magazine: 11

PvP God roll:

Barrel: Hammer-Forged Rifling

Magazine: High-Caliber Rounds

Perk 1: Outlaw or Snapshot Sights

Perk 2: Rangefinder

Why Austringer is great for PvP

Austringer's offer, The legendary Eye of the Storm and the Opening Shot combination enables Austringer to start and finish gunfights on its own.
Austringer's effective range is ridiculous and exceeds nearly every Legendary 140 in the Kinetic slot.

How to get Austringer

Austringer's primary source appears to be Opulent Chests, which are guaranteed to drop an Opulent (Menagerie) weapon and require Opulent Keys to access. The keys are obtained randomly at the end of Nightmare Containment, even if you do not pay 500 Vestiges of Dread. If you have the necessary upgrades, you can also focus it on the Crown of Sorrow in the H.E.L.M. after earning your first copy.

2. The Palindrome

Draw, O Coward!

The Palindrome is a must-have on any list of the finest hand canons for PvP.

When it first appeared, this weapon shocked the Hand Cannon meta, and its reappearance has left a lasting impression. The Palindrome is essentially a 140 RPM Hand Cannon with a 120s range and a 180's level of usability, and it occupies the Energy slot.

Palindrome starts strong with above-average range, stability, aim assistance, and an unexpectedly high Airborne Effectiveness stat of 21 despite having no perks.

The Palindrome Stats

Impact: 84
Range: 50
Stability: 58
Handling: 50
Reload Speed: 42
Reload Time: 3.19 seconds
Aim Assistance: 79
Inventory Size: 50
Zoom: 14
Recoil: 98
Bounce Intensity: 2
Rounds Per Minute: 140
Magazine: 11

PvP God roll:

Barrel: Smallbore (Range +7, Stability +7)

Magazine: Ricochet Rounds (Range +5, Stability +10)

Perk 1: Killing Wind

Perk 2: Rangefinder

Why The Palindrome is great for PvP

Palindrome can get Rangefinder and a ton of range-boosting perks, which is great for PvP.
It can reach the 75 or 80 range with the appropriate perks. Get Killing Wind on your roll, and you’ll have 100 range with one kill.

How to get The Palindrome

The Palindrome is a nightfall-only weapon you can only obtain by completing the nightfalls. Complete the nightfall on Grandmaster’s difficulty to acquire the adept version of the gun. Unfortunately, the gun has been removed from the nightfall rewards in Season 17, and we hope it will be added to the Monument to Lost Lights (Kiosk) or made available through Xur.

1. Ace of Spades

"Folding was never an option." —Cayde-6

There is no question as to why Ace of Spades is on top of this list. Another exotic weapon from the Forsaken campaign, this 140 RPM weapon is renowned for having all the features you look for in a PvP weapon. You can get a kill and extra damage in the following six rounds of ammunition by shooting from a maximum range of 78 feet to Kill Clip in the form of Memento Mori.

Exotic Perks:

Memento Mori

Reloading after a kill loads magazine with a few extra-damage bullets. Grants radar while aiming down sights.

Firefly

Precision kills with this weapon increase reload speed and cause the target to explode, dealing Solar damage to nearby enemies.

Ace of Spades Stats

Impact: 84
Range: 75
Stability: 40
Handling: 40
Reload Speed: 42
Reload Time: 3.19 seconds
Aim Assistance: 70
Inventory Size: 56
Zoom: 14
Recoil: 100
Bounce Intensity: 0
Rounds Per Minute: 140
Magazine: 13

Why Ace of Spades is great for PvP

The Memento Mori is the ultimate PvP perk. You can pair it with a good build to two-tap players easily. If you consistently get Memento Mori to activate, you become nigh-unstoppable in most gunfights.
It has good aim assistance of 70, which makes up for the low range.
Firefly can be handy for 3v3 playlists where players stick together a lot.

How to get Ace of Spades

You can only get Ace of Spades from the Monument to Lost Lights weapon vault in the Tower.

To craft the weapon, you’ll need to bring a hefty list of materials:

1x Exotic Cipher
125,000 Glimmer
200 Etheric Spiral
1x Ascendant Shard

You may also be interested in:

Email us about this article

Fahad S.

You can kill him a lot of times, but Fahad will keep getting re-spawned. As a devoted gamer and full-time writer its hard to keep me out of the game now.

Gamer Since:

2002

Favorite Genre:

FPS

Currently Playing:

Destiny 2, Overwatch, Call of Duty Warzone

Top 3 Favorite Games:

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

More Top Stories