Destiny 2 is arguably at its best, having enjoyed an excellent year story-wise with many new and improved gameplay mechanics. The 30th Anniversary Pack has been out for a little over a week now, and many feel it to be the pinnacle of what Destiny 2 can be, considering it comes with a well-designed Dungeon and a rewarding six-player activity. Dares of Eternity includes weapons to celebrate Bungie's past, with some coming from the studio's original Halo series, that lives on through the newly released Halo Infinite.
As a looter-shooter, Destiny 2's loot has to be particularly interesting or valuable to the experience, especially its weapons and unique gear. That's the reason why Destiny 2's Seasons always bring new tools for players to toy with, something that all Dungeons and Raids do consistently to create a more varied, rich loot pool. This year has been particularly good for Destiny 2 in terms of weapons, and there have been many particularly noteworthy additions that have reshaped the meta completely.
Destiny 2's Seasonal Weapons in 2021
While there wasn't a lot going on with seasonal weapons in Season of the Hunt, which launched alongside Beyond Light in November 2020, a few of its guns were special. Things like Friction Fire, Blast Battue, and Deafening Whisper all saw some use and, in some cases, they still do. Deafening Whisper was an exciting addition considering it is the game's only non-sunset Wave Frame grenade launcher. However, Season of the Chosen and Season of the Splicer really stepped up Destiny 2's weapon game, introducing guns that would immediately dethrone Season of the Hunt's.
Season of the Chosen came with one of the best Kinetic SMGs in the game, Extraordinary Rendition, and one of the most-used weapons in the current meta: Threaded Needle. These guns are good because they have a very valuable perk pool, allowing players to get incredible combinations on either with perks like Subsistence and Rampage on the former, and Rapid Hit plus Vorpal Weapon on the latter. Season of the Chosen also introduced a very powerful Void bow called Imperial Needle, as well as the Brass Attacks Void sidearm, both of which have seen a lot of use.
Season of the Splicer is where things got wild, thanks to one of the best auto rifles in Destiny 2, Chroma Rush, alongside two more weapons: Ignition Code and Gridskipper. Chroma Rush is a 720 RPM auto rifle with perk combinations that include Subsistence, Rampage, Wellspring, Heating Up, Feeding Frenzy, and the recently reworked Adrenaline Junkie. Ignition Code is still one of the most reliable and consistently used weapons thanks to its ability to roll Blinding Grenades and perks like Ambitious Assassin, Slideshot, Vorpal Weapon, and Demolitionist. Gridskipper was also a great addition, and especially so for PvP considering it's a snappy Rapid-Fire Frame pulse rifle that can roll with Moving Target and Snapshot Sights.
Season of the Lost didn't make too much of an impact on the current meta in Destiny 2, but it did change everything with the addition of Stasis Kinetic weapons and new perks. Guns like Vulpecula with Outlaw and Headstone are not only fun to use, they are also build-enabling for Stasis users who want to generate and shatter more Stasis crystals. Season of the Lost also marked the return of Trials of the Nine weapons for the Prophecy Dungeon, making it a great source for obtaining extremely powerful guns like Darkest Before, Judgment, and Last Breath, which all got a reworked perk pool.
Destiny 2's 30th Anniversary Pack
The 30th Anniversary Pack has proven to be a fantastic Destiny 2 experience. With all the Halo weapons in Destiny 2's Anniversary Pack, as well as other celebratory guns and old classics coming back from Destiny, the DLC has escalated what players can expect from new releases. The BxR-55 Battler and Retraced Path, the first Legendary trace rifle in the game, are great examples of this that revolutionize the endgame experience. New swords, particularly The Other Half, are also prominent cases for what this weapon archetype can do in Destiny 2 thanks to the addition of Eager Edge and the return of sword skating.
Forerunner is a new Exotic sidearm that came with the DLC, inspired by Halo: Combat Evolved's Magnum. The gun deals a respectable amount of damage with each shot, it has insane range, and it has a catalyst that allows players to consume part of the magazine to use frag grenades. However, the weapon that brings it all home is the returning Exotic rocket launcher, Gjallarhorn. Gjallarhorn is a perfect addition to Destiny 2 because it retains the same power fantasy from the first installment of the series, but comes with a new perk that allows it to buff nearby allies and make their non-Exotic rocket launchers stronger - which already increased the DPS cap on bosses.
Overall, 2021 has been a very solid year for Destiny 2 fans, who got a lot of exciting new weapons and general improvements to gameplay and customization. Everything is likely going to change drastically with The Witch Queen in February 2022, as there will be a whole new expansion and new Seasons worth of content to go through. Furthermore, The Witch Queen will introduce weapon crafting and the Glaive, a new weapon archetype, which will make things even more exciting moving forward.
Destiny 2 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
