Exotic weapons are the most unique pieces of gear in Destiny 2. These weapons have special capabilities that go beyond those of normal equipment, and players can only equip one at a time. So, which should you use? We’ve compiled a list of the best Exotic weapons for Destiny 2 PVE content for you here. And if you’re interested in the worst Exotic weapons, well, we have a list of those too. This list isn’t in any particular order — these are just ten of the most solid PVE Exotics in the game.
1. Witherhoard — Best Destiny 2 Exotic Weapons for PVE
The king of grenade launchers, Witherhoard has been a standby ever since it was introduced in Season of Arrivals. It’s one of the few weapons in Destiny 2 that causes damage over time, allowing you to tag a target with it then switch to another weapon and continue firing. Useful for area denial, damaging powerful enemies, and even boss DPS in some specific situations.
2. Arbalest
The Arbalest is the king of endgame Destiny 2 content. It pops shields with ease regardless of their type, shuts down Barrier Champions, and deals out high precision damage. Plus, it leaves you free to use whatever Primary energy weapon you want to take advantage of any elemental burns in play.
3. Gjallarhorn
The king of rocket launchers, Gjallarhorn was finally added to Destiny 2 after years of player demand in the Bungie 30th Anniversary Celebration event. This thing absolutely devours anything it hits, and to make matters better, it grants Wolfpack Rounds to allies wielding non-Exotic rocket launchers too. It’s one of the most-used Exotic Power weapons in the game for a reason.
4. Osteo Striga — Best Destiny 2 Exotic Weapons for PVE
Osteo Striga is a potent add control weapon. Especially when it’s fully crafted, it can dispose of weaker enemies extremely quickly. It works even better for Warlocks using the Necrotic Grip exotics, who can spread the poison it inflicts between foes.
5. Xenophage
Xenophage isn’t your typical Destiny 2 machine gun. It has a comparatively low rate of fire, but its explosive rounds are highly damaging. Xenophage may not be the DPS meta anymore, but it’s still quite useful in a wide range of situations. And if you’re a Titan with an Actium War Rig, well, it’s just a ton of fun.
6. Izanagi’s Burden
Izanagi’s Burden has at times been a meta-defining weapon in Destiny 2 PVE. These days, it’s merely extremely good. Its ability to feed its entire clip into a single damaging shot allows you to do a ton of burst damage before swapping to a Power weapon. Just don’t miss!
7. Outbreak Perfected — Best Destiny 2 Exotic Weapons for PVE
Outbreak Perfected has been a powerful Destiny 2 Exotic weapon ever since its introduction way back in Season of Opulence. It’s a hard-hitting, accurate rifle that has the added benefit of debuffing your target with each hit. It’s even better with the catalyst, which allows its SIVA nanites to spread to other foes.
8. Divinity
Yes, Divinity isn’t what it used to be, which is probably a good thing given how much it dominated DPS meta. But the weakening field it provides can still be tremendously useful against Raid bosses, and it probably won’t be going away anytime soon. It doesn’t hurt that it has intrinsic Anti-Overload Champion abilities, either.
9. Trinity Ghoul
Back when it was first introduced, Trinity Ghoul wasn’t too exciting. it was only later, when it got its Catalyst, that it really became worth using. The catalyst makes its Exotic perk Lightning Rod trigger on any Arc final blow and not just precision kills with Trinity Ghoul, making this the perfect Exotic for Arc subclass users.
10. Sunshot — Best Destiny 2 Exotic Weapons for PVE
Do you like making things go boom? Are you a Solar subclass user? If so, you’ll find that Sunshot is — sorry — a blast. It’s one of the oldest Exotics in Destiny 2, having shipped with the base game, yet it found new life with Solar 3.0. It makes all of your enemies explode, it feels fantastic to shoot, and it even has a nice range of ornaments. Sunshot? More like Funshot.
