Destiny 2 Best Exotic Weapons: Tier List & Meta Changes

It’s easy to get lost with the many exotics available in Destiny 2. You’re probably wondering which ones are worth grinding for and how good the newest ones are.

This Tier list covers every single Destiny 2 Exotic in detail, including their Exotic Traits, perks, source, and more.

Update based on Episode 3: Heresy. See Updates.

Exotics Meta Changes: Episode 3 (Heresy)

Released on February 4, 2025, Episode: Heresy included the following Exotic weapons sandbox changes:

Episode 3: Heresy Weapon Changes, Destiny 2

Destiny 2 Best Exotics: Ranked

Exotics are the highest-quality items in Destiny 2. These are powerful weapons that can offer game-changing perks and generally exceptional aesthetics.  These are the 130+ Exotic weapons in Destiny 2.

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?
Le Monarque	Le Monarque Combat Bow	Combat Bow	Exotic	Primary	Void	Forsaken Pack	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Kiosk		❘ 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 has had a true rise in power with Episode: Heresy. While it has always been a solid pick in PvE and PvP, it's never truly burst into the meta. However, with the release of Storm's Keep and the raw strength of Bolt Charge, Le Monarque is one of the best weapons available for higher-level content and primary ammo DPS.	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
Tommy's Matchbook	Tommy's Matchbook Auto Rifle	Auto Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Solar	Shadowkeep Pack	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Kiosk		❘ S Excels in: PvE + PvP	Exotic Kiosk Shadowkeep Pack	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 is incredible in PvP. With it's hip-fire, you can be insanely accurate while retaining very solid damage, and while dealing less self-damage too.	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."	Top-tier
Khvostov 7G-0X	Khvostov 7G-0X Auto Rifle	Auto Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	The Final Shape	Yes	S › Best	The Pale Heart		❘ S Excels in: PvE + PvP	The Pale Heart The Final Shape	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Every seventh bullet from this weapon deals additional damage and ricochets to nearby targets. Features the Shoot to Loot perk." ► Khvostov may have lost a step in PvP, but it's still a remarkably easy-to-use option in The Crucible. In PvE, Khvostov is still arguably the best Kinetic weapon in the entire game, generates a ton of Super energy while also having Shoot to Loot. It's hard to find a situation where Khvostov isn't viable.	The Final Shape	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Every seventh bullet from this weapon deals additional damage and ricochets to nearby targets. Features the Shoot to Loot perk."	Top-tier
Graviton Lance	Graviton Lance Pulse Rifle	Pulse Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Void	Free-to-Play	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Engram		❘ 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	Hand Cannon	Exotic	Primary	Solar	Free-to-Play	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Engram		❘ 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 a top-of-the-line primary weapon and still dominates in all forms of content. It is perfect for almost all types of PvE content, and you can't really go wrong with it at all.	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
Outbreak Perfected	Outbreak Perfected Pulse Rifle	Pulse Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	S › Best	Zero Hour		❘ S 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." ► Potentially being one of the best weapons across the entire game, Outbreak Perfected can easily handle anything you throw at it. It ranges from viable to exceedingly powerful across Destiny and is definitely a weapon you need to have.	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
No Time to Explain	No Time to Explain Pulse Rifle	Pulse Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Beyond Light Pack	Yes	A › Strong	Beyond Light Campaign		❘ A Excels in: PvE + PvP	Beyond Light Campaign Beyond Light Pack	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
Red Death Reformed	Red Death Reformed Pulse Rifle	Pulse Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Solar	Free-to-Play	Yes	A › Strong	Season Pass		❘ A Excels in: PvE + PvP	Season Pass Free-to-Play	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Final blows with this weapon cure you and increase reload speed; reloading after final blows cures nearby allies. When you deal damage with this weapon, it gains increased handling, takes reduced flinch, and movement speed is increased for a short time. When you are at reduced health, this weapon deals additional damage." ► Red Death Reformed is still a very solid weapon. While there are more methods of survivability as players have become more comfortable with the Prismatic toolkit, Red Death Reformed still serves as a very nice option for players looking to have an easy-to-use weapon that comfortably lets them survive.	The Final Shape	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Final blows with this weapon cure you and increase reload speed; reloading after final blows cures nearby allies. When you deal damage with this weapon, it gains increased handling, takes reduced flinch, and movement speed is increased for a short time. When you are at reduced health, this weapon deals additional damage."	Top-tier
Riskrunner	Riskrunner Submachine Gun	Submachine Gun	Exotic	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Quest		❘ 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
Trinity Ghoul	Trinity Ghoul Combat Bow	Combat Bow	Exotic	Primary	Arc	Forsaken Pack	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Engram		❘ A 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 is an amazing weapon for anyone trying to blitz through content as fast as possible, as its add-clear capabilities are unmatched. However, as you progress into harder content, it struggles to have the same impact as chaining kills gets more challenging.	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	Combat Bow	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Forsaken Pack	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Quest		❘ A 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 one niche, and that's being very good for people who want to take Grandmaster Nightfalls very slowly. It chunks beefy enemies, but you'll be better off using a weapon that is maybe a bit more aggressive.	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
Necrochasm	Necrochasm Auto Rifle	Auto Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	A › Strong	Crota's End Raid		❘ 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 remains a top-used weapon in both PvE and PvP, but it truly shines at ad-clearing. It's powerful as is due to its exploding perk, Cursebringer, but if you can get the catalyst, One For Thrall will increase damage, range, and handling when you hit 3 opponents. Perfect for ad control.	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
Alethonym	Alethonym Grenade Launcher	Grenade Launcher	Exotic	Primary	Stasis	Episode 2: Revenant	Yes	A › Strong	Season Pass		❘ A Excels in: PvE	Season Pass Episode 2: Revenant	Slot: Stasis | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: Fires a Harvester Spike projectile. Dealing final blows with this weapon creates a single Vestige at the target’s location. Impaling more powerful combatants with the projectile creates a steady stream of Vestiges from the target. Gains energy when picking up Vestiges. Hold reload with at least 50% energy to cause your next projectile to create ammo bricks for you and your allies on impact. Special bricks are created at 50% energy while Heavy bricks are created at 100% energy. ► This weapon plays heavily into the role of ammo support for you and your allies. Alethonym is a solid pick for those who want to take up a support role while not completely sacrificing damage.	Episode 2	Slot: Stasis | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: Fires a Harvester Spike projectile. Dealing final blows with this weapon creates a single Vestige at the target’s location. Impaling more powerful combatants with the projectile creates a steady stream of Vestiges from the target. Gains energy when picking up Vestiges. Hold reload with at least 50% energy to cause your next projectile to create ammo bricks for you and your allies on impact. Special bricks are created at 50% energy while Heavy bricks are created at 100% energy.	Top-tier
Barrow-Dyad	Barrow-Dyad Submachine Gun	Submachine Gun	Exotic	Primary	Strand	Episode 3: Heretic	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Quest		❘ A Excels in: PvE	Exotic Quest Episode 3: Heretic	Slot: Strand | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic PvE God Roll: Taken Ambition (also good: Taken Resolution) + Target Lock (also good: One for All Refit) ► Barrow-Dyad's Path of Ambition intrinsic makes it remarkably powerful as it adds a ton of damage to the weapon, giving it very high single target damage, making it great for bursting down tanky enemies and building your Darkness Transcendence bar.	Episode 3	Slot: Strand | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic PvE God Roll: Taken Ambition (also good: Taken Resolution) + Target Lock (also good: One for All Refit)	Top-tier
Ace of Spades	Ace of Spades Hand Cannon	Hand Cannon	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Forsaken Pack	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Kiosk		❘ A 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 one of the best Exotic hand cannons 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
The Last Word	The Last Word Hand Cannon	Hand Cannon	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Forsaken Pack	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Kiosk		❘ A 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 has seen some use lately with the recent rework to Radiant Dance Machines, but given this weapon is only truly viable on controller without any Exotic Armour help, The Last Word can't be seen as strong as it's competition.	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."	Top-tier
Thorn	Thorn Hand Cannon	Hand Cannon	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Forsaken Pack	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Kiosk		❘ A 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 is a very strong option in PvP, and a fun option in PvE. While it doesn't beat some of the top Hand Cannon options, it is still remarkably powerful.	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	Hand Cannon	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Beyond Light Pack	Yes	A › Strong	Xûr		❘ A Excels in: PvP	Xûr Beyond Light Pack	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
Lumina	Lumina Hand Cannon	Hand Cannon	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Forsaken Pack	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		❘ B 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."
Devil's Ruin	Devil's Ruin Sidearm	Sidearm	Exotic	Primary	Solar	Shadowkeep Pack	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		❘ B Excels in: PvE + PvP	Exotic Kiosk Shadowkeep Pack	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."
Vex Mythoclast	Vex Mythoclast Fusion Rifle	Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Solar	Free-to-Play	Yes	B › Average	Vault of Glass Raid		❘ B 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 solid, but not groundbreaking. It is a good workhorse weapon and has some unique features, but it simply doesn't excel anymore.	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."
Final Warning	Final Warning Sidearm	Sidearm	Exotic	Primary	Strand	Lightfall	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Quest		❘ B Excels in: PvE + 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." ► Final Warning is a bit of a gimmick weapon, but it definitely has its merits. In PvP, it can be incredibly frustrating to play against, but the weapon does have a noticeable skill curve to be used effectively against good players. In PvE, with the catalyst, Final Warning can do incredible damage and burst Majors, or be a good swap weapon when out of ammo.	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."
The Huckleberry	The Huckleberry Submachine Gun	Submachine Gun	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Engram		❘ 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."
Tarrabah	Tarrabah Submachine Gun	Submachine Gun	Exotic	Primary	Solar	Forsaken Pack	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		❘ B Excels in: PvE	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."
Malfeasance	Malfeasance Hand Cannon	Hand Cannon	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Quest		❘ B 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 been slowly power-created by certain Legendary Weapons, unfortunately. The main strength of Malfeasance was always its synergy with Lucky Pants. However, with weapons like Warden's Law and Yesterday's Question, it can be hard to suggest Malfeasance over a Legendary option.	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."
Bad Juju	Bad Juju Pulse Rifle	Pulse Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Forsaken Pack	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		❘ 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, and with the buffs to Pulse Rifles, it has become slightly stronger. Still, there are stronger ad-clearing options out there.	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."
Cryosthesia 77K	Cryosthesia 77K Sidearm	Sidearm	Exotic	Primary	Stasis	Beyond Light Pack	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		❘ B Excels in: PvE	Exotic Kiosk Beyond Light Pack	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." ► Cryosthesia is an incredibly frustrating weapon to play against in the Crucible, but it has a hard time competing with the top meta picks in terms of raw duelling potential. This sidearm is definitely powerful, but there are better options out there.	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."
Osteo Striga	Osteo Striga Submachine Gun	Submachine Gun	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	The Witch Queen	Yes	B › Average	The Witch Queen Campaign		❘ B Excels in: PvE	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." ► Osteo Striga has been nerfed quite hard. While it's still definitely viable, it's no longer the incredibly powerful and brainless pick it used to be. Other Kinetic Exotics can now do the same job, but more efficiently.	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."
Collective Obligation	Collective Obligation Pulse Rifle	Pulse Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Void	The Witch Queen	Yes	B › Average	Vow of the Disciple Raid		❘ B 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."
Quicksilver Storm	Quicksilver Storm Auto Rifle	Auto Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Strand	Lightfall	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		❘ B 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 is, unfortunately, not as potent as it once was. While it can still serve you well as a workhorse primary weapon, you may as well use another Exotic option like Khvostov, Necrochasm, or Outbreak Perfected.	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."
Revision Zero	Revision Zero Pulse Rifle	Pulse Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	The Witch Queen	Yes	B › Average	Operation: Seraph's Shield		❘ 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."
Centrifuse	Centrifuse Auto Rifle	Auto Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		❘ B Excels in: PvE	Exotic Kiosk 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."
MIDA Multi-Tool	MIDA Multi-Tool Scout Rifle	Scout Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		❘ B Excels in: PvP	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 is regularly a favorable option in certain metals thanks to its ease of use that comes from having 100 aim assist.	Season 1	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon boosts move speed. Radar stays active while aiming down sights."
Rat King	Rat King Sidearm	Sidearm	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		❘ B Excels in: PvP	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." ► Rat King is still a very solid option in PvP, but due to the strength of Pulse Rifles right now, you'll find yourself outranged the majority of the time, particularly on more open maps.	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."
Crimson	Crimson Hand Cannon	Hand Cannon	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Engram		❘ 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."
The Jade Rabbit	The Jade Rabbit Scout Rifle	Scout Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Engram		❘ B 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 does slightly benefit from the slower Pulse Rifle meta we have right now, but it is still outclassed by alternative options, making it quite mediocre.	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."
Dead Man's Tale	Dead Man's Tale Scout Rifle	Scout Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Beyond Light Pack	Yes	B › Average	Presage		❘ B Excels in: PvP	Presage Beyond Light Pack	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 unfortunately not as powerful as it once was. With a lower usage rate than MIDA and Jade Rabbit, it's clear that Dead Man's Tale has fallen in terms of strength.	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 )
Hard Light	Hard Light Auto Rifle	Auto Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Void	Free-to-Play	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Engram		❘ B	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." ► Hard Light has recently received a change which makes it very strong with the right build. With how common elemental buffs and debuffs are, it can be very easy to make Hard Light deal some very solid damage. However, it does require a little bit of work and there are stronger AoE add-clear options out there.	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."
Skyburner's Oath	Skyburner's Oath Scout Rifle	Scout Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Solar	Free-to-Play	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Engram		❘ C	Exotic Engram Free-to-Play	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon lobs explosive slugs. When you're aiming down sights, the slugs travel fast and straight. When you're firing from the hip, the explosion is larger and applies Scorch to the target. Does extra damage to Cabal, and penetrates Phalanx shields." ► Skyburner's Oath is still quite a weak weapon. It feels clunky to use and doesn't do an awful lot of damage making it quite outclassed by many other options.	Season 1	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Primary | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon lobs explosive slugs. When you're aiming down sights, the slugs travel fast and straight. When you're firing from the hip, the explosion is larger and applies Scorch to the target. Does extra damage to Cabal, and penetrates Phalanx shields."
Fighting Lion	Fighting Lion Grenade Launcher	Grenade Launcher	Exotic	Primary	Void	Free-to-Play	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Engram		❘ C	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."
Polaris Lance	Polaris Lance Scout Rifle	Scout Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Solar	Free-to-Play	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Kiosk		❘ C	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." ► Polaris Lance is definitely not as strong as it once was. With Scout Rifles not being too spectacular, and options such as Unworthy outclassing it, it's very hard to suggest using Polaris Lance right now.	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."
Monte Carlo	Monte Carlo Auto Rifle	Auto Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Shadowkeep Pack	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Engram		❘ C	Exotic Engram Shadowkeep Pack	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."
Symmetry	Symmetry Scout Rifle	Scout Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Arc	Shadowkeep Pack	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Kiosk		❘ C	Exotic Kiosk Shadowkeep Pack	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."
Traveler's Chosen	Traveler's Chosen Sidearm	Sidearm	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Shadowkeep Pack	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Kiosk		❘ C	Exotic Kiosk Shadowkeep Pack	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."
Ticuu's Divination	Ticuu's Divination Combat Bow	Combat Bow	Exotic	Primary	Solar	Beyond Light Pack	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Kiosk		❘ C	Exotic Kiosk Beyond Light Pack	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."
Trespasser	Trespasser Sidearm	Sidearm	Exotic	Primary	Arc	The Witch Queen	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Kiosk		❘ C	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 isn't a very strong option these days. Sidearms aren't particularly great in PvP right now compared to some alternatives, meaning Trespasser struggles to get a look in.	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."
Touch of Malice	Touch of Malice Scout Rifle	Scout Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	C › Weak	King's Fall Raid		❘ C	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." ► Touch of Malice remains an decent option, but given the rise of other Exotic Primary weapons such as Final Warning or Outbreak Perfected, Touch of Malice can barely compete anymore.	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."
The Manticore	The Manticore Submachine Gun	Submachine Gun	Exotic	Primary	Void	The Witch Queen	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Kiosk		❘ 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." ► With its Catalyst, The Manticore can put in some solid work when paired with a good Void build. However, many players may prefer to use a Hand Cannon or Pulse Rifle like Graviton Lance as they are simply superior in today's meta.	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."
Hierarchy of Needs	Hierarchy of Needs Combat Bow	Combat Bow	Exotic	Primary	Solar	Free-to-Play	Yes	C › Weak	Spire of the Watcher Dungeon		❘ C	Spire of the Watcher Dungeon Free-to-Play	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	Combat Bow	Exotic	Primary	Stasis	Free-to-Play	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Kiosk		❘ C	Exotic Kiosk Free-to-Play	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."
Wicked Implement	Wicked Implement Scout Rifle	Scout Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Stasis	Free-to-Play	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Quest		❘ 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." ► With the buffs to Stasis and the addition of Frost Armour, Wicked Implement increases in value as a self-sustaining workhorse weapon. This gun is a great pick for those who want an Exotic Primary that is easy to use, enjoy, and works well with Stasis.	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."
Wish-Keeper	Wish-Keeper Combat Bow	Combat Bow	Exotic	Primary	Strand	Lightfall	Yes	C › Weak	Starcrossed		❘ C	Starcrossed Lightfall	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's suspending abilities mean little when there are so many options that allow you to kill enemies incredibly fast, making it quite a weak option.	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."
Vigilance Wing	Vigilance Wing Pulse Rifle	Pulse Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	D › Worst	Exotic Engram		❘ D 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 been massively powercrept. There is practically no reason to run this over any other Exotic Primary in PvP, making it one of the weakest Exotics today.	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."
Sweet Business	Sweet Business Auto Rifle	Auto Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	D › Worst	Exotic Quest		❘ D	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." ► Similar to SUROS Regime, Sweet Business simply cannot compete in either PvE or PvP, and takes too long to really get going.	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."
Sturm	Sturm Hand Cannon	Hand Cannon	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	D › Worst	Exotic Kiosk		❘ D	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."
SUROS Regime	SUROS Regime Auto Rifle	Auto Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	D › Worst	Exotic Engram		❘ D	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 is facing the unfortunate reality of there being so many good Exotic Auto Rifles in both PvE and PvP right now that there is practically never a reason to use it. While it may be valid in some scenarios, it is simply so outclassed that it's a waste of a slot.	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."
Cerberus+1	Cerberus+1 Auto Rifle	Auto Rifle	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	D › Worst	Exotic Engram		❘ D	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."

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?
Lord of Wolves	Lord of Wolves Shotgun	Shotgun	Exotic	Special	Solar	Free-to-Play	Yes	S+ > Meta	Exotic Engram		❘ S+ Excels in: PvE	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 one of the best exotics available at the moment. Thanks to its ridiculously high DPS at close range, it is the best option for any boss within its range. While it may struggle with bosses that are very ranged, it absolutely mauls close-up bosses, making it the best DPS option for bosses that fall within its range.	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."	Top-tier
Choir of One	Choir of One Auto Rifle	Auto Rifle	Exotic	Special	Void	Episode 1: Echoes	Yes	S+ > Meta	Exotic Quest		❘ S+ Excels in: PvE	Exotic Quest Episode 1: Echoes	Slot: Void | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires extended-range, heavy-caliber projectiles at a reduced rate of fire. Deals increased precision damage when aiming down sights. Rapid final blows cause targets to explode into a pool of radiolarian fluid. Hip firing launches multiple projectiles." ► Choir of One does absolutely everything. It serves as a decent add-clear weapon, it can burst major enemies, and it can also serve as a decent backup damage weapon. Despite nerfs, Choir of One still remains comfortably as arguably the best Exotic in the entire game.	The Final Shape	Slot: Void | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires extended-range, heavy-caliber projectiles at a reduced rate of fire. Deals increased precision damage when aiming down sights. Rapid final blows cause targets to explode into a pool of radiolarian fluid. Hip firing launches multiple projectiles."	Top-tier
Conditional Finality	Conditional Finality Shotgun	Shotgun	Exotic	Special	Stasis	Lightfall	Yes	S › Best	Root of Nightmares Raid		❘ 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 might not be as 'must-have' as it was when it launched, but it remains an incredibly potent option in both PvE and PvP. Being able to waste majors in PvE and Supers in PvP, Conditional is still arguably the best Shotgun in the game.	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
Divinity	Divinity Trace Rifle	Trace Rifle	Exotic	Special	Arc	Shadowkeep Pack	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Quest		❘ S Excels in: PvE	Exotic Quest Shadowkeep Pack	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 it's significantly past its prime, running this while your fireteam is running precision damage weapons is a no-brainer.	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
Buried Bloodline	Buried Bloodline Sidearm	Sidearm	Exotic	Special	Void	Lightfall Dungeon Key	Yes	S › Best	Warlord's Ruin Dungeon		❘ S Excels in: PvE	Warlord's Ruin Dungeon Lightfall Dungeon Key	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 one of the best Exotics in the game right now. Having access to Devour on all subclasses is nothing short of overpowered. While it isn't meta defining enough to break into the S+ tier, it definitely gets close.	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
Ergo Sum	Ergo Sum Sword	Sword	Exotic	Special	Kinetic	The Final Shape	Yes	S › Best	The Pale Heart		❘ S Excels in: PvE	The Pale Heart The Final Shape	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon collects less ammo. Deals increased damage while Transcendent; defeating targets lengthens Transcendence." Has access to an additional random rolled Exotic Perk. ► Ergo Sum is nothing short of spectacular. This sword massively boosts the viability of Swords as a DPS option in the current meta and is also the highest-damage sword in the entire game with the right roll. Ergo Sum can play both rolls: a damage-dealing beast or a highly effective support tool.	The Final Shape	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon collects less ammo. Deals increased damage while Transcendent; defeating targets lengthens Transcendence." Has access to an additional random rolled Exotic Perk.	Top-tier
The Chaperone	The Chaperone Shotgun	Shotgun	Exotic	Special	Kinetic	Beyond Light Pack	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Quest		❘ S Excels in: PvP	Exotic Quest Beyond Light Pack	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	Shotgun	Exotic	Special	Solar	Beyond Light Pack	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Kiosk		❘ S Excels in: PvP	Exotic Kiosk Beyond Light Pack	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
Cloudstrike	Cloudstrike Sniper Rifle	Sniper Rifle	Exotic	Special	Arc	Beyond Light Pack	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Quest		❘ A Excels in: PvE + PvP	Exotic Quest Beyond Light Pack	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." ► While Cloudstrike is noticeably weaker and less popular than it was at release, the weapon continues to be a solid pick in both PvE and PvP. Most scenarios do call on you to utilize a different exotic, but if you have an open slot, Cloudstrike won't let you down.	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
Forerunner	Forerunner Sidearm	Sidearm	Exotic	Special	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Quest		❘ A Excels in: PvE + PvP	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 is incredibly powerful in both PvE and PvP. Based on usage, Forerunner doesn't seem that good, but in PvP, it is incredibly frustrating to play against. In PvE, it can easily take care of high-priority enemies like Tormentors, making it an outstanding option all-around.	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
Ice Breaker	Ice Breaker Sniper Rifle	Sniper Rifle	Exotic	Special	Solar	The Final Shape Dungeon Key	Yes	A › Strong	Vesper's Host Dungeon		❘ A Excels in: PvE + PvP	Vesper's Host Dungeon The Final Shape Dungeon Key	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Final blows or assists with any other weapon or ability have a chance to create ammo for Ice Breaker. Defeating powerful combatants will create multiple rounds. Defeating a target with this weapon causes them to explode. Precision final blows or shattering a frozen target instead triggers an ignition." ► Ice Breaker flies under the radar quite often. A very solid weapon at bursting down tanky targets and a suitable swap weapon for DPS, Ice Breaker has quite a lot going for it. That isn't even considering the ammo-regenerating properties of the gun, either.	Episode 2	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Final blows or assists with any other weapon or ability have a chance to create ammo for Ice Breaker. Defeating powerful combatants will create multiple rounds. Defeating a target with this weapon causes them to explode. Precision final blows or shattering a frozen target instead triggers an ignition."	Top-tier
Coldheart	Coldheart Trace Rifle	Trace Rifle	Exotic	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Engram		❘ A 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."	Top-tier
Bastion	Bastion Fusion Rifle	Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Special	Kinetic	Shadowkeep Pack	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Kiosk		❘ A Excels in: PvE	Exotic Kiosk Shadowkeep Pack	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." ►A recent rework has brought Bastion back into the limelight. Maintaining its old functionality, it now has two additional melee-focused traits, with one acting like a One-Two Punch and the other like a melee-activated Controlled Burst. Perfectly synergizes with many Titan builds!	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."	Top-tier
Delicate Tomb	Delicate Tomb Fusion Rifle	Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Special	Arc	The Witch Queen	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Kiosk		❘ A 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." ► Delicate Tomb is THE Arc Warlock weapon. Creating Ionic Traces like crazy, it can help build your Super in a matter of seconds, especially when paired with the recently buffed Geomag Stabilizers.	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."	Top-tier
Still Hunt	Still Hunt Sniper Rifle	Sniper Rifle	Exotic	Special	Solar	The Final Shape	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Quest		❘ A Excels in: PvE	Exotic Quest The Final Shape	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Pick up Orbs of Power or land precision hits to charge this weapon's Super bar. Once full, [Alternate Weapon Action] to fire Golden Gun shots. This weapon gains passive bonuses to target acquisition, aim down sight speed, and flinch resistance. The bonus increases when this weapon's super mode is active." ► Still Hunt has received nerf after nerf, but despite this, it remains as a viable pick, especially for Hunters. With the proper setup and rotation, Still Hunt can deal an outrageous amount of damage, potentially allowing players to solo The Witness once more.	The Final Shape	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Pick up Orbs of Power or land precision hits to charge this weapon's Super bar. Once full, [Alternate Weapon Action] to fire Golden Gun shots. This weapon gains passive bonuses to target acquisition, aim down sight speed, and flinch resistance. The bonus increases when this weapon's super mode is active."	Top-tier
Euphony	Euphony Linear Fusion Rifle	Linear Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Special	Strand	The Final Shape	Yes	A › Strong	Salvation's Edge Raid		❘ A Excels in: PvE	Salvation's Edge Raid The Final Shape	Slot: Strand | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Dealing sustained damage with this weapon spawns Threadlings at your target's location. Threadling damage increases this weapon's damage." ► Euphony is remarkably powerful, and it gets even better when used on Strand Warlock thanks to Broodweaver's ability to spawn lots of Threadlings, stacking the Spindle perk faster, allowing Euphony to rival some Heavy Weapons for damage.	The Final Shape	Slot: Strand | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Dealing sustained damage with this weapon spawns Threadlings at your target's location. Threadling damage increases this weapon's damage."	Top-tier
Lodestar	Lodestar Trace Rifle	Trace Rifle	Exotic	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	A › Strong	Season Pass		❘ A Excels in: PvE	Season Pass Free-to-Play	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon fires a low-intensity Arc beam with enhanced stability and accuracy. Dealing Arc damage from any source aligns the battery's coils. When alignment is complete, enable hip-fired Starlight Beam to apply Jolt to any targets damaged for a short time. Aim down sights to slow the rate at which the battery drains." ► Lodestar falls into the same category as Coldheart; while it excels greatly with an Arc build, running it without one really isn't the best move.	Episode 3	Slot: Arc | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "This weapon fires a low-intensity Arc beam with enhanced stability and accuracy. Dealing Arc damage from any source aligns the battery's coils. When alignment is complete, enable hip-fired Starlight Beam to apply Jolt to any targets damaged for a short time. Aim down sights to slow the rate at which the battery drains."	Top-tier
Ex Diris	Ex Diris Grenade Launcher	Grenade Launcher	Exotic	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Kiosk		❘ A	Exotic Kiosk Free-to-Play	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 has risen in value recently thanks to some changes and has been present in some DPS loadouts as well as a couple of fun Hunter Builds in particular, making it rise monumentally through the ranks.	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."	Top-tier
Witherhoard	Witherhoard Grenade Launcher	Grenade Launcher	Exotic	Special	Kinetic	Shadowkeep Pack	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		❘ B Excels in: PvE + PvP	Exotic Kiosk Shadowkeep Pack	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." ► With the introduction of area denial launchers, Witherhoard has seen less and less use. It's still a powerful weapon in its own right; there are just far better options out there to warrant taking this.	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."
Vexcalibur	Vexcalibur Glaive	Glaive	Exotic	Special	Void	Lightfall	Yes	B › Average	Avalon		❘ B Excels in: PvE + PvP	Avalon 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." ► Due to a host of recent buffs, Vexcalibur has been getting better and better throughout the past couple of seasons. While it continues to be hard to recommend an exotic glaive of all things, we suggest trying this in casual content at the very least!	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."
Merciless	Merciless Fusion Rifle	Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Special	Solar	Free-to-Play	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Engram		❘ B 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 a remarkably niche weapon. At it's core, Merciless is a burst damage weapon meaning it is only suitable in content that requires burst damage. It has been notably used in solo challenges where it's exotic perk 'Impetus' can be reactivated over and over, but generally, Merciless is quite average.	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."
Izanagi's Burden	Izanagi's Burden Sniper Rifle	Sniper Rifle	Exotic	Special	Kinetic	Forsaken Pack	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		❘ B 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." ► Izanagi's Burden can reach some incredible DPS numbers, especially when combined with a Bait and Switch Heavy Weapon. And while it is still a very solid option, we are simply not in the right meta for it at the moment.	Season 5	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Holding reload consumes the magazine and loads a round with additional range and damage."
Eriana's Vow	Eriana's Vow Hand Cannon	Hand Cannon	Exotic	Special	Solar	Shadowkeep Pack	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		❘ B Excels in: PvE	Exotic Kiosk Shadowkeep Pack	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 rarely sees use. While a buff during Echoes increased its damage against shields, other Anti-Barrier options (like Radiant) are just too easy to trigger.	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."
The Fourth Horseman	The Fourth Horseman Shotgun	Shotgun	Exotic	Special	Solar	Shadowkeep Pack	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		❘ B Excels in: PvE	Exotic Kiosk Shadowkeep Pack	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 and is amazing in certain damage rotations, but as you get into more challenging content, the Fourth Horseman becomes a very risky weapon to opt for.	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."
Ager's Scepter	Ager's Scepter Trace Rifle	Trace Rifle	Exotic	Special	Stasis	Beyond Light Pack	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Kiosk		❘ B Excels in: PvE	Exotic Kiosk Beyond Light Pack	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 isn't as special as it used to be with many modern builds moving past this weapon these days. While Ager's isn't necessarily bad, it isn't as required for Stasis as it once was.	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."
Dead Messenger	Dead Messenger Grenade Launcher	Grenade Launcher	Exotic	Special	Void	The Witch Queen	Yes	B › Average	Vox Obscura		❘ B Excels in: PvE	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." ► While still not OP in PvP, Dead Messenger received a solid buff to its exotic trait, "The Fundamentals". Now when you apply or receive a keyword that matches the equipped element, you get a 30% damage boost!	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."
The Navigator	The Navigator Trace Rifle	Trace Rifle	Exotic	Special	Strand	Free-to-Play	Yes	B › Average	Ghost of the Deep Dungeon		❘ B Excels in: PvE	Ghost of the Deep Dungeon Free-to-Play	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 a rather niche option. While it can serve as a supportive weapon by granting Woven Mail to allies and creating grapple points for very high niche DPS combos, it's hard to say this weapon is genuinely strong.	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."
Telesto	Telesto Fusion Rifle	Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Special	Void	Free-to-Play	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Engram		❘ B	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." ► While still a rather gimmicky weapon, Bungie gave some new functionality to Telesto's catalyst that lets it rain Telesto bolts after scoring multi-kills, similar to one of the many bugs the weapon has had. Fun, but still not as strong as its contemporaries.	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."
Edge of Action	Edge of Action Glaive	Glaive	Exotic	Special	Void	The Witch Queen	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Quest		❘ B	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.."
Edge of Intent	Edge of Intent Glaive	Glaive	Exotic	Special	Solar	The Witch Queen	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Quest		❘ B	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 render Edge of Intent 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."
Prometheus Lens	Prometheus Lens Trace Rifle	Trace Rifle	Exotic	Special	Solar	Free-to-Play	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Engram		❘ 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."
Wavesplitter	Wavesplitter Trace Rifle	Trace Rifle	Exotic	Special	Void	Free-to-Play	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Engram		❘ C	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." ► Wavesplitter has been power-crept very hard. It's suppressing capabilities don't matter too much when you can simply kill the thing you're trying to suppress, and it's Trace Rifle competition outclasses it by a decent margin.	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."
Jötunn	Jötunn Fusion Rifle	Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Special	Solar	Forsaken Pack	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Kiosk		❘ 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."
Arbalest	Arbalest Linear Fusion Rifle	Linear Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Special	Kinetic	Lightfall	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Quest		❘ C	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 hasn't been relevant ever since Subclass verbs became Champion-counters. While it is still a solid option, there are more efficient tools at your disposal for both Champion killing and backup Boss DPS.	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."
Ruinous Effigy	Ruinous Effigy Trace Rifle	Trace Rifle	Exotic	Special	Void	Shadowkeep Pack	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Kiosk		❘ C	Exotic Kiosk Shadowkeep Pack	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."
Lorentz Driver	Lorentz Driver Linear Fusion Rifle	Linear Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Special	Void	Beyond Light Pack	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Kiosk		❘ C	Exotic Kiosk Beyond Light Pack	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."
Edge of Concurrence	Edge of Concurrence Glaive	Glaive	Exotic	Special	Arc	The Witch Queen	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Quest		❘ 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." ► Edge of Concurrence is simply awful. There is almost no reason to run it, and there are a ton of better picks at your disposal. You can choose to build around it with Triton Vice, but it simply isn't worth the hassle.	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."
Tessellation	Tessellation Fusion Rifle	Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Special	Kinetic	The Final Shape	Yes	C › Weak	Pre-order bonus		❘ C	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."
Slayer's Fang	Slayer's Fang Shotgun	Shotgun	Exotic	Special	Void	Episode 2: Revenant	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Quest		❘ C	Exotic Quest Episode 2: Revenant	Slot: Void | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Dealing final blows to targets grants Nightsworn Sight. During that time, final blows grant Truesight, reload speed and precision damage is increased, and submunitions weaken targets. Strong against Overload Champions." ► Slayer's Fang is not an awfully strong option. While it can be good with certain setups, particularly on Titan, this exotic isn't anything to write home about.	Episode 2	Slot: Void | Ammo: Special | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Dealing final blows to targets grants Nightsworn Sight. During that time, final blows grant Truesight, reload speed and precision damage is increased, and submunitions weaken targets. Strong against Overload Champions."
Borealis	Borealis Sniper Rifle	Sniper Rifle	Exotic	Special	Void	Free-to-Play	Yes	D › Worst	Exotic Engram		❘ 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."

ℹ️ Note that only one Exotic weapon can be equipped at once.

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?
The Queenbreaker	The Queenbreaker Linear Fusion Rifle	Linear Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	S+ > Meta	Exotic Engram		❘ S+ Excels in: PvE	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." ► A weapon that has been virtually useless for years now, The Queenbreaker is finally getting its fifteen seconds of glory. The Queenbreaker is arguably the strongest Exotic weapon in Episode: Heresy. A combination of Linear Fusion Rifle buffs and a long-overdue rework to Queenbreaker has seen this weapon skyrocket to the top of the Exotic pile.	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."	Top-tier
Gjallarhorn	Gjallarhorn Rocket Launcher	Rocket Launcher	Exotic	Heavy	Solar	30th Anniversary	Yes	S › Best	Grasp of Avarice Dungeon		❘ 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 is still one of the greats. Despite the fact that other options are generally preferred for boss damage right now, rockets are still solid, and Gjallarhorn is an absolute must when using them.	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	Shotgun	Exotic	Heavy	Void	Free-to-Play	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Engram		❘ 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
Parasite	Parasite Grenade Launcher	Grenade Launcher	Exotic	Heavy	Solar	The Witch Queen	Yes	S › Best	Exotic Quest		❘ 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." ► Parasite is an excellent weapon, particularly for challenging pieces of content. It doesn't flinch at Grandmaster Champions, can clear groups of enemies very easily, and even has a situational DPS niche inside of Raids and Dungeons.	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
Microcosm	Microcosm Trace Rifle	Trace Rifle	Exotic	Heavy	Kinetic	The Final Shape	Yes	S › Best	The Pale Heart		❘ S Excels in: PvE	The Pale Heart The Final Shape	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires a beam of Kinetic light, dealing massive bonus damage to shields. Final blows with this weapon grant Super energy. This weapon gains bonus damage once your Super expires." ► Microcosm is the new 'lazy' DPS option. It pumps out okay damage, but it shines as an ad-clearing and Major killing beast. Microcosm feels like it beams through almost anything but bosses in the game, making it an incredibly powerful weapon to use whenever your Exotic Slot is free.	The Final Shape	Slot: Kinetic | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires a beam of Kinetic light, dealing massive bonus damage to shields. Final blows with this weapon grant Super energy. This weapon gains bonus damage once your Super expires."	Top-tier
Legend of Acrius	Legend of Acrius Shotgun	Shotgun	Exotic	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Kiosk		❘ 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 has never been truly 'meta' but remains a straightforward option for players who don't have a better alternative. However, Acrius has always been considered a situational yet powerful pick for all types of challenging content.	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
D.A.R.C.I.	D.A.R.C.I. Sniper Rifle	Sniper Rifle	Exotic	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Engram		❘ A Excels in: PvE	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." ► D.A.R.C.I has finally received a long-awaited rework, and it has become the Gjallarhorn of Snipers. While it hasn't broken the DPS meta, it can serve as a very solid backup support option, especially when paired with your own Sniper.	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."	Top-tier
Sleeper Simulant	Sleeper Simulant Linear Fusion Rifle	Linear Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Heavy	Solar	Free-to-Play	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Kiosk		❘ 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." ► While Sleeper Simulant hasn't been a top pick outside of Contest Mode raids and dungeons for quite some time, it's a consistent option with tons of total damage when needed.	Season 3	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "The weapon's laser over penetrates enemies and refracts off hard surfaces."	Top-tier
Whisper of the Worm	Whisper of the Worm Sniper Rifle	Sniper Rifle	Exotic	Heavy	Solar	Free-to-Play	Yes	A › Strong	The Whisper		❘ A 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 isn't the top dog anymore for damage. With Queenbreaker's resurgence and the strength of certain other DPS strategies, Whisper of the Worm has fallen a bit to the wayside. However, it is still a valid option that can put in some work.	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."	Top-tier
Thunderlord	Thunderlord Machine Gun	Machine Gun	Exotic	Heavy	Arc	Forsaken Pack	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Engram		❘ A Excels in: PvE	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." ► Thunderlord is now, for once, actually viable for DPS, thanks to the addition of Bolt Charge. While retaining it's former Machine Gun strengths of add-clear, the additional benefit of DPS viability boosts Thunderlord up, but it is still outclassed by some alternatives for both add-clear and boss DPS.	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
Anarchy	Anarchy Grenade Launcher	Grenade Launcher	Exotic	Heavy	Arc	Forsaken Pack	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Kiosk		❘ A 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." ► Anarchy has seen a major resurgence with Episode: Heresy thanks to the addition of Bolt Charge. While Anarchy has always been viable option, it has jumped into the spotlight, particularly in Heresy.	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."	Top-tier
Leviathan's Breath	Leviathan's Breath Combat Bow	Combat Bow	Exotic	Heavy	Void	Shadowkeep Pack	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Kiosk		❘ A Excels in: PvE	Exotic Kiosk Shadowkeep Pack	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	Machine Gun	Exotic	Heavy	Arc	The Witch Queen	Yes	A › Strong	Exotic Kiosk		❘ 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 an interesting DPS weapon. While it is rarely the best pick to ever use on a boss, there are times when it can be incredibly valuable such as Contest Mode Raid or Dungeon races, where simplicity and ease of use can be favoured over harder-to-execute strategies.	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
Dragon's Breath	Dragon's Breath Rocket Launcher	Rocket Launcher	Exotic	Heavy	Solar	Free-to-Play	Yes	A › Strong	Season Pass		❘ A 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
Xenophage	Xenophage Machine Gun	Machine Gun	Exotic	Heavy	Solar	Shadowkeep Pack	Yes	B › Average	Pit of Heresy Dungeon		❘ B Excels in: PvE	Pit of Heresy Dungeon Shadowkeep Pack	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fires high-powered explosive ammunition. Aiming this weapon increases its effective range and zoom magnification." ► Xenophage occasionally has its time in the sun when the PvE meta favors it, but this weapon simply doesn't see much season-to-season use.	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."
Winterbite	Winterbite Glaive	Glaive	Exotic	Heavy	Stasis	Lightfall	Yes	B › Average	Exotic Quest		❘ 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."
Finality's Auger	Finality's Auger Linear Fusion Rifle	Linear Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Heavy	Solar	The Final Shape Dungeon Key	Yes	B › Average	Sundered Doctrine Dungon		❘ B Excels in: PvE	Sundered Doctrine Dungon The Final Shape Dungeon Key	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fire a special projectile that deploys a Ruinscribe Turret. This projectile costs 3 ammo to fire. Aim the projectile skyward to provide the clearest sight lines for the turret which will automatically shoot at nearby targets. While a Ruinscribe Turret is deployed, this weapon can paint targets with its laser projectiles. The turret prioritizes painted targets and fires more powerful munitions at them." ► Finality's Auger is one of Destiny 2's most unique (and fun!) weapons to date. Even so, it struggles to see much use in higher-difficulty settings when compared to its more standard competition.	Episode 3	Slot: Solar | Ammo: Heavy | Archetype: Exotic Exotic Perk: "Fire a special projectile that deploys a Ruinscribe Turret. This projectile costs 3 ammo to fire. Aim the projectile skyward to provide the clearest sight lines for the turret which will automatically shoot at nearby targets. While a Ruinscribe Turret is deployed, this weapon can paint targets with its laser projectiles. The turret prioritizes painted targets and fires more powerful munitions at them."
Two-Tailed Fox	Two-Tailed Fox Rocket Launcher	Rocket Launcher	Exotic	Heavy	Void	Free-to-Play	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Engram		❘ C	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." ► While the interaction with Facet of Command made Two-Tailed Fox a powerful pick, it has now been patched and no longer works, putting Two-Tailed Fox back into an average spot.	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."
One Thousand Voices	One Thousand Voices Fusion Rifle	Fusion Rifle	Exotic	Heavy	Solar	Forsaken Pack	Yes	C › Weak	Last Wish Raid		❘ 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, even with the Particle Reconstruction seasonal mod, is still incredibly underwhelming and is grossly outclassed by the competition.	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."
Deathbringer	Deathbringer Rocket Launcher	Rocket Launcher	Exotic	Heavy	Void	Shadowkeep Pack	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Quest		❘ C	Exotic Quest Shadowkeep Pack	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."
The Lament	The Lament Sword	Sword	Exotic	Heavy	Solar	Beyond Light Pack	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Quest		❘ C	Exotic Quest Beyond Light Pack	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 nowhere near as strong as it once was. Once it lost the DPS advantage it had over Legendary Swords, The Lament's strength declined massively. Additionally, the presence of Ergo Sum also makes The Lament quite a waste of an exotic slot.	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."
Salvation's Grip	Salvation's Grip Grenade Launcher	Grenade Launcher	Exotic	Heavy	Stasis	Beyond Light Pack	Yes	C › Weak	Exotic Quest		❘ C	Exotic Quest Beyond Light Pack	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." ► Salvation's Grip isn't as much of a joke as it once was, but unfortunately, it still remains quite a weak option when compared to other Heavy weapons.	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."
Eyes of Tomorrow	Eyes of Tomorrow Rocket Launcher	Rocket Launcher	Exotic	Heavy	Solar	Beyond Light Pack	Yes	C › Weak	Deep Stone Crypt Raid		❘ C	Deep Stone Crypt Raid Beyond Light Pack	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." ► The ammo-refunding property of Eyes of Tomorrow is interesting and does have some value, but it isn't that helpful when you can simply just use an Exotic Primary weapon to handle your ad-clearing needs, and use your Heavy Weapon for DPS.	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."
The Prospector	The Prospector Grenade Launcher	Grenade Launcher	Exotic	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	D › Worst	Exotic Engram		❘ D	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	Rocket Launcher	Exotic	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	D › Worst	Exotic Engram		❘ D	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."
The Colony	The Colony Grenade Launcher	Grenade Launcher	Exotic	Heavy	Void	Free-to-Play	Yes	D › Worst	Exotic Engram		❘ 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	Sword	Exotic	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	D › Worst	Exotic Kiosk		❘ 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."
Black Talon	Black Talon Sword	Sword	Exotic	Heavy	Void	Free-to-Play	Yes	D › Worst	Exotic Engram		❘ 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	Rocket Launcher	Exotic	Heavy	Void	Forsaken Pack	Yes	D › Worst	Exotic Kiosk		❘ 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."
Heir Apparent	Heir Apparent Machine Gun	Machine Gun	Exotic	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Timed-Event	D › Worst	Event: Guardian Games		❘ D	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	Sword	Exotic	Heavy	Void	Witch Queen Dungeon Key	Yes	D › Worst	Duality Dungeon		❘ D	Duality Dungeon Episode 3: Heretic	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 doesn't see too much use these days, unfortunately. While it is a very unique and interesting weapon, it is far too niche to see any consistent use, and there are better options than it available.	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."
Deterministic Chaos	Deterministic Chaos Machine Gun	Machine Gun	Exotic	Heavy	Void	Lightfall	Yes	D › Worst	Exotic Quest		❘ D	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."

These are the different Tier levels used for these tier lists:

• S+ Tier – Meta: Weapons so good they singlehandedly shifted the current meta
• S Tier – Best: Highest ranking weapons.
• A Tier – Strong: Very strong weapons, but not on the same level as S Tier Choices.
• B Tier – Average: Either decent weapons or weapons that fit a very specific niche/use case.
• C Tier – Weak: Mediocre weapons that are easily outclassed by the competition.
• D Tier – Worst: Weapons that don’t have much to offer and don’t deserve your attention.

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 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 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 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 Xûr 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 containing either a weapon or armor piece. We cover Xur’ Exotics here.

5. Claiming Exotics from the Season Pass

The easier Exotics available to you can be found in the Season Pass. 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 ends.

6. Earning reputation from Vendors

Resetting your Vendro reputation tracks will reward you with an Ascendant Shard for the first reset of the Season, 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 Euphony, which can only drop from the Salvation’s Edge Raid, or Buried Bloodline, which can only drop from the Warlord’s Ruin Dungeon.

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

Destiny 2 Exotics in-depth

How many Exotics are there?

Despite being the rarest and most powerful items available, the game receives a healthy quantity of new Exotics each season/episode. As of Episode 1: Echoes (Season 24), a total of 122 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, meaning that every method that rewards Exotic engrams (Season Pass, Xur, Rank resets, etc) will help you easily find new Exotic weapons and armor.

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 is a lengthy and difficult affair, 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.