Bows, introduced in the Forsaken expansion, are still building up a roster of viable weapons. There are only a small handful of bows in the game right now, both on the legendary and exotic end of things, but there are still a few worth considering. These are the best bows in Destiny 2 for PvE, PvP, and Gambit.
Best Bows in Destiny 2 (2023)
Best for PvE and Gambit
- Biting Wind (Kinetic) – Europa weapon obtainable through weapon quests from Variks.
- Leviathan’s Breath (Power, Void, Exotic) – Purchase from Exotic Kiosk.
- Point of the Stag (Energy, Arc) – Can be purchased from Exotic Kiosk.
- Ticuu’s Divination (Energy, Solar, Exotic) – Purchase from Exotic Kiosk.
- Trinity Ghoul (Energy, Arc, Exotic) – Purchase from Exotic Kiosk.
- Wolftone Draw (Energy, Arc) – World Loot Drop.
- Under Your Skin (Energy, Void) – Obtained from Season of the Risen activities.
- Le Monarque (Energy, Void, Exotic) – Purchase from Exotic Kiosk.
- Tripwire Canary (Energy, Arc) – Obtained from Season of the Seraph Activities.
Let’s face the facts, Bows in PvE need a lot of help. From not having a wide variety to choose from to having Exotics that can’t compete against others, Bows desperately need a buff when Lightfall arrives.
That said, the ones we have now are still good for endgame content. Trinity Ghoul easily being the best of the bunch for easily clearing waves of enemies.
Some new additions include the Under Your Skin and Tripwire Canary Legendary Bows, both solid in their own right. However, Bungie needs to take a step back to see what Bows currently are and how they can improve them for the future so they can potentially be in the meta one day.
Best Bows for Destiny 2 PvP (2023)
- Accrued Redemption (Kinetic) – Possible drop from completing encounters in the raid, Garden of Salvation.
- Biting Wind (Kinetic) – Europa weapon obtainable through weapon quests from Variks.
- Le Monarque (Energy, Void, Exotic) – Purchase from Exotic Kiosk.
- Point of the Stag (Energy, Arc) – Purchase from Exotic Kiosk.
- Ticuu’s Divination (Energy, Solar, Exotic) – Purchase from Exotic Kiosk.
- Tyranny of Heaven (Energy, Solar) – Random drop from the Last Wish raid.
- Wish Ender (Kinetic) – Purchase from Exotic Kiosk.
- Whistler’s Whim (Kinetic) – Possible reward from Trials of Osiris.
- Under Your Skin (Energy, Void) – Obtained from Season of the Risen activities.
Bows in PvP are a much different story, as in the hands of the right player they can be devastating to play against. They’re very popular to use in “hot-swap” combos where you shoot an arrow at an enemy to deal solid damage against an enemy, followed up by swapping to a hand cannon to finish them off.
The best of the bunch is easily Le Monarque, as one shot can cripple any opponent with poison damage. A head shot from Le Monarque can deal up to 170 damage total, putting an enemy in range of being killed by basically anything in the game.
That said, Le Monarque is due for a nerf anytime now, so we can’t rely on it too much. Instead, you can use other Bows like Wish-Ender that can more or less produce the same results.
Overall, Bows are a great choice to use in PvP, and unless their damage is nerfed, they will continue to be relevant for the foreseeable future.
That’s all for our best bows in Destiny 2 for PvE, PvP, & Gambit. If you’re interested in learning more weapon recommendations. Check out our all-encompassing lists below:
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