Whether you're a new or returning player, keeping up with the meta and finding out what the Destiny 2 best Exotic weapons are can be rather confusing.
Finding the best Exotics becomes increasingly difficult if you're a solo player, as much of the best gear available in Destiny 2 is hiding behind raids, dungeons, and even the Dual Destiny exotic mission, which grants brand-new Exotic class items. Don't worry though, we've done the heavy lifting to figure out the best Exotic weapons in Destiny 2 and how to get them.
Best Exotic weapons in Destiny 2
The best Exotic weapons in Destiny 2 are:
- Red Death Reformed - Solar pulse rifle
- Graviton Lance - Void pulse rifle
- Ace of Spades - Solar hand cannon
- Khvostov 7G-0X - Kinetic auto rifle
- Still Hunt - Solar sniper rifle
- Sunshot - Solar hand cannon
- Divinity - Arc trace rifle
- Buried Bloodline - Void sidearm
For this selection of the best Exotics guns, we've taken into consideration the following factors:
- Overall strength: The most important aspect. Is the weapon actually useful in high-end activities and does it have a place in the current meta?
- Ease of access: Perhaps you're a solo player and don't have a team to try and pull off the Salvation's Edge raid to earn yourself the Euphony linear fusion rifle. Easier to get Exotics tend to get the job done if you choose the correct one.
- Versatility: Since this is a broader look at how good Exotic weapons are, getting one that excels or performs relatively well in both PvP and PvE is a major plus.
Finally, this list is up to date as of Destiny 2 patch 8.0.0.6.
Red Death Reformed is incredibly easy to obtain and a very good exotic to have
Red Death Reformed
Our first weapon on the list is the Red Death Reformed pulse rifle, possibly the most versatile primary Exotic in the entire game.
Firstly, it can heal both you and your allies as long as you land consistent final blows. This is an incredibly easy task thanks to one of its unique perks, Inverse Relationship, which grants the gun increased handling and reduced flinch upon dealing damage. It also gives you a boost to movement speed.
The Catalyst expands upon its healing capabilities, adding an extra burst of healing upon landing final blows while the weapon has a stored charge.
With all that taken into consideration, the fact that there's an anti-barrier pulse rifle mod in the Hunter's Journal only serves as the cherry on top of an already impressive and fun weapon to use in both PvE and PvP.
- How to get: Red Death is unlocked immediately with the Episode 1: Echoes premium battle pass, or level 40 for the free pass.
If you're a Warlock, Graviton Lance will be your best friend
Graviton Lance
A Warlock's best friend, the Graviton Lance came back in a big way in 2023 after Bungie decided to give this Exotic Void pulse rifle a 67% damage buff in PvE.
What makes this a perfect weapon for any Void builds is the fact that Graviton Lance has a unique perk called Cosmology, which spawns Void projectiles that track targets after successfully landing final blows.
It's also a really solid pick in PvP due to its amazing stability and decent range that gets upgraded once you acquire the catalyst. On top of the extra range, the Catalyst adds the Vorpal Weapon and Turnabout perks to the weapon, so it's definitely worth the grind.
- How to get: Decrypt Exotic engrams, rare world drop, and sold by Xur on occasion.
A tried and true PvP classic
Ace of Spades
An old-reliable for Crucible veterans, the Ace of Spades never goes out of style, even in PvE.
Cayde-6's iconic hand cannon packs a punch and features a simple design. You can trigger Firefly by getting precision kills, which will boost its reload speed and add a Solar explosion effect to the enemy you've defeated. This causes significant splash damage to nearby enemies.
The Memento Mori perk gives the weapon a damage boost after reloading following a kill, and if you add the catalyst's effect, which makes Firefly stronger while Memento Mori is active, you can see why Ace of Spades has never lost its place as a solid PvP exotic hand cannon with decent PvE capabilities due to its add-clear potential.
- How to get: Retrieved via the Monument to Lost Lights (requires the Forsaken pack to unlock).
An auto rifle so strong it's already been nerfed
Khvostov 7G-0X
The Khvostov 7G-0X is so good it's already getting nerfed by Bungie.
The nerf to The Right Choice, the gun's unique trait which works as an amplified Ricochet Rounds (every seventh bullet bounces and deals additional damage to nearby enemies) only impacts PvP and it will remain to be seen how much of a dent it does on the auto rifle's dominance of Crucible.
Still, if you manage to complete The Final Shape campaign and tackle the post-game content of Destiny 2's latest expansion, dedicating the time to get the Khvostov 7G-0X is worth it in the long run.
We say long run because, sadly, the Hunter's Journal won't feature any auto rifle champion mods during Act 2, so its potential on GM Nightfalls will be severely neutered in the coming weeks.
- How to get: Finish The Final Shape campaign and complete post-game content.
Enjoy it before it gets nerfed, Hunters
Still Hunt
Yet another new The Final Shape exotic that will get hit by nerfs in the near future, the Still Hunt is an incredible sniper. Thankfully, this nerf will only affect Hunters who pair the gun with the Celestial Nighthawk Exotic helmet, reducing its Golden Shot damage by 25%.
Regardless of the nerf, you should prioritize getting the Still Hunt sniper rifle as soon as you can for a variety of reasons. Its Exotic perk, Cayde's Retribution, allows this sniper to fire Golden Gun shots. To fill the weapon's super bar, you can either get six precision hits or collect 12 Orbs of Power, making it one of the best weapons in terms of raw DPS in the entire game.
In Act 2 of Episode Echoes, there are new mods including anti-barrier sniper rifle champion mods, as well as other mods that work well with Still Hunt. These include Incendiary Rifle Rounds (where solar sniper rifle precision hits will scorch targets) and Sniper’s Meditation (which grants stacking bonuses for a short time when a sniper hits, including increased damage, stability, and reload speed. Heavy ammo hits count as multiple hits).
Of course, there's another sniper that could pose a potential threat to Still Hunt's recent dominance: Whisper of the Worm. It could be a solid alternative for those who don't own The Final Shape. However, at the moment, Still Hunt is poised to dominate GM Nightfalls for the foreseeable future.
- How to get: Complete The Final Shape campaign and the Wild Card exotic quest.
Sunshot
Sunshot is one of the original Destiny 2 exotics
One of the most iconic exotics in Destiny 2, Sunshot remains a solid pick for its ease of use, fun factor, and ability to make any Guardian feel like they have the power of the sun in the palm of their hands.
Sunshot excels particularly at add clearing due to its Exotic trait, Sun Blast, which sees targets defeated by this weapon turn into mini supernovas, applying scorch to surrounding enemies.
If you're looking at a decent Exotic in PvP, then Sunshot can definitely do the job, but you might need to grind the catalyst. Being a vanilla Destiny 2 weapon, the catalyst doesn't add any crazy buffs, but rather a much-needed +30 range and +20 stability, which gives this hand cannon the ability to hang at mid-range.
- How to get: Decrypt Exotic engrams, rare world drop, and sold by Xur on occasion.
Divinity
Divinity is the ultimate raid exotic
What would a raid team be without Divinity? Despite Bungie constantly nerfing the trace rifle, its uniqueness has kept it at the top of the list of must-have for high-end content.
Divinity comes with anti-Overload champions capabilities by default, plus its Exotic trait, Judgement, wraps an enemy in a field that weakens them after taking sustained damage from the trace rifle, a particularly effective way to ramp up the DPS of a fireteam against big raid bosses.
The only downside of Divinity is that getting it can be cumbersome, requiring players to complete an Exotic quest that might not be easily accessible. Other than that, no nerfs will be able to make Divinity a bad pick.
- How to get: Complete the Exotic quest tied to the Garden of Salvation raid
Buried Bloodline
Who doesn't love an amazing sidearm?
The final weapon on this list is the relatively new Buried Bloodline. This exotic sidearm was introduced during Season 23, and quickly rose as a fan-favorite for PvE activities.
What makes the Buried Bloodline incredibly powerful is that on top of being a rocket sidearm, it has the Violent Reanimation Exotic trait, which procs Devour after getting four kills with this gun.
If you want to take it one step further, the catalyst actually adds an extra trait: Splitvein Lineage, which weakens targets hit by Buried Bloodline while Devour is active.
- How to get: Warlord's Ruin dungeon random drop
And those are our picks for Exotic weapons you should get as soon as you can in Destiny 2. Don't forget the best armor either, though you'll want to get Strange Coins and visit Xur for that.