Exotics in Destiny 2 The Final Shape are the rarest and most powerful items in the game, identified by their yellow color. You can only equip one exotic weapon and one exotic armor piece at a time.
Farming D2 TFS exotics (dozens of them have been introduced with the release of the new DLC) is worthwhile because they often offer higher damage per second compared to their legendary counterparts (however, there are plenty of examples, especially with God Rolls, when it’s not so), which is crucial for defeating powerful enemies and bosses swiftly.
DPS and TTK are key metrics in Destiny 2, as they measure the amount of damage a weapon can deal to your opponents, directly impacting your efficiency in activities like raids, dungeons, Nightfalls, and in the Crucible. While making this list, it will be the most important characteristic that we shall consider.
For example, Exotics like the Gjallarhorn, with its Wolfpack Rounds, provide huge burst damage (which may be super-important in PvP), while others like the Izanagi’s Burden deliver sustained high DPS for long encounters.
Additionally, the rarity and effort required to get some of these items also make them more valuable in the eyes of many guardians, as they usually have to complete difficult quests or farm challenging multiplayer/solo activities with a low drop chance to add new exotics to their collections.
Best Hunter Exotics: Top-5 Tier list
Star-Eater Scales
| Item Name: | Star-Eater Scales |
| Type: | Legs |
| Tier Rank: | 
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| Subclass: | Neutral |
| Rarity: | Exotic |
| Special Perk: | Feast of Light: Allows players to gain additional Super energy from Orbs of Power they pick up. When the Super energy is full, picking up an Orb of Power overcharges the Super, causing a burst of healing when cast and a bonus to Super damage. At maximum overcharge, players also gain an overshield. |
| What makes it a meta? | It is a powerful Exotic leg armor for Hunters in Destiny 2. It is primarily known for its Feast of Light perk, which increases Super energy from Orbs of Power picked up. This allows for faster Super charging and increased damage output during boss DPS phases, making it a popular choice for endgame content. |
| How to Get it? | You can obtain the Exotic armor piece by decoding an Exotic Engram, which may drop after completing Lost Sectors at Expert or Master difficulty levels. The engrams can be decoded from Rahool. |
Omnioculus
| Item Name: | Omnioculus |
| Type: | Chest |
| Tier Rank: |
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| Subclass: | 
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| Rarity: | Exotic |
| Special Perk: | Beyond The Veil: Grants a second Smoke Bomb charge and damage resistance while invisible. |
| What makes it a meta? | It is exceptionally strong and beneficial for both PvE and PvP. It provides an additional smoke bomb charge, replenishes melee energy when rendering allies invisible, and grants damage resistance while invisible, making it a valuable asset in various game situations. |
| How to Get it? | The Exotic armor piece can be acquired from Rahool by decrypting an Exotic Engram. These engrams have a chance to drop upon completing Expert or Master difficulty Lost Sectors. |
Assassin’s Cowl
| Item Name: | Assassin’S Cowl |
| Type: | Helmet |
| Tier Rank: |
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| Subclass: | Neutral |
| Rarity: | Exotic |
| Special Perk: | Vanishing Execution: Powered melee final blows grant invisibility and restore a portion of health and shields. Finishers and final blows against more powerful targets increase the duration of the invisibility and the amount of health and shields restored. |
| What makes it a meta? | Its main perk, Vanishing Mantle, lets you become invisible and gain truesight after dodging, allowing for stealthy engagements and scouting. This makes it great for PvE activities, especially when you need to avoid detection or reposition quickly. Additionally, it refunds class ability energy on multikills, promoting aggressive playstyles. Overall, Assassin’s Cowl is a strong choice for Warlocks seeking a versatile and engaging PvE exotic. |
| How to Get it? |
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Lucky Pants
| Item Name: | Lucky Pants |
| Type: | Legs |
| Tier Rank: |
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| Subclass: | Neutral |
| Rarity: | Exotic |
| Special Perk: | Illegally Modded Holster: When you ready a fully loaded Hand Cannon that deals Kinetic damage or a damage type that matches your equipped Super, each hit from that Hand Cannon increases the damage of the next shot for a short time against a target. Hand Cannons ready faster and are more accurate immediately after swapping to them. Provides a small benefit to the airborne effectiveness stat of Hand Cannons while the buff is active. |
| What makes it a meta? | It grants increased accuracy, faster reload speeds, and a damage boost for Hand Cannons. It excels in super high burst damage while also being ammo conscious for longer damage periods and activities, making it one of the most versatile builds in Destiny 2. The Lucky Pants synergizes well with Hand Cannons like Crimson, Malfeasance, and Warden’s Law. |
| How to Get it? | It can be obtained from Exotic Engrams, Xur, or the Collections Tab for Exotic Hunter gear, although stat rolls may be subpar for the latter |
Renewal Grasps
| Item Name: | Renewal Grasps |
| Type: | Arms |
| Tier Rank: |
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| Subclass: | Stasis |
| Rarity: | Exotic |
| Special Perk: | Depths of Duskfield: Your Duskfield grenades have a much larger effect radius. Allies inside the Duskfield gain Frost Armor and targets inside the area deal reduced damage. |
| What makes it a meta? | It is a defensive utility-centered armor piece. These gauntlets empower the Duskfield Grenade with new defensive utility, increasing the radius of the grenade’s effect and granting Frost Armor to allies within the area. The recent rework in The Final Shape update simplified the process of gaining the new buff Frost Armor, making them a solid team survivability choice. |
| How to Get it? | It can be obtained from Exotic Engrams, Rahool. These engrams have a chance to drop upon completing Expert or Master difficulty Lost Sectors. |
Best Warlock Exotics: Top-5 Tier list
Felwinter’s Helm
| Item Name: | Felwinter’s Helm |
| Type: | Helmet |
| Tier Rank: |
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| Subclass: | Neutral |
| Rarity: | Exotic |
| Special Perk: | Warlord’s End: Powered melee final blows create a burst of energy that weakens nearby targets. Finishers and final blows against more powerful targets increase the radius of the burst and the length of the weakening effect. |
| What makes it a meta? | It provides a powerful debuff to enemies when they are killed using charged melee or finishers, and the effect is stronger against more powerful targets. This debuff has various uses, such as enabling higher damage output, controlling crowds of enemies, and providing utility in different game modes. The hype around this exotic armor is due to its potential for creating strong builds when combined with specific subclasses and abilities. |
| How to Get it? | It is obtained via a random exotic world drop, such as Nightfall: The Ordeal activities. |
Karnstein Armlets
| Item Name: | Karnstein Armlets |
| Type: | Arms |
| Tier Rank: |
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| Subclass: | Neutral |
| Rarity: | Exotic |
| Special Perk: | Vampire’s Caress: Melee and finisher final blows instantly grant cure and provide restoration for a short duration. |
| What makes it a meta? | It is a powerful Warlock exotic armor in Destiny 2. Its main perk, Vampire’s Caress makes it particularly effective in close combat situations, enabling users to regenerate health and maintain abilities more frequently. Additionally, Karnstein Armlets work well with finishers, granting x2 restoration with no cooldown and continuous restoration through solar kills. Overall, Karnstein Armlets provide excellent sustainability and energy management for Warlocks, especially in intense battles. |
| How to Get it? | To obtain these Exotic Warlock gauntlets will have to grind and hope for a drop from Quests, Heroic Public Events, PVE, or PVP activities. |
Sunbracers
| Item Name: | Sunbracers |
| Type: | Arms |
| Tier Rank: |
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| Subclass: | 
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| Rarity: | Exotic |
| Special Perk: | Helium Spirals: Increases the duration of Solar Grenades. Solar melee kills grant unlimited Solar Grenade energy for a brief time. |
| What makes it a meta? | Sunbracers are an excellent choice for Warlocks due to their Helium Spirals intrinsic trait. This trait increases the duration of Solar Grenades and provides unlimited Solar Grenade energy for a short time after a Solar melee kill. This allows for an extended period of unlimited grenade usage, making Sunbracers ideal for ad-heavy content. They are particularly effective in activities with trash enemies, such as raids, dungeons, and strikes. |
| How to Get it? | To get arms from Rahool, you need to focus Exotic Engrams on him. You can focus Exotic Engrams by decoding them at Rahool, but focusing specifically requires focusing materials. |
Osmiomancy Gloves
| Item Name: | Osmiomancy Gloves |
| Type: | Arms |
| Tier Rank: |
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| Subclass: | 
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| Rarity: | Exotic |
| Special Perk: | Fervid Coldsnap: Your Coldsnap grenades have an additional charge that recharges quicker on direct impact. The seeker spawned from Coldsnap grenades travels further. |
| What makes it a meta? | They provide an extra Coldsnap Grenade charge, increased Seeker distance and strength, and grenade ability energy when hitting targets with Coldsnap grenades. This allows for more grenade usage, enhancing crowd control and overall effectiveness in various activities. |
| How to Get it? | It can be obtained from Exotic engrams, Season pass rewards, or by completing Legend or Master Lost Sectors solo on Arms armor days. |
Fallen Sunstar
| Item Name: | Fallen Sunstar |
| Type: | Helmet |
| Tier Rank: |
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| Subclass: | Neutral |
| Rarity: | Exotic |
| Special Perk: | Ionic Conductor: Ionic traces you create move faster and grant you additional ability energy. Nearby allies also gain ability energy when you collect an ionic trace. |
| What makes it a meta? | It is a highly sought-after Exotic helmet in Destiny 2, particularly for Arc Warlocks. It enhances Arc 3.0 builds and improves Ionic Traces, making them travel faster towards the player and providing more ability energy. This results in an aggressive ability spam playstyle, offering both personal and team benefits, such as double the normal ability energy when picking up an Ionic Trace and nearby allies gaining a portion of the energy returned. |
| How to Get it? | It can be obtained from Rahool by focusing an engram into the exact Exotic you want. To focus an engram, you need to have enough Exotic Focus, which can be earned by completing weekly challenges and earning exotic engrams. |
Best Titan Exotics in D2 TFS: Top-5 list
Dunemarchers
| Item Name: | Dunemarchers |
| Type: | Legs |
| Tier Rank: |
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| Subclass: | Neutral |
| Rarity: | Exotic |
| Special Perk: | Linear Actuators: Increases sprint speed. Sprinting builds up a static charge. After melee-attacking an enemy, that charge will chain damage to nearby enemies. |
| What makes it a meta? | It is considered good due to its ability to increase sprint speed and build up a static charge that damages nearby enemies upon melee attacking an enemy. This makes it particularly effective for ad controlling in PvE encounters, as the chain damage is amplified. Additionally, the Dunemarchers are obtained through random drops, such as decrypting exotic engrams or completing Milestones in activities like Strikes or the Crucible. |
| How to Get it? | It’s a random drop from various activities such as Quests, Heroic Public Events, PVE, Strikes, Nightfalls, Raids, and PVP. It can also be obtained by decrypting Exotic Engrams or as a reward for reaching Milestones in events like Strikes, Flashpoints, and the Crucible. |
Synthoceps
| Item Name: | Synthoceps |
| Type: | Arms |
| Tier Rank: |
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| Subclass: | Neutral |
| Rarity: | Exotic |
| Special Perk: | Biotic Enhancements: When you’re surrounded, gain increased melee and Super damage, as well as improved weapon handling and reload speed. |
| What makes it a meta? | It is a highly sought-after exotic Titan gauntlet in Destiny 2. It significantly boosts melee and super damage when surrounded by three or more enemies, making it an excellent choice for crowd control and high damage output. Additionally, it improves melee lunge range, providing better mobility in combat. |
| How to Get it? | It can be obtained as a random drop from Quests, PVE, and PVP. |
Heart of Inmost Light
| Item Name: | Heart Of Inmost Light |
| Type: | Chest |
| Tier Rank: |
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| Subclass: | Neutral |
| Rarity: | Exotic |
| Special Perk: | Overflowing Light: Using an ability (grenade, melee, or Barricade) empowers the other two abilities. Empowered means abilities have faster regen, melees and grenades do more damage, and Barricades have more hit points. |
| What makes it a meta? | It is highly valued for its ability to empower the player’s other abilities. Using one ability, such as a melee, grenade, or barricade, briefly enhances the other two abilities. This includes faster ability regeneration, increased melee and grenade damage, and more durable barricades. This versatile exotic piece is often used with various subclasses and builds due to its reliability and effectiveness. |
| How to Get it? | It can be obtained as a world drop, from defeated foes, or from Xur. |
Loreley Splendor Helm
| Item Name: | Loreley Splendor Helm |
| Type: | Helmet |
| Tier Rank: |
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| Subclass: |
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| Rarity: | Exotic |
| Special Perk: | Cauterizing Flame: While you have a Solar Super equipped, casting your Barricade or becoming critically wounded with full class ability energy creates a Sunspot at your location. |
| What makes it a meta? | It is a highly regarded armor piece for the Titan class. It provides significant healing benefits, with Sunspots created by the helmet healing the player. When the player is critically wounded, a Sunspot is automatically created at their location. |
| How to Get it? | It can be obtained from Exotic engrams, Season pass rewards, or by completing Legend or Master Lost Sectors. |
Pyrogale Gauntlets
| Item Name: | Pyrogale Gauntlets |
| Type: | Arms |
| Tier Rank: |
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| Subclass: |
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| Rarity: | Exotic |
| Special Perk: | Percussive Flames: Modifies Burning Maul into a single, high-damage slam of your hammer that creates several cyclones of flame. Consecration’s second slam creates a cyclone of flame. |
| What makes it a meta? | It is a highly sought-after piece of armor for the Titan class. They modify the Burning Maul Super to create a single, high-damage slam that releases several cyclones of flame. This makes them particularly effective during damage phases in raids or dungeons. Additionally, they are not suitable for the neutral game or activities with loadout restrictions, such as Nightfalls. |
| How to Get it? | The gauntlets can be obtained by participating in Vex Incursion Zones or playing the Legend Master Lost Sector on Gauntlet Day. |
Best PvP Exotics: Top-5 Tier list
You should also consider various exclusive features of D2 exotics: f.e. an ability to regenerate ammo, apply status effects (for example, put DoTs on your opponents), or provide buffs to your Guardian and your fireteam.
Khvostov 7G-0X: The Best Exotic AR
| Weapon Name: | Khvostov 7G-0X |
| Weapon Type: | 
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| Tier Rank: |
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| Slot: | 
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| Ammo: | 
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| Rarity: | Exotic |
| What Makes it a Meta Weapon? | It is an Exotic Auto Rifle in Destiny 2 that is a returning weapon from the original Destiny game. It is considered good because, as an Exotic weapon, it has enhanced capabilities such as increased stats and additional perks. Its unique Exotic perk, called “The Right Choice,” allows every seventh bullet fired to deal additional damage and ricochet to hit up to three nearby targets. |
| How to Get it? |
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Red Death Reformed: Top-Tier Pulse Rifle
| Weapon Name: | Red Death Reformed |
| Weapon Type: | 
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| Tier Rank: |
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| Slot: |
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| Ammo: |
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| Rarity: | Exotic |
| What Makes it a Meta Weapon? | It is a powerful Exotic Pulse Rifle that is highly sought-after due to its unique abilities. It heals the user upon defeating enemies and increases reload speed for a short duration after each kill. Additionally, it has an Inverse Relationship perk that boosts handling, reduces flinch, and increases movement speed when dealing damage. |
| How to Get it? | To obtain the Red Death Reformed, players need to acquire the Echoes Season Pass and reach Rank 145. The weapon is available as a reward in Act 1 of the season pass. The Catalyst for the Red Death Reformed can be obtained at Rank 145 as well, which adds the Helping Hand perk that charges the weapon with each final blow. |
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Rat King: Amazing PvP Sidearm
| Weapon Name: | Rat King |
| Weapon Type: | 
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| Tier Rank: |
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| Rarity: | Exotic |
| What Makes it a Meta Weapon? | It is an exotic sidearm in Destiny 2 that is highly valued for its unique perk, Rat Pack, which increases the weapon’s power when more players with Rat King are nearby. This makes it an excellent weapon for team play. |
| How to Get it? | To obtain, players must first complete the main story of Destiny 2 and then travel to Titan to complete the quest “Enemy of My Enemy.” Once the quest is completed, players will receive the “Rat King’s Crew,” a 4-step weapon bounty, which they must complete to acquire the Rat King. |
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Ace of Spades: Exotic Hand Cannon
| Weapon Name: | Ace Of Spades |
| Weapon Type: | 
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| Tier Rank: |
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| Ammo: |
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| Rarity: | Exotic |
| What Makes it a Meta Weapon? | It is a highly regarded exotic hand cannon in Destiny 2, known for its high range and impact, as well as its unique perks. One such perk, Memento Mori, increases damage and reload speed after a precision kill. Additionally, the Firefly perk causes targets to explode on precision kills, dealing solar damage to nearby enemies. |
| How to Get it? | To get the Ace of Spades, players must complete the “Cayde’s Will” exotic quest. This involves collecting certain items and completing specific tasks, as outlined in the quest. Once the quest is completed, the Ace of Spades will be awarded to the player. |
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Dead Man’s Tale: Great Scout Rifle
| Weapon Name: | Dead Man’s Tale |
| Weapon Type: | 
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| Ammo: |
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| Rarity: | Exotic |
| What Makes it a Meta Weapon? | Dead Man’s Tale is a top-tier weapon in Destiny 2 because of its unique combination of perks, high damage, and exceptional range.
As an Exotic Scout Rifle, it offers the “Cranial Spike” perk, which increases target acquisition and range as you land precision hits. This makes it incredibly effective in both PvE and PvP. The weapon’s high DPS allows it to excel at long distances. Additionally, Dead Man’s Tale is craftable, meaning you can fine-tune its perks to fit your playstyle. Its Catalyst further enhances its hipfire accuracy and rate of fire, making it even more deadly in close-to-mid-range encounters. |
| How to Get it? | It can be acquired by completion of the Presage Exotic mission on weekly rotation. |
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Best PvE Exotics: Top-6 Tier list
Izanagi’s Burden: The Best Heavy Exotic
| Weapon Name: | Izanagi’s Burden |
| Weapon Type: | 
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| Tier Rank: |
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| Slot: |
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| Ammo: | 
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| Rarity: | Exotic |
| What Makes it a Meta Weapon? | It is a powerful exotic sniper rifle that is good for both PvE and PvP content. It is known for its high damage output, especially when using its unique perk, Honed Edge, which allows players to fire a powerful, high-damage shot after charging up the weapon. This makes it an excellent choice for taking down tough enemies or bosses quickly. |
| How to Get it? | To get Izanagi’s Burden, players must complete a lengthy quest that involves collecting four keys from the Volundr, Gofannon, and Izanami forges, defeating two shielded robot guards to achieve maximum temper, and completing a puzzle involving the mysterious box. Once the quest is completed, Izanagi’s Burden can be obtained from Ada-1 in the Tower. Additionally, players can further upgrade the weapon by obtaining its catalyst, which increases its range and makes it even deadlier from a distance. |
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Sunshot: The Best Solar Exotic
| Weapon Name: | Sunshot |
| Weapon Type: |
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| Tier Rank: |
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| Ammo: |
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| Rarity: | Exotic |
| What Makes it a Meta Weapon? | It is a highly regarded exotic hand cannon, particularly suited for the Gunslinger Hunter class. Its unique feature is the ability to deal explosive damage from its rounds, and cause targets to explode upon death, creating a chain reaction that damages other targets. This makes it an excellent choice for crowd control and taking down groups of enemies quickly. |
| How to Get it? | To obtain the Sunshot, players can participate in the Homecoming mission, or play through the Red War story campaign to acquire it as a quest reward. It was previously available during the Red War campaign, where players could choose it as a reward for completing Sacrilege. Alternatively, it can be obtained as a random exotic drop or from Xur’s fated engram, or by completing certain activities and missions. |
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Still Hunt: The Best Exotic SR
| Weapon Name: | Still Hunt |
| Weapon Type: |
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| Tier Rank: | 
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| Ammo: |
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| Rarity: | Exotic |
| What Makes it a Meta Weapon? | It is a powerful Solar sniper rifle in Destiny 2: The Final Shape. Its unique trait, Cayde’s Retribution, allows players to charge up its super bar by picking up Orbs of Power or landing precision hits. Once the bar is full, players can hold reload to fire Golden Gun shots, making it a valuable weapon in both PvE and PvP activities. |
| How to Get it? |
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Graviton Lance: The Best Primary Exotic
| Weapon Name: | Graviton Lance |
| Weapon Type: |
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| Tier Rank: |
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| Rarity: | Exotic |
| What Makes it a Meta Weapon? | It is a good weapon in Destiny 2 due to its unique properties as a two-round burst pulse rifle, where the second round does considerably more damage than the first. It is an ADS (Aiming Down Sights) clearing weapon, making it excel in packed areas and dealing area of effect (AoE) damage on kills. It also backloads its damage onto the last shot and has great synergy with void builds. |
| How to Get it? | To obtain the Graviton Lance, you can acquire it as a reward from Asher Mir after completing the story mission “Sacrilege” on Titan moon. Alternatively, you may receive it from Exotic engrams or purchase it from Xur when it is available in the game. |
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Microcosm: The Best DPS Exotic
| Weapon Name: | Microcosm |
| Weapon Type: | 
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| Ammo: | 
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| Rarity: | Exotic |
| What Makes it a Meta Weapon? | It is a highly sought-after Exotic Trace Rifle in Destiny 2, introduced in The Final Shape expansion. It is known for its effectiveness in dealing damage to various bosses and enemies, making it a solid choice for players looking for a reliable heavy weapon. The Microcosm deals kinetic damage and is only available to owners of The Final Shape after completing the campaign. |
| How to Get it? |
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Ergo Sum: Top-tier Exotic Sword
| Weapon Name: | Ergo Sum |
| Weapon Type: | 
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| Rarity: | Exotic |
| What Makes it a Meta Weapon? | It is a highly unique Exotic Sword in Destiny 2, introduced in The Final Shape expansion. It is the first special ammo Exotic sword in the game and the first special ammo sword overall. It has various Exotic perks it can randomly roll with, making it a versatile weapon. |
| How to Get it? | To get the Ergo Sum Exotic sword, you must complete the “Destined Heroes” quest, which becomes available after completing the main story campaign of The Final Shape.
The quest involves completing several steps, including:
Additionally, you can farm for Ergo Sum through the Pathfinder system or the Overthrow activity in the Pale Heart. It allows you to collect new rolls twice a week. |
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