Scout rifles in Destiny 2 have been in an awkward spot for the longest time. While they can compete in Auto Rifle ranges, they are often subject to beatings from pulse rifles and hand cannons. But they still manage to carve a niche for themselves, unlike most auto rifles. In this Best Scout Rifle Destiny 2 guide, we’ll talk about some of the scout rifles you should keep an eye on for both PvP and PvE.
Top 12 Best Scout Rifle Destiny 2 Season of Defiance
We will rank the weapons in their viability for both PvP and PvE. Additionally, we will be adding the newly introduced Taraxippos to this list as well. We don’t normally add a weapon to a list until it has proven itself but the Strand rifle has proven its worth in such a short amount of time.
#1 Dead Man’s Tale
You’ve seen the featured image. The Dead Man’s Tale is the King of ease of use in Destiny 2 PvP. The best scout rifle Destiny 2 ever created has been nerfed more than a few times and even that has barely slowed down its pick rates. It boils down to it having ridiculously good hip-fire accuracy and fire rate when you land precision shots. In PvE, it allows you to fulfill your yeehaw space cowboy fantasy complete with that intentionally lengthy reload animation.
#2 Doom of Chelchis
A crafted Doom of Chelchis with enhanced Explosive Payload and Frenzy has been the go-to for many end-game PvE players. Coupled with its Runneth Over Origin Trait which allows you to overflow your magazine when you reload near allies. It’s also a Void weapon so that means it greatly benefits from this season’s artifact mods. The Doom of Chelchis is so good that you can confidently run this in PvP activities without having to use another roll. It’s well worth grinding raid runs just to get the crafting pattern.
#3 Polaris Lance
Polaris Lance took a huge leap forward this season thanks to it having Zen Moment in the third column. It’s become quite good for a 150 RPM scout. Players with good aim are rewarded greatly for their efforts as the fifth bullet would cause a Solar explosion. More recently, the scout rifle applies 40 + 20 scorch stacks so it has the potential to ignite enemies. In PvP, landing a couple of precision hits preps the solar explosion on the third shot. In short, it’s good in PvP too.
#4 Hung Jury
A 180 RPM scout rifle that comes with a killer combination of Rapid Hit and Kinetic Tremors, the Hung Jury has always been a good scout but the season 20 version of the Nightfall weapon is worth grinding Grandmaster Nightfalls. You can still bring it into PvP but that’s more due to the fact that Kinetic Tremors is just that good in most cases.
#5 Taraxippos
Is this the best scout rifle Destiny 2 has to offer? Many players seem to think. We’re in the camp of it being the best Strand weapon in the game. If there’s any doubt as to how invested we are in this weapon, check out our god roll guide for Taraxippos. We’re still looking for that 5/5 god roll, btw. When all’s said and done, this might make a strong case for a top 3 scout rifle.
#6 The Jade Rabbit
The reworked Jade Rabbit is a beast of a gun in PvP. In the right hands. If you land your precision shots in quick succession, you will be able to double-tap the next Guardian with a body shot/headshot combo. In PvE, this gun is practically worse than a Legendary. It’s best to bring another Exotic.
#7 Trustee
The next raid Legendary on our list, the Trustee is a 260 rapid-fire scout rifle from the Deep Stone Crypt. The crafted version of this weapon can have Enhanced Incandescent, arguably one of the best PvE perks in Destiny 2 currently. Guardians can also lean more toward its Bray Inheritance Origin Trait by pairing with a combination of Surplus and Wellspring. This is great for ability regen builds. For PvP, there are rolls such as Under Pressure and High Impact Reserves. All in all, a stacked scout rifle for all occasions that is held back by it being a raid weapon.
#8 Nameless Midnight
An impressive scout rifle that can come with a combo of Keep Away and Kinetic Tremors. This gun is juiced for both PvP and PvE. So much so that it’s hard to pin down a god roll. The only holding this gun back is that it requires a good amount of RNG to get that perfect 5/5 god roll.
In theory, it shouldn’t be that hard as it drops frequently at the end of Nightfall runs. But it’s proven to be elusive in practice. This is a clean and efficient weapon in PvP. The sights are the cleanest compared to other scout rifles. Also, it can come with the wildly popular revamped Zen Moment perk. If you get a god roll of this weapon, vault it. Quickly.
#9 Touch of Malice
The revamped Destiny 2 version of Touch of Malice is rather unique. If you can find sources of healing, you can essentially do away with its personal life steal in PvE and keep firing for as long as it takes. In PvP, however, it’s a little more complicated. This weapon caters to a high-risk, high-reward playstyle. You may be able to win a 1v1 if the enemy has to reload but you are just as likely to drain all your health in the process. Keep that in mind.
#10 Tarnished Mettle
Tarnished Mettle is best known as the first scout rifle to have Voltshot. And it is very good with it, at least in PvE. You don’t want to be casually rocking this weapon in PvP unless you know what are doing. It takes an average of 4 crits to down a Guardian with 7 or more Resilience. A pulse rifle user can take you down in half the time with less effort. Your only advantage is the fact that you are more mobile due to its lightweight frame.
#11 Pointed Inquiry
The Pointed Inquiry has a couple of things going for it right now. First, it is a High-Impact Scout. That means it has the potential to double-tap in PvP. Second, Void artifact mods reign supreme in the current PvE sandbox. Once you get the debuffs going, even a mediocre PvE scout can get the ball rolling. Thankfully, Pointed Inquiry is a half-step above thanks to its Psychohack Origin Trait.
#12 Jararaca-3sr
Most players see the Jararaca-3sr as little more than a joke scout rifle. They’re not wrong in most cases. But where others see fool’s gold, we see a tiny chunk of actual gold. First, let’s remember that this weapon comes with the Vest Stinger Origin Trait. That alone deserves some level of respect. The level of sustained fire is nice to have in PvE. Pair that with Headstone and you have yourself a Stasis crystal-producing machine.
Second, it’s also a rapid-fire scout rifle. You can make a case for it for both PvP and PvE. But most for PvE. Personally, the Perses-D is better in PvP with the right perk combinations but it’s rather boring to use in PvE content. (In our opinion!)
And that’s our list of the top 12 scout rifles in Destiny 2 Season of Defiance. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we had fun compiling it. And don’t worry, we are not in the habit of sitting in the back of the map as an idle turret. (No shade thrown!)
For our secret number 13, we have the Night Watch Scout Rifle that every Night Light gets after they progress a little more in Destiny 2. It’s probably one of the first god rolls any New Light gets early in their Destiny 2 lives. It would be such a shame to leave it out of the list.
Check out this video from Youtuber Aztecross where he breaks down the must-have rolls for the Season 20 version of the Adept Hung Jury.
