Best Rocket Launchers in Destiny 2: Tier List Ranking

Not too long ago, Destiny 2’s Rocket launchers were in an absolutely sorry state. They were underpowered and simply not fun to use. But slowly, they received several buffs, from increased ammo reserves to significant damage increases against Majors and Bosses.

All those buffs have catapulted Rocket launchers back to the forefront, making them some of the best weapons in the game.

This guide covers every Rocket launcher in Destiny 2, including both Exotic and Legendaries, as well as the best rolls for PVE and PVP.

Destiny 2 Rocket Launchers Tier list

The Tier list below includes every Exotic and non-sunset legendary GENRE in the game. It starts with the S Tier weapons and moves down from there. It also covers both PVE and PVP, with the “Excels in” column clearly identifying in what area each weapon shines:

These are the different Tier levels used for our list:

• S Tier – Best: Highest ranking weapons in our Tier List.
• A Tier – Strong: Very strong weapons, but not on the same level as S Tier Choices.
• B Tier – Average: Decent choices that can be lethal in the hands of a skilled player.
• C Tier – Weak: The middle of the pack, somewhat mediocre.
• D Tier – Worst: Lagging behind the competition, these don’t have much to offer.

More Destiny 2 Tier lists:

Best Destiny 2 Rocket Launchers in 2022

This section not only covers the top Rocket Launchers currently in the game, it also tells you where you can find them. This guide covers every weapon source in Destiny 2 and most of the sources below are self-explanatory, but in doubt, you can always leave a comment below or ask away on our Discord server.

Overall, these are our Top 10 favorite Rocket launchers for PVE and PVP.

 

10. Subzero Salvo

Excels in PVP

Being a Precision rocket launcher, Subzero Salvo comes with Tracking out of the box. Add to that Chain Reaction and Ambitious Assassin and you get one of the best ad clear rocket launchers in the game.

Indeed, Chain Reaction and Ambitious Assassin pair really well. The first perk makes securing multi-kills a piece of cake while the other will load 2 rockets in the chamber per multi-kill!

PVE God roll:

• Perk 1: Ambitious Assassin
• Perk 2: Chain Reaction

How to get it: Subzero Salvo can be acquired by completing activities in Europa.

 

9. Tomorrow’s Answer

 Excels in PVE

Able to roll with Impulse Amplifier and Lasting Impression, Tomorrow’s Answer is technically a great DPS rocket launcher. It’s just too bad the weapon is currently unavailable (Trials of Osiris only offers some of its weapons per Season).

Luckily, other equivalent and arguably easier to obtain options exist (such as the Code Duello).

PVE God roll:

• Perk 1: Impulse Amplifier
• Perk 2: Lasting Impression

How to get it: Tomorrow’s Answer can be acquired via Trials of Osiris engrams and rank ups.

 

8. Eyes of Tomorrow

Excels in PVP

Eyes of Tomorrow was somewhat disappointing because of the low damage it does to bosses. Still, it remains an excellent weapon for ad clear, but more importantly, a monster in Gambit and in 6v6 PVP modes.

Exotic Perk: “This weapon is capable of tracking and firing at multiple targets simultaneously. Killing four or more combatants in a single volley increases the damage of the next volley.”

How to get it: Eyes of Tomorrow can be acquired by completing the Deep Stone Crypt raid.

 

7. Code Duello

 Excels in PVE

Able to roll with the brand-new Frenzy perk, Code Duello does the highest burst damage in the entire game. And as Frenzy also affects your reload, it can take your DPS numbers even higher. In fact, with Frenzy, it can do +15% damage.

Also, as a weapon found in Battlegrounds and focused Umbral engrams, it can be easily farmable this season!

PVE God roll:

• Perk 1: Impulse Amplifier (also good: Auto-Loading Holster)
• Perk 2: Lasting Impression

How to get it: Code Duello can be acquired by completing Battlegrounds and focusing Umbral engrams.

 

6. Royal Entry

Excels in PVP

One of the best Legendary rocket launchers in the game, Royal Entry has a lot going for it. First of all, as a Precision rocket launcher, it comes with tracking out of the box.

On top of that, it can roll with all the best rocket perks in the game, including Clown Cartridge, Lasting Impression, Chain Reaction and Impulse Amplifier.”

PVE God roll:

• Perk 1: Auto-Loading Holster (also good: Impulse Amplifier)
• Perk 2: Lasting Impression

How to get it: Royal Entry can be acquired by completing Strikes from the Vanguard Playlist.

 

5. Ascendancy

 Excels in PVE

Season 15’s Pursuit weapon, Ascendency is one of the most popular rocket launchers this season. It comes with auto-tracking as an intrinsic perk and also offers Explosive Light, one of the best DPS perks for rockets in the game.

PVE God roll:

• Perk 1: Impulse Amplifier
• Perk 2: Explosive Light

How to get it: Ascendancy can be acquired by completing Season 15’s ritual quest.

 

4. Deathbringer

Excels in PVP

Deathbringer is a strange beast. In fact, many discard simply because they don’t fully understand it. But when used right, Deathbringer can deal massive damage in PVE and can easily lead to insane multi-kills in PVP.

To be fair, Deathbringer’s projectiles are not always consistent, which is why a few bad early experiences can lead players to give up on it far too quickly. But when used right, it can lead to even better DPS numbers than the current king: Gjallarhorn.

Exotic Perk: “Fires remotely detonated projectiles that drop Void orbs on combatants. Hold to fire, release to detonate. The further a Void orb falls, the more powerful its detonation becomes.”

How to get it: Deathbringer can be acquired by completing an Exotic quest.

 

3. Hezen Vengeance

 Excels in PVE

Hezen Vengeance, the rocket launcher from the Vault of Glass raid, is an overall great package. It offers good stats and good perks all-around, and that alone makes it a decent reward for a raid.

But thanks to one single perk, Overflow, Hezen Vengeance is a unique weapon. The only rocket launcher that can roll with Overflow, it has the potential of having two rockets in the chamber quite often, which translates into insane burst-DPS.

PVE God roll:

• Perk 1: Overflow
• Perk 2: Vorpal Weapon (also good: Lasting Impression)

How to get it: Hezen Vengeance can be acquired by completing the fourth or fifth encounter of the Vault of Glass raid.

 

2. The Wardcliff Coil

Best PVP Rocket Launcher in Destiny 2

Arguably the best rocket launcher for PVP in the entire game, The Wardcliff Coil is incredibly lethal and could potentially wipe an entire team. On top of that, it’s a consistent and reliable weapon that can practically guarantee kills, even in competitive modes.

The Wardcliff Coils also has the ability to easily shut down supers from range.

Exotic Perk: “This weapon fires a volley of rockets and automatically reloads on ammo pickup.”

How to get it: The Wardcliff Coil can be acquired via Exotic engrams or Xûr.

 

1. Gjallarhorn

Best PVE Rocket Launcher in Destiny 2

The most famous weapon in Destiny is finally back and it doesn’t disappoint. Many worried it would come back either as broken as it was in Destiny 1 or so nerfed it would be a shell of its former self.

Gjallarhorn is nowhere as overpowered as it once was but still offers excellent stats and a great exotic perk (especially with the catalyst) that gives it that extra oomph to excel and become the meta option for rocket launcher users.

Exotic Perk: “Rounds fired split into tracking cluster missiles upon detonation. Gain increased handling and reload speed when standing near allies. Firing this weapon also grants Wolfpack Rounds to nearby allies wielding non-Exotic Rocket Launchers.”

How to get it: Gjallarhorn can be acquired by completing the Grasp of Avarice dungeon.

Rocket Launchers in PVP: Consistency

TTK is usually important in PVP, because the lowest the TTK, the faster you can kill your opponent.

This TTK guide includes the TTKs for every weapon in Destiny 2. But Heavy weapons follow different rules (except machine guns). These are supposed to be the most powerful weapons in the entire game and the expectation is that they one-shot enemy guardians. This is why TTK is not applicable here.

It’s all about consistency when it comes to rocket launchers in PVP. You want a rocket launcher that can easily secure those one-kills. That’s why The Wardcliff Coil is such a popular choice for PVP.

Rocket Launchers in PVE: DPS

DPS is important for PVE, because the higher the DPS, the more damage you can deal to a Boss or Major.

But before we look into damage numbers and ease of use (two of the most important factors to take into account in PVE), we need to be clear about the role Rocket Launchers are supposed to fill. According to Bungie, these are the different roles for Heavy weapons:

Role	Explanation	Target Weapon types
Add Clear	Clearing weaker enemies faster than you could with a primary ammo weapon. For most content, primaries do the add clear job perfectly well, so this is most useful in high difficulty PvE.	Main: Machine Guns, Grenade Launchers, Swords Secondary: Rocket Launchers
Single Target Damage	Burning down a boss.	Main: Linear Fusion Rifles, Exotic Snipers, Swords Secondary: Grenade Launchers, Machine Guns
Burst Damage	Burning down a champion quickly, or for bosses with multiple damage phases, clearing a phase quickly.	Main: Rocket Launchers Secondary: Linear Fusion Rifles

Based on that, when using a Rocket launchers, you’re looking to dish burst damage to a single target, such as a Champion, or for a short damage phase.

This DPS chart includes the DPS numbers for every weapon in Destiny 2. When it comes to actual DPS, Rocket launchers are in a great place right now, with some of the top exotics and legendary god rolls sitting at the top of the Meta:

Top Rocket Launcher Perks

But not every rocket launcher will excel PVE, be it for burst damage against a Boss or crowd control. First of all, we need to keep in mind one important thing:

Every legendary rocket launcher does the same damage per rocket.

This makes perks all the more important. When the base damage is technically the same for all Rocket Launchers, it’s the perks that will make or break them.

Among the many excellent rocket launcher perks available, the most popular are often the damage-dealing perks. These are the damage increases you can expect from the most popular damage-dealing perks:

Perk	Increase	Damage
Base Damage	–	73,107
Cluster Bomb	6.1%	77,559
Frenzy	15%	84,073
Lasting Impression	19%	87,017

Do note that these figures include the Impact Casing perk, which grants 10% more impact.

The best PVE perks will depend on your expected usage. These are the most common situations you’d want to have a top-tier Rocket launcher for PVE for.

0. All-around perks

The following perks are always good to have, mainly because they will greatly improve your rocket launcher’s uptime:

• Auto-loading Holster: “The holstered weapon is automatically reloaded after a short period of time.”
• Field Prep: “Increased ammo reserves. Faster reload, stow, and ready when you’re crouching.”
• Impulse Amplifier: “Massively increases projectile velocity, increases reload speed.”

1. Boss DPS and/or Damage phases 

If you’re looking to deal the highest possible damage to a boss, a god roll will look something like this:

• Lasting Impression: “Rockets attach on impact and detonate after a delay. Increases blast radius and damage.”
• Frenzy: “Being in combat for an extended time increases damage, handling, and reload for this weapon until you are out of combat.”

Needless to say, combining a good uptime perk (such as Impulse Amplifier)  with a top-tier damage perk (such as Lasting Impression) can result in one of the best PVE weapons in the game.

2. Crowd Control

Sometimes you just need to deal with a bunch of red bar enemies (ads). In those situations, you’ll need entirely different perks than before, something like these:

• Chain Reaction: “Each final blow with this weapon creates an elemental damage explosion.”
• Cluster Bomb: “Rockets spawn cluster bombs upon detonation.”

Finally, it is worth mentioning that Rocket launchers are not considered optimal for crowd control. A grenade launcher or machine gun will probably better serve you. In the current meta, you’ll want to use a rocket launcher for damage phases against bosses and majors (and benefit from that juicy +30% damage buff they received).

Destiny 2 Rocket Launchers: Are they Meta?

We’ve talked about the best Rocket launchers for PVE and PVP already, but how do they compare, in general, with other primary weapon types? In other words:

Are Rocket Launchers good in Destiny 2?

The current Meta for PVE

So, are Rocket Launchers good in Destiny 2 PVE? This table summarizes how the several Heavy weapon types rank against each other in PVE:

The current Meta for PVP

What about PVP? This table summarizes how they rank against each other in PVP:

Your turn

You now know everything there is to know about Rocket Launchers in Destiny 2, whether that is for PVP or PVE content.

Latest changes made to this guide

Things change fast in Destiny 2, especially when a new Season or Expansion launches. For that reason, this post will be updated at least once per season.

With the release of Season of the Lost (Season 15) and Bungie’s 30th Anniversary event, the following weapons were added:

Stay tuned and don’t forget to bookmark this page for next season!