Destiny 2's Season of the Haunted is soon going to enter its seventh week, meaning that it's going to be another month and a half until Season 18 comes along with its Arc 3.0 rework. Much like what Bungie did with Season of the Risen during The Witch Queen expansion, Season of the Haunted too will provide players with a chance at completing their Conqueror title for the first time, or gilding it, starting next week. The approach prior to Season of the Risen was that Destiny 2 players had to go through the usual Nightfall cycle before they could tackle a specific Grandmaster Nightfall, which meant that they had to play every week to complete them or rush every completion in the final weeks of a Season.
That's when usually Grandmaster Nightfalls became available for all players all the time, in the sense that they could select any of the GMs that Season and launch it regardless of the rotation. This system became available as soon as GMs did in Season of the Risen, and it seems that Bungie will retain it moving forward because Season of the Haunted will do the same. As such, Destiny 2 players should be prepared arsenal-wise to tackle all the various Grandmaster Nightfalls starting next Tuesday and for the remainder of the Season. Not all weapons will do, and some will be especially valuable in the current meta.
Destiny 2: Best Kinetic Weapons to Use in Grandmaster Nightfalls
Destiny 2 has three different weapon slots: one for Kinetic guns, one for elemental ones (called Energy weapons), and one for those that use Heavy ammo, called Power weapons. There are several great Kinetic weapons to use in Grandmaster Nightfalls, and while some of them are Exotic guns that are either very good at handling Champions or at clearing adds and damaging bosses, the choice is not an easy one. Some of the best guns to use in GMs are simply among the best in their slot, and there are a few alternatives per weapon archetype here, bearing in mind that the current GM rotation has very few Overload Champions, several Barrier Champions, and a plethora of Unstoppables.
- Arbalest: It's no wonder that Arbalest makes the list even though it got a recent nerf to its damage versus Champions. This weapon is phenomenal at dealing with Match Game shields and Barrier Champions, making them mostly trivial if players keep an eye on their ammo reserve and time their shots correctly.
- New Purpose: This weapon comes from the new Duality Dungeon, and it stands out from other Kinetic pulse rifles for two reasons -- it deals Stasis damage, and it can roll with Adaptive Munitions. As such, New Purpose is great in Stasis builds, and it can do wonders against both Barrier Champions and shielded enemies thanks to Adaptive Munitions, even though its Enhanced version is better.
- Outbreak Perfected: This Exotic pulse rifle is currently one of the best Primary weapons in the game because it is effective at clearing groups of adds, it deals great boss damage when multiple players use it, and it is fantastic against Barrier Champions. Outbreak Perfected's catalyst is required for it to be as effective, but the gun does a decent job even without it.
- Tears of Contrition: Season of the Haunted came along with several new weapons, and Tears of Contrition is a new craftable scout rifle that can roll with Triple Tap and Explosive Payload, making it exceptional both against regular enemies and Unstoppable Champions. It can also be crafted with a high range stat, and it can have up to 100 recoil direction with Arrowhead Brake.
- Ager's Scepter: Ager's Scepter is an Exotic trace rifle that can be particularly good this season because it can deal with both Overload Champions and Barrier Champions with the use of the Overload Trace Rifles mod and its catalyst, respectively. This is especially valuable in one GM Nightfall this Season, which is Warden of Nothing, as it features all three types of Champions.
- Submission: A great Primary weapon that Destiny 2 players can use in GMs is Submission, as this Season features Overload SMGs. Submission comes from the Vow of the Disciple Raid, and it can be crafted with a high range and perks like Enhanced Overflow and Enhanced Frenzy.
- Osteo Striga: This Exotic SMG was introduced with The Witch Queen, and it remains one of the best Primary guns in the game by a mile. Osteo Striga is very similar to Outbreak Perfected in what it does, and it is overall a very dependable weapon that can easily stun Overload Champions and also destroy adds.
- Lingering Dread: Another weapon that comes from Duality's loot pool, and it makes the list because it is a Kinetic grenade launcher that deals Stasis damage, can roll with Blinding Grenades, and also Chill Clip. This combination can be devastating in builds like Stasis Warlock with the Osmiomancy Exotic gloves, as players can freeze everything and apply crowd control effects.
- Witherhoard: Last but not least among Kinetic guns, Witherhoard is a great Exotic to have in GMs if players manage to have a loadout that covers Champions. Witherhoard deals a lot of damage over time against bosses, and it is an excellent choice for those add-heavy GMs like The Corrupted and Insight Terminus.
Destiny 2: Best Energy Weapons to Use in Grandmaster Nightfalls
As far as Energy weapons go, Destiny 2 players have lots of options to choose from for Grandmaster Nightfalls this Season, including several guns introduced with Season of the Haunted. Because the best anti-Champion artifact mods this Season are Unstoppable Scout Rifles, Anti-Barrier Pulse Rifles, and Overload SMGs, players can mix and match their Energy weapons with their Kinetic and Power ones to tackle those.
- Skyburner's Oath: This Exotic was basically useless prior to Season of the Haunted, but it was revamped to make it pair nicely with the Solar 3.0 update. Skyburner's Oath is a fantastic weapon to have in Cabal-heavy GMs, like Proving Grounds and Inverted Spire, and it has perfect synergy with things like Ember of Singeing or the Flame Harvesting artifact mod when dealing with Unstoppable Champions.
- Staccato-46: A new scout rifle from Season of the Haunted that deals Solar damage and can roll with Explosive Payload in the fourth column, alongside great options in the third column, like Shoot to Loot or Triple Tap. Either of these two rolls is great for Destiny 2's GMs, especially considering a recent glitch that allows for double Special and Heavy ammo, involving Shoot to Loot.
- Pointed Inquiry: Another scout rifle, this time one from The Witch Queen expansion. This weapon is amazing because it can be crafted with both Enhanced Genesis and Enhanced Adaptive Munitions, making it the next best thing to counter Match Game when players don't want to use Arbalest.
- Aisha's Embrace: This Trials of Osiris scout rifle is the best one to use when there are multiple Void shields or the Acute Burn of a given GM is Void, considering it deals Void damage and fires full auto at 260 RPM. It can also roll with great perk combinations, like Triple Tap and Fourth Time the Charm or Triple Tap and Focused Fury.
- Lubrae's Ruin: Although Destiny 2's glaives are not the best endgame weapons to use, they can still be useful for stunning Unstoppable Champions and also for their shield. The shield, combined with this Season's changes to Resilience, can make the user virtually immortal in Grandmaster Nightfalls for a short time, which is normally nearly impossible to achieve.
- Insidious: This Vow of the Disciple pulse rifle is simply put amazing, as it can roll with various perks to increase its damage or perks to make GMs much easier, such as Adaptive Munitions (and its Enhanced version). Combined with perks like Rapid Hit, Demolitionist, and even Stats for All, Destiny 2 players will also have fast reloads.
- Divinity: The best anti-Overload Champion weapon by a mile, Divinity remains a great gun to use in all GMs even when Overload Champions are not present. That's because it creates a weak spot on the enemies it hits, allowing teams to destroy Champions and burst bosses.
- Unforgiven: A new SMG that drops in the Duality Dungeon. This gun is great in GMs because it outclasses most other SMGs in what it can do thanks to its perk combinations and its Origin Trait, with great rolls including Demolitionist and Repulsor Brace for extra Overshields or Demolitionist and Adrenaline Junkie for a lot of damage.
- Calus Mini-Tool: This is by far one of the best non-Exotic Primary weapons in Destiny 2 at the moment, as it can roll with the new Incandescent perk, making clearing adds extremely easy. Although Incandescent is not the best perk to have in Grandmaster Nightfalls, it can be especially useful in those GMs that do feature Overload Champions and loads of adds, like The Corrupted and Warden of Nothing.
Destiny 2: Best Power Weapons to Use in Grandmaster Nightfalls
Destiny 2's Power weapons are usually the best to use against bosses because they tend to pack a punch in terms of damage, and the meta is largely unchanged from Season of the Risen outside of a few notable exceptions. Linear fusion rifles are currently bugged and deal less damage than intended to Champions, as they somehow inherited the damage nerf to Arbalest. Still, the best options remain linear fusion rifles for sustained damage and rocket launchers for burst damage, with a couple of exceptions for when it's useful to stun Champions with Power weapons.
- Stormchaser: This new linear fusion rifle from the Duality Dungeon is currently the best Power weapon in the game for raw damage, as it can roll with perks like Clown Cartridge or Rapid Hit combined with Firing Line or Vorpal Weapon. This is only half the reason why Stormchaser is great, though, and the other half is that it shoots bursts of three shots per ammo, out-damaging any other weapon in its category.
- Reed's Regret: A Stasis linear fusion rifle that is a fantastic weapon to have for Stasis builds and because of its unique combo of Triple Tap and Veist Stinger, allowing it to potentially fire for a long time without reloading once. It can also roll with Firing Line for extra damage when in a team, destroying Champions and bosses.
- Cataclysmic: Yet another Vow of the Disciple gun, Cataclysmic possibly deals more damage than Reed's Regret and is not too far from the damage dealt by Stormchaser as well. This is possible with the Fourth Time the Charm and Bait and Switch roll, which can get up to a 35% damage buff and also get extra rounds in the magazine.
- Threaded Needle: Another option in the linear fusion rifle family comes in the form of Threaded Needle, which is not on par with the other three in terms of damage, but it is a Void weapon that can be useful to have for shields or Acute Void burn. A good roll of this weapon is Clown Cartridge or Rapid Hit combined with Vorpal Weapon or Frenzy.
- Gjallarhorn: Gjallarhorn is one of Destiny 2's evergreen picks, as it can deal insane single target damage against bosses or Champions, and it can also clear rooms of adds on most occasions. This weapon is particularly good in the Arms Dealer GM because it features Solar Acute Burn as a modifier, and it can be used to cheese the boss on the elevator section at the end.
- The Hothead: A great alternative to Gjallarhorn that deals Arc damage and can roll with awesome perk combinations, like Auto-Loading Holster and Explosive Light or Impulse Amplifier and Lasting Impressions. It also has an Adept version that drops from Grandmaster Nightfalls, which means that players can use it with the Adept Big Ones mod.
- Hezen Vengeance: Similarly to The Hothead, this rocket launcher is a great alternative to Gjallarhorn because it deals Solar damage and rolls with perks like Overflow or Auto-Loading Holster, combined with Vorpal Weapon or Lasting Impression. This weapon drops from Vault of Glass, and it also has a Timelost version.
- The Lament: The Lament is one of the best Exotic Power weapons in the game for solo content because it deals massive close-quarters damage, and it heals its user on top of that. It comes with intrinsic Anti-Barrier hits, and it can be a great choice when Destiny 2 players have to tackle bosses or Champions that move around.
- Leviathan's Breath: Last on the list, Leviathan's Breath is now amazing for GMs and hard content because of its intrinsic Unstoppable arrows and the fact that it deals damage in two parts, with a small hit first and a big explosion later. This makes stunning Unstoppable Champions easy, and it also deals a lot of damage.
Destiny 2 is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
