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One of Destiny's most iconic weapon types is Rocket Launchers. Ever since Gjallarhorn was introduced in the first game, fans have wanted a similar powerhouse Rocket Launcher in the sequel.

Related: Destiny 2: Top Fusion Rifles, Ranked

With the various buffs they've received throughout Year 4, Rocket Launchers are finally in a good spot. These weapons can pull their weight in damaging hordes of minions and bosses alike. With the right perks and supporting mods, Rocket Launchers are too good to pass up. From Rocket Launchers with permanent damage boosts to those with absurd tracking, here are the ten best Rocket Launchers you can use in Destiny 2.

Updated May 30, 2023, by Charles Burgar: Season of the Deep has shaken up the Rocket Launcher meta with the perk refresh to Apex Predator. What was once the worst Rocket Launcher in Destiny 2 has quickly become the best. We've updated this list to include this new powerhouse and rewrote the Eyes of Tomorrow entry to include its recent ammo economy buff.

10 Palmyra-B

Destiny 2 Palmyra-B

How to obtain: Legendary world Engrams or crafted at The Enclave.

Destiny 2's first Stasis Rocket Launcher was released with the Witch Queen expansion. Palmyra-B is the first Rocket Launcher to roll with Auto-Loading Holster and Explosive Light, making it an excellent weapon to pair with Izanagi's Burden for boss DPS. Grab some Orbs of Power to ramp up Explosive Payload, activate your weapon surge mod, and enjoy some hard-hitting rockets you can weave with an Izanagi's Burden or similar weapon.

If you're looking for an optimal DPS weapon, there are better options. Hothead does more damage while Exotic choices like Gjallarhorn offer excellent utility that Palmyra-B lacks. Bear in mind that Palmyra is craftable, so new or returning players that need a good Auto-Loading Rocket Launcher can't go wrong here. It's a solid PvP Rocket Launcher as well due to the weapon's intrinsic tracking.

Recommended Traits:

  • Column One: Auto-Loading Holster
  • Column Two: Explosive Light

9 Deathbringer

Destiny 2 Deathbringer

How to obtain: Complete the 'Symphony of Death' quest.

It might be surprising to hear that Deathbringer is one of the highest DPS Rocket Launchers in Destiny 2. When used properly, this weapon can pump out a serious amount of damage—especially if you're using Volatile Rounds. It's also great in PvP, featuring some of the most aggressive projectile tracking in the game.

As great as that sounds, Deathbringer requires a spacious arena to fully ramp up its explosive projectiles, leading to awkward DPS phases if you're fighting in an enclosed space. More importantly, Deathbringer's projectiles can despawn if too many effects are happening. If your entire fireteam uses Deathbringer, your DPS will plummet. However, if just one person uses it, you'll be quite surprised just how powerful this Rocket Launcher can be.

8 Eyes Of Tomorrow

Destiny 2 Eyes of Tomorrow

How to obtain: Deep Stone Crypt raid.

When most people think of Rocket Launchers, they think of powerful Heavy weapons built to slay majors and bosses. Eyes of Tomorrow is a little different. The Deep Stone Crypt's Exotic Rocket Launcher is tuned for add clear more than boss DPS, but this weapon can still pack a serious punch when it needs to.

Eyes of Tomorrow locks onto targets before releasing six micro missiles, aggressively tracking anything it marked beforehand. Each individual missile doesn't do much damage, but they deal more than enough damage to kill fodder units. And if that swarm kills four targets, you'll get your rocket refunded and a noticable damage buff on your next shot. This makes Eyes of Tomorrow a powerful add-clearing alternative to Machine Guns for loadouts that still need burst DPS. It's great for killing tankier adds, majors, Champions, and Guardians alike. Just don't expect to top the DPS charts in endgame PvE content.

7 Bump In The Night

Destiny 2 Bump In The Night

How to obtain: Occasionally sold by Xur; craftable at the Enclave.

An Aggressive Frame Rocket Launcher, Bump in the Night is a solid Heavy weapon for general boss DPS. Its ability to get Demolitionist with either Frenzy or Vorpal Weapon is fantasic for Starfire Protocol and similar grenade builds. Auto-Loading Holster is also an option for Izanagi-Rocket DPS loadouts.

Related: Destiny 2: The Best Hand Cannons For PvP

One interesting perk on this weapon is Chill Clip, allowing your rocket to inflict Stasis slow on targets. Wolfpack Rounds inherit this perk, allowing you to freeze and shatter targets with every rocket. This doesn't top Explosive Payload or similar damage perks, but this can be a solid perk for Stasis users that spec for shatters.

Recommended Traits:

  • Column One: Demolitionist, Auto-Loading Holster, Field Prep
  • Column Two: Vorpal Weapon, Chill Clip, Frenzy

6 Royal Entry

Destiny 2 Royal Entry

How to obtain: Vanguard Engram Focusing.

It turns out that one of Destiny 2's best PvE Rocket Launcher isn't an Exotic, a raid weapon, or even a ritual weapon. It's Royal Entry, an ordinary Rocket Launcher that drops from Vanguard playlists. On the surface, it appears to be an ordinary Rocket Launcher, yet there are a few things that set it apart from its competition.

The most notable part of Royal Entry is that it's the only obtainable Void Rocket Launcher with Clown Cartridge. This means you can use Volatile Rounds on Royal Entry and Font of Might on a Void subclass to deal some absurd damage. Paired with Gjallarhorn, this gives Royal Entry the highest DPS out of any Legendary Void Rocket Launcher in Destiny 2. You can then use Field Prep to increase your ammo reserves, or use Auto-Loading Holster to use this weapon alongside Izanagi's Burden or another Special DPS weapon. If you're looking for the best PvE Rocket Launcher in Destiny 2, Royal Entry is what you'll want. Crucible players are better off with another weapon.

Recommended Traits:

  • Column One: Field Prep, Auto-Loading Holster (PvE)
  • Column Two: Clown Cartridge (PvE), Lasting Impression (PvE), Chain Reaction (PvE)

5 Two-Tailed Fox

Destiny 2 Two-Tailed Foxu

How to obtain: Exotic Engrams and occasionally sold by Xur.

Now that Two-Tailed Fox has an Exotic Catalyst, it has quickly become a top-tier option for PvE DPS. This weapon fires two rockets (three with the Catalyst) that fire in each Light element, inflicting Scorch, Suppression, and Jolt. The Arc rocket is the star of the show here, as the Jolt it inflicts is far stronger than what Arc subclasses can normally inflict.

It effectively acts as a debuff tool for your team, allowing your fireteam to trigger Jolt lightning repeatedly during a DPS phase for massive damage. You can also further boost Two-Tailed Fox's damage by playing a Void subclass and using Echo of Domineering, auto-loading the weapon when your Void rocket hits a target. This does have an internal cooldown, but this synergy is great for quickly killing Champions and other tough endgame foes.

4 Hezen Vengeance

Destiny 2 Hezen Vengeance

How to obtain: Vault of Glass raid.

Hezen Vengeance is one of Destiny 2's most versatile Rocket Launchers. PvE users have a wide range of reload and damage perks to choose from, and PvP players can use Tracking Module and Vorpal Weapon for a great counter to Supers. PvE is really where this weapon shines, however, as nearly every perk on this weapon is good.

Related: Destiny 2: A Complete Guide To The Vow Of The Disciple Raid

The first column has great options like Auto-Loading Holster, Impulse Amplifier, and even Overflow. You can pair this with Lasting Impression for more damage, Vorpal Weapon for an unconditionable damage bonus, or Demolitionist to weave your rockets with Starfire Protocol or similar ability builds. Simply put, Hezen Vengeance is a fantastic Rocket Launcher that's a solid alternative to Hothead.

Recommended Traits:

  • Column One: Overflow (PvE), Auto-Loading Holster (PvE), Tracking Module (PvP)
  • Column Two: Lasting Impression, Demolitionist

3 The Hothead

Destiny 2 The Hothead

How to obtain: Vanguard Engram Focusing.

Hothead is now obtainable through Vanguard Engram Focusing, and it's easily one of Destiny 2's strongest Rocket Launchers. This weapon has a fantastic perk pool that few Rocket Launchers can match, and it's fairly easy to obtain.

Arguably the most impressive roll for Hothead is Demolitionist and Clown Cartridge. Fire a rocket, throw a grenade, shoot another rocket, reload to fire two rockets, and repeat. It's one of the highest DPS weapons in the entire game. If you don't like Demolitionist, you can also farm for Field Prep instead. You can even obtain an Adept version of this weapon if you want to use Adept Big Ones Spec, giving The Hothead even more value against majors. If you have a member of your team using Gjallarhorn, this weapon deals excellent damage, beaten only by mix-maxed DPS strategies.

If you want a good PvP Rocket Launcher, you'd be better off with a Hezen Vengeance, Bad Omens, or Wardcliff Coil. But if you want a powerful PvE Heavy that doesn't take your Exotic slot, it's tough to beat Hothead.

Recommended Traits:

  • Column One: Demolitionist, Field Prep
  • Column Two: Clown Cartridge, Explosive Light

2 Apex Predator

Destiny 2 Apex Predator

How to obtain: Last Wish raid; craftable at the Enclave.

Apex Predator used to be the worst Rocket Launcher in Destiny 2, arguably the worst raid weapon in the game. With the Lash Wish perk refresh in Season of the Deep, that's flipped on its head. Apex Predator is not only a great Rocket Launcher now, it's arguably the best Legendary Rocket Launcher in Destiny 2.

That's mostly due to its ability to get Bait and Switch, the first Rocket Launcher to roll with this perk. Damage a target with your other weapons, then swap to Apex Predator and land a rocket. You'll gain a massive 35% damage buff for the next ten seconds, giving you more than enough time to empty your reserves. Reconstruction gives you a powerful auto-loading effect that can overflow your magazine. There's no question that for single-target DPS, Apex Predator is king.

But this weapon's strengths don't end there. Since this weapon is craftable, there's justification to experiment with rolls. If you want to slay an entire army of adds with a well-placed rocket, Incandescent and Explosive Light is a great combination. And for players that are using a grenade-centric build, Demolitionist pairs exceptionally well with this weapon's Explosive Pact origin trait. It cannot be understated just how powerful Apex Predator is now.

Recommended Traits:

  • Column One: Reconstruction, Demolitionist, Incandescent
  • Column Two: Bait and Switch, Explosive Light

1 Gjallarhorn

Destiny 2 Gjallarhorn Exotic Featured

How to obtain: And Out Fly The Wolves quest.

Does this need an explanation? It's Gjallarhorn, the most infamous Exotic in Destiny history. It single-handedly created a meta during the first year of the original Destiny, destroying every boss with a flurry of rockets and cluster bomblets. This iconic weapon has returned with the Bungie 30th Anniversary Pack with some changes.

Gjallarhorn is nothing short of incredible. It isn't as overpowered as its original variant, but it's still a powerhouse. Each rocket releases a swarm of tracking cluster bombs called Wolfpack Rounds, dealing additional damage to tougher foes or clearing out fodder enemies. Slain enemies from Gjallarhorn spawn additional Wolfpack Rounds, making it excellent for add-clear.

For bossing, its two-round magazine and ability to buff friendly Legendary Rocket Launchers by giving them Wolfpack Rounds make this weapon incredibly strong for boss DPS. You'll only need one Gjallarhorn for your whole fireteam to reap the benefits of it. Overall, Gjallarhorn manages to annihilate PvE enemies with ease and dominates the Crucible Heavy meta.

Next: Destiny 2: The Best Hand Cannons For PvE