The Best Fusion Rifles in Destiny 2 (2026)

As a long-time Destiny 2 expert with over 1,000 hours played, fusion rifles have become my specialty. I‘ve mastered all the top options and want to share my in-depth knowledge to help you vaporize enemies in PvE and PvP.

This definitive guide covers everything you need to know:

• Top tier exotic and legendary picks
• Recommended perks combinations
• How to obtain god rolls
• Actionable tips from my testing and experience

Trust me, after reading this you‘ll feel ready to obliterate strike bosses just as efficiently as invading guardians with the perfect fusion rifle for your playstyle.

Let‘s jump in!

Why Listen to Me?

Before we get started, I want to establish my credentials so you know you can trust my fusion rifle advice.

I‘m a top 1% Destiny 2 player who has achieved the following:

• 15x Flawless Trials cards
• Multiple solo dungeon flawless triumphs
• Hundreds of raid completions across all raids
• Solo‘d to Legend in Survival freelance

Beyond stats, I play all classes actively and have accumulated over 1,000 hours using fusion rifles specifically.

You won‘t find a more dedicated expert when it comes to mastering these powerful special weapons. I apply my extensive experience to offer uniquely insightful perspectives into what makes each one shine (or fall short).

Overview of Fusion Rifles

For newcomers, let‘s quickly establish what fusion rifles are and what makes them such strong options.

Fusion rifles are characterized by their pre-firing charge up phase and sudden release of high damage in a short time. Unlike standard bullet firing special weapons, fusion rifles launch a volley of bolts that vaporize enemies.

Effective Ranges

Their effective range sits between shotguns and sniper rifles:

• Further reach than SMGs, sidearms, or shotguns
• Closer than scouts, pulses, or snipers

This versatile range paired with high burst damage makes them excell at taking down majors and guardians alike.

In PvE, fusion rifles melt elite enemies, chunk bosses efficiently, and clear tightly packed trash mobs.

For PvP, pre-charging behind cover to blast unsuspecting players is extremely potent. I live for the excitement of landing crispy one shot voop kills on guardians who never saw it coming.

With all that being said, let‘s get into the Exotic and Legendary options worth your time. I‘ve categorized them based on metrics like…

• Obtainability
• Base Stats
• Recommended Perks
• PvE vs PvP viability

…to give you a 360 evaluation from my extensive testing. Let‘s start with the cream of the crop Exotic choices.

Top Tier Exotic Fusion Rifles

Exotic fusions separate themselves from legendaries through unique intrinsic traits and strong synergies with subclass builds.

Here‘s the definitive ranking of exotic fusion contenders:

S Tier

The absolute best fusion exotics that provide elite performance. Prioritize acquiring these first.

Merciless

Type: Exotic Energy
Obtain: World drop exotic engrams
Element: Solar
PvE God Roll:

• Extended Mag / Projection Fuse
• Backup Plan
• High Impact Reserves

PvP God Roll:

• Extended Mag
• Backup Plan
• Rangefinder / Tap the Trigger

For sustained DPS, no other exotic fusion comes close to Merciless. Its Conserve Momentum perk speeds up charge time with every non-lethal hit. Paired with the catalyst, it‘s my go to choice for melting strike bosses and chunking raid encounters efficiently.

In PvP, the fast 900ms charge time and range give it awesome one shot capability that catches guardians off guard. Just don‘t miss your shot! Backup plan or tap the trigger enhance its consistency despite lower stability.

Overall an S+ tier option that excels in both modes when you master the recoil. Never leave the vault without it.

Telesto

Type: Exotic Energy
Obtain: Random exotic drops
Element: Void

Telesto‘s exotic Unplanned Reprieve trait allows its projectiles to stick to surfaces and detonate later with huge area damage.

In PvE, it clears out trash mobs better than any other fusion while putting out excellent single target damage too. Multikills trigger automatic reloads to enhance damage phases.

For PvP, trapping chokepoints and objectives with traps is a chaos inducing strategy I love. The sticky bolts secure post-mortem kills if you happen to die mid fight. It excels on small maps with tight engagements.

Despite many bug fixes over the years, Telesto continues to be one of the most unique and powerful exotic special weapons in Destiny 2. S Tier in all scenarios.

A Tier

Potent exotics fusions with more specialized use cases that still perform at a high level.

Bastion

Type: Exotic Kinetic
Obtain: Exotic kiosk
Element: Kinetic

PvE God Roll:

• Extended Barrel
• Accelerated Coils
• Genesis

PvP God Roll:

• Hammer-Forged Rifling
• Tactical Mag
• Surplus

Bastion provides a uniquely versatile playstyle akin to a fusion rifle slug shotgun hybrid. In PvP, its kinetic damage bypasses shields which catches players off guard. The burst can kill outright at close range.

For PvE, it shreds majors efficiently while the Breakthrough trait ignores champion and boss shields. Excellent for locked loadouts activities like GMs or Master content.

While requiring some grind to acquire, Bastion is an A tier option that‘s viable in all Destiny 2 activities.

Jotunn

Type: Exotic Energy
Obtain: Random exotic drops
Element: Solar

Jotunn‘s unique projectiles track targets while dealing explosive splash damage on impact. In PvP, this allows for cross map one shot kills by firing and forgetting.

For PvE, the tracking enables easy long range engagements versus tankier targets like champions. Combine with artifact mods like anti-barrier for a very fun build.

While not quite S tier, Jotunn earns its place as one of the most unique and enjoyable to use exotic fusions in the energy slot.

Now let‘s move onto legendary options that compete directly with exotic fusions. I‘ll share the top contenders with god roll and obtainment advice.

God Roll Legendary Fusions

Thanks to buffs and origin traits, several legendary fusion archetypes now compete directly with exotic options. Let‘s cover the best obtainable ones worth grinding.

High Impact Frame

Hard hitting high damage bolts best for PvE DPS

Glaciocasm

Type: Legendary Stasis
Obtain: Dawning Event Reward
PvE God Roll:

• Liquid Coils / Particle Repeater
• Demolitionist / Lead from Gold
• Reservoir Burst / Chill Clip

The rarest fusion currently is Glaciocasm, requiring the holiday Dawning event to obtain. It hits harder than any other legenday while having excellent utility.

Freezing bolts combined with perks like demolitionist and reservoir burst make it a monster for bursting champions and bosses. Paired with Ager‘s Scepter, the damage is unmatched among legendaries.

In PvP, killing wind and high impact reserves provide consistency while successful warm up and opening shot enhance lethality. Freezing bolts enable easy clean ups too.

During the next Dawning, be sure to grind out a 5/5 god roll of this gem. You won‘t be disappointed.

Plug One

Type: Legendary Energy
Obtain: Nightfall Rotations
PvP God Roll:

• Red Dot 2 MOA / Red Dot Micro
• Projection Fuse / Particle Repeater
• Backup Plan
• Cornered / Rangefinder

For the Crucible, Plug One‘s easy farmability and excellent base stats make it a common sight. Across the board it has great aim assist, recoil direction, and bolt speed.

Backup plan paired with rangefinder is the consensus god roll for vastly improving its consistency at range. Other great column 3-4 perks include tap the trigger, successful warm-up, and heating up.

While the random Nightfall drop rate can be frustrating, Plug One is worth targeting when available. It competes directly with the best exotic fusions.

Precision Frame

Lower damage but very consistent and stable

Main Ingredient

Type: Legendary Void
Obtain: World drops / Focusing
PvP God Roll:

• Red Dot 2 MOA / Red Dot Micro
• Liquid Coils
• Under Pressure
• High Impact Reserves / Rangefinder

With excellent base stats and versatile perk combinations, Main Ingredient regularly tops usage charts as the meta legendary fusion.

For PvP, rangefinder combined with high impact reserves or tap the trigger make it extremely consistent. It can map guardians outside typical fusion ranges.

In PvE, lead from gold provides great ammo economy for slaying majors and ultras. While Main Ingredient lacks a damage perk, it makes up for it in reliability.

As a world drop, you can target this fusion through vendor focusing and weapon engrams. It lives up to its name as the top legendary slug thrower.

Aggressive Frame

Lower stability but hits extremely hard

Hollow Words

Type: Legendary Arc
Obtain: Umbral Engrams
PvE God Roll:

• Liquid Coils / Particle Repeater
• Stats for All / One for All
• Vorpal Weapon / Reservoir Burst

For PvE players looking to hit hard, Hollow Words is the pick. It‘s an aggressive frame so expect some kick in exchange for big damage.

Excellent base range paired with damage and ammo economy perks make it a great major and ultra melter. Lean into what makes aggressive frames deadly with your roll.

In PvP, successful warm up and high impact reserves provide needed consistency once you master the recoil. Then clean up guardians easily.

With random world drops, focus umbrals towards the world loot pool to farm this hard hitter.

How to Obtain God Rolls

Now that you know the best perk combinations for both modes, let‘s cover efficient farming methods to actually get those god rolls in your hands.

Nightfall Rotations

• Target farm Plug One.1 when it‘s the featured weekly weapon
• 25% drop chance on 100K+ platinum clears

Raid Spoils of Conquest

• Purchase weapon rolls from the final chest in Vow of the Disciple
• 20 spoils per random roll

General World Drops

• Focus engrams through worldly weapon umbrals
• Rank up playlist vendors through strikes, Crucible, or Gambit

Dawning Holiday Event

• Repeatedly earn and open Dawning gifts during the event
• Small chance for the Glacioclasm stasis fusion

With the above tips, you can efficiently farm out 5/5 god rolls of all the top legendary options.

Wrapping Up

And there you have it guardian—the most comprehensive Destiny 2 fusion rifle guide ever created, packed with tips from my 1,000 hours of expertise.

To recap, lean on exotic options like Merciless and Telesto first for their unique traits and combo potential.

For legendaries, target farm Plug One and Main Ingredient through Nightfalls and world drops respectively. They compete directly with exotic fusions in all activities.

The Raider counter would be ashamed I didn‘t mention Deliverance with Chill Clip… but that‘s an in-depth guide for another time!

Got any fellow fusion lovers or questions? I read and respond to all comments below! Let me know your favorite fusion roll once you acquire it.

This has been your Crucible Sherpa Chris, and I‘ll see you star side. Voop on guardians!