Bungie is turning 30 this year, and to celebrate the storied game developed has launched a sizeable new addition to its long-running shooter, Destiny 2. The new content, which is dubbed the 30th Anniversary Update, features a slew of new content, including a new, free activity for all players, an end-game dungeon, and plenty of new weapons and armor to acquire.
The entire update is themed around Bungie's history, so all the gear pieces evoke iconic designs from games like Marathon and Halo. But even though everything looks cool, some of the new weapons are just better than others. With so many new weapons to choose from, it's useful to know which ones are the absolute best.
10 1000 Yard Stare
One of the Anniversary Update's new activities is the Grasp of Avarice endgame dungeon that's filled with a number of references to some of the more humorous moments from Destiny's past. It also features the return of several classic weapons from the game's history, including the sniper rifle, 1000 Yard Stare.
1000 Yard Stare is a well-balanced sniper rifle that hits the sweet spot between power and versatility. It can take out most enemies in a single headshot, and with its decent-sized magazine, it can still put a significant chunk of damage into any of the game's bosses.
9 Pardon Our Dust
Pardon Our Dust is Destiny 2's latest breach-loaded grenade launcher, and for the most part, it plays very similarly to other weapons of its class. Players can pick one up from Xur, the enigmatic Emissary of the Nine, either through his new activity, Dares of Eternity, or the chest in his treasure hoard.
One of the best perks to get on Pardon Our Dust is the new Perpetual Motion perk that increases stability, handling, and reload speed while the player is on the move. Couple that with another perk like Rampage or Ambitious Assassin, and Pardon Our Dust is an excellent option for almost any activity.
8 Eyasluna
The classic hand cannon returns in Destiny 2, and it feels just as good now as it did before. Eyasluna is one of the most legendary hand cannons in Destiny history, serving as one of the original Destiny's pinnacle weapons from its Crucible PvP mode.
Eyasluna comes back in Destiny 2 as a reward from the nostalgia-infused Grasp of Avarice endgame dungeon and still sports its trademark red-and-black aesthetic. It can roll a variety of random perks, including classics like Outlaw or new favorites like Headstone.
7 Retraced Path
The first legendary Trace Rifle, Retraced Path is a weapon powered by fire and designed with a love of all things Bungie. The gun sports a design that pays homage to the Covenant Carbine, a famous weapon from the Halo series that Bungie created.
Retraced Path is an excellent addition to Destiny 2's collection of weapons, most notably because it allows players to use a Trace Rifle without having to give up using another exotic. The gun itself is also great and can roll with some powerful new perks like Harmony or Golden Tricorn.
6 Half-Truths
Half-Truths is one of the two swords available to earn from Destiny 2's new Dares of Eternity activity. It's the easier of the two swords to find and can roll with the remarkable new, unique perk called Eager Edge. This perk dramatically increases sword lunge distance immediately after switching to the weapon, giving it a literal edge over mid-range enemies.
It also has one of the coolest designs of any of the new weapons, sporting a translucent blue blade with a faint glow. It's themed after the iconic Halo Energy Sword, though it does make up only half of its predecessor's famous two-pronged blade.
5 The Other Half
One of two available swords from Dares of Eternity, The Other Half has proven harder to find than its counterpart, Half-Truths. While aesthetically similar to the other sword, The Other Half has a slightly different list of perks it can randomly roll. While both swords can be acquired with Eager Edge, The Other Half can also come with powerful, synergistic perks like Frenzy or Vorpal Weapon.
Just like Half-Truths, The Other Half is designed to look like the Covenant Energy Sword from Bungie's Halo franchise. The Other Half, unlike both Half-Truths or the Energy Sword, sports a purple blade instead of blue and makes up the other half of the Energy Sword's two-pronged blade.
4 BxR - 55 Battler
The BxR - 55 Battler is one of the best new weapons added with the Bungie Anniversary Update in just about every possible way. It's a powerful pulse rifle with the new Legacy PR-55 Frame that gives it enhanced accuracy, stability, and hip-fire targeting. It also rolls with the new perk, Blunt Execution Rounds, which increases damage and handling after damaging enemies with melee abilities.
The Battler is patterned after Halo's BR55 Heavy Barrel Service Rifle, more commonly known as the Battle Rifle. Everything from the Battler's name to its design to the way the gun feels to shoot is evocative of the Battle Rifle, and that is a very good thing.
3 Wastelander M5
Easily one of the best new additions to Destiny 2 is the Wastelander M5 shotgun, a new lightweight frame weapon that puts other shotguns to shame both in performance and style. The gun packs a punch with almost any perk combination, but coupled with the new Perpetual Motion perk it's downright unstoppable.
The Wastelander is a callback to the WSTE M5 Combat Shotgun from Marathon 2, a game Bungie first released back in 1995. The Wastelander isn't just an homage in name alone, though: it also features the same reload animation, in which the player character spins the gun around by the trigger.
2 Forerunner
One of the two new exotic guns added with the Anniversary Update, Forerunner is a fully automatic sidearm that fires powerful, heavy-caliber rounds. Its intrinsic perk, Full Stop, also means that these rounds deal increased precision damage to targets without shielding.
The Forerunner is a remarkable gun that can strip elite class enemies down in a matter of seconds. It's also another Halo reference across just about every element. Its name comes from the ancient race that built the Halo rings, it's designed after the UNSC issued pistol used by the Master Chief, and the Full Stop perk is an homage to the pistol's impressive stopping power against unshielded enemies.
1 Gjallarhorn
The Gjallarhorn rocket launcher is one of Destiny's most renowned weapons, literally defining the meta of the game when it first launched back in 2014. The only way to acquire it back then was sheer luck after defeating the final boss of the Vault of Glass raid.
The new iteration of Gjallarhorn might not be as dominant as it was back in the early days of Destiny, but it's still easily the best weapon from the Anniversary Update. The initial blast is powerful enough to take out most elite enemies, and the tracking Wolf Pack Rounds give it so much power that Gjallarhorn can feasibly take out bosses with a single shot.