The most useful decision this guide makes comes before the weapon recommendations even begin: it establishes what the rankings are actually trying to accomplish. The focus is entirely on PvE, artifacts are mostly excluded except for the unusually influential NPA Void bonuses, accessibility matters alongside raw weapon quality, and versatility is favored over narrower build-specific strength. Just as importantly, the presenter repeatedly stresses that these choices combine his judgment with community discussion rather than representing an objective hierarchy. That framing gives an enormous list some necessary boundaries and makes room for players who simply prefer a different archetype or already own a strong alternative.
Primary weapons receive the most granular treatment, with auto rifles, pulse rifles, hand cannons, scouts, sidearms, SMGs and bows divided by damage type and frequently by firing style as well. The strongest sections do more than name winners. Blast Furnace is praised partly because it is comparatively straightforward to acquire, modified B7 gets a specific case built around Firefly, Headstone and accelerated assault, while rocket sidearms are treated as a generally strong category where owning the supposedly lesser option is still acceptable. Scout rifles and sidearms also illustrate one of the guide's better recurring ideas: archetype preference can matter enough that a theoretically superior recommendation may not actually be the best gun for a particular player.
Accessibility is handled unusually well for a list this broad. Raid, dungeon, Trials and Iron Banner weapons are regularly paired with easier substitutes from Arena Ops, vendors, destinations or other activities, preventing the recommendations from becoming a catalogue exclusively for highly invested endgame players. Intercalory may be presented as comfortably ahead among Stasis auto rifles, for example, but Fair Judgment is immediately offered for those who cannot obtain the raid weapon. Similar distinctions recur throughout the guide, and the presenter even warns that buying from the Tenet vendor may be mechanically easy while obtaining the precise desired roll remains highly random. That practical distinction makes the advice substantially more useful than merely identifying the theoretical ceiling.
The special-weapon discussion becomes more coherent because it shifts away from exhaustive ranking and toward transferable perk principles. Fusion rifles, sniper rifles, grenade launchers and shotguns repeatedly return to combinations involving ammunition or reload support plus sustained-damage perks, with more specialized exceptions explained where relevant. Rapid-fire snipers are favored for sustained damage, area-denial grenade launchers are identified as the current standout style, and shotguns are separated between melee-oriented perks such as One-Two Punch and more conventional damage choices. This repetition occasionally becomes excessive, but it also teaches the logic behind the selections rather than requiring viewers to memorize dozens of individual names.
Power weapons continue that approach while becoming more explicit about use case. Grenade launchers are not presented as the default recommendation for typical raid or dungeon damage despite several strong options, rockets receive more detailed attention around weapon-rotation setups and automatic reload support, and machine guns are treated primarily as flexible combat tools rather than boss-damage staples. The sword section is especially sensible in abandoning any attempt at a universal winner: Eager Edge utility, single-target damage, add clearing and perk-column placement create enough variation that a useful shortlist of desirable perks is more appropriate than a rigid ranking. That willingness to stop ranking when ranking ceases to be especially informative is one of the video's better editorial judgments.
The unavoidable weakness is scale. Hundreds of weapon names, perk combinations, activity sources, archetypes and exceptions pass by at a pace that makes the video much stronger as a searchable reference than as something easily absorbed from beginning to end. Some categories also receive noticeably less authoritative treatment: the presenter openly defers largely to community opinion on bows and effectively dismisses detailed trace-rifle guidance for highly specialized players. Pronunciation stumbles, repeated reminders about the same reload-plus-damage formula and occasional offhand jokes add a little clutter. More fundamentally, the stated ambition that the guide could remain relevant indefinitely sits awkwardly beside its own reliance on the present artifact, current weapon availability and present sandbox preferences. Within the game's described locked state it may age unusually well, but the video itself still demonstrates how contextual these rankings are.
Pros
- Establishes clear PvE-focused rules and repeatedly distinguishes personal and community preference from absolute judgment.
- Covers an exceptionally large portion of the legendary weapon pool while still accounting for archetype and firing-rate preference.
- Regularly provides accessible alternatives when the strongest option comes from raids, dungeons, Trials or other restrictive activities.
- Explains reusable perk principles instead of relying entirely on individual weapon names.
- Separates general-purpose recommendations from specialized damage rotations, subclass interactions and utility roles.
- Sensibly avoids forcing rigid rankings in categories such as swords and machine guns where intended use matters more.
Cons
- The enormous density of weapon names, perks and acquisition sources makes the guide difficult to retain without repeatedly pausing or using chapter navigation.
- Several recommendations depend heavily on the current sandbox and especially the unusually strong Void artifact, weakening the claim of permanent relevance.
- Repetition of the reload-or-ammo-perk plus damage-perk rule becomes excessive despite its usefulness.
- Coverage is less authoritative in areas the presenter openly uses less, particularly bows, while some highly specialized applications are intentionally left unexplored.
- The mixture of top selections, personal favorites, community favorites and easier alternatives occasionally makes the exact hierarchy less clear than the premise suggests.
This succeeds best as a comprehensive PvE reference rather than a definitive ranking that every Destiny 2 player should follow literally. Its enormous scope is made manageable by strong perk guidance, accessibility considerations and frequent acknowledgment that archetype, build and personal preference can override the nominal winner. Greater compression and a slightly narrower claim about long-term relevance would make an already valuable guide easier to use.
