Destiny's Most Popular PvP Weapons After Balance Update

By Derek Nichols 19 February 2017

After a new weapon balance hot fix released on Tuesday, Reddit users reveal the new top 10 list of guns used in the Destiny Crucible for primary, secondary, and heavy weapons.

This year is going to be a big one for fans of the Destiny franchise. As the current game slowly approaches its third birthday, one final content update is expected sometime this spring. The content represents the last hurrah for the popular online shooter, as later this year a proper sequel is due out, though the only information fans have is thanks to a financial calls with Activision. In the meantime, it has already been an eventful week, as the long-awaited weapon balance update released and has already impacted many Destiny players’ choices.

Many primary weapons classes were heavily affected by this new balance update and according to Crucible kill statistics gathered on Reddit (using Guardian.gg) hand cannons are making a big comeback. The top five weapons in terms of kills over the past 24 hours include a mix of hand cannons and assault rifles. The Eyasluna holds the top spot followed by The Palindrome, SUROS Regime, Hawkmoon, and The Last Word. Pulse Rifles like Parthian Shot and Hopscotch Pilgrim take up the final five slots along with Monte Carlo, MIDA Multi-Tool, and No Land Beyond. Interestingly enough, one of the most powerful primary guns pre-update, The Clever Dragon, has completely dropped off the list.

Eyasluna 5.08%
The Palindrome 4.85%
SUROS Regime 4.63%
Hawkmoon 4.09%
The Last Word 3.81%
MIDA Multi-Tool 3.38%
Parthian Shot 2.58%
Hopscotch Pilgrim 2.23%
No Land Beyond 2.12%
Monte Carlo 1.76%

destiny-hawkmoon-moonglow

Originally, the main focus of this hot fix was to bring shotguns back in line with the other special weapon classes and so far, it appears the update has (partially) done its job. A day after the hot fix went live, sidearms have jumped up considerably including The Wormwood, Trespasser, The Binding Blaze and Havoc Pigeon all taking spots on the top 10 kills list. Interestingly enough, the Matador 64 continues to sit in the top 3, while another popular shotgun Party Crasher +1 sits at number 6.

At a glance some might be wondering why the Wormwood is so popular, but the answer is fairly simple. Since sidearms are the only special weapon not affected by the Crucible ammo changes, they have become more popular than ever. And the Wormwood is the vendor sidearm with the best roll, meaning those who don’t already have a good one went out and bought this Future War Cult edition.

It’s also not surprising to see fusion rifles nowhere on the list, since the weapon class has become almost a running joke for players. Perhaps one day Bungie will give fusions their chance to shine.

The Wormwood 4.40%
Trespasser 2.52%
Matador 64 1.77%
Ice Breaker 1.39%
Ironwreath-D 1.20%
Party Crasher +1 0.71%
1000-Yard Stare 0.66%
Y-09 Longbow Synthesis 0.64%
The Binding Blaze 0.64%
Havoc Pigeon 0.63%

Finally, heavy weapons like Truth and Young Wolf’s Howl were vastly impacted, with the former losing ammunition and the later gaining more of it. The Truth nerf has seemingly done its job, as the heavy rocket launcher has fallen to 10th on the list, while machine guns like the Iron Banner’s The Silvered Dread have jumped considerably. Considering heavy weapons were impacted the least by the update, it’s not surprising to see the usual mix of choices.

The Silvered Dread 0.93%
Unending Deluge III 0.34%
The Titanium Orchid 0.30%
Zombie Apocalypse WF47 0.24%
The Ash Factory 0.22%
Tormod’s Bellows 0.21%
Harrowed Qullim’s Terminus 0.20%
Iron Gjallarhorn 0.20%
Steel Oracle Z-11 0.19%
Truth 0.16%

In addition to balancing weapons, the update also affected many of the subclasses in the game including Striker Titans, Stormcaller Warlocks, and both Gunslinger and Bladedancer Hunters.. Unfortunately, something went wrong as a change to the Hungering Blade perk for Bladedancers was unintentionally applied to every health regeneration perk in the game. Interestingly enough, a fix for this issue isn’t coming in the near future as Bungie intends to wait and see how this plays out instead.

Are you happy with the current changes this balance update provided? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Destiny: Rise of Iron is available now on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.