The Navigator is a Strand Exotic Trace rifle that can only drop after defeating the Ghost of the Deep final boss. This Trace Rifle is not only unique in that it is the first Trace rifle that deals Strand damage, but it also has the potential to be one of the best Dungeon exotics to come out in a long time.
For these reasons, you can bet Guardians will grind the Ghost of the Deep for many months to come, even if many dislike its lack of difficulty. In this guide, we cover how powerful this Exotic shotgun is and tell you exactly how to get the weapon.
Art | Weapon | Archetype | Rarity | Ammo | Element | Requirements | In loot pool? | Ammo? | Element? | Tier | Excels | Source | Craftable? | Requires | Released | Slot | Can be Crafted? | Best of? | Top Perk? |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | The Navigator | Exotic | Exotic | Special | Strand | Deluxe Edition | Yes | ![]() | ![]() | Best ❘ S | PvE + PvP | Ghost of the Deep Dungeon | ![]() | ![]() Deluxe Edition | Season 21 | Kinetic | No | Top-tier |
How to get The Navigator
The Navigator can only drop from the Ghost of the Deep’s final boss. Considering that dungeons are relatively short and easier to organize compared to a raid, you shouldn’t have too much trouble organizing this every week.

The Navigator Trace rifle, Destiny 2
The Navigator drop rate
The Navigator is estimated to have a base drop rate of around 5%. Note that actual drop rates are unknown, as Bungie has never shared that information; however, drop rates for all Raid and Dungeon Exotics should be in the 5% ballpark based on estimations from the community.
Overall, drop rates for Dungeon exotics are abysmally low but Bungie has taken steps to combat this issue; you can now complete specific triumphs and challenges to increase your drop rates. You can read all about it here. In this case, the following Triumphs will increase your odds of getting The Navigator to drop:
Triumph | Rate Boost |
Lore Collectibles Triumph (In Memoriam) | +1 |
Master Mode Completion (Sovereign) | +1 |
Full Flawless Clear (Deny Death) | +1 |
Full Solo Clear (Alone in the Deep) | +1 |
Full Solo Flawless Clear (King of the Deep) | +2 |
💠 You can find the entire Ghost of the Deep loot table here.
Is The Navigator farmable?
Unfortunately, you cannot farm The Navigator. Dungeon exotics cannot be farmed infinitely, unless their respective dungeon is the weekly featured dungen. Alas, the Ghost of the Deep is not part of the rotation this season, which means you only get a chance to obtain the Exotic Trace rigle once per character per week.
By the way, you can farm the Ghost of the Deep’s Legendary weapons and armor at will; the newest dungeon (and raid) can be infinitely farmed until they’re replaced by something newer.
How good is the New Dungeon Exotic Trace Rifle?
The Navigator features unique Exotic perks that set it apart:
- Protective Weave: Firing this weapon at an ally grants Woven Mail to the user and the target.
- Weft Cutter: Dealing sustained damage severs the target.
It is too early to tell for sure how strong this Trace rifle is, but first impressions are extremely good. So good, some even wonder if the weapon may be bugged. It is rapidly rising to the top of the PvE meta and only time will tell whether it will be able to stay there.
The Navigator catalyst: Where to find it?
The catalyst for The Navigator can be acquired by defeating three hidden bosses found within the Ghost of the Deep. You’ll have to find and activate three Hive Statues and defeat the Lightbear Hives that we’ll spawn to protect them.
This video from Kimber Prime does an excellent job explaining the process:
Name | Type | Slot | Catalyst Rank | Catalyst Source | Available? | Requirements | Catalyst | Tier | Source ❘ DLC | How to unlock | Catalyst effect | Released |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Navigator | Trace Rifle | Kinetic | A › Strong | Ghost of the Deep Dungeon | Yes | Deluxe Edition | ![]() The Navigator | Trace Rifle | Strong ❘ A | Ghost of the Deep Dungeon![]() Deluxe Edition | ► Get 700 kills | ► Adds Gordian Knot perk: Special reload and then fire to create a Grapple Tangle at the targeted point. | Season 21 |
How to unlock the catalyst?
Once you have found the catalyst, you will need 700 kills to fully unlock it.
To unlock the catalyst as efficiently as possible, any place with lots of easy-to-kill enemies can be a good spot. The Shuro Chi encounter from the Last With raid is a particularly popular spot to farm catalysts.
Before you go…
While you farm the new dungeon on a weekly basis, don’t forget that there are other top-tier Exotics worth your attention, such as the Conditional Finality shotgun. Alternatively, you can find all the new S21 Exotics here.
I think you forgot to clean up your copy-paste job, you left the bit about conditional finality and Root in your article
Fair comment and fair play here. Noted and corrected
You say The Navigator can be infinitely farmed then follow up by saying it cannot be…
Typo on my end, I meant the dungeon was infinitely farmable, but only the legendaries. Post has been corrected accordingly.