Destiny 2 Malfeasance: How to get the Exotic & Catalyst

Malfeasance is a Taken-like kinetic hand cannon that you can get by completing an exotic quest related to Gambit. The weapon looks good, and with the sandbox changes in Season 22, Malfeasance is arguably one of the best DPS hand cannons in Destiny 2.

In this guide, we will cover how to start the Malfeasance’s exotic quest, tips and tricks to complete it, possible synergies, and how to get its catalyst.

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?
	Malfeasance	Exotic	Exotic	Primary	Kinetic	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Kinetic	Average ❘ B	-	Exotic Quest		Free-to-Play	Season 4	Kinetic	No

How to get the Malfeasance today

To get Malfeasance, you need to complete the Darkness in the Light Exotic quest. Also known as the Malfeasance Exotic Quest, this quest starts after winning a Gambit match. Once you have the quest, there are the 7 steps for you to complete:

1. The Seething Heart: Speak to the Drifter at the Tower.
2. City of Secrets: Search for clues about the thief in the Dreaming City.
3. The Corrupted: Help the Drifter track the thief who stole from him. Complete the mission variant of the strike “The Corrupted.”
4. Depleted Weapon Core: Deliver the depleted weapon core you found at Callum’s grave to the Drifter.
5. Business as Usual: Deposit Motes. Dropped Motes subtract x2 score. Win Gambit matches. You will need around 500 motes.
6. Lights Out: Have an ally invader defeat four opposing Guardians in a single invasion three times, OR defeat four opposing Guardians as an invader. As an invader, defeat 25 opposing Guardians in Gambit.
7. Dark Weapon Core: Speak to the Drifter at the Tower.

The most annoying part of the quest is banking motes because it tracks progress among multiple Gambit matches. Make sure to deposit 10-15 motes as often as you can and stick with your team when being invaded.

If you are struggling with invading yourself, look for when the enemy team has a lot of unbanked motes. Players will often be near the bank in a panic to deposit them. This will be your chance to strike. We also recommend using a Machine Gun like Unvawering Duty or Thunderlord and stacking up on heavy ammo before invading.

Malfeasance Exotic, Destiny 2

How to get the Malfeasance Catalyst

The catalyst for the Malfeasance is a random world drop. You have a chance to get it after completing any core ritual, such as Vanguard Ops, Crucible, or Gambit. In our case, it dropped after an Exotic Mission Rotator completion.

The upgraded catalyst adds a +20 range and the Vorpal Weapon perk to Malfeasance. When paired with the Lucky Pants we mentioned before, Vorpal makes the gun especially good for boss damage.

Name	Type	Slot	Catalyst Rank	Catalyst Source	Available?	Requirements	Catalyst	Tier	Source ❘ DLC	How to unlock	Catalyst effect	Released
Malfeasance	Hand Cannon	Kinetic	A › Strong	Strikes, Crucible, and Gambit	Yes	Free-to-Play	Malfeasance | Hand Cannon	Strong ❘ A	Strikes, Crucible, and Gambit Free-to-Play	► Get 700 kills	► Adds Vorpal Weapon perk: Increased damage against bosses, vehicles, and Guardians with their Super active. ► Increases range by +20.	Season 21

How to get the Malfeasance Catalyst, Destiny 2

How to farm the Malfeasance catalyst

Once you have the catalyst, you need to get 700 kills to upgrade it. The best place to farm them is, as always, the Shuro Chi checkpoint in the Last Wish raid.

💡 Reminder: Even though Shuro Shi is in a raid, you don’t need a fireteam to get to the checkpoint. Use the wish wall described in the Shuro Chi guide.

How good is Malfeasance this season?

With hand cannon buffs in Season of the Witch, Malfeasance has more potential than ever before. In Season 22, hand cannons deal 20% more damage against minors and 75% more damage against majors.

The Exotic perks on Malfeasance make it a great gun in PvE:

• Explosive Shadow: Shoot tainted slugs that burrow into combatants. Stacking enough slugs causes them all to explode, stunning surviving combatants. Strong against Unstoppable Champions
• Taken Predator: Bonus damage against Taken enemies and Gambit invaders

Explosive Shadow especially allows you to clear ads really quickly as if you had a gun with elemental perks like Incandescent or Destabilizing Rounds. This way, you won’t feel overwhelmed in ad-heavy content.

Malfeasance and Lucky Pants

Hunters can take advantage of recently reworked Lucky Pants exotic leg armor to make Malfeasance a damage powerhouse.

Armor	Class	Type	Requirements	Source	Released	Requires	Exotic Perk
Lucky Pants	Hunter	Legs	Free-to-Play	Exotic Engrams	Season 1	Free-to-Play	Exotic Perk: "When you ready a fully loaded Hand Cannon that deals kinetic damage or a damage type that matches your subclass energy type, each hit from that Hand Cannon increases the damage of the next shot for a short time against a combatant. Hand Cannons ready faster and are more accurate immediately after swapping to them."

You can use the armor with any subclass in case of Malfeasance and boost the gun’s DPS to 30-40k per shot. With the Malfeasance’s catalyst active and a couple of mods, the final DPS output can go even higher.

Before you go…

You can check this season’s new exotics here. If you’re looking for top-tier exotics for PvE, you should definitely check out the excellent Necrochasm Raid Exotic auto rifle.