Now that they’ve been out for over four years, Champions are an integral part of Destiny 2. While differing opinions exist regarding which Champion type is most annoying, many are sure to rank Barrier Champions relatively high.
Today, we’ll cover all there is to know about Barrier Champions. From what they are to where to find them to all the ways to stun them, you’ll know exactly how to best these aggravating enemies after reading.
Updated as of Season of the Wish (S23).
What are Barrier Champions
Champions are miniboss-like enemies that appear in a variety of PvE activities. There are three variants of them (Barrier, Unstoppable, and Overload), all of which have a unique way of disrupting them.
Anti Barrier Champions, Destiny 2
After they lose around a third of their health, Barrier Champions will pop a shield and begin to regenerate HP. To stun them, you’ll need to use any weapon or ability with anti-barrier capabilities attached to it. Assuming you’re successful, they will become stunned: their shield will drop, they’ll stop regenerating health, and they’ll become slightly more vulnerable to damage.
What exactly are these methods of stunning Barrier Champions? There’s a ton of them we need to cover, so let’s begin with Exotics.
Destiny 2 Anti-Barrier Exotics in Season 23
Various Exotic weapons and armor featured in Destiny 2 have intrinsic Anti Barrier Champion capabilities. Here is a list of all Exotic weapons that don’t require the use of a mod to stun Barrier Champions:
| Art | Name | Type | Archetype | Rarity | Ammo? | Element? | Requirements | In loot pool? | Ammo | Element | Tier | Excels | Source | Craftable? | Requires | Released | Slot | Can be Crafted? | Best of? | Top Perk? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Arbalest | Linear Fusion Rifle | Exotic | Exotic | Special | Kinetic | Lightfall | Yes |  Special |  Kinetic | B › Average | - | Exotic Quest |  No |  Lightfall | Season 6 | Kinetic | No | ||
 | Revision Zero | Pulse Rifle | Exotic | Exotic | Primary | Kinetic | The Witch Queen | Yes |  Primary | Kinetic | A › Strong | PvE | Operation: Seraph's Shield | Yes |  Witch Queen | Season 19 | Kinetic | Craftable | Top-tier | |
 | The Lament | Sword | Exotic | Exotic | Heavy | Solar | Beyond Light Pack | Yes |  Heavy |  Solar | A › Strong | PvE | Exotic Quest | No |  Beyond Light Pack | Season 12 | Heavy | No | Top-tier | |
 | Wish-Ender | Combat Bow | Exotic | Exotic | Primary | Kinetic | Forsaken Pack | Yes | Primary | Kinetic | S › Best | PvE | Exotic Quest | No |  Forsaken Pack | Season 4 | Kinetic | No | Top-tier |
There are two important things to note regarding this list. First, know that because these exotics have intrinsic anti-Barrier capabilities, they will not receive anti-Overload or Unstoppable effects from any other source—including seasonal artifact mods. So, for instance, if you are running an Overload hand cannon mod from your artifact, Eriana’s Vow won’t receive that ability; it will simply stick to dealing with Barrier Champions.
The second thing to note is that this list can technically be added to. Because some subclass verbs intrinsically deal with Champions as well (more on that later), some exotics can deal with these enemies in a more roundabout way.
With that all said, here’s a list of Exotic armor that can help stun Barrier Champions:
| Armor | Class | Type | Requirements | Source | Released | Requires | Exotic Perk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Second Chance | Titan | Arms | The Witch Queen | Lost Sectors | Season 17 |  The Witch Queen | Gain a second charge of your Shield Throw melee. Your Shield Throw melee now weakens targets and becomes shield-piercing, stunning Barrier Champions. When you stun a Barrier Champion with your Shield Throw melee, you regain a melee charge. |
Anti-Barrier Subclass Verbs
As we mentioned earlier, some subclass verbs also have intrinsic anti-Barrier capabilities. For clarification, by “verbs,” we mean the buffs and debuffs unique to each element in the game (Suppress, Freeze, Suspend, Radiant, etc.). The following subclass verbs can combat Barrier Champions:
- Radiant (Solar)
- Unravelling Rounds (Strand)
- Volatile Rounds (Void)
Anti Barrier Subclass Verbs, Destiny 2
Firing a weapon with any of these buffs applied to it will pierce through Barrier Champion shields. However, what we mentioned earlier about mismatch Champion incompatibility is still true. For instance, if you’re running a legendary hand cannon with an Unstoppable hand cannon mod from the artifact, that mod will override any subclass verb (meaning, even with Radiant, the weapon will only stagger Unstoppable Champions, not Barrier).
Extremely confusing, we know. However, an easy way to keep track of it all is to simply look at the icons next to your weapons on the bottom left of your screen. The Champion icons update in real time, so you’ll always know exactly what your weapons are capable of.
All that said, these subclass verbs do have substantial benefits. A prime example is the Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk Exotic chest piece on Hunter. While not mentioned in its perk description, the Volatile Rounds the Exotic grants will allow your weapons to stun Barrier Champions (since it’s a verb listed above).
Destiny 2 Anti-Barrier Weapon Mods in Season 23
Perhaps the easiest way to stun Champions is with mods from the current artifact. In Season 23, the anti-Barrier mods are:
- Piercing Sidearms
Anti Barrier Mods, Destiny 2
For Season 23, this list is obviously pretty short. However, remember that any weapon without other anti-Champion capabilities will become anti-Barrier when you use it with Radiant, Unravelling Rounds, or Volatile Rounds.
Where to find Barrier Champions in Destiny 2
Champions are all over mid to high-level PvE activities. From seasonal activities to nightfalls to raids to Master dungeons, the majority of activities that are Legend difficulty or higher will contain Champions.
As a general rule of thumb, any activity that contains Champions will say so as a modifier before you even load in. The one exception to this is raids, which typically include Champions in non-boss encounters despite not having a modifier saying so.
Where to find Barrier Champions, Destiny 2
Before you go…
You now know everything there is to know about Barrier Champions. If you’re interested in Overload Champions, we cover all the Destiny 2 Overload Exotics and Weapons here.
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