Skill goes a long way in Destiny, but can still only carry you so far. Your gear more than anything else will determine success, and there is a plethora of weapons and gun types to choose from.
Read Our Guide To Destiny's Best Exotic Weapons Here
Each category has its own uses, but it serves to have a varied arsenal. We'll break down each weapon type for you, listing the best exotics and legendaries in each type. Below are the best Auto Rifles available in Destiny, with multiple options to suit different scenarios.
The Exotic rifle is one of the most well-balanced weapons you can use in Destiny. SUROS Regime offers good accuracy, a respectable range, decent rate of fire, and high damage. It doesn't come with any Arc, Void, or Solar damage, but its unique talent allows the bottom half of the magazine to deal extra damage and a chance to heal. SUROS is useful across Raids and PvP alike (you'll see a lot of it in the Crucible), and you should buy one given the chance.
A newcomer to Destiny's arsenal, the legendary Auto Rifle is only available as a drop from Crota's End on Hard Mode. If you manage to pick it up, however, it's a gun you should be looking to use. A very high rate of fire is backed with Solar damage, and it has some bonuses to help fight the Hive. Crucially, you can choose between increase hip fire accuracy and a more steady, slower rate of fire when zoomed, which makes it feel like a different gun. Deadly at close range with the potential to pick off enemies from afar, the Abyss Defiant is worth using. I haven't been able to use it a lot yet, but it seems more effective for PvE than the Crucible.
Perhaps the game's most unique weapon, the Mythoclast is classified as a Fusion Rifle but takes a Primary weapon slot. It's really a high-impact Auto Rifle, despite the lore and classification, and can only be attained as a drop from Atheon in the Vault of Glass Raid on Hard. It fires rapidly, deals Solar damage, and can be upgraded for greatly increased stability and power--this gun makes quick work of players in PvP. It was the game's best weapon before The Dark Below, but was curiously not bumped up to the 331 Attack ceiling with other Exotics and sits at its own 323 rating. There are a couple better options now, unfortunately, but it's still devastating against crowds (and in the Crucible), and has the added bonus of looking incredibly awesome.
On the less rare side of Destiny is an extremely well-balanced Vanquisher VIII, which boasts good accuracy, a high rate of fire, and better than average impact. Most guns that shoot fast don't have the highest impact shots, but Vanquisher VIII (the upgraded, post-The Dark Below version) maintains its accuracy while dealing good damage. You can simply purchase it from the Vanguard Quartemaster, making it more easier to acquire than the weapons listed above, and it's a very good Crucible weapon. The same goes for Up For Anything, another great (faster-firing) Auto Rifle.