In Destiny 2 you have one month left before 22 weapons go into retirement. Find out which strong successors you should use in Season 13.
Upcoming: In February 2021, Destiny 2 will start the yet officially unnamed Season 13. Many Guardians are looking forward to the new content, as there isn’t much new content in Destiny 2 until then.
However, with the start of the next season, a troublesome topic will become relevant again: The weapon retirement – the sunsetting. From February onward, all weapons (and armor) from the Season of Dawn will be affected.
- This season lasted from December 2019 to March 2020.
- The items from that time do not disappear, but have reached their level cap and can no longer be effectively used in many current activities.
- Season 9 brought some really strong additions to the loot pool, some of which are still favored by Guardians.
MeinMMO lists all 22 weapons from the era of the Saint-14 return that will be retired and gives you current alternatives for the best 4 of them, some of which are even significantly better.
All 22 of these weapons are going into retirement in February
| The Classic (Hand Cannon) |
| Queen’s Gambit 3 (Hand Cannon) |
| Benefactor of Lost Hope (Scout Rifle) |
| Hawthorne’s Field-Forged Shotgun (Shotgun) |
| Perfect Paradox (Shotgun) |
| Breachlight (Shotgun) |
| Buzzard (Hand Cannon) |
| Last Hope (Hand Cannon) |
| Traveler’s Judgment 5 (Hand Cannon) |
| Cold Front (Submachine Gun) – only the version from S9 |
| Uriel’s Gift (Auto Rifle) |
| Steelfeather Repeater (Auto Rifle) |
| Elatha FR4 (Fusion Rifle) |
| Fearless Assault (Fusion Rifle) |
| Vengeance of the Martyr (Grenade Launcher) |
| Infinite Paths 8 (Pulse Rifle) |
| Trophy Hunter (Sniper Rifle) |
| Komodo-4FR (Linear Fusion Rifle) |
| Line in the Sand (Linear Fusion Rifle) |
| MOS Epoch III (Rocket Launcher) |
| Pyroclastic Flow (Rocket Launcher) |
Current alternatives for the 4 best weapons from Season 9
For the best 4 weapons from the Season of Dawn that are still used by Guardians, you can find current alternatives here. Because not all of the 22 weapons are still popular or fit into the sandbox of Season 12.
MeinMMO ensured that the alternatives themselves will not soon go into weapon retirement.
Use this Hand Cannon: In the Season of Dawn, the small hand cannons really took off, creating a real hype. The best of the 4 hand cannons is likely to be Breachlight.
As an alternative, we now recommend High Albedo.
- High Albedo belongs to the Europa arsenal and is for us one of the best weapons from Beyond Light.
- Both guns belong in the kinetic slot.
- This Hand Cannon also fires in bursts – 3 shots instead of 2 shots per trigger pull leave the barrel.
This is the Grenade Launcher successor: With Vengeance of the Martyr, Season 9 enriched the grenade launchers with the so-called “Waveform”. Thus, the grenade does not explode normally but creates a large damage field on the ground – as if you set the area on fire.
The only other grenade launcher of this kind came into play with Season 12: Deafening Whisper.
- The alternative deals Void damage (Vengeance of the Martyr deals Solar damage).
- The perk selection is even better on Deafening Whisper.
- You can target farm the weapon through the Kryptholith bait.
This Sniper Rifle is even better: Trophy Hunter was available in Season 9 in the Season Pass. The weapon has since become a hidden gem and for some Guardians, even the best legendary sniper rifle. A large magazine, perks to gain ammunition back, and Vorpal Weapon made it a good choice against bosses.
However, the rank of the best PvE sniper is now definitely held by Succession from the Deep Stone Crypt.
- With the special perk “Reconstruction,” Succession has a magazine twice the size of all other comparable sniper rifles and reloads automatically.
- Both snipers belong to the slowly firing representatives of their kind, but deal heavy damage.
- Note that Succession is a kinetic weapon, while Trophy Hunter deals Void damage.
There are 3 alternatives for shotguns: Perfect Paradox shot into the hearts of Guardians with its high rate of fire, elegant design, and being the personal weapon of Saint-14. Not easy to find a successor for that.
However, MeinMMO suggests 2 alternatives:
- Another 140 RPM Shotgun is the IKELOS_SG_v1.0.2: This is a reissue of the notorious IKELOS shotgun. You will get it in the Prophecy Dungeon and essentially have a direct replacement for the Perfect Paradox that is held in the energy slot. Furthermore, the shotgun alternative can generate War Mind Cells.
- In Beyond Light, precise slug shotguns are really popular: They fire no spread shot, only a solid projectile that deals very high damage at long range. The two best representatives are Heir from the “Deep Stone Crypt” raid (kinetic) and Bone Chiller from the Europa arsenal (Void damage).
Do you miss any of the weapons from the Season of Dawn or are you already using the current alternatives? Which guns are currently set in your Guardian’s inventory? Let us know in the comments.
Unlike legendary weapons, exotics are not affected by weapon retirement. Which of the timeless firearms in Destiny 2 are currently the most popular, you can read here on MeinMMO:
These are the 10 most popular exotics in Beyond Light and Season 12
