Sidearms can be some of the most monstrously effective weapons for Crucible inDestiny 2.Getting the right rolls has something to say in this, but there are certain sidearms that are going to be pretty good no matter what, transitioning into god-tier category when those perfect rolls come into play. The best pairing for a sidearm is a Hunter, as Sidearms really benefit from a lot of quick movement, especially vertical. They are super accurate, even when hip-firing, so shooting on the move can come pretty easily.
RELATED:Destiny 2: 10 Tips For Using Pulse Rifles In Crucible
That said, a sidearm can be super effective in the hands of any class, provided the player knows how to use it for maximum benefit. Here are some of the most important stats and perks to keep an eye out for on sidearms, as well as some of the best Exotic and Legendary options out there:
10FULL AUTO/BURST
Having your sidearm be either Full Auto or at least fire in a burst is going to be one of the most convenient things to have, and is also usually going to keep your time-to-kill as optimal as possible, especially for those playing with a controller. It can make a night and day difference for each gunfight, and your ability to keep all shots on target throughout.
9RANGEFINDER
You absolutely don’t need to aim down sights with sidearms in most engagements, but if you’d like to push the limits of the range possible and win some of those closer mid-range engagements, Rangefinder is going to make a huge difference. It’ll increase the range by a noticeable amount, and with sidearms, every little bit of damage matters. Having that little bit of extra room for engagements is going to allow you to use your sidearm in so many more situations than you otherwise would.
8KILL CLIP
Kill Clip gives you increased damage in your weapon once you reload after a kill.
RELATED:Destiny 2: 10 Tips For Using The Striker Subclass In Crucible
If you’re primarily using your sidearm, you’ll be reloading nigh-on constantly, meaning if you’re usually in the thick of the action, you’ll have increased damage quite often. That increased damage adds up, and it can quicken your time to kill a meaningful amount, especially in those tight gunfights that you win by the skin of your teeth.
7SWASHBUCKLER
Another perk that increases weapon damage, Swashbuckler increases the damage on your weapon after getting a kill with it, or from getting a melee kill. You’ll be in melee range (or close to) pretty often when using a sidearm, so odds are you’re going to have this perk active pretty often. As mentioned before, any extra damage is good, even if you might not notice the extra damage at first glance. Because of how quick a sidearm fires, that little bit of extra damage is really going to add up.
6MOVING TARGET
Though aiming down sights isn’t a necessity with sidearms, it’ll be pretty helpful in some situations. In those situations, Moving Target is going to be quite the boon. Moving Target increases your target acquisition and movement speed while aiming down sights, allowing you to be the strafing Guardian zooming sideways around the map killing everybody, instead of somebody else being that Guardian. This can really do a lot for adding to the versatility of your sidearm, allowing you to both take those close-range gunfights and the ones at the longer edge of the sidearm range, too.
5RAMPAGE
Thought we were done with the damage buff perks? Well, let’s add Rampage to that list, too! Rampage increases weapon damage each time you get a kill with that weapon, AND it can stack on itself. This isn’t always going to be the best Crucible perk on some weapons, just because some weapons take quite a bit of time to reload, which can really kill the damage bonus a little bit. But, sidearms load super-quickly, meaning you can really get the most out of Rampage, even in Crucible.
4HEADSEEKER
The last damage perk (and last perk entirely) is headseeker, which allows body shots to increase headshot damage for a short time. This really isn’t going to be very nice for a lot of the sidearms out there, but it can really be a perfect complement to a burst sidearm. Burst sidearms can be some of the very best in the game, but it can be a little bit tough to keep a full burst of one of them on an enemy’s head. With Headseeker, start with the burst on the collarbone/throat, and that little bit it rides up into the head is going to be a little bit nicer, with a very low likelihood of missing any of the shots.
RELATED:Destiny 2: 10 Tips For Using The Voidwalker Subclass In Crucible
3LEGENDARY
There are quite a few really goodLegendarysidearms to use in Crucible, but here are just a couple of the very best, with a combination of both being very good by default, and having the possibility of pretty great rolls.
Last Hope - Last Hope fires in 3-round bursts, allowing you to really easily maximize the time-to-kill. It can also come with some pretty great perks, like Rampage and Kill Clip.
Smuggler’s Word - Smuggler’s Word is also a burst sidearm, though it fires in 2-round bursts instead of 3. Combining this with the possibility of full-auto can really make a consistent sidearm.
2EXOTIC
There are just two exotic sidearms inDestiny 2; Devil’s Ruin and Rat King.
Devil’s Ruin - Devil’s Ruin functions quite a bit different than most other sidearms, firing a charged-up, high-powered laser. This can absolutely shred in Crucible, and is well-worth running through the quest to obtain.
Rat King - Rat King has a couple of interesting perks; it gets more powerful the more teammates you have using it, making a team of Guardian’s using Rat King pretty formidable. It also gives you temporary invisibility when you reload after getting a kill, which can be pretty nice in a variety of scenarios.
1PLAYSTYLE
Sidearms can be immensely effective in aggressiveCrucibleplaystyles, and can be a useful and versatile alternative to a shotgun. The higher your mobility stat, the easier a time you’re going to have closing the gap to enemies to get into the optimal range for your weapon, and once you’ve gotten a bit of map knowledge, you’re going to have a pretty easy time manipulating situations into your favor.
NEXT:Destiny 2: 10 Tips For Using The Sentinel Subclass In Crucible
