Which legendary and exotic hand cannons are the best in Destiny 2? We present strong hand cannons in PvE and PvP.
The hand cannons have been among the most popular weapon types in the game since the early days of Destiny 1. Exotic representatives such as Hawkmoon, The Last Word, or later Dorn will forever remain etched in the memories of Destiny veterans.
Even in Year 3, hand cannons dominated the PvP meta. The legendary weapons The Palindrome and Eyasluna sparked constant discussions about which of the two hand cannons was the best weapon in PvP.
In Destiny 2, hand cannons have taken a backseat. They are still deadly at short to medium range, but the powerful auto rifles, which are top across all distances, currently occupy many Guardians’ weapon slots.
One reason for this is that hand cannons are difficult to master and make no mistakes in PvP. If you miss your shot at an opponent even once, it often means your certain death, as the fire rate of hand cannons is too low to compensate for the missed shot. If you miss a shot with an auto rifle, the consequences are much less severe.
Therefore, hand cannons are currently more popular on PC than on consoles, as you can score secure hits there.
However, there are a few hand cannons that stand out on all platforms. We present the best hand cannons.
A strong hand cannon in PvP – The Old Fashioned
If you are new to the Crucible, you should practice with hand cannons in PvE before venturing into PvP with them. Because every shot must hit – and preferably critically. Otherwise, you won’t have a good time in the Crucible.
A strong hand cannon that has proven itself in PvP is The Old Fashioned. It is a legendary kinetic weapon with a power of 84. This makes it a medium archetype with an adaptive frame: there are other hand cannons with significantly higher but also lower power.
The Old Fashioned has solid range and outstanding stability, so you should do well with it in PvP. The magazine holds 9 rounds. The aim assist is 65. These are the stats:
The perks:
- Kill Clip: Reloading after a kill deals increased damage.
In addition, you have the choice of:
- Enhanced Rounds: Increased range
- Drop Mag: Magazine is ejected when reloading, wasting ammunition but significantly increasing reload speed.
With the sights True Sight HV, Quickdraw HV, and Hitmark HV, you can influence range, stability, and weapon readiness speed.
You obtain The Old Fashioned randomly from legendary engrams.
The Old Fashioned aims to bring back the Palindrome feeling from Destiny 1. If you can’t get along with it, you can fall back on alternatives like “The Dying Promise”.
Or you take the hand cannon introduced on the next page. Because this one performs excellently in both PvP and PvE.
