Destiny 2 Exotic Mission Rotator this Week

by | Apr 22, 2025 | Weapons

Beyond raids and dungeons, exotic missions are some of the best PvE content Destiny 2 has to offer. However, even these great experiences aren’t safe from the clutches of the Destiny Content Vault, and their disappearance throughout the years has saddened many.

Luckily, Season 22 had an excellent solution: the Exotic Mission Rotator. This Playlist brings back beloved missions from the past while sprucing them up with some enticing loot.

Exotic Mission Rotation: April 22

This week’s Exotic mission, Operation: Seraph’s Shield, drops the Revision Zero (Pulse Rifle). We cover the most sought-after Revision Zero God Rolls here.

ArtActivityLocationPower LevelRewardsRequiresType
Seraph Shield Exotic Mision RotatorOperation: Seraph's ShieldLegends1955Loot TableDestiny 2 Icon (final) Destiny 2
Free-to-Play
Exotic Mission

Exotic Rotator Rewards this Week

While these Exotic quests can be fun and challenging, most Guardians are running them for a chance to earn exclusive weapons and armor.

These are the weapons and armor sets available this week:

Armor SetReleasedTitan PreviewHunter PreviewWarlock PreviewSourceObtainable?
Warmind's Avatar
Operation: Seraph's Shield
Season 19Warmind's Avatar armor TitanWarmind's Avatar armor HunterWarmind's Avatar armor WarlockOperation: Seraph's ShieldYes

🛑 These rewards require ownership of The Witch Queen or Season of the Seraph.

Vox Obscura Exotic Mission screen Destiny 2

Exotic Mission Rotator, Destiny 2

Weekly rotation

This is the Episode: Heresy calendar covering the entire Exotic missions rotation until June 3, 2025:

📅 Exotic Mission Rotator: Heresy (Ep3)

WeekExotic MissionExoticWeek #
4 February 2025Vox ObscuraRevision ZeroWeek 1
11 February 2025Operation: Seraph's ShieldDead Man's TaleWeek 2
18 February 2025AvalonDead MessengerWeek 3
25 February 2025StarcrossedRevision ZeroWeek 4
4 March 2025PresageDead Man's TaleWeek 5
11 March 2025Vox ObscuraDead MessengerWeek 6
18 March 2025Operation: Seraph's ShieldRevision ZeroWeek 7
25 March 2025AvalonDead Man's TaleWeek 8
1 April 2025StarcrossedDead MessengerWeek 9
8 April 2025PresageRevision ZeroWeek 10
15 April 2025Vox ObscuraDead Man's TaleWeek 11
22 April 2025Operation: Seraph's ShieldDead MessengerWeek 12
29 April 2025AvalonRevision ZeroWeek 13
6 May 2025StarcrossedDead Man's TaleWeek 14
13 May 2025PresageDead MessengerWeek 15
20 May 2025Vox ObscuraRevision ZeroWeek 16
27 May 2025Operation: Seraph's ShieldDead Man's TaleWeek 17
3 June 2025AvalonDead MessengerWeek 18

What is the Exotic Mission Rotator?

Over the years, Bungie has added missions that carry specific exotic weapon rewards to Destiny 2. These typically are kept a secret until they’re discovered by the community in-game, making for a day almost as exciting as the release of a new raid.

The exotic mission rotator takes some of these missions from past years and puts them into a playlist. This playlist features one mission per week, granting unique rewards that reset every Tuesday.

Currently, three missions are available via this rotator: Presage, Vox Obscura, and Operation: Seraph’s Shield. Bungie has confirmed that more Exotic Missions will be added in 2024.

Exotic Mission Rotator Rewards

Each Exotic Mission offers several rewards, including a specific craftable Exotic weapon, several Legendary weapons, and one armor set.

ArtNameTypeArchetypeRarityAmmo?Element?RequirementsIn loot pool?AmmoElementTierExcelsSourceCraftable?RequiresReleasedSlotCan be Crafted?Best of?Top Perk?
Dead Man's Tale artDead Man's TaleScout RifleExoticExoticPrimaryKineticBeyond Light PackYesPrimary ammo Destiny 2 PrimaryKinetic symbol Destiny 2 Kinetic
S › Best
PvPPresageCheckmark icon V3 YesBeyond Light Icon (final) Destiny 2
Beyond Light Pack
Season 13KineticCraftableTop-tier
Dead Messenger artDead MessengerGrenade LauncherExoticExoticSpecialVoidThe Witch QueenYesSpecial ammo Destiny 2 SpecialVoid Void
B › Average
-Vox ObscuraCheckmark icon V3 YesThe Witch Queen Icon (final) Destiny 2
Witch Queen
Season 16EnergyCraftable
Revision Zero artRevision ZeroPulse RifleExoticExoticPrimaryKineticThe Witch QueenYesPrimary ammo Destiny 2 PrimaryKinetic symbol Destiny 2 Kinetic
A › Strong
PvEOperation: Seraph's ShieldCheckmark icon V3 YesThe Witch Queen Icon (final) Destiny 2
Witch Queen
Season 19KineticCraftableTop-tier
Vexcalibur artVexcaliburGlaiveExoticExoticSpecialVoidLightfallYesSpecial ammo Destiny 2 SpecialVoid Void
A › Strong
PvE + PvPAvalonError icon V2 NoLightfall Icon (final) Destiny 2
Lightfall
Season 20EnergyNoTop-tier
Wish-Keeper art Destiny 2Wish-KeeperCombat BowExoticExoticPrimaryStrandLightfallYesPrimary ammo Destiny 2 PrimaryStrand Element Strand
B › Average
PvE + PvPStarcrossedCheckmark icon V3 YesLightfall Icon (final) Destiny 2
Lightfall
Season 23KineticCraftable

It is worth noting that the exotic rewards are craftable. As explained by Bungie:

  • First completion of the mission on Normal or Legendary difficulty will award the Exotic Deepsight weapon associated with the mission.
  • Each completion of the Normal or Legendary version of the Exotic mission will award an intrinsic upgrade that can be used when crafting the Exotic weapon.
  • Each completion of the Legendary version of the Exotic mission will award a Catalyst upgrade for the crafted Exotic weapon.

Vexcalibur God Rolls screen Destiny 2

Exotic Mission Rotator rewards, Destiny 2

Regarding the Legendary Armor and weapon rewards:

  • Weekly mission rewards: One guaranteed Deepsight weapon that has not had its pattern unlocked and one armor piece that has not already been obtained.
  • On every completion, you will receive an additional weapon from the mission’s weapon pool.

Note that Exotic Missions feature two difficulties, Normal and Legendary, and each will have separate weekly reward lockouts.

Exotic Rotator Missions

As of Episode 3: Heresy, this rotator features five missions from past years. Let’s take a quick look at all three and what they offer.

ArtActivityLocationPower LevelRewardsRequiresType
Presage Exotic Mission Enhanced Destiny 2PresageLegends1955Loot TableDestiny 2 Icon (final) Destiny 2
Free-to-Play
Exotic Mission
Vox Obscura Exotic Mision RotatorVox ObscuraLegends1955Loot TableDestiny 2 Icon (final) Destiny 2
Free-to-Play
Exotic Mission
Seraph Shield Exotic Mision RotatorOperation: Seraph's ShieldLegends1955Loot TableDestiny 2 Icon (final) Destiny 2
Free-to-Play
Exotic Mission
Starcrossed Exotic Quest featured Destiny 2StarcrossedLegends1955Loot TableLightfall Icon (final) Destiny 2
Lightfall
Exotic Mission
Avalon Exotic Mission featured Destiny 2AvalonLegends1955Loot TableLightfall Icon (final) Destiny 2
Lightfall
Exotic Mission
The Whisper Exotic Mission Featured Destiny 2The WhisperLegends1960Loot TableDestiny 2 Icon (final) Destiny 2
Free-to-Play
Exotic Mission
Zero Hour Exotic Mission Featured Destiny 2Zero HourLegends1960Loot TableDestiny 2 Icon (final) Destiny 2
Free-to-Play
Exotic Mission

OG Exotic Missions

Presage Exotic Mission Enhanced Destiny 2

Presage

Released with Season of the Chosen back in early 2021, Presage is the closest thing to a horror experience you’ll get in Destiny 2. Here, you’ll explore a seemingly abandoned Cabal ship filled to the brim with Scorn forces.

The normal difficulty variant of this mission isn’t timed, so explore to your heart’s content! It’s one of the most immersive spaces the Destiny franchise has to offer. Presage is the source of Dead Man’s Tale, a unique exotic scout rifle that now has the option to be crafted. Presage also rewards top-tier weapons from Season 17.

 

Vox Obscura Exotic Mision Rotator

Vox Obscura

Vox Obscura came with Season of the Risen and has you and your fireteam storming a Cabal bunker on Mars. While this mission is timed, it has noticeably fewer mechanics than the other two featured in this playlist.

Completing Vox Obscura rewards Dead Messenger. This exotic wave frame grenade launcher can utilize all three Light elements, making for a great counter to missions with high elemental shield density.

 

Seraph Shield Exotic Mision Rotator

Operation: Seraph’s Shield

Basically a small-scale version of the Deep Stone Crypt raid, Operation: Seraph’s Shield was released with Season of the Seraph. This mission has Guardians venturing into a Braytech orbital platform above the Last City to rid it of Fallen forces.

This one is relatively mechanically complex but doesn’t have a timer, making it an enjoyable experience if you take your time.

Revision Zero is the unique exotic you’ll get for completing Operation: Seraph’s Shield. Able to fire a two-round burst, four-round burst, or powerful sniper-like shots, this pulse rifle is truly a jack of all trades. It’s also craftable, allowing you to customize it to your liking.

Exotic Rotator Challenges

Last but not least, these Missions also feature specific challenges. These challenges are meant to test you and reward those who succeed with even more loot. This is how challenges work:

  • The challenge rewards will be output at pinnacle power and will prioritize the rewards in the following order:
    • One guaranteed Deepsight weapon that has not had its pattern unlocked.
    • If weapon patterns have all been unlocked, the challenge will award one armor piece that has not been obtained.
    • If all weapon patterns and armor have been obtained for the in-rotation mission, the challenge will output a random weapon or armor.

Exotic Mission Rotator Difficulty screen

Exotic Mission Rotator Difficulties, Destiny 2

What about the cult classics?

It’s great to see all these missions back in the game, especially with enticing loot. But it has left many players with one question: What about the rest of the exotic missions we’ve lost to the DCV?

Luckily, Bungie has stated that they’re also looking into bringing older fan favorites, like Harbinger, back through this system. While a timeline hasn’t been set, it’s clear that Bungie has early plans to make this rotator even more robust in the future.

About The Author

Andrew Sideris
Andrew Sideris
With my over seven years of game knowledge, six months of writing experience for Blueberries.gg, and hundreds of Blueberries already guided through endgame content, I hope to allow newcomers to have the same great introduction I had all those years ago. You can find Andrew on Twitter.
More from Andrew Sideris
5 Comments
  1. Ras117Mike

    Hey there, just wanted to point out a possible typo or wrong data grab from the API. On the exotic mission rotator page for this week (12/19/23) it shows the following as the title:

    Destiny 2 Exotic Mission this week
    This week’s Exotic mission is Vox Obscura and rewards the Dead Messenger Exotic.

    But it’s actually Operation: Seraph’s Shield. The page shows the correct information otherwise. Just wanted to bring this up in case.

    Reply
    • Ric Molina

      Absolutely a typo on my end… Thank you for the heads up. Corrected!

      Reply
  2. musicdownloader

    Great breakdown of this week’s Exotic Mission Rotator! I’m really looking forward to trying out the new missions and seeing what gear drops. Any tips for maximizing my chances of getting the new exotics?

    Reply
  3. Scott

    In at least, Exotic Mission Rotator: Heresy (Ep3) list, the mission is not properly lining up with the correct weapon.

    Reply
    • Ric Molina

      Hey, I’m double checking the page but I don’t see what you mean? What section are you referring to?

      Reply
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