Best Hand Cannons In Destiny 2: PVE and PVP [2022]

Hand cannons are a common sight in Destiny 2. Due to their ease of use and high damage per second, hand cannons are an excellent option for PvE and PvP players. Here are what I believe to be some of the best hand cannons in Destiny 2. I hope you will find this guide useful; for more Destiny 2 guides, check out Best Rocket Launcher Destiny 2 and Best Fusion Rifles Destiny 2.

Best Hand Cannons Compared

Here is a comparison table of my Best Hand Cannons In Destiny 2 . Each stat can be sorted to view the highest and lowest values, which has been done for your convenience:

No.	Hand cannons	Stability	Handling	Reload Speed	Aim Assistance	Magazine	Rounds Per Minute
1	Eriana’s Vow	30	23	24	80	6	90
2	Sunshot	40	82	72	60	12	150
3	Malfeasance	80	29	80	50	14	180
4	Fatebringer	57	55	46	84	10	140
5	Ace Of Spades	40	40	42	70	13	140
6	Last Word	40	20	80	40	8	225
7	Thorn	55	65	40	85	11	140
8	Ace of Spades	40	40	42	70	13	140
9	Palindrome	58	50	42	79	10	140
10	Hawkmoon	63	71	59	93	8	140

Best PvE Hand Cannons In Destiny 2

Eriana’s vow

Best PvE Hand Cannon

Attribute	Value
Impact	100
Range	100
Stability	30
Handling	23
Reload Speed	24
Aim Assistance	80
Zoom	24
Airborne Effectiveness	9
Magazine	6
Recoil Direction	100
Rounds Per Minute	90
Inventory Size	-

Eriana’s vow is arguably Destiny 2’s greatest PvE hand cannon. This weapon is a hand cannon/sniper hybrid in many ways. The perks this hand cannon has to offer make it the greatest PvE weapon for many. You can acquire Eriana’s vow from the monument of lost light for 1 exotic cipher, 125, 000 glimmer, 200 etheric spirals and 1 ascendant shard. The two main perks of this hand cannon are ‘Death at first glance’ and ‘looks can kill.’ Death at first glance utilizes the weapon’s built-in scope and gives the player 45% bonus damage when aiming down sight.

This perk can also be chained using precision shots and by firing at an elemental shield making it especially effective against enemies with large health pools. Looks can kill means this hand cannon fires shield piercing ammo. Your rounds ignore your enemy’s shield and cause damage to their primary health pool straight away. All this, along with its 90 shots per minute firing rate, make it a strong PvE option.

Sunshot

Best Ranked Hand Cannon

Attribute	Value
Impact	80
Range	31
Stability	40
Handling	82
Reload Speed	72
Aim Assistance	60
Zoom	14
Airborne Effectiveness	27
Magazine	12
Recoil Direction	98
Rounds Per Minute	150
Inventory Size	53

Sunshot is a powerful PvE hand cannon, especially when it comes to clearing ads. You can find it through exotic engrams. The weapon’s main perks are sunburn and sun blasts. Sunburn causes the gun to fire explosive rounds. Sun blast causes enemies who died with a precision shot or after burning to explode. As a result, the death of an enemy can trigger a chain reaction of enemies burning and dying. This is a sight to behold when facing a large number of low health ads. Sunshot’s 150 shots per minute also help, combined with its perks, make it an exceptional PvP hand cannon.

Malfeasance

Best AOE Hand Cannon

Attribute	Value
Impact	78
Range	40
Stability	80
Handling	29
Reload Speed	80
Aim Assistance	50
Zoom	14
Airborne Effectiveness	53
Magazine	14
Recoil Direction	98
Rounds Per Minute	180
Inventory Size	57

Malfeasance, thanks to its unique perks and high rate of fire, is another strong PvE hand cannon. You can obtain it by completing its exotic weapon quest. The weapon’s perk of note is explosive shadow. This perk allows malfeasance to shoot slugs themselves into the opponent’s body. Shooting enough slugs cause them to explode, creating an AoE attack that damages surrounding enemies. This makes it a great choice for clearing ads. The high rate of fire (180 rpm) coupled with the large magazine makes this an effective hand cannon for all sorts of PvE encounters, and my favourite best hand cannon of destiny 2.

Fatebringer

Best DPS Hand Cannon

Attribute	Value
Impact	84
Range	46
Stability	57
Handling	55
Reload Speed	46
Aim Assistance	84
Zoom	14
Airborne Effectiveness	10
Magazine	10
Recoil Direction	98
Rounds Per Minute	140
Inventory Size	53

Fatebringer was one of Destiny 1’s most popular hand cannons, and justifiably so. The iconic hand cannon makes a return in Destiny is and is still an excellent hand cannon. Fatebringer’s important perk is firefly, which causes enemies to explode upon impact and increase the weapon’s reloading speed. It also has a relatively high rate of fire at 140. The explosive rounds along with the rate of fire, make the Fatrebringer great for clearing hoards of ads and a good PvE weapon choice.

Ace Of Spades

Best Exotic Hand Cannon

Attribute	Value
Impact	84
Range	75
Stability	40
Handling	40
Reload Speed	42
Aim Assistance	70
Zoom	14
Airborne Effectiveness	14
Magazine	13
Recoil Direction	100
Rounds Per Minute	140
Inventory Size	56

This list would’ve been incomplete without Cayde 6’s weapon of choice. The Ace Of Spades is a very powerful PvE hand canon. You have to play through Forsaken’s storyline to get your hands on this hand canon. The key perks of this weapon are ‘Memento Mori’ and ‘Firefly’.

Memento Mori grants you radar while aiming down sight and adds in a few extra damage bullets in your magazine after a kill. Firefly makes enemies explode upon impact and increases the reload speed after precision kills. The two perks complement each other perfectly and help make this hand cannon an excellent choice for PvE players.

Best PvP Hand Cannon In Destiny 2

The Last Word

Highest Fire Rate Hand Cannon

Attribute	Value
Impact	78
Range	20
Stability	40
Handling	20
Reload Speed	80
Aim Assistance	40
Zoom	11
Airborne Effectiveness	19
Magazine	8
Recoil Direction	100
Rounds Per Minute	225
Inventory Size	40

The Last Word was known for its quick time to kill in the original destiny and a lot of what it offered has been brought back to the table in Destiny 2. You can buy The Last Word from the monument to the lost for 1 exotic cipher, 125, 000 glimmer, 200 etheric spirals and 1 ascendant shard. While The Last Word may have a bit of a learning curve for newcomers.

Those who acquaint themselves with this gun, however, will not regret it. The last word has the fastest time to kill of all hand cannons and a lightning-fast rate of fire of 225 rounds per minute. The Major perk for The Last Word is Fan Fire, which deals bonus precision hip fire damage and increases the reload time. This means that those who learn to control the hip fire recoil of this gun get a weapon that shreds through enemies.

Thorn

Attribute	Value
Impact	84
Range	34
Stability	55
Handling	65
Reload Speed	40
Aim Assistance	85
Zoom	14
Airborne Effectiveness	21
Magazine	11
Recoil Direction	100
Rounds Per Minute	140
Inventory Size	60

Thorn, the classic Destiny hand cannon, had many arcs of its own. It went from being an extremely overlooked weapon in the original Destiny to being buffed to the point that it was considered broken. Thorn dominated PvP games back in the day. While being a fragment of what it was during its golden age, Thorn still packs a punch and is arguably one of the greatest PvP weapons in Destiny 2.

You can buy it from the monument to the lost for 1 exotic cipher, 125, 000 glimmer, 200 etheric spirals and 1 ascendant shard. Its two key perks are ‘mark of the devourer’ and ‘soul devourer’. Mark of the devourer translates to Thorn’s bullets dealing damage over time. This leads to a decreased time to kill and a delayed time to heal. Soul Devourer means once you absorb a soul remnant left behind by a fallen enemy, your weapon will reload partially, and mark of the devourer will deal bonus damage. The weapon also has a relatively fast rate of fire of 140 founds per minute which further decreases its time to kill.

Ace Of Spades

Best Exotic Hand Cannon

Attribute	Value
Impact	84
Range	75
Stability	40
Handling	40
Reload Speed	42
Aim Assistance	70
Zoom	14
Airborne Effectiveness	14
Magazine	13
Recoil Direction	100
Rounds Per Minute	140
Inventory Size	56

Cayde 6’s legendary hand cannon makes a return here as one of the greatest PvP weapons in the game. This hand cannon offers a lot of range and a magazine size of 13, making it a strong choice for mid to long-range encounters. The ability to access your radar while aiming down sight makes it almost overpowered for PvP. The high damage, ease of use and fire rate of 140 rounds per minute make it a very good weapon when it comes to facing other guardians.

Palindrome

Attribute	Value
Impact	84
Range	50
Stability	58
Handling	50
Reload Speed	42
Aim Assistance	79
Zoom	14
Airborne Effectiveness	21
Magazine	10
Recoil Direction	98
Rounds Per Minute	140
Inventory Size	50

The Palindrome might just be the best hand cannon In destiny 2. This 140 round per minute hand cannon offers excellent range at the cost of a slight learning curve. You can get your hands on one through master nightfalls. While this may be a challenge too hard for many, the Palindrome makes it worth it. The weapon’s long-range, damage, and quick shooting speed make it a very versatile PvP option. The Palindrome is strong at encounters of every range. The perks of note for the Palindrome is the One for all. Hitting three separate enemies will increase the damage of this gun for some time.

Hawkmoon

Attribute	Value
Impact	84
Range	52
Stability	63
Handling	71
Reload Speed	59
Aim Assistance	93
Zoom	14
Airborne Effectiveness	26
Magazine	8
Recoil Direction	96
Rounds Per Minute	140
Inventory Size	52

Yet another iconic Destiny weapon on this list, Hawkmoon is a 140 round per minute hand cannon that offers a decent range and high damage. To obtain this hand cannon, you’ll have to complete its exotic quest. It also has a very unique perk, ‘Paracasual shot,’ which means final round precision shots will deal a lot of bonus damage.

While this may take a bit of learning for those used to reloading right after a kill, Hawkmoon’s small barrel size means you’ll be triggering the perk quite a lot. This can be very useful for specific 1v1 moments where that last round might just save you where you would’ve certainly otherwise died.

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What is your pick of best PVP and PVE Weapons?

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Why Others Were Not Chosen?

1. Lumina: In PvP, the healing and supportive aspects of Lumina do not directly contribute to eliminating opponents efficiently, and players would rather choose Thorn over Lumina due to the Nerf to Benevolent Dawn.
2. Eyasluna: I do not prefer this Hand cannon in intense combat situations, as it has slower reload speed comparatively and small magazine size. Eyasluna also has a steep learning curve, and it is comparatively easier to master other Hand Cannons over this.
3. Austringer: In my opinion, the process to obtain Austringer is time-consuming and I prefer to avoid it. Other than that, Austringer fails to synergize with my gear, which significantly reduces its effectiveness. 
4. Warden’s Law: This is a Kinetic weapon, which means it does not benefit from elemental damage types. Additionally, it has less appealing PvE perks, such as range and damage, which can be replaced by better Hand Cannon options.

My Opinion About The Best Hand Cannons

Some Hand Cannons, such as Fatebringer and Palindrome, are effective in both PvE and PvP. My shortlisted options may vary after the new update. However, they are currently the best choices in Destiny 2. Additionally, I highly recommend you toy with Sunshot and Palindrome, as they are my strongest options. All in all, I expect you to try out each Hand Cannon and let me know how it goes for you.