What are Breech-Loading grenade launchers in Destiny 2?

Breech-loading grenade launchers have become some of the best weapons for add-clear in Destiny 2 thanks to a few strong contenders. These powerful tools can deal damage to sturdier targets, disorient enemies, or clear rooms with the right rolls.

Because of that, Breech-loading launchers can be a good way to round out your loadout. Grenade launchers don’t often get Anti-Champion mods, but they’re still good tools depending on what you want from your loadout. (We’ll forever miss the combination of Unstoppable Grenade Launcher and Breach and Clear in season 14, though.)

Breech-loading grenade launchers are necessary for two quests from Arcite 99-40: Climbing the Mountaintop and Patience and Forbearance, which require you to defeat enemies with this weapon type to unlock the Mountaintop and Forbearance.

Here’s a breakdown of what Breech-loading grenade launchers are, why they’re good, and a few examples of them.

What counts as a Breech-loading grenade launcher in Destiny 2?

As a rule of thumb, a Breech-loading grenade launcher is any grenade launcher that uses Special ammo. They get their name from only having one round in the magazine at base (Ambitious Assassin shenanigans notwithstanding), and you have to “break” open the barrel to reload them.

Heavy grenade launchers normally carry more than one shot, with the exclusion of Exotics such as Parasite and Ex Diris. None of them count as Breech-Loading launchers.

Are Breech-loading grenade launchers good in Destiny 2?

Breech-loaded grenade launchers come in a variety of flavors, and they generally excel at what they do. The scarcity of Anti-Champion mods for them hurts the archetype, but they still have unique strengths to bring to a gunfight.

Wave-Frame launchers bring great crowd control due to their spread, and they get even better with perks such as Ambitious Assassin and Chain Reaction (the staple rolls for Salvager’s Salvo and Forbearance, which were among the most popular weapons in their time.)

Micro-missile grenade launchers stem from the old perk in the original Mountaintop. As part of a reissue with Into the Light, Bungie converted it into a full-on frame, which can give Lightweight Frames a run for their money thanks to a more predictable trajectory and reduced self-damage.

Lightweight Frames can also offer utility in the form of Disorienting Grenades, which takes enemies out for a few seconds. We’ve used Disorienting in successful Grandmaster runs over multiple seasons; they can be invaluable in higher-end content.

Best breech-loaded grenade launchers in Destiny 2

If you’re looking for the best breech-loaded grenade launchers to complete a quest or just take down enemies, here are some of our favorite picks. We’ve listed them in no particular order.

• Forbearance: Excellent add clear with Chain Reaction.
• The Mountaintop: Excellent single-target damage, particularly with stacks of Recombination.
• Tusk of the Boar: Excellent add clear, Wave-Frame that takes up your Kinetic slot.
• Dead Messenger: Good add clear and Demolitionist, but at the cost of your Exotic slot.
• Undercurrent: Good add clear, rolls Demolitionist
• Salvager’s Salvo: Good add clear and damage potential thanks to Chain Reaction, but it isn’t a Wave-Frame.
• Witherhoard: Good crowd control, area denial, and damage, but takes up your Exotic slot.

Those grenade launchers should do a good job of getting multikills against the enemies of Onslaught, which should help you make quick work of the Climbing the Mountaintop quest. We recommend Wave-Frames for this, and you can even appeal to Dead Messenger if needed.

If you’re looking for breech-loaded grenade launchers to complete Patience and Forbearance or Climbing the Mountaintop, we recommend using Wave-Frame ones, since they’ll help you rack up kills quickly. Onslaught works well enough to get kills, but the Forbearance quest also opens up the choice to kill enemies in raids and dungeons. Two of the most famous kill-farming spots—Grasp of Avarice’s intro area and the Shuro Chi checkpoint in Last Wish—fit into that category, so take them out for a spin if all you’re looking for is to grind them.

It may also be worth visiting these locations whenever you want to rack up kills quickly, though Avarice can be inconsistent with progress in some scenarios.