Destiny 2: Best Hand Cannons for PvE, PvP, Gambit (2023)

There’s truly no shortage of great hand cannons in Destiny 2. It’s arguably the most popular and most reliable archetype in all of Destiny 2 and is useful across all game modes, at least as of Lightfall. In any event, let’s go over the best Hand Cannons in Destiny 2 for 2023.

Best Hand Cannons in Destiny 2 2023

Best for PvE & Gambit

• Ace of Spades (Kinetic, Exotic) – Purchased from the exotic kiosk.
• Fatebringer (Kinetic) – Possible drop from completing encounters in the raid, Vault of Glass.
• Crimson (Kinetic, Exotic) – Rare exotic world drop.
• Eriana’s Vow (Energy, Solar, Exotic) – Obtained as a season pass reward for Season of the Undying.
• Lumina (Kinetic, Exotic) – Purchased from the exotic kiosk.
• Nation of Beasts (Energy, Arc) – Possible drop from completing encounters in the raid, Last Wish.
• Posterity (Energy, Arc) – Possible drop from completing encounters in the raid, Deep Stone Crypt.
• Seventh Seraph Officer Revolver (Kinetic) – Random world drop.
• Sunshot (Energy, Solar, Exotic) – Purchase from Exotic Kiosk.
• Zaouli’s Bane (Energy, Solar) – Possible drop from completing encounters in the raid, King’s Fall.

Hand Cannons are in a good spot in the current meta. While we could use some more to really flesh out the variety of choices, the ones we have now are all worth the grind.

Fatebringer is back and better than ever in Destiny 2 with its fantastic combo of Explosive Payload and Firefly, allowing you to combust your enemies in beautiful explosions.

Speaking of explosions, if you’re looking for a weapon that works well with Solar 3.0 builds, look no further than the Zaouli’s Bane Hand Cannon from the King’s Fall Raid. Zaouli’s Bane in Destiny 1 was a niche weapon that wasn’t really used a lot. However, with its return in Destiny 2, it has gained access to the almighty Incandescent perk, allowing you to scorch and combust your enemies with ease. A must-have weapon for all Solar-based builds.

Overall, Hand Cannons are in a great spot right now, but we could use some more to help flesh out the PvE scene. Unfortunately, only two were added with the Lightfall DLC, and they’re mainly equipped for PvP. Hopefully, Season of the Deep will bring some for PvE when it arrives in a few months.

Best Hand Cannons for PvP

• Ace of Spades (Kinetic, Exotic) – Purchased from the Exotic Kiosk.
• Austringer (Kinetic) – Obtained from Season of the Haunted activities.
• Bottom Dollar (Energy, Void) – Possible reward from Gambit matches and Gambit rank-ups.
• Crimson (Kinetic, Exotic) – Purchased from Exotic Kiosk.
• Eyasluna (Kinetic, Stasis) – Possible drop from encounters in the dungeon, Grasp of Avarice.
• Rose (Kinetic) – Obtained from playing Competitive PvP activities.
• Round Robin (Kinetic, Strand) – Obtained from Neomuna activities.
• Sunshot (Energy, Solar, Exotic) – Purchased from Exotic Kiosk.
• The Last Word (Kinetic, Exotic) – Purchased from the Exotic Kiosk.
• Thorn (Kinetic, Exotic) – Purchased from the Exotic Kiosk.
• Trust (Energy, Solar) – Obtained from completing Gambit matches.
• Exalted Truth (Energy, Void) – Possible reward from playing Trials of Osiris
• Hawkmoon (Kinetic, Exotic) – Purchased from Exotic Kiosk.

While, in general, Exotic hand cannons tend to rule the roost in PvP, the last few seasons have added quite a few powerful and interesting legendary hand cannons, including Rose, Exalted Truth, and of course, Austringer. The Lightfall DLC also added two new ones to dominate the scene even further.

If you can manage to get some work done in Trials of Osiris, Exalted Truth is an extremely popular and meta hand cannon right now that can free up the ability to use an exotic primary or heavy weapon.

Many hand cannon mains, though, rock an exotic. Ace of Spades is extremely popular right now, but Thorn, Crimson, Sunshot, The Last Word, and Hawkmoon are all fantastic substitutes.

The beauty of being a hand cannon main in PvP is that you have so many varying exotic options to choose from; it really comes down to which playstyle you like best. I tend to lean towards Thorn because of its two-tap potential and the tracking you get from the poison DoT, but it really comes down to your preference.

New faces include the Round Robin, the first-ever Strand Hand Cannon, and a returning fan-favorite, Trust, from the Forsaken days. The Round Robin is the glimmer of hope for the 120 RPM Hand Cannons to return to the meta, and Trust, which was once the most-used weapon in PvP years ago, is slowly climbing back to the top.

It’s safe to say we’ll see these two guns in abundance throughout the Season and possibly beyond as we progress through the year of Lightfall.

That’s all for our best hand cannons in Destiny 2 for PvE, PvP, & Gambit. Be sure to search for Twinfinite for more tips and information on Destiny 2-related content.