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11 Best Exotic Weapons in Destiny 2

11 Best Exotic Weapons in Destiny 2

This list is going to be a hard one to narrow down since Destiny 2 is filled to the brim with amazing Exotic weapons. With a ton to choose from and many locked behind some of the hardest challenges in the game, it is beneficial to decide beforehand which ones are the best and should be worked towards acquiring. Without further adieu let us get into the best Exotic weapons in Destiny 2.

The 11 best exotic weapons in Destiny 2 are:

  1. Lumina
  2. Tractor Cannon
  3. Xenophage
  4. The Lament
  5. Gjallarhorn
  6. Divinity
  7. Witherhoard
  8. Arbalest
  9. Osteo Striga
  10. Thunderlord
  11. Izanagi’s Burden

Lumina

Lumina Exotic Weapons Destiny 2

Recently, all weapons of Light got seriously nerfed which impacted their utility quite significantly. However, Lumina is one weapon from this category that remained safe from this “culling”.

When you activate Blessing of the Sky, Lumina is still able to grant a 35 damage buff to you and your ally for 11 seconds.

On top of this, with a fully unlocked Catalyst, you now get two Noble Rounds rather than one which allows you to Grant this 35-damage buff to more teammates thus making Lumina a great asset in any team activity.

Exotic Perks

Noble Rounds

Kills with this weapon leave behind Remnants. Absorbing a Remnant converts your next hip-fired shot into an ally-seeking Noble Round and partially refills the magazine.

Blessing of the Sky

Using a Noble Round on an ally heals them and grants both you and them a weapon damage bonus for a short duration.

Related: Do Armor Mods Stack in Destiny 2?

Tractor Cannon

Tractor Cannon Exotic Weapons Destiny 2

The Tractor Cannon or also known as the Boop Cannon is an amazing exotic weapon you can get your hands on in Destiny 2. This Exotic shotgun has the invaluable ability to nerf bosses owing to its perks.

Being able to suppress a boss and instill a massive debuff for 10 seconds, which can be applied over and over again, is a huge win for any weapon.

This weapon is also great for cleaning up large groups of low-tier enemies. In addition, with the fully unlocked Catalyst, this weapon gets a magazine increase and more in its reserves along with a boost to handling and speed. This weapon is a must-have for all you shotty fans out there.

Exotic Perks

Repulsor Force

This weapon emits a powerful impulse that pushes enemies away, suppresses their abilities, and makes them more vulnerable to all incoming damage.

The Scientific Method

Damaging an opponent temporarily increases speed and handling.

Xenophage

Xenophage Exotic Weapons Destiny 2

The 50. caliber machine gun beast of Destiny 2 i.e. Xenophage. There are a lot of good reasons to use this machine gun. It’s great for dealing with those annoying yellow-bar enemies and it could also deal massive amounts of damage to enemy bosses. It also comes with a very generous ammo economy.

Unlike other machine guns which spray a barrage of bullets, the Xenophage is very different and distinct from its counterparts. With each trigger pull, it feels like you’re firing an artillery shell.

If you’re looking to pack a punch in PVE, this Exotic can make you feel like you are carrying a pocket tank.

Exotic Perks

Pyrotoxin Rounds

Fires high-powered explosive ammunition.

Rangefinder

Aiming this weapon increases its effective range and zoom magnification. Increased projectile velocity while aiming Rocket Launchers, Grenade Launchers, and Bows.

The Lament

The Lament Exotic Weapons Destiny 2

The Lament has such a cool design with a purpose and for this reason, it is known as the Chainsaw Sword. A lot of Destiny players think that this sword only has one purpose and that was to deal with Atrak’s encounter.

However, with its anti-barrier perk, this is an amazing weapon for legendary Lost Sectors and can really eat away at any of those barrier Champion’s Shields.

Apart from this, it comes with the perk Revved Consumption which is extremely noticeable in those Master Lost Sectors where you are up close and personal with those anti-barrier enemies. Each hit you land against those enemies will give you 10 health points.

Exotic Perks

Banshee’s Wail

[Block]: Hold to rev the blade.
• Increases damage and adds [Shield-Piercing] shield piercing to all attacks.
• Gain stacks when dealing damage with revved attacks.
• Additional stacks increase the damage and damage resistance of heavy attacks.

Revved Consumption

Damaging a combatant heals the wielder.

Related: What is Charged with Light in Destiny 2?

Gjallarhorn

Gjallarhorn Exotic Weapons Destiny 2

The infamous Gjallarhorn rocket launcher has been nerfed over and over again but it remains an S-tier option for PVE. The reason for that is its exotic perk Wolfpack Rounds. This specific perk has been a low-key bane of existence for the developers in Destiny. This is still true to this day as it is overpowered as hell.

The weapon’s Catalyst is another icing on the cake as it turns the wielder into a monster. It increases the magazine size from one to two rockets. Just think of the possibilities if you’re a Hunter and you have the Marksman Dodge equipped, you can potentially fire four rockets in a matter of seconds.

Moreover, it comes with the Pack Hunter perk which gives other players who are using non-exotic rocket launchers the deadly Wolfpack Rounds perk. This single weapon is worth the price of the expansion it came for how good it is. Hardcore PVE players never let this terror leave their inventory.

Exotic Perks

Wolfpack Rounds

Rounds fired split into tracking cluster missiles upon detonation.

Pack Hunter

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.

Divinity

Divinity Exotic Weapons Destiny 2

Divinity is quite a controversial weapon in the Destiny community. This Trace rifle comes with the Exotic perk Judgment which gives it an intrinsic anti-overload ability making it a very desirable weapon.

This is probably one of the most used weapons in any Destiny raid and it only takes one player to use it for the entire Fireteam to benefit.

This weapon is great for weakening bosses and increasing your damage by 30%. When you’re firing this weapon at a boss, it engages the target and turns it into one large crit spot which can be taken advantage of by the entire Fireteam.

It also deals bonus damage when the enemy is hit for 4.2 seconds it’ll activate the Penance perk. Although, this weapon is not easy to grab and you will have to jump through a lot of hoops to get it but it is worth it.

Exotic Perks

Judgment

Sustained damage with this weapon envelops the target in a field that increases vulnerability to Arc damage and stuns them. Strong against [Disruption] Overload Champions.

Penance

Targets under the effects of Judgment long enough are struck with a burst of damage.

Witherhoard

Witherhoard Exotic Weapons Destiny 2

The Witherhoard aka the Blight Gun. Since its initial release, this weapon has been a menace primarily for its Primeval’s Torment perk. If there was ever a weapon that would be perfect for ad control, this is it.

It creates zones of damage on impact which can be used to set traps for ads or create consistent damage spots for stationary bosses.

Any PVE expert will testify that this weapon is necessary for all day-one Raids and Grand Master Nightfalls. This is one grenade launcher you want to take with you at all costs.

And with a fully unlocked Catalyst, the Witherhoard gains the perk Auto-loading Holster which only adds to its viability in the endgame content.

Exotic Perks

Primeval’s Torment

Projectiles fired by this weapon blight the target or nearby area on impact.

Break the Bank

Blighted targets take damage over time and blight the nearby area on death.

Related: How to Get Ascendant Shards in Destiny 2 (6 Ways)

Arbalest

Arbalest

The Arbalest recently got a rework, which boosted the effectiveness of this weapon. The rework has given this weapon intrinsic anti-barrier rounds thus really making this a viable option in all in-game content.

This gun not only destroys the shields of Barrier Champions but it can easily break the Elemental Shields of any enemy in one shot.

The weapon comes with the Disruption Break perk which allows your teammates to deal more damage with their Kinetic weapons but also since the Arbalest is a Kinetic weapon it will deal bonus damage too. This is why you’ll see players stun a Barrier Champion and continue to use Arbalest for the kill.

If this wasn’t enough when you unlock the Catalyst for this weapon it gains a plus 20 to handling and a magazine increase of one along with the Genesis perk.

It’s hard to choose any other anti-barrier weapon to replace this weapon.

Exotic Perks

Compounding Force

Fires slugs that cause massive damage to combatant shields. Strong against [Shield-Piercing] Barrier Champions.

Disruption Break

Breaking an enemy’s shield with this weapon makes them more vulnerable to Kinetic damage for a brief period.

Osteo Striga

Osteo Striga

The Osteo Striga is a fairly recent addition to Destiny 2’s Exotic roster coming in with the Witch Queen expansion. The Exotic perk of this weapon transforms the bullets into homing bullets so it is the opposite of spray and pray.

When you kill enemies, they are going to explode and spread poison to nearby enemies. If you have the Catalyst unlocked then each explosion will increase the magazine size. You can expect to carry 100+ rounds in a mag with ease regularly.

This is one of the best ad-clearing weapons in the entire game if you’re doing any sort of normal difficulty activity. Even in Raids where you just want to kill red bars enemies, almost no other weapon is going to do it as well as this one.

Exotic Perks

Screaming Swarm

Fires a stream of sentient, toxic projectiles that track the targeted enemy.

Toxic Overload

Landing a final blow or multiple precision hits triggers a burst that poisons nearby targets.

Thunderlord

Thunderlord

The Thunderlord has gained even more traction due to its brand-new Exotic catalyst. As you continue holding the trigger of this weapon, it will progressively shoot faster and against a single target, lightning strikes will come down from the sky doing even more damage.

The Catalyst will automatically reload the magazine every time there’s a lightning strike. If you end up killing basic targets like red bars then the lightning will strike nearby enemies.

This ability has the potential of wiping out rooms of ads. It is also the best machine gun in the entire game for DPS output on a single target.

In a recent season, it also received intrinsic overload rounds. So if you are going to run into some Overload Champions then bring this thing out. It also pairs well with a lot of Arc 3.0 builds which just adds to the synergy if you are running Arc.

Exotic Perks

Reign Havoc

Final blows with this weapon generate stunning lighting strikes from above. Strong against [Disruption] Overload Champions.

Feeding Frenzy

Each rapid kill with this weapon progressively increases reload speed for a short time.

Related: Best Ways To Farm Glimmer In Destiny 2

Izanagi’s Burden

Izanagi's Burden

Izanagi’s Burden is aptly referred to as the Super Snipershot within the community. The Honed Edge Exotic perk lets you load all four shots in the magazine into one mega shot.

For those of you who are not aware, this perk allows you to deal about 100% damage with 2 bullets, 200% damage with 3 bullets, and 300% damage with 4 bullets loaded respectively. This makes it one of the best damage snipers in the game

Its Catalyst makes it even stronger when you fire the 4-bullet mega shot, dealing damage upwards of 380%. And as a side note, this weapon has some of the sickest ornaments in the game.

Exotic Perks

Honed Edge

[Alternate Weapon Action]: Consume the magazine and load a round with additional range and damage.

No Distractions

Aiming this weapon for a short period reduces flinch.


We know some of you might be infuriated by the absence of your dear Exotic weapon from Destiny 2. But we had to keep it short and sweet. We have focused on weapons with more of a PVE inclination but some of them are still great in PVP.

However, if you somehow haven’t yet checked any of the weapons listed above then we encourage you to give them a try and you will thank us later. Good luck Guardians!