Destiny 2 Exotic Tier List: Best Exotics for PvE & PvP

It’s easy to get lost with the many exotics available in Destiny 2, especially when you’re new or have been away for a while. After all, there are so many of them, and new ones are added each season. Which Exotics are good and worth grinding for? How good are the latest ones?

As many of the best weapons in Destiny 2 are Exotics, this Tier list covers every single Destiny 2 Exotic in detail, including their main perks, and overall ranking.

Updated as of Season of the Wish (S23).

Best Destiny 2 Exotic weapons: Ranked from Best to Worst

These are the 100+ Exotic weapons currently available as of Season 23, excluding the brand-new Wish-Keeper Exotic bow.

What are Exotics?

Exotics are the highest-quality items available to players. Rare and hard to acquire, Exotics are extremely powerful weapons that offer game-changing perks and generally amazing aesthetics. Note that only one Exotic weapon can be equipped at once.

Primary Exotics

Item	Weapons	Type	Archetype	Ammo?	Element?	Requirements	In loot pool?	Rank	Source	Available?	Tier rank	Source ❘ DLC	Final Verdict	Released	Perks	Best of?
Polaris Lance	Polaris Lance	Scout Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Solar	Free-to-Play	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Kiosk		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvE + PvP	Exotic Kiosk Free-to-Play	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Precision hits return ammo to the mag. Landing 4 precision hits loads a delayed Solar explosive round for your next shot." ► Despite its reliance on the Seasonal Artifact, there is no denying that Polaris Lance is one of the easiest and most powerful options for content such as Grandmaster Nightfalls this season. Constant ignitions and never having to reload is a powerful combo, and this weapon can clear rooms and champions with ease.	Season 3	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Precision hits return ammo to the mag. Landing 4 precision hits loads a delayed Solar explosive round for your next shot."	Top-tier
Le Monarque	Le Monarque	Combat Bow	Exotic	Primary	Void	Forsaken Pack	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Kiosk		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvE + PvP	Exotic Kiosk Forsaken Pack	Slot: Void | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Arrows fired quickly after a full draw become poison arrows. Precision hits with poison arrows spread poison to nearby enemies." ► Le Monarque is a ridiculously oppressive pick in PvP as it can be combined with a Hand Cannon to deliver blindingly fast combo kills with relative ease. It also comes with intrinsic Overload Arrows, which, combined with its poison effect, are highly effective against Overload Champions. This makes Le Monarque an incredible pick for PvE too.	Season 5	Slot: Void | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Arrows fired quickly after a full draw become poison arrows. Precision hits with poison arrows spread poison to nearby enemies."	Top-tier
Lumina	Lumina	Hand Cannon	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Forsaken Pack	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Kiosk		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvE + PvP	Exotic Kiosk Forsaken Pack	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Kills with this weapon leave behind Remnants which convert your next hip fired shot into an ally-seeking Noble Round that heals them and grants both of you a weapon damage bonus for a short duration." ►Lumina is one of the most unique Exotics in Destiny 2, allowing you to heal allies and spread one of the most potent damage buffs in the game. If you're looking to optimize a DPS phase—or want to play a more significant support role—this is a fantastic pick. This applies to PvP too.	Season 7	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Kills with this weapon leave behind Remnants which convert your next hip fired shot into an ally-seeking Noble Round that heals them and grants both of you a weapon damage bonus for a short duration."	Top-tier
Vex Mythoclast	Vex Mythoclast	Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Solar	Free-to-Play	Yes	S › Best	Vault of Glass Raid		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvE + PvP	Vault of Glass Raid Free-to-Play	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon fires a single bolt with each trigger pull. Defeating targets builds stacks of Overcharge. Swap firing modes when fully Overcharged to charge up and fire more powerful linear fusion shots." ► Vex Mythoclast is now rightfully where it should be: among the best fusions in the game. Buffs against minors, bosses, and Champions have allowed Vex to break into the end game, even if it lacks an intrinsic anti-Champion perk.	Season 14	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon fires a single bolt with each trigger pull. Defeating targets builds stacks of Overcharge. Swap firing modes when fully Overcharged to charge up and fire more powerful linear fusion shots."	Top-tier
Osteo Striga	Osteo Striga	Submachine Gun	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	The Witch Queen	Yes	S › Best	The Witch Queen Campaign		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvE + PvP	The Witch Queen Campaign Witch Queen	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires a stream of sentient, toxic projectiles that track the targeted enemy. Landing a final blow or multiple precision hits triggers a burst that poisons nearby targets." ► Feeling extremely nice to use, Osteo Striga became an instant favorite for many. Its poison-spreading effect makes it one of the best ad-clear primaries in PVE, and its enemy-tracking bullets make it an easy-to-use option in PVP. Plus, you can craft your own. What's not to love?	Season 16	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires a stream of sentient, toxic projectiles that track the targeted enemy. Landing a final blow or multiple precision hits triggers a burst that poisons nearby targets."	Top-tier
Graviton Lance	Graviton Lance	Pulse Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Void	Free-to-Play	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Engram		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvE	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Void | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Second shot of a burst rips a hole through space-time, doing high damage and recoil with no falloff. Kills with this weapon cause enemies to detonate and spawn tracking Void projectiles." ► Graviton Lance is a beast of a weapon. It clears out entire rooms thanks to its explosive capabilities. It also synergizes well with certain builds, making it an excellent option right now.	Season 1	Slot: Void | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Second shot of a burst rips a hole through space-time, doing high damage and recoil with no falloff. Kills with this weapon cause enemies to detonate and spawn tracking Void projectiles."	Top-tier
Sunshot	Sunshot	Hand Cannon	Exotic	Primary	Solar	Free-to-Play	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Engram		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvE	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon fires explosive rounds. Targets killed with Sunshot explode in Solar energy." ► Sunshot is the cream of the crop this season. It synergizes brilliantly with Solar 3.0, and thanks to the buffs to Hand Cannons, it rips through any non-boss enemy, making it the quintessential Primary weapon for Solar players.	Season 1	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon fires explosive rounds. Targets killed with Sunshot explode in Solar energy."	Top-tier
Trinity Ghoul	Trinity Ghoul	Combat Bow	Exotic	Primary	Arc	Forsaken Pack	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Engram		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvE	Exotic Engram Forsaken Pack	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires an arrow that splits when released. Aiming down sights and fully drawing the bow both decrease the spread. Precision kills grant the next shot chain-lightning capabilities." ► Trinity Ghoul has always been brilliant for ad-clear, and that doesn't seem to be changing any time soon. Despite the more ability-focused meta we have right now, Trinity Ghoul is still a top contender for ad-clear in all PvE content.	Season 4	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires an arrow that splits when released. Aiming down sights and fully drawing the bow both decrease the spread. Precision kills grant the next shot chain-lightning capabilities."	Top-tier
Wish-Ender	Wish-Ender	Combat Bow	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Forsaken Pack	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Quest		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvE	Exotic Quest Forsaken Pack	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "While aiming down sights with a fully drawn Bow, combatants behind walls are highlighted, and arrows pierce shields. Strong against Barrier Champions. One shot can over-penetrate multiple targets." ► Wish-Ender has never been this strong or popular. With the newfound intrinsic ability to deal with Anti Barrier Champions with ease, even in Master and Grandmaster levels, and the fact that it effectively hits 3 times per arrow due to its piercing perk, Wish-Ender is currently a monster in PvE.	Season 4	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "While aiming down sights with a fully drawn Bow, combatants behind walls are highlighted, and arrows pierce shields. Strong against Barrier Champions. One shot can over-penetrate multiple targets."	Top-tier
Malfeasance	Malfeasance	Hand Cannon	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Quest		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvE	Exotic Quest Free-to-Play	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Shoot tainted slugs that burrow into the enemy. Stacking enough slugs causes them all to explode. Bonus damage against Taken enemies and Gambit invaders." ► Malfeasance has always been a fascinating weapon, and with the buffs to Hand Cannons, it quickly became one of the strongest Kinetic Primaries in the game, especially against Taken enemies. Malfeasance is even stronger when using the Lucky Pants Exotic, allowing for ridiculous damage.	Season 4	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Shoot tainted slugs that burrow into the enemy. Stacking enough slugs causes them all to explode. Bonus damage against Taken enemies and Gambit invaders."	Top-tier
Quicksilver Storm	Quicksilver Storm	Auto Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Strand	Lightfall	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Kiosk		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvE	Exotic Kiosk Lightfall	Slot: Strand | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Landing multiple hits turns your next shot into a homing micro-rocket. Landing multiple rockets loads a grenade." ► Quicksilver Storm may be the best Primary weapon in the game. Good base DPS, a burst damage option that is remarkably simple to use, and the ability to create Tangles allowing for Strand build crafting, make this weapon an exceptional pick.	Season 18	Slot: Strand | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Landing multiple hits turns your next shot into a homing micro-rocket. Landing multiple rockets loads a grenade."	Top-tier
Ace of Spades	Ace of Spades	Hand Cannon	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Forsaken Pack	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Kiosk		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvP	Exotic Kiosk Forsaken Pack	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Precision kills increase reload speed and cause the target to explode. Reloading after a kill increases damage. Grants radar while aiming down sights." ► Arguably the best 140 RPM hand cannon in the game, Ace of Spades has a lot to offer. With excellent base stats and some of the best perks around, namely Momento Mori, which is like Kill Clip on steroids and the ability to see your radar while zoomed in, this weapon has a bit of everything.	Season 4	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Precision kills increase reload speed and cause the target to explode. Reloading after a kill increases damage. Grants radar while aiming down sights."	Top-tier
Thorn	Thorn	Hand Cannon	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Forsaken Pack	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Kiosk		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvP	Exotic Kiosk Forsaken Pack	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Rounds pierce targets and deal damage over time. Kills leave behind Remnants which, when absorbed, increase damage." ► Thorn has rocketed right back into the meta with the release of its Exotic Catalyst. This catalyst provides practically everything: Range, Mobility, Handling, and Stability upon a single kill, or absorbing a remnant. This allows for constant kill-chaining and lets good players take over any lobby.	Season 6	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Rounds pierce targets and deal damage over time. Kills leave behind Remnants which, when absorbed, increase damage."	Top-tier
Hawkmoon	Hawkmoon	Hand Cannon	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Beyond Light	Yes	S › Best	Xûr		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvP	Xûr Beyond Light	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Final blows and precision hits with Hawkmoon grant stacks of Paracausal Charge. The final round in the magazine deals bonus damage based on the number of stacks. Stowing Hawkmoon on the final round removes this bonus." ► Hawkmoon is one of the strongest Exotic Hand Cannons in PvP. It can consistently 2-tap (and even 1-tap) opposing Guardians, provided you are accurate enough. In the hands of an experienced player, Hawkmoon is definitely something to fear.	Season 12	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Final blows and precision hits with Hawkmoon grant stacks of Paracausal Charge. The final round in the magazine deals bonus damage based on the number of stacks. Stowing Hawkmoon on the final round removes this bonus."	Top-tier
Dead Man's Tale	Dead Man's Tale	Scout Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Beyond Light	Yes	S › Best	Presage		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvP	Presage Beyond Light	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Chaining precision hits grants bonus target acquisition and range" + Killing Wind PvP God Roll: Outlaw (also good: Vorpal Weapon ) ► Dead Man's Tale is incredible in the Crucible right now. Due to the recent patch slowing the game down, players are able to take advantage of Dead Man's Tale's incredible range and hip-fire dueling potential.	Season 13	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Chaining precision hits grants bonus target acquisition and range" + Killing Wind PvP God Roll: Outlaw (also good: Vorpal Weapon )	Top-tier
No Time to Explain	No Time to Explain	Pulse Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Beyond Light	Yes	A › Strong	Beyond Light Campaign		Strong ❘ A Excels in: PvE + PvP	Beyond Light Campaign Beyond Light	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Precision shots and shots against combatants affected by Stasis return to the magazine. At 10 stacks, a small portal will open, shooting bullets from an alternate timeline version of this weapon. Precision hits extend the portal's duration." ► An exceptional pick in PVP (and a fun one in PVE), No Time to Explain's ability to provide you with an extra set of bullets continues to be helpful in most areas of the game.	Season 12	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Precision shots and shots against combatants affected by Stasis return to the magazine. At 10 stacks, a small portal will open, shooting bullets from an alternate timeline version of this weapon. Precision hits extend the portal's duration."	Top-tier
Riskrunner	Riskrunner	Submachine Gun	Exotic	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Quest		Strong ❘ A Excels in: PvE	Exotic Quest Free-to-Play	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "When taking Arc Damage, this weapon becomes more powerful and resists incoming Arc Damage. Shots fired can become chain lightning and return ammo. Kills extend the duration of the effect." ► Riskrunner can make you unstoppable, assuming you're taking arc damage (which includes throwing your arc grenade at your feet!). When its perk activates, you literally become an unkillable god able to lethal deal chain damage with ease.	Season 1	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "When taking Arc Damage, this weapon becomes more powerful and resists incoming Arc Damage. Shots fired can become chain lightning and return ammo. Kills extend the duration of the effect."	Top-tier
Outbreak Perfected	Outbreak Perfected	Pulse Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	A › Strong	Zero Hour		Strong ❘ A Excels in: PvE	Zero Hour Free-to-Play	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon creates SIVA nanite swarms on rapid hits and precision kills and does more damage to enemies based on the number of SIVA nanites that attach to them." ► Outbreak Perfected's theme and great firing feel alone make it a popular PVE choice. And with buffs to Exotic primary weapon damage, it's now an excellent option for casual PVE content.	Season 6	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon creates SIVA nanite swarms on rapid hits and precision kills and does more damage to enemies based on the number of SIVA nanites that attach to them."	Top-tier
Cryosthesia 77K	Cryosthesia 77K	Sidearm	Exotic	Primary	Stasis	Beyond Light	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Kiosk		Strong ❘ A Excels in: PvE	Exotic Kiosk Beyond Light	Slot: Stasis | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Press and release to fire individual shots. Hold to fire a Charged Shot when Liquid Cooling is active. Final blows with this weapon enable a Charged Shot for a short duration. Targets hit by this shot are instantly frozen." ► With Stasis being a hard counter to Champions, Cryosthesia is a solid weapon in the right hands. While there is a learning curve of when and where to use the charged shot, it won't take long to master it.	Season 14	Slot: Stasis | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Press and release to fire individual shots. Hold to fire a Charged Shot when Liquid Cooling is active. Final blows with this weapon enable a Charged Shot for a short duration. Targets hit by this shot are instantly frozen."	Top-tier
Collective Obligation	Collective Obligation	Pulse Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Void	The Witch Queen	Yes	A › Strong	Vow of the Disciple Raid		Strong ❘ A Excels in: PvE	Vow of the Disciple Raid Witch Queen	Slot: Void | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon leeches Void debuffs when damaging targets that are suppressed, weakened, or volatile. Once charged, damage from this weapon applies the same Void debuffs that were leeched. Weapon automatically reloads when you gain Devour, a Void overshield, or become invisible." ► With the ability to debuff everything in sight, Collective Obligation can do things no other weapon can. That being said, you're almost required to create a build with it to make it worth your exotic slot. While this weapon has potential, having to work so hard to make your exotic feel "exotic" isn't great.	Season 16	Slot: Void | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon leeches Void debuffs when damaging targets that are suppressed, weakened, or volatile. Once charged, damage from this weapon applies the same Void debuffs that were leeched. Weapon automatically reloads when you gain Devour, a Void overshield, or become invisible."	Top-tier
Touch of Malice	Touch of Malice	Scout Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	A › Strong	King's Fall Raid		Strong ❘ A Excels in: PvE	King's Fall Raid Free-to-Play	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "The final round in the magazine deals bonus damage and then regenerates itself. Rapidly defeating three targets restores health. Precision hits drain combatants' life force and charge up a ball of darkness." ► With the release of Special weapons that fill the backup DPS role excellently, such as the Supremacy, Touch of Malice has fallen down in terms of ranking. It also hogs your exotic slot, which could be better used on another weapon. That being said, it is still a very easy to use and powerful backup DPS option.	Season 18	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "The final round in the magazine deals bonus damage and then regenerates itself. Rapidly defeating three targets restores health. Precision hits drain combatants' life force and charge up a ball of darkness."	Top-tier
Necrochasm	Necrochasm	Auto Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	A › Strong	Crota's End Raid		Strong ❘ A Excels in: PvE	Crota's End Raid Free-to-Play	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Precision final blows with this weapon trigger a Cursed Thrall explosion. Final blows with Cursed Thrall explosions refill the magazine." ► Necrochasm is an add-clearing monster that can cause a chain reaction of constant explosions. What holds Necrochasm back, though, is its lack of synergy with any subclass, making it quite hard to use in a build.	Season 22	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Precision final blows with this weapon trigger a Cursed Thrall explosion. Final blows with Cursed Thrall explosions refill the magazine."	Top-tier
The Jade Rabbit	The Jade Rabbit	Scout Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Engram		Strong ❘ A Excels in: PvP	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Chain body shots to gain bonus damage on your next precision shot, return ammo to the magazine, and increases its stability." ► Jade Rabbit is a pretty strong option. While it may not be as powerful as it once was, it deals incredible damage and can net a 3-tap in 0.8 seconds, provided you have perfect precision. It's also incredibly easy to use and has excellent range, making it a powerful option in this sandbox.	Season 2	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Chain body shots to gain bonus damage on your next precision shot, return ammo to the magazine, and increases its stability."	Top-tier
Devil's Ruin	Devil's Ruin	Sidearm	Exotic	Primary	Solar	Shadowkeep	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE + PvP	Exotic Kiosk Shadowkeep	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Variable trigger. Press and release to fire individual shots. Hold to charge up a high-powered, staggering laser." ► Able to deal with Unstoppable Champions, this is a fun weapon that does decent damage and melts shotgun apes in PVP when in laser mode. You will rarely see it in the wild, but this weapon deserves more attention, especially now that primary ammo is unlimited.	Season 9	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Variable trigger. Press and release to fire individual shots. Hold to charge up a high-powered, staggering laser."
Traveler's Chosen	Traveler's Chosen	Sidearm	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Shadowkeep	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE + PvP	Exotic Kiosk Shadowkeep	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Final blows grant stacks of Gathering Light. Consuming stacks, grant melee, grenade, and class ability energy based on the number of stacks. Each stack of Gathering Light improves this weapon's reload, handling, and target acquisition." ► Traveler's Chosen isn't anything special, but it is a solid option if you want to use an exotic Sidearm.	Season 11	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Final blows grant stacks of Gathering Light. Consuming stacks, grant melee, grenade, and class ability energy based on the number of stacks. Each stack of Gathering Light improves this weapon's reload, handling, and target acquisition."
Trespasser	Trespasser	Sidearm	Exotic	Primary	Arc	The Witch Queen	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE + PvP	Exotic Kiosk Witch Queen	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Reloading after defeating a target causes the next burst to be a longer, more powerful superburst. Final blows with Unrepentant superbursts automatically reload your weapon and provide an Unrepentant superburst." ► Trespasser is the mid-tier slayer. It destroys anything and everything in low to mid-tier content but will struggle in high-level content. It can also find some success in PvP, but there are more straightforward options you can use.	Season 17	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Reloading after defeating a target causes the next burst to be a longer, more powerful superburst. Final blows with Unrepentant superbursts automatically reload your weapon and provide an Unrepentant superburst."
Wish-Keeper	Wish-Keeper	Combat Bow	Exotic	Primary	Strand	Season 23	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Quest		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE + PvP	Exotic Quest Season 23	Slot: Strand | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Precision hits and final blows build energy towards a Snareweaver arrow that can be fired from the hip. On impact, Snareweaver arrows create a pattern of traps that suspend nearby targets. This weapon deals bonus damage to suspended targets. Gain faster draw time for a short duration when you suspend or damage a suspended target with this weapon." ► Wish-Keeper is a fun and solid option if you want to lean into Strand and the suspending capabilities of the subclass. It also lets you access Suspend on a non-strand subclass, which can be surprisingly powerful.	Season 23	Slot: Strand | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Precision hits and final blows build energy towards a Snareweaver arrow that can be fired from the hip. On impact, Snareweaver arrows create a pattern of traps that suspend nearby targets. This weapon deals bonus damage to suspended targets. Gain faster draw time for a short duration when you suspend or damage a suspended target with this weapon."
Skyburner's Oath	Skyburner's Oath	Scout Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Solar	Free-to-Play	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Engram		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic PvE God Roll: Rapid Hit (also good: Subsistence) + Rampage PvP God Roll: Surplus (also good: Rapid Hit) + Kill Clip ► Skyburner's Oath is still a solid weapon, but some other alternatives, such as Polaris Lance, outperform it, as Polaris can wreak much more havoc without having to only use hip-fire.	Season 1	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic PvE God Roll: Rapid Hit (also good: Subsistence) + Rampage PvP God Roll: Surplus (also good: Rapid Hit) + Kill Clip
Rat King	Rat King	Sidearm	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE	Exotic Kiosk Free-to-Play	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This fully automatic weapon becomes stronger when nearby allies also have it equipped. Reloading immediately after a kill grants a brief period of invisibility." ► One of the most unique primary weapons available, Rat King is capable when used by yourself and quite strong when used in a Fireteam with other Rat King users.	Season 1	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This fully automatic weapon becomes stronger when nearby allies also have it equipped. Reloading immediately after a kill grants a brief period of invisibility."
The Huckleberry	The Huckleberry	Submachine Gun	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Engram		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Increased rate of fire and recoil while you're holding down the trigger. Kills with this weapon temporarily grant increased damage and partially reload the magazine." ► The Huckleberry is a fun and satisfying weapon to use, but if we look at some other options, there are Legendary weapons that can accomplish the same goals without using up your valuable Exotic weapon slot.	Season 3	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Increased rate of fire and recoil while you're holding down the trigger. Kills with this weapon temporarily grant increased damage and partially reload the magazine."
Bad Juju	Bad Juju	Pulse Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Forsaken Pack	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE	Exotic Kiosk Forsaken Pack	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Kills refill the magazine, increase damage for a short duration, and grant Super energy based on the number of kills. Fires full-auto." ► Bad Juju is one of the most underrated weapons in Destiny 2. It can be a menace in PVE and gets even better with the catalyst. Unfortunately, Pulse Rifles aren't in a great place right now... But if they ever receive buffs, expect Bad Juju to rise to the top.	Season 7	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Kills refill the magazine, increase damage for a short duration, and grant Super energy based on the number of kills. Fires full-auto."
Monte Carlo	Monte Carlo	Auto Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Shadowkeep	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Engram		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE	Exotic Engram Shadowkeep	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Dealing damage with this weapon reduces melee cooldown and can fully charge your melee with each kill. Melee kills and kills with this weapon increase damage." ► Monte Carlo is a decent auto rifle with a clean aesthetic and nice stats overall. Its exotic perk grants you melee energy with hits and kills, and on top of that, it also comes with an exotic version of Swashbuckler, which is a nice touch and pairs really well with melee-focused playstyles.	Season 8	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Dealing damage with this weapon reduces melee cooldown and can fully charge your melee with each kill. Melee kills and kills with this weapon increase damage."
Ticuu's Divination	Ticuu's Divination	Combat Bow	Exotic	Primary	Solar	Beyond Light	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE	Exotic Kiosk Beyond Light	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Hipfiring this weapon fires multiple tracking projectiles. Targets marked explode upon death, or when struck again. Arrows fired while aiming down sights cause Sacred Flames to instantly detonate." ► Ticuu's Divination is a powerful option, but it is grossly outclassed by too many weapons. Polaris Lance does more work in high-level content and Trinity Ghoul is way better at ad clear. Ticuu's is decent, but it just can't stand against its rivals.	Season 13	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Hipfiring this weapon fires multiple tracking projectiles. Targets marked explode upon death, or when struck again. Arrows fired while aiming down sights cause Sacred Flames to instantly detonate."
Revision Zero	Revision Zero	Pulse Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	The Witch Queen	Yes	B › Average	Operation: Seraph's Shield		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE	Operation: Seraph's Shield Witch Queen	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Precision hits grant targeting data. Swap to the alternate scope, loading high-damage rounds based on the amount of targeting data. Strong against Barrier Champions. Increased movement speed and target acquisition when moving while aiming down sights." ► Revision Zero is THE Anti-Barrier Champion weapon. With increased damage to Champions, intrinsic Anti-Barrier, and a sniper mode that deals chunky damage, this weapon is an all-around solid option.	Season 19	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Precision hits grant targeting data. Swap to the alternate scope, loading high-damage rounds based on the amount of targeting data. Strong against Barrier Champions. Increased movement speed and target acquisition when moving while aiming down sights."
Hierarchy of Needs	Hierarchy of Needs	Combat Bow	Exotic	Primary	Solar	Deluxe Edition	Yes	B › Average	Spire of the Watcher Dungeon		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE	Spire of the Watcher Dungeon Deluxe Edition	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Precision hits and final blows build Guidance Ring energy. Arrows fired through a Guidance Ring release seeking projectiles, which do more damage based on distance traveled." ► While it is incredibly unique and can pump out some respectable damage for a primary weapon, Hierarchy of Needs is simply too clunky and too niche, especially when Touch of Malice can accomplish the same goal and more.	Season 19	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Precision hits and final blows build Guidance Ring energy. Arrows fired through a Guidance Ring release seeking projectiles, which do more damage based on distance traveled."
Verglas Curve	Verglas Curve	Combat Bow	Exotic	Primary	Stasis	Season 20	Yes	B › Average	Season Pass		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE	Season Pass Season 20	Slot: Stasis | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Final blows with this weapon grant Stasis arrows. Your next hip-fire shot will fire all of them in a single volley. Stasis arrows freeze targets on contact and create Stasis crystals when affecting the environment." ► Verglas Curve is a fun and unique option that acts as a Stasis Trinty Ghoul (that requires extra steps). Good add clear, and the ability to generate Stasis Crystals is nothing to scoff at, but overall, it's outclassed by other Exotics.	Season 20	Slot: Stasis | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Final blows with this weapon grant Stasis arrows. Your next hip-fire shot will fire all of them in a single volley. Stasis arrows freeze targets on contact and create Stasis crystals when affecting the environment."
Centrifuse	Centrifuse	Auto Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	B › Average	Season Pass		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE	Season Pass Free-to-Play	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Sprinting, sliding, and firing this weapon builds a temporary electrostatic charge, increasing range and reload speed. Final blows with high charge cause explosions, and maximum charge explosions blind targets." ► Sprinting with Centrifuse will charge up its arc damage output. It works like a toned-down take on Zhalo Supercell from Destiny 1. The weapon is solid in PvE as it is great at crowd control when the perk is charged, but otherwise, this is a fairly tame exotic option.	Season 21	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Sprinting, sliding, and firing this weapon builds a temporary electrostatic charge, increasing range and reload speed. Final blows with high charge cause explosions, and maximum charge explosions blind targets."
Vigilance Wing	Vigilance Wing	Pulse Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Engram		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvP	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon fires a 5-round burst. When a nearby ally is killed, gain health regeneration, and increased movement speed." ► Vigilance Wing has always been a solid choice for PVP; in recent times, however, it's gotten outclassed. Without a buff soon, Vigilance Wing may drop down into the lower half of pulse rifles.	Season 1	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon fires a 5-round burst. When a nearby ally is killed, gain health regeneration, and increased movement speed."
Fighting Lion	Fighting Lion	Grenade Launcher	Exotic	Primary	Void	Free-to-Play	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Engram		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvP	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Void | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Grenade projectiles will bounce off surfaces. Hold to fire, and release to detonate. Direct hits do more damage to enemy shields. Rapid kills against grenade-damaged enemies refill the magazine." ► The Fighting Lion can be one of the most fun weapons to use but also one of the most annoying weapons to fight against. Mastering the Fighting Lion playstyle in the Crucible can yield excellent results. However, it takes time to master and it requires quite a niche playstyle.	Season 1	Slot: Void | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Grenade projectiles will bounce off surfaces. Hold to fire, and release to detonate. Direct hits do more damage to enemy shields. Rapid kills against grenade-damaged enemies refill the magazine."
Hard Light	Hard Light	Auto Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Void	Free-to-Play	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Engram		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvP	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Void | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Rounds fired from this weapon have reduced damage falloff, over-penetrate targets, and ricochet off hard surfaces dealing extra damage. It can also change its damage type." ► The days of Hard Light's domination over the Crucible are long gone, and these days it sits in the middle of the pack. It does have its niche uses and fun ways to ricochet kill enemies, but many Legendary alternatives surpass it in both PvE and PvP.	Season 1	Slot: Void | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Rounds fired from this weapon have reduced damage falloff, over-penetrate targets, and ricochet off hard surfaces dealing extra damage. It can also change its damage type."
Crimson	Crimson	Hand Cannon	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Engram		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvP	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon fires a 3-round burst. Kills with this weapon heal the wielder. Precision kills also refill the magazine." ► Effectively a Hand Cannon version of Red Death from Destiny 1, Crimson is often a misunderstood weapon and typically receives mixed reviews. But just like The Last Word, Crimson can be very good for PvP, provided you're using a controller.	Season 2	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon fires a 3-round burst. Kills with this weapon heal the wielder. Precision kills also refill the magazine."
SUROS Regime	SUROS Regime	Auto Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Engram		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvP	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "The bottom half of each magazine deals bonus damage and can return health on kill. Holding down the trigger increases rate of fire." ► SUROS Regime's ability to combine a higher damage per bullet and a faster rate of fire can absolutely shred opposing Guardians. This makes SUROS an incredibly oppressive option if used correctly. It has fallen slightly behind, though, especially in this current long-range meta.	Season 3	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "The bottom half of each magazine deals bonus damage and can return health on kill. Holding down the trigger increases rate of fire."
Tarrabah	Tarrabah	Submachine Gun	Exotic	Primary	Solar	Forsaken Pack	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvP	Exotic Kiosk Forsaken Pack	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon stores power when dealing or receiving damage. Once full, hold reload to unleash the beast." ► Tarrabah is still pretty strong, but it doesn't see as much usage as it once did. The meta has simply shifted away from it, and towards Legendary SMGs that are just as deadly.	Season 4	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon stores power when dealing or receiving damage. Once full, hold reload to unleash the beast."
The Last Word	The Last Word	Hand Cannon	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Forsaken Pack	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvP	Exotic Kiosk Forsaken Pack	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon fires full auto. Hip-fire shots deal bonus precision damage while increasing reload speed and accuracy." ► The Last Word is notorious for being way better on a controller than on mouse and keyboard. These days, it's much less common in The Crucible; however, it's still an alright pick for controller players who don't have much else to run.	Season 5	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon fires full auto. Hip-fire shots deal bonus precision damage while increasing reload speed and accuracy."
Final Warning	Final Warning	Sidearm	Exotic	Primary	Strand	Lightfall	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Quest		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvP	Exotic Quest Lightfall	Slot: Strand | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Holding down the trigger marks targets and loads multiple bullets, which fire in a burst with increased stability on trigger release. Hitting a marked target with a fully charged burst will unravel them. Hipfiring Projectiles will track marked targets and deal increased body shot damage. Aiming Projectiles have greatly increased velocity and deal extra critical hit damage." ► While Final Warning may be a fun option inside of the Crubile, it isn't meta-defining and doesn't change the game too much. There are better options that don't take up your exotic slot.	Season 20	Slot: Strand | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Holding down the trigger marks targets and loads multiple bullets, which fire in a burst with increased stability on trigger release. Hitting a marked target with a fully charged burst will unravel them. Hipfiring Projectiles will track marked targets and deal increased body shot damage. Aiming Projectiles have greatly increased velocity and deal extra critical hit damage."
Sturm	Sturm	Hand Cannon	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		Average ❘ B	Exotic Kiosk Free-to-Play	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Kills fill the magazine of the equipped Energy weapon from reserves. Kills with Drang reload this weapon and provides bonus damage." ► Sturm is a pretty niche pick. Even if you play into the gameplay loop of using this gun by equipping Drang, it just feels like a lot of work for not too much payoff. While unique and fun at times, Sturm can't be considered a top-tier pick right now.	Season 1	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Kills fill the magazine of the equipped Energy weapon from reserves. Kills with Drang reload this weapon and provides bonus damage."
Symmetry	Symmetry	Scout Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Arc	Shadowkeep	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Kiosk		Weak ❘ C Excels in: PvP	Exotic Kiosk Shadowkeep	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Precision hits build up Dynamic Charge. Swapping to Arc Seeker mode increases damage and partially reloads the magazine. Arc Seekers track toward combatants you target." ► Symmetry is an unique weapon that can easily catch opponents off guard. However, its main perk will be less effective against better players, neutering its value in more challenging PvP settings. That said, you can still frag out with it in more casual settings.	Season 9	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Precision hits build up Dynamic Charge. Swapping to Arc Seeker mode increases damage and partially reloads the magazine. Arc Seekers track toward combatants you target."
MIDA Multi-Tool	MIDA Multi-Tool	Scout Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Kiosk		Weak ❘ C	Exotic Kiosk Free-to-Play	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon boosts move speed. Radar stays active while aiming down sights." ► MIDA Multi-Tool isn't what it used to be in PvP. It gets outclassed by most other weapon types and will struggle to find success in most hands.	Season 1	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon boosts move speed. Radar stays active while aiming down sights."
Sweet Business	Sweet Business	Auto Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Quest		Weak ❘ C	Exotic Quest Free-to-Play	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Larger magazine. Increased accuracy when firing from the hip. Picking up ammo for this weapon immediately reloads it." ► Sweet Business is fun, but that's about it. It can have an excellent TTK when it's ramped up, but when enemies hear a revved-up Sweet Business, they will simply either take cover or peek shoot. This renders the Sweet Business mostly ineffective.	Season 1	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Larger magazine. Increased accuracy when firing from the hip. Picking up ammo for this weapon immediately reloads it."
Cerberus+1	Cerberus+1	Auto Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Engram		Weak ❘ C	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Shoots erratic bullets from all gun barrels at the same time. Aiming this weapon reduces the spread of its projectiles." ► To say Cerberus+1 is a niche option is an understatement. Cerberus can be useful at dealing with Titan Barricades, especially Citan's Rampart barricades, but other than that, this is a poor weapon, too erratic to do anything notable with.	Season 4	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Shoots erratic bullets from all gun barrels at the same time. Aiming this weapon reduces the spread of its projectiles."
Tommy's Matchbook	Tommy's Matchbook	Auto Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Solar	Shadowkeep	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Kiosk		Weak ❘ C	Exotic Kiosk Shadowkeep	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Sustained fire with this weapon overheats it, increasing damage but burning the user. Overheat damage is reduced while hip firing." ► Tommy's Matchbook can be deadly in certain scenarios, but realistically speaking, there will always going to be better options at your disposal for both PvE and PvP.	Season 10	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Sustained fire with this weapon overheats it, increasing damage but burning the user. Overheat damage is reduced while hip firing."
The Manticore	The Manticore	Submachine Gun	Exotic	Primary	Void	The Witch Queen	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Kiosk		Weak ❘ C	Exotic Kiosk Witch Queen	Slot: Void | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Dealing damage while grounded charges antigrav repulsors. Dealing damage while airborne extends antigrav repulsors. Dealing damage while airborne increases this weapon's damage output." ► The Manticore can completely catch opponents off guard if they refuse to take its airborne damage buff seriously. However, skilled players will quickly adapt and catch on to the Manticore's strategy and use you as a sitting duck when in the air.	Season 19	Slot: Void | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Dealing damage while grounded charges antigrav repulsors. Dealing damage while airborne extends antigrav repulsors. Dealing damage while airborne increases this weapon's damage output."
Wicked Implement	Wicked Implement	Scout Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Stasis	Free-to-Play	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Quest		Weak ❘ C	Exotic Quest Free-to-Play	Slot: Stasis | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Rapidly landing precision hits causes targets to become slowed. Precision final blows create a Stasis shard that returns to you. Collecting Stasis shards refills the magazine." ► Wicked Implement is weak. It centers around Stasis, and given that Stasis is pretty weak, it's pretty hard to recommend players to use one of the weakest weapon types for the weakest subclass.	Season 21	Slot: Stasis | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Rapidly landing precision hits causes targets to become slowed. Precision final blows create a Stasis shard that returns to you. Collecting Stasis shards refills the magazine."

ℹ️ Did you know that Primary ammo Exotics deal +40% more damage to Minor (red bar) enemies than their Legendary counterparts?

Special Exotics

Item	Weapons	Type	Archetype	Ammo?	Element?	Requirements	In loot pool?	Rank	Source	Available?	Tier rank	Source ❘ DLC	Final Verdict	Released	Perks	Best of?
Witherhoard	Witherhoard	Grenade Launcher	Exotic	Special	Kinetic	Shadowkeep	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Kiosk		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvE + PvP	Exotic Kiosk Shadowkeep	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Projectiles fired blight the target or nearby area on impact. Blighted targets take damage over time and blight the nearby area on death." ► Even a few nerfs to this GL couldn't knock it out of the top spot. A true fire-and-forget weapon, Witherhoard can deal with all manner of enemies in just a few shots. Whether it is used as part of a damage rotation, or just to lock an area down, Witherhoard reigns supreme.	Season 11	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Projectiles fired blight the target or nearby area on impact. Blighted targets take damage over time and blight the nearby area on death."	Top-tier
Cloudstrike	Cloudstrike	Sniper Rifle	Exotic	Special	Arc	Beyond Light	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Quest		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvE + PvP	Exotic Quest Beyond Light	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Precision final blows generate a lightning bolt at the target's location. Rapid precision hits create a lightning storm at the point of impact." ► Cloudstrike is a monster in all areas of the game. It pumps out substantial damage in PvE compared to other snipers, and it can easily eliminate an entire team of Guardians in The Crucible. Plus, it's super fun and satisfying to use. What's not to love?	Season 12	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Precision final blows generate a lightning bolt at the target's location. Rapid precision hits create a lightning storm at the point of impact."	Top-tier
Conditional Finality	Conditional Finality	Shotgun	Exotic	Special	Stasis	Lightfall	Yes	S › Best	Root of Nightmares Raid		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvE + PvP	Root of Nightmares Raid Lightfall	Slot: Stasis | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Dual barrels split into Stasis and Solar damage. Landing nearly all Stasis pellets will freeze targets; landing nearly all Solar pellets will ignite targets." ► Conditional Finality is the Shotgun to use in PvE and PvP. With incredibly high utility everywhere in the game, Conditional Finality is a must-have weapon in the current meta.	Season 20	Slot: Stasis | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Dual barrels split into Stasis and Solar damage. Landing nearly all Stasis pellets will freeze targets; landing nearly all Solar pellets will ignite targets."	Top-tier
Merciless	Merciless	Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Special	Solar	Free-to-Play	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Engram		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvE	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Non-lethal hits make this weapon charge faster. Reloading immediately after a kill increases weapon damage for a short time." ► Merciless is unmatched in the Fusion Rifle department. With the changes to the Conserve Momentum perk lasting through reloading, Merciless became a beast overnight and can put out some ridiculous burst damage.	Season 1	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Non-lethal hits make this weapon charge faster. Reloading immediately after a kill increases weapon damage for a short time."	Top-tier
Izanagi's Burden	Izanagi's Burden	Sniper Rifle	Exotic	Special	Kinetic	Forsaken Pack	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Kiosk		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvE	Exotic Kiosk Forsaken Pack	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Holding reload consumes the magazine and loads a round with additional range and damage." ► A powerhouse of a weapon, Izanagi's Burden can reach some incredible DPS numbers, especially when combined with a Bait and Switch Heavy Weapon. Due to how popular Bait and Switch is, Izanagi's is the perfect weapon to deal a chunk of damage with, before swapping to your main damage-dealing Heavy weapon.	Season 5	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Holding reload consumes the magazine and loads a round with additional range and damage."	Top-tier
Arbalest	Arbalest	Linear Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Special	Kinetic	Lightfall	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Quest		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvE	Exotic Quest Lightfall	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires slugs that cause massive damage to enemy shields. Strong against Barrier Champions. Breaking an enemy's shield with this weapon makes them more vulnerable to Kinetic damage." ► Arbalest continues to dominate in every area of the game, even through nerfs to both its damage and aim assist. With the ability to nuke Barrier Champion and elemental shields in 1-2 shots (even on Grandmaster difficulty), Arbalest is still a brilliant and mind-bogglingly simple weapon to use.	Season 6	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires slugs that cause massive damage to enemy shields. Strong against Barrier Champions. Breaking an enemy's shield with this weapon makes them more vulnerable to Kinetic damage."	Top-tier
The Chaperone	The Chaperone	Shotgun	Exotic	Special	Kinetic	Beyond Light	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Quest		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvP	Exotic Quest Beyond Light	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires a single-slug precision round. Precision kills briefly grant bonus handling, range, and precision damage with this weapon." ► It certainly requires more skill than your average pellet shotgun, but in the right hands, The Chaperone is the deadliest shotgun in the entire game. Because of its excellent base stats and Precision-slug frame, The Chaperone has the longest one-hit kill distance of any shotgun in the game, provided you can hit your headshots.	Season 4	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires a single-slug precision round. Precision kills briefly grant bonus handling, range, and precision damage with this weapon."	Top-tier
Duality	Duality	Shotgun	Exotic	Special	Solar	Beyond Light	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Kiosk		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvP	Exotic Kiosk Beyond Light	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires a pellet spread in hip-fire or a single high-damage slug while aiming. Pellet final blows grant a stacking precision damage and reload speed buff. Precision hits with slugs extend the duration." ► Duality is still one of the most versatile options in the game. With its ability to switch between Slugs and Pellets at will, skilled players can truly take advantage of Duality's powerful flexibility.	Season 12	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires a pellet spread in hip-fire or a single high-damage slug while aiming. Pellet final blows grant a stacking precision damage and reload speed buff. Precision hits with slugs extend the duration."	Top-tier
The Navigator	The Navigator	Trace Rifle	Exotic	Special	Strand	Deluxe Edition	Yes	A › Strong	Ghost of the Deep Dungeon		Strong ❘ A Excels in: PvE + PvP	Ghost of the Deep Dungeon Deluxe Edition	Slot: Strand | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Firing this weapon at an ally grants Woven Mail to both the user and the target. Dealing sustained damage severs the target." ► The Navigator is obscenely powerful on the Titan class but only average on Warlock and Hunter. On Titan, The Navigator can deal outrageous damage with the Grapple Melee, Wormgod Caress, and a one-two punch Shotgun.	Season 21	Slot: Strand | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Firing this weapon at an ally grants Woven Mail to both the user and the target. Dealing sustained damage severs the target."	Top-tier
Divinity	Divinity	Trace Rifle	Exotic	Special	Arc	Shadowkeep	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Quest		Strong ❘ A Excels in: PvE	Exotic Quest Shadowkeep	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Sustained damage with this weapon envelops the target in a field that weakens and disrupts them." ► Divinity has been a great choice for years now. Even though a recent nerf reduced its debuff to 15%, this trace rifle still proves its worth through the ability to make crits way easier to hit. Plus, it's still considered the best Overload weapon in the game.	Season 8	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Sustained damage with this weapon envelops the target in a field that weakens and disrupts them."	Top-tier
Ager's Scepter	Ager's Scepter	Trace Rifle	Exotic	Special	Stasis	Beyond Light	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Kiosk		Strong ❘ A Excels in: PvE	Exotic Kiosk Beyond Light	Slot: Stasis | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Final blows with this weapon generate a slowing burst around the defeated target. Stasis final blows transfer ammo to this weapon's magazine from reserves." ► Ager's Scepter is the Stasis weapon; sadly, Stasis isn't awfully good right now. While it can freeze and lock up entire rooms in ice, it doesn't really matter when the alternative is to just outright kill the enemies. Ager's Scepter remains a very powerful option on its own, though.	Season 15	Slot: Stasis | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Final blows with this weapon generate a slowing burst around the defeated target. Stasis final blows transfer ammo to this weapon's magazine from reserves."	Top-tier
Forerunner	Forerunner	Sidearm	Exotic	Special	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Quest		Strong ❘ A Excels in: PvE	Exotic Quest Free-to-Play	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires full auto with increased rate of fire. Deals increased precision damage to unshielded targets. Tapping the trigger gives it less recoil and improves accuracy." ► Forerunner can be a menace in the right hands. While it may take some time to get used to, there is little you can do against a Forerunner player who is hitting their shots. Boasting a 0.60s time-to-kill at practically infinite range makes Forerunner an incredible pick inside of PvP	30th Anniversary event	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires full auto with increased rate of fire. Deals increased precision damage to unshielded targets. Tapping the trigger gives it less recoil and improves accuracy."	Top-tier
Buried Bloodline	Buried Bloodline	Sidearm	Exotic	Special	Void	Deluxe Edition	Yes	A › Strong	Warlord's Ruin Dungeon		Strong ❘ A Excels in: PvE	Warlord's Ruin Dungeon Deluxe Edition	Slot: Void | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires two tracking bolts that leech health from the target. Rapid final blows with this weapon grant Devour to the wielder." ► Buried Bloodline is a very unique and fun exotic to use. It allows you to obtain Devour on non-void subclasses, which is immensely strong and works brilliantly with builds that are all about spamming Grenades as much as possible.	Season 23	Slot: Void | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires two tracking bolts that leech health from the target. Rapid final blows with this weapon grant Devour to the wielder."	Top-tier
Edge of Action	Edge of Action	Glaive	Exotic	Special	Void	The Witch Queen	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Quest		Strong ❘ A	Exotic Quest Witch Queen	Slot: Void | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "When weapon energy is full, consume it before firing to make your next shot deploy a protective shield on impact.." ► Edge of Action slowly became the best of the three class-specific glaives. Offering a beefy bubble that grants an Overshield and a 5% damage buff may sound small but is actually quite good. And after the recent buffs, Edge of Action is finally a viable option.	Season 16	Slot: Void | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "When weapon energy is full, consume it before firing to make your next shot deploy a protective shield on impact.."	Top-tier
Vexcalibur	Vexcalibur	Glaive	Exotic	Special	Void	Lightfall	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Quest		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE + PvP	Exotic Quest Lightfall	Slot: Void | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Blocking damage with your shield gradually bestows Void overshields to yourself and nearby allies. Deal additional melee damage while protected by an overshield. Defeating targets with melee final blows while the overshield is active will refresh it." ► While the weapon does have tons of potential, Vexcalibur doesn't hold up while wielding it. Having a Void Overshield can be nice, but other support-based weapons like Lumina and The Navigator (or other non-exotic glaives) are much better.	Season 20	Slot: Void | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Blocking damage with your shield gradually bestows Void overshields to yourself and nearby allies. Deal additional melee damage while protected by an overshield. Defeating targets with melee final blows while the overshield is active will refresh it."
Coldheart	Coldheart	Trace Rifle	Exotic	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Engram		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon shoots a steady cold fusion-powered laser that does exponentially more damage the longer it remains on a target." ► Ever since Coldheart was updated to include the ability to generate Ionic Traces, it has been moved from mediocre to situational. While the weapon is a clear choice for Guardians with Arc builds in mind (especially Warlocks), it fails to provide much utility beyond that.	Season 1	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon shoots a steady cold fusion-powered laser that does exponentially more damage the longer it remains on a target."
Wavesplitter	Wavesplitter	Trace Rifle	Exotic	Special	Void	Free-to-Play	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Engram		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Void | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Laser damage has three power levels that oscillate while the trigger is held down. Collecting an Orb of Light grants a short period of maximum power." ► Especially after the armor mod changes that came with Lightfall, Wavesplitter is hugely underrated. While it still falls in the middle of the pack on this list, its ability to suppress large groups of enemies is unparalleled, making it extremely valuable in any PvE activity.	Season 4	Slot: Void | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Laser damage has three power levels that oscillate while the trigger is held down. Collecting an Orb of Light grants a short period of maximum power."
Eriana's Vow	Eriana's Vow	Hand Cannon	Exotic	Special	Solar	Shadowkeep	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE	Exotic Kiosk Shadowkeep	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires special shield-piercing ammunition. Bonus damage when aiming down sights on the opening shot of an attack." ► Previously a no-brainer in activities with Barrier Champions, Eriana's Vow now sits in the shadow of its competitors. While still an extremely fun and unique gun worth using once in a while, it just hasn't been able to keep up with the meta.	Season 8	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires special shield-piercing ammunition. Bonus damage when aiming down sights on the opening shot of an attack."
Bastion	Bastion	Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Special	Kinetic	Shadowkeep	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE	Exotic Kiosk Shadowkeep	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Charge to fire 3 spreads of Kinetic slugs. This weapon fires staggering projectiles. Strong against Unstoppable Champions." ►While not the PvP menace it used to be, recent changes have made Bastion a powerhouse in end-game PvE. As a Kinetic fusion, it can also take advantage of the 10% extra damage to Kinetic weapons. Still outclassed by other exotics, these changes make it more justifiable than before.	Season 9	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Charge to fire 3 spreads of Kinetic slugs. This weapon fires staggering projectiles. Strong against Unstoppable Champions."
The Fourth Horseman	The Fourth Horseman	Shotgun	Exotic	Special	Solar	Shadowkeep	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE	Exotic Kiosk Shadowkeep	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon's rate of fire is increased significantly and fires full auto. Each successive shot has more damage and more spread." ► Boasting some of the highest burst DPS in the entire game, The Fourth Horseman is an "all or nothing" weapon. It can deal with Majors easily, but as you delve into more challenging content, the Fourth Horseman can become quite a risky weapon to opt for, making it a pretty middle-of-the-pack option.	Season 10	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon's rate of fire is increased significantly and fires full auto. Each successive shot has more damage and more spread."
Edge of Intent	Edge of Intent	Glaive	Exotic	Special	Solar	The Witch Queen	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Quest		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE	Exotic Quest Witch Queen	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "When weapon energy is full, consume it before firing to make your next shot deploy a healing turret on impact." ► Edge of Intent, on paper, sounds solid. Ranged healing and all the perks that come with Glaives. However, there are simply too many survivability options in the game right now, such as Restoration, Devour, or even certain mods, that Edge of Intent is indeed solid but unnecessary.	Season 16	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "When weapon energy is full, consume it before firing to make your next shot deploy a healing turret on impact."
Delicate Tomb	Delicate Tomb	Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Special	Arc	The Witch Queen	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE	Exotic Kiosk Witch Queen	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires a wide horizontal spread when shot from the hip. Final blows with this weapon have a chance to generate Ionic Traces. Collecting an Ionic Trace overcharges this weapon's next shot, jolting targets on hit." ► Even though Jolt's damage is getting reigned in, Delicate Tomb continues to be a solid pick for Arc 3.0 builds, especially now that Jolt stuns Overload Champions. While there are certainly better options, with the right build, Delicate Tomb can put in serious work.	Season 18	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires a wide horizontal spread when shot from the hip. Final blows with this weapon have a chance to generate Ionic Traces. Collecting an Ionic Trace overcharges this weapon's next shot, jolting targets on hit."
Tessellation	Tessellation	Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Special	Kinetic	The Final Shape	Yes	B › Average	Pre-order bonus		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE	Pre-order bonus The Final Shape	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon adapts its damage type to match your equipped subclass. Final blows grant grenade energy. Consume your grenade to load a large projectile that generates an elemental explosion on impact." ► Tessellation is a unique weapon that focuses on using your Grenade ability to grant an empowered explosive shot that deals considerable damage. However, many will argue that it isn't worth sacrificing your grenade for.	Season 22	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon adapts its damage type to match your equipped subclass. Final blows grant grenade energy. Consume your grenade to load a large projectile that generates an elemental explosion on impact."
Lorentz Driver	Lorentz Driver	Linear Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Special	Void	Beyond Light	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvP	Exotic Kiosk Beyond Light	Slot: Void | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Final blows on marked targets generate telemetry patterns which, when picked up, grant bonus ability energy. Collecting 3 telemetry patterns without dying grants bonus damage for a long duration. Also, a precision final blow with this weapon creates an implosion that pulls in nearby targets and damages them with an additional detonation." ► A true menace in PVP when it was first released, Lorentz Driver has become a fun but off-meta choice in all areas of the game. While it can still excel in niche scenarios, newer weapons have taken the meta away from Lorentz.	Season 15	Slot: Void | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Final blows on marked targets generate telemetry patterns which, when picked up, grant bonus ability energy. Collecting 3 telemetry patterns without dying grants bonus damage for a long duration. Also, a precision final blow with this weapon creates an implosion that pulls in nearby targets and damages them with an additional detonation."
Lord of Wolves	Lord of Wolves	Shotgun	Exotic	Special	Solar	Free-to-Play	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Engram		Weak ❘ C Excels in: PvP	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires a powerful short-range burst of Solar damage. Hold to swap to a longer, more powerful burst." ► Lord of Wolves is a shadow of its former self. With the recent change to Special ammo, as well as the increase in overall health, Lord of Wolves can no longer kill in 3 crits, requiring an extra shot to land... There is little reason to use Lord of Wolves	Season 4	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires a powerful short-range burst of Solar damage. Hold to swap to a longer, more powerful burst."
Telesto	Telesto	Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Special	Void	Free-to-Play	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Engram		Weak ❘ C	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Void | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fusion projectiles attach and detonate with a delayed Void blast. Multikills with this weapon immediately reload your equipped Kinetic and Energy weapons from reserves." ► Telesto is a very gimmicky weapon. It isn't particularly strong, but you can definitely find success with it in certain areas of the game.	Season 2	Slot: Void | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fusion projectiles attach and detonate with a delayed Void blast. Multikills with this weapon immediately reload your equipped Kinetic and Energy weapons from reserves."
Prometheus Lens	Prometheus Lens	Trace Rifle	Exotic	Special	Solar	Free-to-Play	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Engram		Weak ❘ C	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires a Solar trace beam and generates a damaging heat field that grows while the weapon continues to fire. Kills with this weapon return a fraction of the ammo used." ► Other than the notorious "Laser Tag Weekend" that it caused, Prometheus Lens has never seen much use. While it can be a fun alternative to other special weapons at times (and can excel, to a certain extent, with ammo-based mods), there aren't many scenarios where Prometheus is utilized.	Season 2	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires a Solar trace beam and generates a damaging heat field that grows while the weapon continues to fire. Kills with this weapon return a fraction of the ammo used."
Jötunn	Jötunn	Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Special	Solar	Forsaken Pack	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Kiosk		Weak ❘ C	Exotic Kiosk Forsaken Pack	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Hold down the trigger to charge up a tracking shot that explodes and burns on impact. Energy matched shield explosion disorients enemies." ► Jötunn is a bit of a meme weapon. The tracking can sometimes secure a kill in more casual PvP settings, but any experienced player will be able to dodge it. It is also easily outclassed by many other Special weapons in PvE.	Season 5	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Hold down the trigger to charge up a tracking shot that explodes and burns on impact. Energy matched shield explosion disorients enemies."
Ruinous Effigy	Ruinous Effigy	Trace Rifle	Exotic	Special	Void	Shadowkeep	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Kiosk		Weak ❘ C	Exotic Kiosk Shadowkeep	Slot: Void | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Final blows with this weapon collapse victims into Void Transmutation spheres. Transmutation spheres you create can be picked up and wielded as weapons by you or your allies." ► One of the most "exotic" feeling weapons Destiny 2 has to offer, Ruinous Effigy easily beats out most other options in terms of fun factor. However, despite its individuality, it is still a pretty weak option, but, the AoE blinding effect is nice.	Season 11	Slot: Void | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Final blows with this weapon collapse victims into Void Transmutation spheres. Transmutation spheres you create can be picked up and wielded as weapons by you or your allies."
Edge of Concurrence	Edge of Concurrence	Glaive	Exotic	Special	Arc	The Witch Queen	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Quest		Weak ❘ C	Exotic Quest Witch Queen	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "When weapon energy is full, consume it before firing to make your next shot track targets across the ground and unleash chain lightning on impact." ► Despite the buffs, Edge of Concurrence remains a weak option. The Exotic functionality of this weapon is simply not powerful enough to warrant wasting your Exotic slot on this weapon.	Season 16	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "When weapon energy is full, consume it before firing to make your next shot track targets across the ground and unleash chain lightning on impact."
Dead Messenger	Dead Messenger	Grenade Launcher	Exotic	Special	Void	The Witch Queen	Yes	C › Weak	Vox Obscura		Weak ❘ C	Vox Obscura Witch Queen	Slot: Void | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "One-shot handheld Grenade Launcher. Projectiles release a fan of three energy waves on contact with the ground. You can change damage type, cycling between Solar, Arc, and Void." ► Dead Messenger is not the weapon it once was. There are a myriad of better options for both PvE and PvP, but if you really want to make it work, Dead Messenger can still do well for itself.	Season 16	Slot: Void | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "One-shot handheld Grenade Launcher. Projectiles release a fan of three energy waves on contact with the ground. You can change damage type, cycling between Solar, Arc, and Void."
Ex Diris	Ex Diris	Grenade Launcher	Exotic	Special	Arc	Season 22	Yes	C › Weak	Season Pass		Weak ❘ C	Season Pass Season 22	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon enrages when dealing or taking sustained damage, gaining increased rate of fire while enraged. Final blows with this weapon create a loyal moth. The moth will seek out nearby targets and detonate, damaging and blinding them." ► Ex Diris is incredibly unique and has a fun interaction with the Mothkeeper's Wraps, but that's about it. The weapon falls flat in any challenging content as it doesn't do enough damage to warrant using your Exotic weapon slot or Special ammo.	Season 22	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon enrages when dealing or taking sustained damage, gaining increased rate of fire while enraged. Final blows with this weapon create a loyal moth. The moth will seek out nearby targets and detonate, damaging and blinding them."
Borealis	Borealis	Sniper Rifle	Exotic	Special	Void	Free-to-Play	Yes	D › Worst	Exotic Engram		Worst ❘ D	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Void | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Holding changes this weapon's damage type. Breaking an enemy shield with that shield's energy type grants bonus damage for the rest of the magazine." ► Practically no one uses Borealis these days outside of a few devout fans of the weapon in PvP. There are simply way better options at your disposal.	Season 1	Slot: Void | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Holding changes this weapon's damage type. Breaking an enemy shield with that shield's energy type grants bonus damage for the rest of the magazine."

Heavy Exotics

Item	Weapons	Type	Archetype	Ammo?	Element?	Requirements	In loot pool?	Rank	Source	Available?	Tier rank	Source ❘ DLC	Final Verdict	Released	Perks	Best of?
Gjallarhorn	Gjallarhorn	Rocket Launcher	Exotic	Heavy	Solar	30th Anniversary	Yes	S › Best	Grasp of Avarice Dungeon		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvE + PvP	Grasp of Avarice Dungeon 30th Anniversary	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Rounds fired split into tracking cluster missiles upon detonation. Gain increased handling and reload speed when standing near allies. Firing this weapon also grants Wolfpack Rounds to nearby allies wielding non-Exotic Rocket Launchers." ► Gjallarhorn might be the main reason we are in a Rocket Launcher meta right now. Due to its ability to buff your allies' rockets with Wolfpack Rounds, Gjallarhorn is a must for at least one player to have in each raid team.	30th Anniversary event	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Rounds fired split into tracking cluster missiles upon detonation. Gain increased handling and reload speed when standing near allies. Firing this weapon also grants Wolfpack Rounds to nearby allies wielding non-Exotic Rocket Launchers."	Top-tier
Tractor Cannon	Tractor Cannon	Shotgun	Exotic	Heavy	Void	Free-to-Play	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Engram		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvE	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Void | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon emits a powerful impulse that pushes enemies away, suppresses their abilities, and makes them more vulnerable to all incoming damage." ► Ever since Divinity was nerfed, players now use Tractor Cannon instead, as it is extremely easy to use and applies one of the strongest debuffs in the entire game. To truly be an optimal Fireteam, someone should always have a Tractor Cannon on hand.	Season 1	Slot: Void | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon emits a powerful impulse that pushes enemies away, suppresses their abilities, and makes them more vulnerable to all incoming damage."	Top-tier
The Lament	The Lament	Sword	Exotic	Heavy	Solar	Beyond Light	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Quest		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvE	Exotic Quest Beyond Light	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Revving the blade increases damage, shield bypass, and adds shield piercing to all attacks. You also gain stacks when dealing damage with revved attacks. Additional stacks increase the damage and damage resistance of heavy attacks." ► The Lament is easily the best Sword in the entire game right now. While Swords may not be part of the DPS meta, The Lament can find great success in certain situations and with certain builds.	Season 12	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Revving the blade increases damage, shield bypass, and adds shield piercing to all attacks. You also gain stacks when dealing damage with revved attacks. Additional stacks increase the damage and damage resistance of heavy attacks."	Top-tier
Parasite	Parasite	Grenade Launcher	Exotic	Heavy	Solar	The Witch Queen	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Quest		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvE	Exotic Quest Witch Queen	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires Hive worms which explode on impact. The size and damage of the explosion scales with the number of enemies you've defeated just before firing this weapon. Taking damage from your own worm projectile detonation empowers your weapons for a short time." ► Arguably the most unique gun in the game, Parasite fires live explosive worms instead of regular grenades. If you can get lots of Worm's Hunger stacks, this weapon can do some insane damage. Its unmatched burst damage and extremely high fun factor combine to make Parasite an extremely strong option in PVE.	Season 16	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires Hive worms which explode on impact. The size and damage of the explosion scales with the number of enemies you've defeated just before firing this weapon. Taking damage from your own worm projectile detonation empowers your weapons for a short time."	Top-tier
Dragon's Breath	Dragon's Breath	Rocket Launcher	Exotic	Heavy	Solar	Free-to-Play	Yes	S › Best	Season Pass		Best ❘ S Excels in: PvE	Season Pass Free-to-Play	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Rockets embed themselves in struck targets and periodically eject incendiary fuel that inflicts Scorch. The longer this weapon goes without firing, the more fuel the next rocket contains. Igniting nearby targets partially replenishes fuel. This weapon refills itself from reserves upon gaining maximum fuel." ► The last Season Pass exotic to become meta was Witherhoard in Season 11. Thankfully, after 12 seasons, we got another one: Dragon's Breath. This is one of the easiest to get and strongest Rockets we've ever seen. Using this exotic in DPS rotations on a Solar Subclass can net some outrageous damage.	Season 23	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Rockets embed themselves in struck targets and periodically eject incendiary fuel that inflicts Scorch. The longer this weapon goes without firing, the more fuel the next rocket contains. Igniting nearby targets partially replenishes fuel. This weapon refills itself from reserves upon gaining maximum fuel."	Top-tier
Thunderlord	Thunderlord	Machine Gun	Exotic	Heavy	Arc	Forsaken Pack	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Engram		Strong ❘ A Excels in: PvE + PvP	Exotic Engram Forsaken Pack	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Kills with this weapon generate lightning strikes from above and increase reload speed for a short time." ► One of the all-time Destiny greats, Thunderlord is the cream of the crop when it comes to Machine Guns. With a good archetype, an excellent exotic perk, and a brilliant catalyst, Thunderlord easily lands in the S tier. It excels everywhere: Ad clear, DPS, and even PvP!	Season 4	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Kills with this weapon generate lightning strikes from above and increase reload speed for a short time."	Top-tier
Legend of Acrius	Legend of Acrius	Shotgun	Exotic	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Kiosk		Strong ❘ A Excels in: PvE	Exotic Kiosk Free-to-Play	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon fires blasts of high-damage Arc energy that over penetrates enemies. Its radar detects enemies from farther away." ► Legend of Acrius can put out some incredible damage numbers in the right scenario. With its Trench Barrel catalyst, Legend of Acrius is slowly returning to its former glory and packs an incredible punch to any close-range boss.	Season 1	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon fires blasts of high-damage Arc energy that over penetrates enemies. Its radar detects enemies from farther away."	Top-tier
Sleeper Simulant	Sleeper Simulant	Linear Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Heavy	Solar	Free-to-Play	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Kiosk		Strong ❘ A Excels in: PvE	Exotic Kiosk Free-to-Play	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "The weapon's laser over penetrates enemies and refracts off hard surfaces." ► Sleeper Simulant has always been a great pick but is often ignored by the community. Whether this is because of the plethora of other great options or that Sleeper is uses an exotic slot, but using this as a burst-damage weapon isn't a bad option.	Season 3	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "The weapon's laser over penetrates enemies and refracts off hard surfaces."	Top-tier
Xenophage	Xenophage	Machine Gun	Exotic	Heavy	Solar	Shadowkeep	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Quest		Strong ❘ A Excels in: PvE	Exotic Quest Shadowkeep	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires high-powered explosive ammunition. Aiming this weapon increases its effective range and zoom magnification." ► While Xenophage was once at the top of the damage rankings, it has been tapered down quite a bit with nerfs. You'll find that other Exotics, such as Thunderlord and Heir Apparent, will out-damage it, but its uniquely high range and fire rate still give it a useful role in the sandbox.	Season 8	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires high-powered explosive ammunition. Aiming this weapon increases its effective range and zoom magnification."	Top-tier
Leviathan's Breath	Leviathan's Breath	Combat Bow	Exotic	Heavy	Void	Shadowkeep	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Kiosk		Strong ❘ A Excels in: PvE	Exotic Kiosk Shadowkeep	Slot: Void | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires a massive heavy bolt that stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against Unstoppable Champions. When fully drawn, the bolt creates a large concussive blast that knocks combatants back." ► With a catalyst and a direct buff, Leviathan's Breath has gone from zero to hero. Not only does it make short work of Champions and apply Volatile! Plus, Leviathan's Breath is relatively easy to use and can put up some of the highest total damage numbers in the game.	Season 8	Slot: Void | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires a massive heavy bolt that stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against Unstoppable Champions. When fully drawn, the bolt creates a large concussive blast that knocks combatants back."	Top-tier
Grand Overture	Grand Overture	Machine Gun	Exotic	Heavy	Arc	The Witch Queen	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Kiosk		Strong ❘ A Excels in: PvE	Exotic Kiosk Witch Queen	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Heavy slug launcher that charges, then fires full auto while the trigger is held. Land hits with the slug launcher to load missiles and then fire to launch all missiles in a single volley." ► Grand Overture is one of the best picks for burst DPS right now. Only rivaled by Parasite, Grand Overture can be used in a myriad of situations. This machine gun is perfect for encounters that require burst damage, but it also delivers solid total damage numbers.	Season 16	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Heavy slug launcher that charges, then fires full auto while the trigger is held. Land hits with the slug launcher to load missiles and then fire to launch all missiles in a single volley."	Top-tier
Deathbringer	Deathbringer	Rocket Launcher	Exotic	Heavy	Void	Shadowkeep	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Quest		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE + PvP	Exotic Quest Shadowkeep	Slot: Void | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires remotely detonated projectiles that drop Void orbs on combatants. Hold to fire, release to detonate. The further a Void orb falls, the more powerful its detonation becomes." ► One of the more fun weapons to run in Destiny 2, Deathbringer has sadly always been too inconsistent to become meta. While its catalyst helps this problem a bit, it can be challenging to get max damage out of Deathbringer while still having all its void orbs track your target.	Season 8	Slot: Void | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires remotely detonated projectiles that drop Void orbs on combatants. Hold to fire, release to detonate. The further a Void orb falls, the more powerful its detonation becomes."
Eyes of Tomorrow	Eyes of Tomorrow	Rocket Launcher	Exotic	Heavy	Solar	Beyond Light	Yes	B › Average	Deep Stone Crypt Raid		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE + PvP	Deep Stone Crypt Raid Beyond Light	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon is capable of tracking and firing at multiple targets simultaneously. Killing four or more combatants in a single volley increases the damage of the next volley." ► Even though recent buffs benefited Eyes of Tomorrow in PvE, it still doesn't hold up to other options like Gjallarhorn. However, its absurd tracking continues to make it a near-irreplaceable pick in 6v6 PvP and Gambit.	Season 12	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon is capable of tracking and firing at multiple targets simultaneously. Killing four or more combatants in a single volley increases the damage of the next volley."
Whisper of the Worm	Whisper of the Worm	Sniper Rifle	Exotic	Heavy	Solar	Free-to-Play	Yes	B › Average	The Whisper		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE	The Whisper Free-to-Play	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Higher base precision damage. Rapidly landing three precision hits refills the magazine and missing a shot has a chance to return ammo." ► Whisper of the Worm finally got the buffs it needed, and it has moved up the rankings because of this. In terms of total damage, Whisper is only challenged by top-tier Exotics such as Leviathan's Breath. However, it has trouble competing in the current Rocket Launcher meta.	Season 3	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Higher base precision damage. Rapidly landing three precision hits refills the magazine and missing a shot has a chance to return ammo."
Two-Tailed Fox	Two-Tailed Fox	Rocket Launcher	Exotic	Heavy	Void	Free-to-Play	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Engram		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Void | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Shoots two rockets, one Void and one Solar, that can track onto the same target. The Void rocket suppresses enemies. The Solar rocket causes damage over time." ► Two-Tailed Fox, on its own, is very powerful, but it is outclassed by some other options like Dragon's Breath when solo. Furthermore, in a team situation, it doesn't benefit from Wolfpack Rounds from Gjallarhorn.	Season 4	Slot: Void | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Shoots two rockets, one Void and one Solar, that can track onto the same target. The Void rocket suppresses enemies. The Solar rocket causes damage over time."
Anarchy	Anarchy	Grenade Launcher	Exotic	Heavy	Arc	Forsaken Pack	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE	Exotic Kiosk Forsaken Pack	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Grenades stick to surfaces and chain Arc bolts to other mines. It also has the Moving Target perk." ► While its time in the sun is long over, Anarchy has slowly drifted into irrelevancy. On paper, it can still deal solid damage over time, but it has been surpassed by newer, more powerful options.	Season 5	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Grenades stick to surfaces and chain Arc bolts to other mines. It also has the Moving Target perk."
Heir Apparent	Heir Apparent	Machine Gun	Exotic	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Seasonal	B › Average	Event: Guardian Games		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE	Event: Guardian Games Free-to-Play	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon can be fired only when fully spun up. While at full health, spinning up this weapon protects you with an Arc Shield." ► Heir Apparent, a more casual weapon, is a fun option for players looking to mess around, but it isn't remarkable. The survivability is nice, but with the amount of healing we have in the game, the shield provided isn't necessary anymore.	Season 10	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon can be fired only when fully spun up. While at full health, spinning up this weapon protects you with an Arc Shield."
Heartshadow	Heartshadow	Sword	Exotic	Heavy	Void	Deluxe Edition	Yes	B › Average	Duality Dungeon		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE	Duality Dungeon Deluxe Edition	Slot: Void | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Heavy attacks made with full Sword energy turn you invisible and fire exploding Void projectiles. Remaining invisible grants this weapon increased damage. Hitting a target with this weapon’s projectiles while invisible weakens them." ► Heartshadow is the definition of a niche weapon. In very specific situations, such as Crota, this Sword can be used to extend high-potency buffs, such as Tractor Cannon, while also putting out respectable DPS when used in a swap rotation with certain weapons.	Season 17	Slot: Void | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Heavy attacks made with full Sword energy turn you invisible and fire exploding Void projectiles. Remaining invisible grants this weapon increased damage. Hitting a target with this weapon’s projectiles while invisible weakens them."
Winterbite	Winterbite	Glaive	Exotic	Heavy	Stasis	Lightfall	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Quest		Average ❘ B Excels in: PvE	Exotic Quest Lightfall	Slot: Stasis | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires a large ball of energy that locks onto nearby targets and freezes them. Blocking damage with your shield increases movement speed while shielding." ► Winterbite has been transformed into an actual DPS option. While not as viable on Warlock, Hunters with Triton Vice and Titans with Synthoceps can take full advantage of this weapon and its surprising damage output.	Season 20	Slot: Stasis | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires a large ball of energy that locks onto nearby targets and freezes them. Blocking damage with your shield increases movement speed while shielding."
The Prospector	The Prospector	Grenade Launcher	Exotic	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Engram		Weak ❘ C Excels in: PvE	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Hold to fire grenades. Release to detonate all live grenades simultaneously. Grenades stick to surfaces and set targets on fire." ► The Prospector doesn't have too much going for it. While it can do some surprising burst damage, it is outclassed by too many options to be considered viable.	Season 1	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Hold to fire grenades. Release to detonate all live grenades simultaneously. Grenades stick to surfaces and set targets on fire."
The Wardcliff Coil	The Wardcliff Coil	Rocket Launcher	Exotic	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Engram		Weak ❘ C Excels in: PvP	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon fires a volley of rockets and automatically reloads on ammo pickup." ► The Wardcliff Coil used to be the go-to Heavy weapon for PvP, but nowadays, most players run Grenade Launchers and find similar success, making Wardcliff redundant.	Season 1	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon fires a volley of rockets and automatically reloads on ammo pickup."
One Thousand Voices	One Thousand Voices	Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Heavy	Solar	Forsaken Pack	Yes	C › Weak	Last Wish Raid		Weak ❘ C	Last Wish Raid Forsaken Pack	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Charging this weapon unleashes a giant continuous beam of death. The beam superheats its targets upon impact, causing delayed explosions." ►One Thousand Voices, as cool as it is, can't compete with the top DPS options in the game right now due to its incredibly lacking reserves and woeful total damage. However, it still is an incredibly fun weapon to use and has at least some synergy with Solar 3.0.	Season 4	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Charging this weapon unleashes a giant continuous beam of death. The beam superheats its targets upon impact, causing delayed explosions."
Deterministic Chaos	Deterministic Chaos	Machine Gun	Exotic	Heavy	Void	Lightfall	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Quest		Weak ❘ C	Exotic Quest Lightfall	Slot: Void | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "While holding down the trigger, every fourth bullet becomes a heavy projectile that weakens targets on impact. Every fourth heavy projectile also makes targets volatile on impact." ► Deterministic Chaos isn't too great. Other Exotic Machine guns like Thunderlord outclass it, and it lacks the versatility to be considered a meta option. While its concept is fun to mess around with, there are plenty of better options.	Season 20	Slot: Void | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "While holding down the trigger, every fourth bullet becomes a heavy projectile that weakens targets on impact. Every fourth heavy projectile also makes targets volatile on impact."
D.A.R.C.I.	D.A.R.C.I.	Sniper Rifle	Exotic	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	D › Worst	Exotic Engram		Worst ❘ D	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Aim at an enemy to activate Personal Assistant and view critical information. When Personal Assistant is active, this weapon has better target acquisition and deals significantly more precision damage." ► In spite of receiving a significant buff, including a 20% damage increase, D.A.R.C.I. is still outclassed by Legendary Snipers, making it one of the worst weapons in the game.	Season 1	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Aim at an enemy to activate Personal Assistant and view critical information. When Personal Assistant is active, this weapon has better target acquisition and deals significantly more precision damage."
The Colony	The Colony	Grenade Launcher	Exotic	Heavy	Void	Free-to-Play	Yes	D › Worst	Exotic Engram		Worst ❘ D	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Void | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon's grenades are insectoid robots that chase targets and explode close to them." ► The Colony is a bit of a joke right now in both PvE and PvP. It is notoriously easy to avoid in the Crucible by simply jumping and is near useless in PvE due to its lack of damage. It also hogs up your exotic slot, making it not worth your time.	Season 2	Slot: Void | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon's grenades are insectoid robots that chase targets and explode close to them."
Worldline Zero	Worldline Zero	Sword	Exotic	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	D › Worst	Exotic Kiosk		Worst ❘ D	Exotic Kiosk Free-to-Play	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Press while sprinting to launch a heavy blink attack. Attacks partially bypass elemental shields." ► Worldline Zero has seen an unfortunate fall from grace. Previously the king of speedrunning with Shatterdive Skating or Warlock Skating, Worldline Zero's quirks have been removed, and it is now sadly one of the worst weapons in the game.	Season 3	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Press while sprinting to launch a heavy blink attack. Attacks partially bypass elemental shields."
The Queenbreaker	The Queenbreaker	Linear Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	D › Worst	Exotic Engram		Worst ❘ D	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires a long-range precision Arc bolt that blinds enemies on hit. It has a slower charge time and deals greater damage." ► The Queenbreaker's Bow is probably one of the worst weapons in the game right now. It is easily outclassed by Legendary Linear Fusion Rifles in terms of DPS. In fact, even Special ammo Linear Fusion Rifles such as Arbalest or Lorentz Driver outclass it.	Season 4	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires a long-range precision Arc bolt that blinds enemies on hit. It has a slower charge time and deals greater damage."
Black Talon	Black Talon	Sword	Exotic	Heavy	Void	Free-to-Play	Yes	D › Worst	Exotic Engram		Worst ❘ D	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Void | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Can fire heavy projectile attacks. Heavy attacks are stronger with full energy. Most attacks partially bypass elemental shields." ► Black Talon is currently a very weak option. It does practically nothing in PvE and is wildly outclassed in PvP, making it a bottom-of-the-barrel Exotic.	Season 4	Slot: Void | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Can fire heavy projectile attacks. Heavy attacks are stronger with full energy. Most attacks partially bypass elemental shields."
Truth	Truth	Rocket Launcher	Exotic	Heavy	Void	Forsaken Pack	Yes	D › Worst	Exotic Kiosk		Worst ❘ D	Exotic Kiosk Forsaken Pack	Slot: Void | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon's rockets have tracking and detonate when they are within close proximity of their targets." ► Because it has insane tracking, Truth used to excel in Gambit. These days, newer tracking options such as Gjallarhorn and Eyes of Tomorrow can easily get the job done better.	Season 7	Slot: Void | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon's rockets have tracking and detonate when they are within close proximity of their targets."
Salvation's Grip	Salvation's Grip	Grenade Launcher	Exotic	Heavy	Stasis	Beyond Light	Yes	D › Worst	Exotic Quest		Worst ❘ D	Exotic Quest Beyond Light	Slot: Stasis | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon's projectiles create Stasis crystals and freeze nearby targets. Charging this weapon increases the freeze radius and amount of Stasis crystals created." ► Thanks to a minor rework, Salvation's Grip now functions like a normal GL when uncharged, making it slightly better than it used to be. Despite the changes, it remains a joke of an Exotic weapon.	Season 12	Slot: Stasis | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon's projectiles create Stasis crystals and freeze nearby targets. Charging this weapon increases the freeze radius and amount of Stasis crystals created."

These are the different Tier levels used for the list:

• 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.

The list starts with S Tier and moves down until it reaches the Bottom Tier.  Also, you can filter and sort the list however you prefer!

How to get Exotics in Destiny 2

There are several ways you can find Exotic weapons in Destiny 2. Some Exotics require you to complete a very specific quest or challenge, while others can be randomly found in the wild. This post covers all the new Exotics and explains how to easily get them. But if you’re looking for older Exotics, this is how you can acquire them all:

1. Decrypting Exotic engrams

Exotic engrams can randomly drop when playing the game. Your luck will certainly play a role here, but the more you play, the more chances you’ll have to find an Exotic in the wild. Random Exotic engrams can drop either from defeated enemies or when completing activities.

If you want to increase your odds, you’ll want to tackle more specific, difficult activities. Most Year 1 Exotics, such as Merciless and Trinity Ghoul, can be acquired via Exotic engrams.

An Exotic engram found in the wild

2. Completing Exotic quests

Quest Exotics: The most iconic exotics are often tied to Exotic quests of varying degrees of difficulty and length. Exotic quests are, for the most part, long and complicated, each deserving a good tutorial. Be warned that several Exotic quests were recently removed from the game and put into the DCV (Destiny Content Vault).

To get started, you can head to our comprehensive guide featuring every Destiny 2 exotic quest still available (including video guides).

3. Buying Exotics at The Monument to Lost Lights

The Monument to Lost Lights (aka, the “Exotics Kiosk”) is a fairly new method to acquire Exotics weapons that were previously connected to old Season Passes and Exotic quests that are no longer available in-game. Either way, the Monument to Lost Lights has all of those exotics for sale.

You can read all about it in our Monument to Lost Lights guide, including the cost to acquire each Exotic and a complete tier list to help you decide what to get next.

The Monument to Lost Lights

4. Buying Exotics from Xur every weekend

Xur is an infamous NPC that appears every weekend (from Friday’s reset to Tuesday’s reset) and offers a different Exotic weapon and Exotic armor (one per class) every weekend. Xur also sells a random Exotic Engram that can contain either a weapon or armor piece.

5. Claiming Exotics from the Season Pass

The easier Exotics available to you can be found in the Season Pass. Both the Paid and Free tracks of the Season Pass offer a handful of Exotic engrams. All you need do is earn the XP to unlock them before the season is over.

6. Resetting your Valor and Infamy

Resetting your Valor and Infamy will reward you with an Ascendant Shard for the first reset of the Season each, and then Exotic engrams for every subsequent reset that same season.

7. Completing Nightfall: The Ordeals at the highest difficulties

As mentioned before, Exotic engrams have a higher chance of dropping from end-game activities. If collecting exotics is your priority, Nightfall: The Ordeals are for you. There isn’t a single activity that rewards as many Exotic engrams as high-difficulty Nightfalls do.

Farming Master and Grandmaster Nightfalls are no easy feat, but if you find the right team, research the best strategies, and can pull it off, you won’t know what to do with so many Exotic engrams.

8. Completing Raids & Dungeons

A select handful of exotics can only drop from raid or dungeon bosses, such as the brand-new the Collective Obligation pulse rifle, which can only drop from the Vow of the Disciple raid, or The Navigator trace rifle, which can only drop from the Ghost of the Deep dungeon.

Note that Bungie has introduced a system that allows you to complete specific triumphs and/or challenges to improve your Exotic drop rates.

So, in conclusion, what is the best way to get Exotics in Destiny 2?

The best method to get Exotics in Destiny 2 will depend on your (and your team’s) skill level. If you’re a seasoned player able to easily put together a competent Fireteam, farming Nightfall: The Ordeals will net you the fastest results. If you’re a new player who mostly plays solo, you’ll want to visit Xur religiously every weekend and ensure you unlock all of your Season Pass Exotic engrams.

Destiny 2 Exotics in-depth

How many Exotics are there?

Despite being the rarest and most powerful items available, the game has been receiving a healthy quantity of new Exotics each season. As of Season of the Lost (Season 15), a total of 83 Exotic weapons have been released so far.

The easiest Exotics to get in Destiny 2

As you start your adventures,  you’ll want to focus on the most accessible Exotics first. Luckily, all but a few raid and quest-exclusive Exotics are fairly easy to acquire, as long as you’re prepared to grind. Most exotics can be found via Exotic engrams, which means that every method that rewards Exotic engrams (Season Pass, Xur, Rank resets, etc) will help you find new Exotic weapons and armor easily.

Upgrading your Exotics: Catalysts

Unlike Legendary weapons that can be upgraded by simply spending some resources, Exotics require specific items called Catalyst. Not every Exotic has a catalyst, and finding the catalysts that do exist are lengthy and difficult affairs, but most of them grant significant improvements and can sometimes transform average weapons into powerhouses.

Our Catalyst guide covers every catalyst in the game, including how to find them, their benefits, and how to unlock them.

Latest changes

Things change fast in Destiny 2, especially the Meta. The weapons we call the best one day can completely change the next. All it takes are a few minor changes on Bungie’s end. For that reason, this ranking will be updated at least once per season.

Changes introduced this season:

The following exotics were added to the ranking:

• Touch of Malice
• Quicksilver Storm
• Delicate Tomb

The following weapons significantly moved in the ranking as a result of recent buffs/nerfs:

• Dead Man’s Tale nerfed
• Le Monarque, Wish-Ender buffed