If you fancy yourself a Hawkeye or Robin Hood type, then you likely enjoy using bows in Destiny 2. These relatively slow-firing weapons tend to do good damage for a primary, and provide a different experience that using a gun like a scout or pulse rifle. There are plenty to choose from, so here are our picks for the 10 best PVE bows in Destiny 2. This list isn’t in any particular order — these are all great weapons depending on your needs and preferences.
Update History
- March 2023: Removed Lunulata-4b, Whispering Slab, and Fel Taradiddle, added Wish-Ender, Raconteur, and Verglas Curve
1. Le Monarque — Best Destiny 2 PVE Bows
An Exotic bow from the Black Armory, Le Monarque fires poison arrows that do damage over time. It’s a great bow for any activity with a Void burn, is solid at both crowd control and taking down powerful enemies, and even has an intrinsic Anti-Overload effect. A very strong bow that’s even better for Void subclass users.
2. Verglas Curve
The seasonal Exotic weapon for Season of Defiance, Verglas Curve can make Stasis crystals on demand. That’s a huge boon if you’re building into fragments where you benefit from destroying or simply being near crystals. Plus, being able to reliably freeze enemies is pretty sweet too. A very fun and effective Stasis bow.
3. Ticuu’s Divination
Another Exotic bow, Ticuu’s Divination has some cool tracking capabilities and can easily clear out adds with the explosions it generates. It’s a lot of fun to use and can be pretty effective in a lot of situations, though it’s worth noting that it doesn’t synergize with Solar 3.0 keywords.
4. Raconteur — Best Destiny 2 PVE Bows
We’ve finally got another Stasis bow, and unlike Lunulata-4b, this one’s craftable. Raconteur is a precision frame and probably one of the best Headstone weapons in the game. However, there are arguments to be made for running Explosive Head and Successful Warm-Up on it, as well.
5. Tripwire Canary
Tripwire Canary was added in Season of the Seraph, and it’s a good choice if you want a Legendary Arc bow. You can run the standard Archer’s Tempo/Explosive Head combination or get a little more out there with perks like Dragonfly and Frenzy. No Voltshot on this, sadly, but it does have two great Origin Traits to choose from — Veist Stinger and Ambush.
6. Under Your Skin
One of the Season of the Risen weapons, Under Your Skin is a Void bow with a solid Origin Trait and access to Enhanced Perks through crafting. As usual, your best bet for perks in most cases is going to be Archer’s Tempo/Explosive Head, though there’s also Adaptive Munitions, Dragonfly, and Unrelenting if you prefer those. Great when there’s a Void burn in an activity and even better for Void subclass users.
7. Trinity Ghoul — Best Destiny 2 PVE Bows
Back when it was first introduced, Trinity Ghoul wasn’t too exciting. it was only later, when it got its Catalyst, that it really became worth using. The catalyst makes its Exotic perk Lightning Rod trigger on any Arc final blow and not just precision kills with Trinity Ghoul, making this the perfect bow for Arc subclass users.
8. Strident Whistle
Non-Exotic Solar bows are somewhat hard to come by in Destiny 2 — there are only two non-sunset ones in the game at the moment, and Strident Whistle is the clear winner in most situations. While you may have to grind for a good roll since it’s a typical Vanguard weapon with a ludicrously large perk pool, it’s worth hunting for one. For higher-level content, there’s Explosive Head. For everything else, there’s Incandescent.
9. Accrued Redemption
A precision frame kinetic bow, Accrued Redemption comes from the Garden of Salvation Raid. It’s got a small perk pool, minimizing the chances of getting a bad drop. And yes, it has the Archer’s Tempo/Explosive Head combo. It’s also got Rampage, Rapid Hit, and Rangefinder (the Three R’s).
10. Wish-Ender — Best Destiny 2 PVE Bows
After an update a little while back, Wish-Ender received a couple of major boosts. First, it got intrinsic Anti-Barrier capabilities. What’s more, it can now hit targets multiple times, making it extraordinarily powerful against Champions and large foes. If you haven’t used Wish-Ender in Destiny 2 PVE in a while, give it a shot.
