In Destiny, handguns have dominated the Crucible since update 2.5.0.2. They are the best special weapons in PvP.
Originally, “Rise of Iron” was meant to enhance the niche category of handguns. The damage of all types of handguns was normalized, and damage drop-off and stability were improved. In PvE, there were even substantial damage bonuses.
However, in PvP, these rapid-firing beasts could not compete against shotguns. These dominated the special weapon slot for months. Now, after the balance patch 2.5.0.2, things look very different: Bungie has managed to have numerous Guardians running around with “Sidearms” in PvP. An important reason for this is: With handguns, the new special ammo scarcity can be circumvented.
Handguns are the new meta pick for special weapons in the Crucible of Destiny
A look at the statistics from guardian.gg shows that handguns in the Crucible can not only compete, but are now the dominant weapon category. Nearly 30% of all kills in the Trials are achieved with handguns, which is an outstanding value. Significantly behind are sniper rifles (thanks to NLB) and hand cannons.
But even in other game modes like Control, handguns are the special weapons with the most kills. Overall, they lag behind hand cannons and auto rifles in Control, but they have established a dominant position in their slot.
Therefore, let’s take a look at: Which handguns have succeeded after 2.5.0.2 on PS4 and Xbox One? For our list of the 6 best handguns, we are using data from guardian.gg as well as estimates from weapon expert Mercules904.
Teacup Storm
Let’s start directly with a sleek handgun that is always among the top in the statistics: Teacup Storm. Compared to other handguns, it has a low fire rate of 91, but a higher damage output of 15. The Teacup Storm has an extremely high range and good aim assist – which is excellent for a handgun. Stability, magazine size, and reload speed are, however, low. Here are the stats:
You can obtain the Teacup Storm through the Vanguard. You can buy it directly from the Vanguard quartermaster with a solid roll. Here it comes with Zen Moment, High-Caliber Rounds, and Reactive Reload. It doesn’t get much better than that – Snapshot would be the cherry on top.
However: This handgun archetype is not considered the best. The time-to-kill of the Teacup Storm lags behind the handgun on the next page with 0.7 seconds, for example. However, the Teacup Storm shines through range and aim assist. This allows for pretty kills in PvP.
On the next page, we continue with a handgun that can beat this time-to-kill.
