Console, yeah. That's exactly what I needed to know.
Ok. If you don't have the annual pass yet, Gambit is probably your best bet. The
Trust hand cannon,
Bygones pulse,
Bad Omens rocket launcher,
Breakneck auto rifle &
21% Delirium Lmg are all obtained there & are top of class out of what's available to you. You can get the exotic
Malfeasance hand cannon quest through it too, which does tons of damage to taken & is all-round reliable.
Lord of Wolves is an exotic shotgun that drops from Spider's bounties on Tangled Shore in Forsaken, it kicks ass in Gambit & general close range dps.
The other shotguns worth mentioning:
Dust Rock Blues drops from lost sectors. It's got great range and is still the PvP favourite.
The
Mindbender's Ambition shotgun drops from the Hollowed Lair nightfall strike & is the other current PvP favourite in the other slot.
The
Ikelos shotgun drops from the Escalation Protocol horde mode on Mars during certain weeks & ruled PvE for a long time as dps king. It's still very relevant if you like shotguns in PvE.
Hand cannons: other than Gambit's
Trust mentioned above-
Once you're done the Forsaken campaign go right for
Ace of Spades (Banshee will hand you the quest), it's fantastic in any mode. You could basically equip that in this game, never take it off & be fine.
If you're serious at PvP, the competitive playlist has three of the absolute best weapons in the game as pinnacle quests - the
Luna's Howl & Not Forgotten hand cannons &
Recluse smg. They all dominate crucible. Once you get the
Chaperone quest to drop, that's always good too.
If you don't have the
Midnight Coup hand cannon from the Leviathan raid yet, that's still worth getting & still many a streamer's PvE standby.
Other than that,
Telesto is really solid in both PvP & PvE if you want a fusion rifle alternative.
If you like snipers:
The Supremacy from the Last Wish raid
Alone as a God from the Leviathan raid
The Long Goodbye from the Insight Terminus nightfall strike are all great.
As is the
Twilight Oath from...something that will unlock once you beat the Forsaken main campaign.
Until you have those, the
Aachen is an easy to get blue sniper that's secretly great, lots of streamers use it regularly.
The
Whisper of the Worm is an exotic heavy sniper from a hidden dungeon on Io that's the top tier long range DPS weapon.
There are a few other things worth mentioning, and you'll likely develop your own favourites, but by & large that covers the best things available to you, if you're wondering what to chase.
Much of the rest of the current meta is part of the annual pass, but the stuff mentioned above is completely competitive against it. You don't really need the pass until you've exhausted the Forsaken content, which will take you quite a long time. Don't feel like you're lacking in the meantime.
TLDR:
Trust
Bygones
Ace of Spades
Telesto
Dust Rock Blues
Luna's Howl
Not Forgotten
Wardcliffe Coil
Mindbender's Ambition
The Recluse
Is your basic top 10.
DPS:
Prospector
Whisper of the Worm
Legend of Acrius
Honourable mention:
Breakneck
Midnight Coup
Ikelos SG
