Destiny 2 Catalysts Guide

Exotic catalysts are some of the most sought after items in Destiny 2.

Unlike legendary weapons, some exotics can be dramatically enhanced by their catalyst. Granted, some catalysts are duds, barely improving a weapon, while others can be game-changing, taking an exotic to an entirely new level.

But as with most things in Destiny 2, it’s hard to keep of all the exotics and catalysts in the game: Which exotics have a catalyst? How can you get them? Are they even worth it?

What is a Catalyst?: Catalysts allow you to “upgrade” Exotic weapons by granting them either more stat points, a new perk, or both.  Note that not every Exotic weapon has a Catalyst and every Catalyst needs to be first found and then unlocked. More about that below.

Our Exotic Tier list covers every exotic weapon in the game. It explains how to get them, what they do, and more. That’s a good place to start. This guide focuses on the catalysts themselves and tells you How to get them, how to unlocked them, and what effect they grant.

In the table below, we cover and rank every exotic catalyst in the game.

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Destiny 2 Exotic Catalyst list 2020

These are the different Tier levels used for the table below:

• S Tier – Best: Highest ranking weapons in our Tier List.
• A Tier – Strong: Very strong weapons, but not on the same level as S Tier Choices.
• B Tier – Average: Decent choices that can be lethal in the hands of a skilled player.
• C Tier – Weak: The middle of the pack, somewhat mediocre.
• D Tier – Worst: Lagging behind the competition, these don’t have much to offer.

For the sake of clarity, the ranking below focuses on the benefits of each catalyst but is also influenced by weapons themselves. For example, the best catalysts as S Tier because they bring significant improvements to already great weapons:

Going away: Catalysts highlighted as “Going away” are going into the DCV and won’t be available anymore until Bungie implements new ways to acquire them (and that could take months).

	Weapon	Catalyst Tier	Available?	Drops from / Difficulty	How to unlock	Catalyst effect	Type	Slot	Drops from
	Trinity Ghoul | Combat Bow	Best ❘ S	Yes	Completions or kills in Gambit, Crucible, Strikes, or Nightfalls ❘ Easy	► Get 400 kills	Trinity Ghoul Catalyst: ► Adds Forked Lightning perk: Reduces draw time by -108 and Lightning Rod now triggers from any arc damage final blow.	Combat Bow	Energy	Any activity
	Izanagi's Burden | Sniper Rifle	Best ❘ S	Going away	Complete Heroic Menagerie with a Masterworked Chalice of Opulence ❘ Average	► Get 500 kills	Izanagi's Burden Catalyst: ► Adds Peerless Edge perk: Increases the damage bonus of Honed Edge when all 4 bullets are consumed.	Sniper Rifle	Kinetic	Quest
	Legend of Acrius | Shotgun	Best ❘ S	Going away	Complete encounters and open Underbelly chests in Prestige Leviathan ❘ Hard	► Get 500 kills	Legend of Acrius Catalyst: ► Adds Deeper Pockets perk: Increases the magazine size by +2 and expands the ammo reserves. ► Increases reload speed by +36.	Shotgun	Heavy	Raid
	Riskrunner | Submachine Gun	Best ❘ S	Yes	Complete Pain and Gain quest ❘ Easy	► Get 500 kills ► Get 50 Arc Conductor kills	Riskrunner Catalyst: ► Increases range by +27.	Submachine Gun	Energy	Exotic Quest
	The Huckleberry | Submachine Gun	Best ❘ S	Going away	Kills or completions on Heroic adventures ❘ Average	► Get 500 kills	he Huckleberry Catalyst: ► Adds Bull Rider perk: Kills with this weapon now reload the entire magazine.	Submachine Gun	Kinetic	Heroic Adventures
	Eriana's Vow | Hand Cannon	Best ❘ S	Yes	Complete quest from Banshee-44 ❘ Average	► Get 700 kills	Eriana's Vow Catalyst: ► Adds More to Give perk: Increases magazine size by +3 and adds the perk Auto-Loading Holster.	Hand Cannon	Energy	Quest
	Witherhoard | Grenade Launcher	Best ❘ S	Yes	Complete quest from Banshee-44 ❘ Average	► Get 400 kills	Witherhoard Catalyst: ► Adds Silent Alarm perk: Maximizes handling, holstering this weapon automatically reloads it after a short period of time.	Grenade Launcher	Kinetic	Quest
	Sunshot | Hand Cannon	Best ❘ S	Yes	Kills, completions or wins on Strikes, Nightfalls or the Crucible ❘ Average	► Get 500 Sturm kills ► Get 1000 Sun Blast kills	Sunshot Catalyst: ► Increases stability by +18 and range by +27.	Hand Cannon	Energy	Strikes, Nightfalls or Crucible
	Ace of Spades | Hand Cannon	Strong ❘ A	Yes	Kills or completions in Strikes or Nightfalls ❘ Average	► Get 500 kills	Ace of Spades Catalyst: ► Adds Funeral Pyre perk: Firefly does more damage while Memento Mori is active.	Hand Cannon	Kinetic	Strikes or Nightfalls
	Bad Juju | Pulse Rifle	Strong ❘ A	Going away	45 Tributes placed in the Tribute Hall ❘ Average	► Get 700 kills	Bad Juju Catalyst: ► Adds Unending Curse perk: Extends the duration of the perk String of Curses.	Pulse Rifle	Kinetic	Tribute Hall
	Crimson | Hand Cannon	Strong ❘ A	Yes	Kill enemies in PVE ❘ Average	► Get 500 kills	Crimson Catalyst: ► Increases range by +18.	Hand Cannon	Kinetic	PVE
	Hard Light | Auto Rifle	Strong ❘ A	Yes	Kills or completions in Strikes or Nightfalls ❘ Average	► Get 1000 kills	Hard Light Catalyst: ► Increases stability by +18.	Auto Rifle	Energy	Strikes or Nightfalls
	Lumina | Hand Cannon	Strong ❘ A	Yes	Completions or kills in Gambit, Crucible, Strikes, or Nightfalls ❘ Easy	► Get 250 Noble Round heals	Lumina Catalyst: ► Adds Resonant Vitrue perk: Gain two Remnants per final blow instead of one.	Hand Cannon	Kinetic	Any activity
	Outbreak Perfected | Pulse Rifle	Strong ❘ A	Going away	Complete Zero Hour on Heroic difficulty ❘ Hard	► Collect 500 SIVA Nanites from Zero Hour on Heroic ► Get 500 precision kills	Outbreak Perfected Catalyst: ► Adds Disease Vector perk:Deal additional nanite damage.	Pulse Rifle	Kinetic	Quest
	Rat King | Sidearm	Strong ❘ A	Yes	Kills or completions in Strikes or Nightfalls ❘ Average	► Get 1000 kills while everyone in your fireteam is also using Rat King	Rat King Catalyst: ► Adds Infestation perk: Increases aim assist and recoil direction. Refreshes health when Vermin activates.	Sidearm	Kinetic	Exotic Quest
	Ruinous Effigy | Exotic Trace Rifle	Strong ❘ A	Yes	Any PVE kill ❘ Easy	► Destroy all Savathun's Eyes or ► Get 5000 kills	Ruinous Effigy Catalyst: ► Adds Deconstruction perk: Deals increased damage against targets damaged by Transmutation spheres.	Trace Rifle	Energy	PVE
	Sleeper Simulant | Linear Fusion Rifle	Strong ❘ A	Going away	Complete encounters in Prestige Leviathan ❘ Hard	► Get 1000 Sniper Rifle kills, 1000 Shotgun kills, and 2000 Submachine Gun kills with IKELOS weapons ► Loot the Oracle Chest in The Whisper mission ► Get 500 kills	Sleeper Simulant Catalyst: ► Lowers charge rate by -250 and expands ammo reserves.	Linear Fusion Rifle	Heavy	Raid
	SUROS Regime | Auto Rifle	Strong ❘ A	Going away	Kills or wins in the Crucible ❘ Average	► Get 300 PVP kills	SUROS Regime Catalyst: ► Adds SUROS Ascendance perk: Improves recoil direction and increases the chance to activate "SUROS Legacy".	Auto Rifle	Kinetic	Crucible
	The Fourth Horseman | Shotgun	Strong ❘ A	Unavailable	Complete Season of the Worthy activities ❘ Average	► Get 400 kills	The Fourth Horseman Catalyst: ► Adds And its name was Death perk: Adds an additional round to the magazine and increases reload speed by +40.	Shotgun	Energy	Raid
	The Jade Rabbit | Scout Rifle	Strong ❘ A	Yes	Kills or wins in the Crucible ❘ Average	► Get 250 PVP kills	The Jade Rabbit Catalyst: ► Increases stability by +27.	Scout Rifle	Kinetic	Crucible
	The Prospector | Grenade Launcher	Strong ❘ A	Yes	Kills or completions in Strikes or Nightfalls ❘ Average	► Get 500 kills	The Prospector Catalyst: ► Adds Deeper Pockets perk: Increases the magazine size by +1 and expands ammo reserves. ► Increases blast radius by +20.	Grenade Launcher	Heavy	Strikes or Nightfalls
	The Wardcliff Coil | Rocket Launcher	Strong ❘ A	Yes	Kills or completions in Strikes or Nightfalls ❘ Average	► Get 500 kills	The Wardcliff Coil Catalyst: ► Adds Pinpoint Guidance Module perk: Tightens rockets spread.	Rocket Launcher	Heavy	Strikes or Nightfalls
	Whisper of the Worm | Sniper Rifle	Strong ❘ A	Going away	Complete The Whisper on Heroic difficulty ❘ Hard	► Farm 100 Blighted Essence from The Whisper on Heroic difficulty	hisper of the Worm Catalyst: ► Adds Whispered Breathing perk: Aiming down the scope for 3 seconds increases range and precision damage while the weapon scope remains zoomed.	Sniper Rifle	Heavy	Quest
	Prometheus Lens | Trace Rifle	Average ❘ B	Yes	Kills or completions in Strikes or Nightfalls ❘ Average	► Get 500 kills	Prometheus Lens Catalyst: ► Increases stability by +18 and handling by +18.	Trace Rifle	Energy	Strikes or Nightfalls
	Black Talon | Sword	Average ❘ B	Yes	Kill enemies in PVE ❘ Easy	► Get 500 kills	Black Talon Catalyst: ► Adds Reversal perk: Shots blocked immediately after guarding increase the damage of Crow’s Wings for a very short duration.	Sword	Heavy	PVE
	Cerberus+1 | Auto Rifle	Average ❘ B	Yes	Kill enemies in PVE ❘ Average	► Get 500 kills	Cerberus+1 Catalyst: ► Adds Focused Fire perk: Hold reload to swap to a tighter, close-ranged spread.	Auto Rifle	Kinetic	PVE
	Coldheart | Trace Rifle	Average ❘ B	Yes	Kills or completions in Strikes or Nightfalls ❘ Average	► Get 300 kills	Coldheart Catalyst: ►Increases stability by +18 and reload speed by +18.	Trace Rifle	Energy	Strikes or Nightfalls
	D.A.R.C.I. | Sniper Rifle	Average ❘ B	Yes	Kill enemies in PVE ❘ Average	► Get 300 kills	D.A.R.C.I. Catalyst: ► Increases stability by +18.	Sniper Rifle	Heavy	PVE
	Fighting Lion | Grenade Launcher	Average ❘ B	Yes	Kill enemies in PVE ❘ Average	► Get 1000 kills ► Complete 167 bounties	Fighting Lion Catalyst: ► Adds Chimera perk: When Fighting Lion is fired, equipped Kinetic and Power weapon gain increased handling and accuracy for a brief period of time. ► Increases reload speed by +27.	Grenade Launcher	Energy	PVE
	Graviton Lance | Pulse Rifle	Average ❘ B	Yes	Kills, completions or wins on Strikes, Nightfalls or the Crucible ❘ Average	► Get 500 kills ► Get 1000 Cosmology kills	Graviton Lance Catalyst: ► Adds Hidden Hand perk: Increases the aim assist and targeting acquisition stats. ► Increases range by +18.	Pulse Rifle	Energy	Strikes, Nightfalls or Crucible
	Merciless | Fusion Rifle	Average ❘ B	Yes	Kills or completions in Strikes or Nightfalls ❘ Average	► Get 500 kills	MercilessCatalyst: ► Increases stability by +36 and range by +36.	Fusion Rifle	Energy	Strikes or Nightfalls
	Polaris Lance | Scout Rifle	Average ❘ B	Going away	Complete the 5th and final Nascent Dawn quest ❘ Average	► Get 500 Kills ► Get 50 Perfect Fifth kills	Polaris Lance Catalyst: ► Adds Dragonfly perk: Precision kills create an explosion around defeated enemy.	Scout Rifle	Energy	Quest
	Symmetry | Scout Rifle	Average ❘ B	Yes	Complete quest from Banshee-44 ❘ Average	► Get 700 kills	Symmetry Catalyst: ► Adds Electric Styx perk: Increases the max stack size of Dynamic Charge from x15 to x20.	Scout Rifle	Energy	Quest
	Tommy's Matchbook | Auto Rifle	Average ❘ B	Yes	Complete quest from Banshee-44 ❘ Average	► Get 700 kills	Tommy's Matchbook Catalyst: ► Adds Heat of the Moment perk: While Ignition Trigger is active, your health recovers much faster.	Auto Rifle	Energy	Quest
	Tractor Cannon | Shotgun	Average ❘ B	Yes	Kill enemies in PVE ❘ Average	► Get 300 kills	Tractor Cannon Catalyst: ► Adds Deeper Pockets perk: Increases the magazine size by +3 and expands ammo reserves.	Shotgun	Heavy	PVE
	Vigilance Wing | Pulse Rifle	Average ❘ B	Yes	Kills or wins in the Crucible ❘ Average	► Get 250 PVP kills ► 5 Blood for Blood medals	Vigilance Wing Catalyst: ► Adds Full Auto Trigger System perk: Makes the weapon fire fully automatic when holding down the fire button.	Pulse Rifle	Kinetic	Crucible
	Telesto | Fusion Rifle	Weak ❘ C	Going away	Complete encounters in Prestige Eater of Worlds ❘ Hard	► Acquire the Gift of the Lighthouse, then interact with the forge on Mercury	Telesto Catalyst: ► Adds Deeper Pockets perk: Increases the magazine size by +3 and expands ammo reserves.	Fusion Rifle	Energy	Raid
	Lord of Wolves | Shotgun	Weak ❘ C	Yes	Completions or kills in Gambit, Crucible, Strikes, or Nightfalls ❘ Easy	► Get 500 kills	Lord of Wolves Catalyst: ► Adds Fang and Claw perk: Increases reload speed while Release the Wolves is active and increases stability when it's not.	Shotgun	Energy	Any activity
	The Colony | Grenade Launcher	Weak ❘ C	Yes	Kills or wins in the Crucible ❘ Average	► Get 500 kills	The Colony Catalyst: ► Adds Deeper Pockets perk: Increases the magazine size by +1 and expands ammo reserves.	Grenade Launcher	Heavy	Crucible
	Skyburner's Oath | Scout Rifle	Weak ❘ C	Going away	Complete encounters in the Leviathan raid ❘ Hard	► Get 1000 Cabal kills	Skyburner's Oath Catalyst: ► Increases range by +27.	Scout Rifle	Energy	Raid
	Sturm | Hand Cannon	Weak ❘ C	Yes	Kill enemies in PVE on Nessus ❘ Average	► Get 500 Sturm kills ► Get 500 Drang kills	Sturm Catalyst: ► Increases handling by +40 and range by +18.	Hand Cannon	Kinetic	PVE
	Sweet Business | Auto Rifle	Weak ❘ C	Yes	Kills, completions or wins on Strikes, Nightfalls or the Crucible ❘ Average	► Get 250 Multikills	Sweet Business Catalyst: ► Adds Serious Business perk: Reduces incoming flinch when firing Sweet Business at full speed.	Auto Rifle	Kinetic	Strikes, Nightfalls or Crucible
	Borealis | Sniper Rifle	Worst ❘ D	Yes	Kill enemies in PVE ❘ Average	► Get 150 Solar Mode kills, 150 Void Mode kills, 150 Arc Mode kills	Borealis Catalyst: ► Increases reload speed by +18.	Sniper Rifle	Energy	PVE
	MIDA Multi-Tool | Scout Rifle	Worst ❘ D	Yes	Kills or wins in Competitive Crucible matches at Legend Glory rank ❘ Hard	► Get 250 precision kills in PVP	MIDA Multi-Tool Catalyst: ► Adds Outlaw perk: Increase weapon reload speed after a precision kill.	Scout Rifle	Kinetic	Crucible
	Worldline Zero | Sword	Worst ❘ D	Going away	Kill enemies in PVE with a sword equipped ❘ Easy	► Hit all 5 of the weekly bosses in Mars Protocol with Worldline Zero while they’re unshielded	Worldline Zero Catalyst: ► Adds Another Dimension perk: Reduces the activation time for the perk Tesseract.	Sword	Heavy	PVE
	Anarchy | Grenade Launcher	-	No Catalyst	-	-	-	Grenade Launcher	Heavy	Raid
	Arbalest | Linear Fusion Rifle	-	No Catalyst	-	-	-	Linear Fusion Rifle	Kinetic	Random Engram
	Bastion | Fusion Rifle	-	No Catalyst	-	-	-	Fusion Rifle	Kinetic	Exotic Cipher
	Deathbringer | Rocket Launcher	-	No Catalyst	-	-	-	Rocket Launcher	Heavy	Exotic Quest
	Devil's Ruin | Sidearm	-	No Catalyst	-	-	-	Sidearm	Energy	Exotic Cipher
	Divinity | Trace Rifle	-	No Catalyst	-	-	-	Trace Rifle	Energy	Raid
	Heir Apparent | Machine Gun	-	No Catalyst	-	-	-	Machine Gun	Heavy	Seasonal Event
	Jötunn | Fusion Rifle	-	No Catalyst	-	-	-	Fusion Rifle	Energy	Exotic Quest
	Le Monarque | Combat Bow	-	No Catalyst	-	-	-	Combat Bow	Energy	Exotic Quest
	Leviathan's Breath | Combat Bow	-	No Catalyst	-	-	-	Combat Bow	Heavy	Exotic Cipher
	Malfeasance | Hand Cannon	-	No Catalyst	-	-	-	Hand Cannon	Kinetic	Exotic Quest
	Monte Carlo | Auto Rifle	-	No Catalyst	-	-	-	Auto Rifle	Kinetic	Random Engram
	One Thousand Voices | Fusion Rifle	-	No Catalyst	-	-	-	Fusion Rifle	Heavy	Raid
	Tarrabah | Submachine Gun	-	No Catalyst	-	-	-	Submachine Gun	Energy	Raid
	The Chaperone | Shotgun	-	No Catalyst	-	-	-	Shotgun	Kinetic	Exotic Quest
	The Last Word | Hand Cannon	-	No Catalyst	-	-	-	Hand Cannon	Kinetic	Exotic Quest
	The Queenbreaker | Linear Fusion Rifle	-	No Catalyst	-	-	-	Linear Fusion Rifle	Heavy	Random Engram
	Thorn | Hand Cannon	-	No Catalyst	-	-	-	Hand Cannon	Kinetic	Exotic Quest
	Thunderlord | Machine Gun	-	No Catalyst	-	-	-	Machine Gun	Heavy	Random Engram
	Traveler's Chosen | Sidearm	-	No Catalyst	-	-	-	Sidearm	Kinetic	Exotic Quest
	Truth | Rocket Launcher	-	No Catalyst	-	-	-	Rocket Launcher	Heavy	Exotic Quest
	Two-Tailed Fox | Rocket Launcher	-	No Catalyst	-	-	-	Rocket Launcher	Heavy	Random Engram
	Wavesplitter | Trace Rifle	-	No Catalyst	-	-	-	Trace Rifle	Energy	Random Engram
	Wish-Ender | Combat Bow	-	No Catalyst	-	-	-	Combat Bow	Kinetic	Exotic Quest
	Xenophage | Machine Gun	-	No Catalyst	-	-	-	Machine Gun	Heavy	Exotic Quest

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About the Destiny Content Vault (DCV)

The DCV is a big deal. In Bungie’s words:

Each year, usually at the expansion boundaries, we will cycle some destination and activity content out of the game (and into the DCV) to make room for new experiences.

Close to 50% of the current game will go into the DCV this November 10, 2020, with the release of Beyond Light.

A comprehensive list including everything that is going away would be too long to cover here, but when it comes to Exotic quests, and catalysts, this is everything you need to know:

Exotic catalysts going into the DCV

As explained by Bungie, the catalysts for the following weapons will also become unavailable once Beyond Light launches:

1. Bad Juju
2. The Huckleberry
3. Izanagi’s Burden
4. Legend of Acrius
5. Polaris Lance
6. Skyburner’s Oath
7. Sleeper Simulant*
8. Telesto*
9. Outbreak Perfected*
10. Whisper of the Worm*
11. Worldline Zero*

Bungie does clarify the following:

If you have these catalysts already equipped and their objectives completed, you can continue using them at your leisure. If you already have any catalysts with an asterisk, make sure you finish completing the necessary objective to apply it as the objective will no longer be available at the end of Season of Arrivals.

As you can see, a lot of exotics and catalysts are leaving. If you crave any of these, you better get started before it’s too late. In fact, if you have limited playtime and can only chase 1 or 2 of these, I recommend:

• Whisper of the Worm if you’re in need of an excellent PVE weapon
• Telesto if you’re looking for a great PVP option

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Your Turn

When I first got into Destiny 2, exotic catalysts were some of the most mysterious items for me. Where do they come from? Do you have to find them and then unlock them? Granted, by themselves, catalysts are not overly complicated, it’s just another system that is hardly explained in-game.

With this guide, hopefully, all of your questions have been answered and you should have all the information you need to know what catalysts you want and how you can go about finding them.

This list will also help you plan and prepare for Beyond Light. Beyond Light will certainly come with exciting new things to play and chase. But in parallel, it will mark the end and removal of a lot of content. To be fair, most of the content going into the DCV won’t be missed (sorry, Curse of Osiris), but a few gems will.

So which are your favorite exotic catalysts? Let me know in the comments section below!