With The Final Shape expansion, Bungie has released its first Episode forDestiny 2, Echoes. This new seasonal format is split into three Acts, each of them with more content unlocking for players to enjoy. The same goes for these Vex-themed weapons that have become available for Echoes.
In total, 10 new weapons will be introduced in Echoes, but so far, only half of them are available from Failsafe and from the Echoes activity. The new Origin Trait for these weapons is Radiolarian Transposer, which has final blows with any of these weapons explode into a pool of Vex radiolaria. It’s a solid Origin Trait, one that will make ad-clearing an easy job. As of Act 1 of Echoes, here’s how these weapons rank up.
Updated on July 03, 2025, by Anastasia Maillot:The final third of Episode: Echoes has been released, and along with it, the new Exotic mission that players can jump into, which sheds some light on the Conductor. Another row of artifact perks has also become available, focusing mostly on buffing the auto rifle archetype—just in time for the Choir of One Exotic auto rifle, which can be earned from the Encore: Overture mission. And finally, the last two seasonal weapons for Echoes are now available. This completes the selection for the first-ever Destiny 2 Episode and finalizes the ranking for Echoes weapons.
This ranking will be updated as the first Episode progresses, once weapons are unlocked throughout each Act of Echoes.
10Ill Omen
Stasis Sword
At the bottom of the rankingis the new Stasissword, and it earns its spot purely because of how its archetype remains very niche, still. Melee playstyle in general is only workable in certain scenarios inDestiny 2, and even then, only a few swords are actually worth the grind.
Ill Omen will most likely not be a priority for many to craft, but the final verdict remains to be seen. It does have Surrounded as one of its perk options, which is arguably one of the best damage perks in the game, if players manage to proc it.
9Faith-Keeper
Void Rocket Launcher
Faith-Keeper fills in the spot of a missing Void rocket launcher that was previously held only by Royal Entry. Now, with a Void option on the table, is it any better than some of the existing Legendary ones? Not exactly. Crux Termination with Slideshot and Surrounded still remains one of the best in the game, though is much harder to farm than someother options like Apex Predator.
That being said, testing will need to be done to see how well this one holds up with Auto-Loading Holster and Bipod or Explosive Light. So far, it doesn’t appear to be anything special. Even with surges on, there are simply better options in the Void category when looking at other DPS archetypes—like Edge Transit.
8Sightline Survey
Arc 180 RPM Hand Cannon
180 hand cannons desperately need some love, and as such, it’s a shamethat the newest Arc hand cannonhad to fall into this archetype, especially since it comes with an option as powerful and as interesting as Voltshot. Still, its bursty shooting style isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.
Sightline Survey will likely remain at the bottom of the ranking along with Ill Omen due to how niche of a pick it is. Those who were hoping to finally find a replacement for Nation of Beasts will have to keep waiting for something better to come along.
7Timeworn Wayfarer
Solar Scout Rifle
If this scout rifle looks familiar, it’s because it shares its design with a few existing ones in the game already. Althoughthe scout rifle archetypeis in need of some serious help in the game and is only a niche pick for certain activities that force players to play from cover and from afar, Timeworn Wayfarer does come with a few very interesting perk options.
Shoot to Loot is incredibly good in the endgame for picking up Orbs of Power and ammo bricks from afar, but beyond that, Heal Clip is amazing for a bit of extra sustain. Incandescent is a no-brainer option here, especially for a weapon like a scout rifle that suffers from being a single-target precision weapon.
6Veiled Threat
Stasis Auto Rifle
Auto rifles are in an average spot. Much depends on their individual perk pools. For example, Rufus' Fury fromthe Root of Nightmares raidis arguably one of the best Legendary auto rifles in the game. Veiled Threat, however, has an average perk pool.
It’s a Stasis auto rifle that comes with perks like Strategist or Threat Detector in one column, both of which could be interesting. Surrounded is another good option for one of the best damage boost perks in the game, provided players are in close proximity to enemies.
5Corrasion
Arc Pulse Rifle
The game was desperately in need of an Arc pulse rifle, and it doesn’t really help that Corrasion is a heavy burst frame one. Right now, it may feel like a more accessible version of Insidious, an Arc pulse rifle from the Vow of the Disciple raid—except that Insidious has far more interesting perks in its pool, as well as a very powerful Origin Trait.
Still, Voltshot on this weapon makes it a desirable one to have in the vault. While Enlightened Action was the predicted ideal roll, it’s still good, but could probably be rivaled by something like Perpetual Motion, depending on where players intend to use this pulse rifle. Overall, it’s an average weapon at best.
4Chronophage
Void Trace Rifle
With Hollow Denial significantly more difficult to earn now, Chronophage enters the game at an opportune moment. Trace rifles are in a good spot, and can be surprisingly good with the right perks, especially at higher levels of difficulty. They also received a nice buff at the start of The Final Shape expansion, so this Void trace rifle is nothing to scoff at.
The suggested god roll here is Auto-Loading with Demolitionist, but only if players don’t plan on using a Void subclass consistently with it. For Void players, perks like Repulsor Brace Destabilizing Rounds are a really nice, complementary choice, with the latter working quite well even outside of Void subclasses.
3Speleologist
Solar Machine Gun
No doubt the most anticipated heavy weapon for Echoes, Speleologist finally arrives to give Fixed Odds a run for its money. Not only is Fixed Odds hard to farm nowadays in the game, but it also lacks any type of reload perk to make it convenient and fun to use.
The reload perks here aren’t fantastic either. Slideways and Envious Assassin are the two options available, so it depends on what kind of build players are going for. However, the second slot has Incandescent, which pairs brilliantly with Scorch-centric Solar builds, as well as good old Killing Tally. Both are very powerful and valid choices, so it’s hard to give a definitive answer as of now.
2Lost Signal
Stasis Aerial Denial Grenade Launcher
A new grenade launcher frame was introduced with Echoes, and it’s already showing a lot of promise. This legendary grenade launcher issort of a poor man’s Witherhoard, leaving a pool of Stasis on the ground. It’s already a fantastic contender for ad-clear loadouts.
As for perks, Auto-Loading Holster is a must-have for grenade launchers. The second perk is a bit more free, but given how easy it is to proc One For All on Lost Signal, it’s hard to justify any other option in the second perk column.
1Aberrant Action
Solar Rocket-Assisted Sidearm
Heal Clip and Incandescent were the early favorites for the brand-new Solar rocket sidearm, so much so that the early footage Bungie provided in its Act 2 teaser featured this exact roll. And for good reason—this weapon is really good. In fact, it may just be the best seasonal weapon to have made it to the game in a while, mainly due to the power of the rocket-assisted sidearm archetype.
What makes Aberrant Action even more interesting is its unique design. It doesn’t just feel like a reskin of some older weapon, but something completely new. In fact, it could easily be packaged as an Exotic and players would probably not blink an eye at it. For now, it’s available through Echoes activities for everyone, so make sure to grab it while rocket sidearms are still in a powerful spot. It works especially well with Solar builds, particularly those that take advantage of scorch damage and use Ember of Benevolence, which procs through Heal Clip.
