Destiny 2: The 10 Best Submachine Guns For PvE, Ranked (2024)

Playing as aggressively as possible can be one of the most enjoyable ways to play Destiny 2. Weapons like Shotguns and Submachine Guns take full advantage of this playstyle, dealing large amounts of damage at short ranges.

While Shotguns are great when you have ample ammunition, you will still need to rely on your Primary weapon to deal with hordes of enemies. Fortunately, Destiny 2 has a great selection of SMGs to choose from that can suit any playstyle. If you want to chuck grenades endlessly or deal great damage up close, there is a gun for you. Here are the best Submachine Guns you need to use in Destiny 2's PvE activities.

Updated June 30, 2024, by Charles Burgar:Imminence might be the strongest Legendary SMG Bungie has ever released, at least as far as PvE is concerned. We've updated this list to include the latest raid SMG from Salvation's Edge, covering its great perk options and synergies.

10 The Huckleberry

How to obtain: Exotic Engrams found through Xur or world drops.

On paper, Huckleberry seems like a rather lackluster gun. It gains increased fire rate as you hold the trigger, but what good is that when it only holds 30 rounds? The secret is Huckleberry's Masterwork, allowing this gun to fully reload itself after killing a target.

This fundamentally changes the gun, allowing it to unleash a hailstorm of lead if you can find a stream of targets. Unknown to many, this weapon's Rampage perk is twice as strong as normal, providing 65% increased damage at x3 stacks instead of the usual 33% boost. When paired with leg surge mods, you can output some ludicrous damage with this gun.

9 Subjunctive

How to obtain: Season of the Wish activities; craftable at the Enclave.

The Season of Undying weapons have returned in Season of the Wish, complete with crafting patterns and refreshed perk pools. Subjunctive arguably got the best rework of the bunch. This weapon immediately stands above most SMGs thanks to its origin trait: Nano-Munitions. Standing near allies builds up stacks of this perk that auto-reload your weapon when its magazine runs dry.

But as with most SMGs, the perks are what make it good, and Subjunctive is no exception. Threat Detector and Voltshot is an excellent combination for a workhorse weapon, boosting your reload speed while loading powerful Jolt rounds. If you're looking for a more generic SMG roll, you can use Stats for All with One for All or even Grave Robber with Swashbuckler for melee-oriented builds. This weapon has it all, and it's craftable.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Threat Detector, Stats for All, Shoot to Loot
• Column Two: Voltshot, One for All, Golden Tricorn

8 Unforgiven

How to obtain: Duality dungeon.

Have you ever wanted to throw infinite grenades? If so, Unforgiven is for you. This is one of the few weapons in Destiny 2 that can roll with Demolitionist and Adrenaline Junkie simultaneously. Kills will grant a large amount of grenade energy, which you can then throw to reload the weapon and gain a 33% damage boost.

Paired with Volatile Rounds from Void 3.0, you can turn Unforgiven into one of the best add-clearing Legendary weapons in Destiny 2—matching and sometimes exceeding the strength of Funnelweb. If you aren't interested in throwing grenades, Unforgiven can get Feeding Frenzy and Frenzy as well. And if you want to have the hardest-hitting SMG in the game, get yourself a roll with Golden Tricorn. Just about every perk is good on this gun, but a god roll turns Unforgiven into an S-tier Primary.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Demolitionist, Feeding Frenzy
• Column Two: Adrenaline Junkie, Frenzy, Golden Tricorn

7 The Recluse

How to obtain: Onslaught activity and Brave Engrams.

The Recluse lost much of its power over the years, but it's still one of Destiny 2's strongest Void SMGs for PvE. Master of Arms was once this weapon's claim to fame, but it has been nerfed into a measly 15% damage buff. It procs from any weapon kill, but the damage bonus simply isn't worth it in PvE when perks like Frenzy exist in the same column.

Beyond that change, The Recluse is incredibly strong. The Indomitability origin trait gives you ability energy with each kill, and you can pair this with Void's Devour keyword to gain additional grenade energy from kills. Throw on Repulsor Brace in the first column, and you can gain Void Overshields after every kill if you have Volatile Rounds active. There are good damage perks in the second column as well, notably Frenzy and Surrounded.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Repulsor Brace, Enlightened Action
• Column Two: Frenzy, Surrounded, Desperate Measures

6 Adjudicator

How to obtain: Prophecy dungeon.

Adjudicator is the first SMG to roll with Onslaught, a devastating perk that morphs this 600 RPM SMG into a 1,000 RPM monster. If you can maintain this perk, you effectively turn Adjudicator into a discount Tarrabah that resides in the Kinetic slot. You can pair this with Feeding Frenzy for near-instant reloads as well.

While that sounds amazing on paper, this roll struggles in Master+ content where damage scaling becomes paramount. Thankfully, Adjudicator has some great alternatives like Kinetic Tremors and Frenzy in place of Onslaught. It's a fantastic SMG that's worth farming for, but don't expect Onslaught to carry you in a GM Nightfall or Contest Raid.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Feeding Frenzy, Subsistence
• Column Two: Onslaught, Kinetic Tremors

5 Tarrabah

How to obtain: Purchased from the Exotic Kiosk in the Tower.

It might be surprising to see Tarrabah so high on our list, but this weapon truly deserves it. Don't let its base stats fool you. Tarrabah is a surprisingly good SMG on its own that becomes hilariously strong once you kill a few enemies. It has more zoom than most SMGs, and it has a perfect 100 recoil direction. The default fire mode might not be Exotic-tier on its own, but this weapon's Exotic trait more than makes up for this.

As you kill enemies or take damage while Tarrabah is held, you'll build up a buff called Ravenous Beast. When it's charged, hold the reload button to "unleash the beast" for seven seconds. Here's what that actually means:

• Tarrabah fires 20% faster.
  • Becomes a 900 RPM SMG with a 750's damage profile.
• Body shots deal 200% more damage.
• Headshots deal 100% more damage.
• Tarrabah reloads drastically faster.
• You gain increased sprint speed.

Ravenous Beast is the strongest Exotic perk in Destiny 2. It's only kept in check by the loss of energy upon switching weapons. It lasts seven seconds, only requires a few PvE kills to trigger, and its duration can be extended by damaging bosses or killing opponents. In a perfect situation, you could keep this perk up for 30 seconds or even a minute. If you're willing to build around this gun, you won't find many SMGs stronger than Tarrabah.

How to obtain: Presage Exotic Mission; craftable at the Enclave.

Season of the Haunted brought back some of Destiny 2's best weapons from the Menagerie, an activity from Season of Opulence back in Forsaken. CALUS Mini-Tool is one such reprised weapon, acting as an upgrade over the MIDA Mini-Tool with random rolls. Thanks to some perks introduced in Season 17, Calus Mini-Tool has quickly become one of the best PvE SMGs in the game.

By far the best perk on this gun is Incandescent, giving this weapon a sort of Dragonfly effect when you kill someone. The target will explode and Scorch nearby targets, causing them to take a small amount of damage over time. This perk synergizes with Solar 3.0's Aspects and Fragments, allowing you to Ignite targets or deal some serious DoT damage. Pair this with Unrelenting or Grave Robber for a good time.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Grave Robber, Unrelenting
• Column Two: Incandescent, Surrounded

3 IKELOS_SMG_v1.0.3

How to obtain: Operation: Seraph's Shield Exotic Mission; craftable at the Enclave.

Excluding Recluse, most considered the IKELOS SMG to be the best Primary in Destiny 2 for many years. It hits hard, features minimal recoil, and has many great perks that range from generic damage bonuses to more exotic offerings like Voltshot.

The notable perk here is Voltshot, turning this SMG into a miniature Riskrunner that chains lightning between targets. It's arguably the best add-clearing perk in the game currently, so having a hard-hitting SMG paired with Voltshot is nothing short of S-tier for all PvE content. You can also use Surrounded and Threat Detector for a fantastic close-range Primary, buffing your damage by a massive 40% just by having three targets near you. As far as Arc Primaries go, it's hard to top this version of the IKELOS SMG.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Feeding Frenzy, Threat Detector, Shoot to Loot
• Column Two: Voltshot, Surrounded, Frenzy

2 Imminence

How to obtain: Salvation's Edge raid.

Imminence might be the strongest Legendary SMG in all of Destiny 2, and that's mostly due to its absurdly strong raid perk: Chaos Reshaped. It behaves similarly to Frenzy, activating while in combat for a lengthy period. It grants a 20% damage buff by default, but if you can stay in the fight for 24 seconds, this buff increases to a whopping 35%, the same as One for All. It even heals you every few seconds while in this state.

That's just one perk. You can pair this with Enlightened Action for near-instant reloads or Demolitionist for constant grenade energy. Calling this weapon powerful would be an understatement. Imminence is a monstrous Primary weapon that makes up for most SMG shortcomings in the current sandbox. It's also the only Strand weapon to roll with Firefly, typically a perk reserved for Solar weapons.

Recommended Traits

• Column One: Enlightened Action, Demolitionist
• Column Two: Chaos Reshaped, Firefly

1 Osteo Striga

How to obtain: Crafted at The Enclave.

Osteo Striga is a strange hybrid between a Veist SMG and Halo's Needler. Bullets (if you can even call them that) fired from this weapon infect the target with a deadly poison. Should that poison kill the target, they'll explode, dealing massive damage to nearby targets. When paired with the Catalyst, this weapon can fire near-indefinitely, spreading deadly poison explosions across whole waves of enemies. It's nothing short of S-tier for add clear in just about every activity.