Pistols or sidearms are most commonly used to remove padlocks from doors, or to finish off an enemy when your mag is empty on a main weapon. Recently, however, that’s changed a little in The Division 2 with the creation of Pistol builds. These builds combine high weapon and pistol damage with shields, to not only give you insane amounts of damage, but also the survivability to negotiate both PvE and PvP content.
In this guide i’ll be talking a look at the five best sidearms in The Division 2 and giving my recommendations for the best weapon talents to look for on each. I’ll be updating this list with every update and balance change, so rest assured this list will always be up to date for the current meta.
Let’s get started with the top 5 Sidearms in The Division 2:
Liberty Exotic Pistol
- Liberty: Gain +100% damage to hostile electronics. While aiming, enemy weak points and hostile electronics are highlighted.
- Blind Justice: After destroying an enemy’s weak point or hostile electronics, your next bullet deals +500% weapon damage. If that shot kills an enemy, your magazine is refilled and grants +100% weapon damage for the entire magazine.
- Independence: While holstered, destroying weak points refills 20% of your current weapon’s magazine.
The Liberty Pistol is one of the easier exotics to obtain (providing you held onto your D50’s). This means that it’s easy to recommend it as one of the better Pistols.
The talents for the Liberty make for a really interesting play style. It’s a lot of fun to destroy a weak point and then see your next bullet hit for crazy amounts.
The holstered talent is also not to be overlooked – a 20% refill for weak point destroying is very useful on weapons with large mags and long reloads.
The weapon damage itself is always fantastic (it is a Desert Eagle after all) with a high roll Liberty at GS 500 offering over 63k damage. That’s the highest top range from any of the sidearms featured on this list.
M1911/M45A1Tactical/M1911actical/M1911 Replica
The go-to Pistol for end game Pistol builds, the M1911 holds the title thanks to its high rate of fire and excellent damage. If consistency is what you’re after then you really can’t find better. Sure, there are pistols that hit harder, but if you’re not landing those shots consistently then it really doesn’t matter.
The M1911 has a base damage of over 33k at GS 500, so be sure to hold onto your god rolled finds. Optimal range is the lowest of all Pistols at 12, but you really shouldn’t be using a Sidearm for anything but cIose combat anyway.
Best Talents – Close & Personal/Optimist and Allegro/Extra/Distance and Protected Reload/In Rhythm
D50/Survivalist D50
Dessert Eagles are great weapons to use in most games, especially if you like seeing high numbers. The D50 in The Division 2 is no exception – it hits like a truck and is capable of some truly disgusting headshots, especially in PvP.
The main issue with using a D50 when focusing on a Pistol build is the way it fires. Unlike the M1911, for example, spamming the trigger isn’t an option, meaning you lose out on sustained damage, especially if you’re not landing shots consistently.
For numbers only, use a Desert Eagle.
Best Talents – Close & Personal/Optimist and Stable/Optimised and Protected Reload/In Rhythm
X-45/X-45 Tactical/X-45 Tactical Replica
The X-45 isn’t as good as the M1911 or M45A1 Tactical. What it does have over those weapons, however, is greater range. The X-45 is one of the best Sidearms from medium distance and has the best RPM of every weapon on this list.
Sadly, the damage lags behind the previously mentioned weapons, and in a game like The Division 2 where damage is king I find it hard to recommend it above anything else.
Best Talents – Close & Personal/Optimist/Ranger and Extra/Allegro and Protected Reload/In Rhythm
Px4 Storm Type R/Px4 Storm Type T/Px4 Storm Type T Replica
The Px4 is similar to the X-45 in a way. Whilst it falls behind the better Pistols like the M1911 and M45A1 Tactical in raw damage, it has a larger magazine size.
Magazine size is not to be overlooked when it comes to sustained damage, those extra bullets can really make a difference when shooting at tankier elite enemies.
Again, like the X-45, it’s difficult to recommend the Px4, but for sustained damage it can definitely do a job.
Best Talents – Close & Personal/Optimist and Extra/Allegro and Protected Reload/In Rhythm
Those are my favorite Sidearms in The Division 2. Each one offers something a little different, which should hopefully cater to most playstyles. To summarise.The M1911 and M45A1 Tactical are kings, with The Liberty and D50 offering the most base damage.
If you found this guide useful, then be sure to check out my similar lists for the other weapon classes in the game. They can all be found here in our Division 2 guides section.
Did you find this list useful? Or have I offended you by leaving out your favourite sidearm? Let me know in the comments section below – all feedback is greatly appreciated.
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