Destiny Crucible: These are the best exotic weapons for PvP

In Destiny, the exotic weapons in PvP have been determined by a large survey of more than 16,000 Guardians. What are the strongest weapons in PvP? How has the Guardians’ assessment changed with “Darkness Lurks”? How have the buffs and nerfs impacted? Where do the new exotic DLC weapons rank?

Exotic weapons in Destiny, the “golden” ones, enjoy a certain cult status. This is partly because you can only carry one at a time. They are like the Sunday best weapons in Destiny.

A large poll took place in the English-speaking forum reddit, with over 16,000 players participating. This gives us a perspective on which weapons are favored by the Guardians. What weapon is the first choice for shredding enemies in the Crucible? And which one should you avoid showing up with there?

These are the 5 best exotic weapons in the Destiny Crucible

• In first place is the automatic rifle SUROS Regime. Automatic rifles have built a deadly reputation in the Crucible during the first weeks. This was supported by the SUROS, which has been available multiple times from Xur. Although automatic rifles have been nerfed, many still consider the SUROS Regime the first choice. Almost no recoil, fast fire rate, there’s little not to like about it.
• In second place comes the Gjallarhorn, the exotic rocket launcher. When there is heavy ammo in the Crucible and the Gjallarhorn is equipped, it brings a lot of trouble. The Gjallarhorn, with its cluster missiles and enormous penetration power, is highly regarded in both PvP and PvE.
• In third place is the Vex Mythoclast, the fusion rifle from the raid “Vault of Glass.” It’s a weapon meant for PvE but excels in the Crucible as a primary weapon, providing a strong compromise between range, firing speed, and firepower, despite having weaknesses at long distances. An additional upgrade to bring the Vex up to 331 damage is not currently planned.
• In fourth place is the PlayStation exclusive hand cannon Hawkmoon. It is regarded as a weapon with the range of a scout rifle, the punch of a hand cannon (two-shot kills are not uncommon), and a quick reload speed. The Hawkmoon has shot its way into the hearts of the Guardians… either in a good way or in a significantly less pleasant one. It can even break a Guardian’s heart in a different way…
• Rounding out the top 5 is the exotic rocket launcher Truth. Unlike the Gjallarhorn, it does not rely on raw destructive power; its tracking function is its major plus.

Which weapons have risen in the Guardians’ favor and which have fallen?

Compared to the survey from early November, from the time before “Darkness Lurks,” there are significant changes in the rankings of these weapons:

• The hand cannon “The Last Word” was in the November poll at rank 3, but has now fallen out of the top 5 and is in 6th place. Notably, the Hawkmoon has overtaken it. Nonetheless, The Last Word is still considered a superior one-on-one weapon.
• Compared to November, the Vex Mythoclast is showing improvement. Before the buff, it was in 8th place, now it’s in 3rd place.
• The biggest leap is made by the revamped Thorn. It was previously at the bottom of the list in November but has now reached a strong seventh place following the fixes. Thus, three hand cannons are in the top 7.

Where do the new exotic weapons stand and which are considered the weakest in PvP?

With the DLC “Darkness Lurks,” three new exotic weapons were introduced to Destiny. Guardians currently assess them as follows:

• The Dragon’s Breath, the rocket launcher, ranks in the lower midfield. It is far from the high echelons where Gjallarhorn and Truth reside. The void zone left by Dragon’s Breath is not very useful in PvP.
• The PlayStation exclusive shotgun “The 4th Horseman” also does not shoot trees in PvP, and it goes down as the fourth worst weapon in the rankings. Overall, shotguns are not very well positioned in PvP after already being at the bottom in PvE. Only the “Invective” is ranked 13th out of 24, which is still somewhat in the midfield. If Bungie tweaks the weapon types again soon, it could look good for shotguns.
• The sniper rifle “No Land Beyond” ranks last in PvP. Even though mastery is possible with the rifle, most Guardians struggle with the retro sniper. And those who dominate with it could likely win a “1 vs 5” with the Suros.

Besides “No Land Beyond,” these two weapons are at the bottom of the ranking:

• In third to last place is the pulse rifle Bad Juju from the survey. Here, the buff did not have as much impact as it did with Thorn.
• Things look similarly grim for Super Good Advice. The Reddit survey even offers an extremely good piece of advice: “Better not to use it.”

The well-known YouTuber Datto does Destiny presents his picks in this video; in addition to our top 5, he’s also keen on the fusion rifle Plan C as a close-range variant:

All exotic weapons listed by their rank in PvP

All weapons and their placements can be seen here. The survey was conducted by reddit member Debo37. Guardians had the opportunity to assign a specific utility value to each weapon, and this is what resulted.

• SUROS Regime (SUROS Regime)
• Gjallarhorn (Gjallarhorn)
• Vex Mythoclast (Vex Mythoclast)
• Hawkmoon (Hawkmoon)
• Truth (Truth)
• The Last Word (The Last Word)
• Thorn (Thorn)
• Plan C (Plan C)
• Patience and Time (Patience and Time)
• Thunderlord (Thunderlord)
• Ice Breaker (Ice Breaker)
• Invective (Invective)
• Pocket Infinity (Pocket Infinity)
• MIDA Multi-Tool (MIDA Multi-Tool)
• Red Death (Red Death)
• Dragon’s Breath (Dragon’s Breath)
• Monte Carlo (Monte Carlo)
• Hard Light (Hard Light)
• Universal Remote (Universal Remote)
• The 4th Horseman (The 4th Horseman)
• Bad Juju (Bad Juju)
• Super Good Advice (Super Good Advice)
• No Land Beyond (No Land Beyond)

Or in a table (Left-click to enlarge):

If you are interested in what the survey revealed about exotic weapons in PvE, you can find it here: Destiny: These are the best exotic weapons in PvE – 16,000 Guardians voted