Ahead of The Edge of Fate expansion forDestiny 2, a new developer livestream recently revealed three new legendary weapon types coming in this expansion: crossbow heavy weapons, spread shot hand cannons, and rocket-assisted frame pulse rifle energy weapons. While the new heavy crossbows are undoubtedly going to be unique buildcrafting tools, rocket-assisted frame pulse rifles arguably sound like they have a lot more potential to have an immediate and lasting impact onDestiny 2’s meta.
When it comes toDestiny 2’s current meta, unfortunately for the new crossbows and hand cannons, the heavy weapon slot already has some tough competition, while primary weapons typically come down to personal preference above all else. Whereas, for the new rocket-assisted frame pulse rifles, there’s generally a lot more wiggle room right now for new energy weapons to rise to the top of the meta for their respective weapon slot, and so far,Destiny 2’s new rocket-assisted frame pulse rifles arguably appear to be an instant meta pick in The Edge of Fate era ofDestiny 2’s sandbox.
Destiny 2’s Meta in The Edge of Fate May Already Have a Clear Winner
Destiny 2’s Crossbows’ Biggest Strength Could Also Be Their Biggest Weakness
Unlike the Leviathan Exotic bow that fits in the heavy weapon slot, what makes the new heavy crossbow legendary weapons so unique is that players can retrieve bolts after firing them. Doing so will deal damage when the bolt is attached to a living enemy, but more importantly, this will allow crossbows to potentially have unlimited ammo, which has major implications for both PvE and PvP metas.
However, frequently retrieving crossbow bolts to achieve infinite ammo will likely be easier said than done, especially in high-difficulty endgame content and competitive PvP game modes. By choosing one of the many existing meta heavy weapons inDestiny 2instead of the new crossbows, players can avoid the extremely high risk of getting within melee range of Raid bosses and enemy Guardians to retrieve their crossbow bolts mid-fight. So, while crossbows could provide a unique playstyle for casual content, they might ultimately be in the same boat asTitan’s new Melas Panoplia Exotic armor, with both of these buildcrafting tools most likely not viable for endgame content compared to other meta weapons and Exotic armor.
The Edge of Fate expansion forDestiny 2will release on June 19, 2025.
Destiny 2’s New Rocket-Assisted Frame Pulse Rifles Are a Match Made in Heaven
Aside from revealing the new heavy crossbow weapon type, the latestdeveloper livestream forDestiny 2also gave players their first view of one of the new rocket-assisted frame pulse rifles in action. Based on what’s been revealed about this new weapon type so far, and the kinds of weapons that have dominated the meta up to this point, these new rocket-pulses could ultimately prove to be the new best-in-slot energy weapons inDestiny 2’s new meta in The Edge of Fate era.
For many in-game Seasons by now, pulse rifles have been among the top weapons forDestiny 2’s PvP meta, while rocket-assisted frame sidearms have been among the meta for PvP weapons practically since they were first introduced. Consequently, the new rocket-assisted pulse rifles - effectively being a combination of a pulse rifle’s range and a rocket-sidearm’s power - seem like a natural recipe for a new meta.
Unlike the concern about how ammo-efficient the new crossbows will be, energy ammo is generally much easier to come by, especially with some of the new buildcrafting tools coming in The Edge of Fate expansion, like thenew Armor 3.0 Weapons stat. So, even if rocket-pulses might require a little investment in ammo efficiency, this is already true for most energy weapons. Ultimately,Destiny 2’s new rocket-assisted frame pulse rifles already seem like they could be the new meta for energy weapons.
