Titans are notoriously known for punching and melee ability shenanigans, and while that power fantasy still holds true in Destiny 2, it’s not the same as it once was with things like the Bonk Hammer build being nerfed along with other sandbox changes that came this season. This has led Titans to explore new avenues of buildcrafting for specific builds, but that doesn’t mean punching is not an option anymore. Here’s a look at the best Titan Exotics in Season of the Wish.
10. Peacekeepers
“Reloads stowed Submachine Guns and allows you to ready them instantly. Improves your handling with Submachine Guns and your movement while wielding one. Provides a moderate benefit to the airborne effectiveness stat of Submachine Guns.”
Peacekeepers are still S-Tier in PVP as SMGs reign supreme across every Crucible mode in the game. It reloads SMGs and allows Titans to ready them instantly alongside offering better handling and bonus strafe speed when SMGs are equipped. Sure, the Checkmate modifier exists but that’s not going to stop Titans from going “SMG goes brrrr”. With Antaeus Wards being nerfed, Peacekeepers are even more prominent amongst Titans than before. Combined with Cloudstrike, you can bet that Peacekeeper Titans can make it their duty to become a threat to Guardians in the Crucible.
9. Dunemarchers
“Increases sprint speed. Sprinting builds up a static charge. After melee-attacking an enemy, that charge will chain damage to nearby enemies.”
Dunemarchers are for Titans who aren’t using SMGs but still want to be menacing in the Crucible. It increases sprint speed and builds up a static charge. This charge can chain damage to nearby enemies upon melee-attacking an enemy. This Exotic combined with any variant of Titan is strong but the most popular picks are Void because Ward of Dawn — which is also known as the Bubble — and Arc because Knockout exists. Dunemarchers are a strong pick in pretty much any Crucible mode.
8. Severance Enclosure
“Powered melee final blows unleash a damaging explosion. Finishers and final blows against more powerful targets increase the radius and damage of the explosion.”
Severance Enclosure got a buff in Season of the Wish that not only increased the size and damage of the explosion caused upon getting melee final blows, it also got an additional explosion upon killing an enemy. This Exotic can clear a wave of enemies in an almost cartoonish yet deadly way. It’s also great for raid and dungeon encounters with swarms of enemies. Though not the strongest Titan Exotic in the game, it’s powerful enough to be worth looking into.
7. Stronghold
“Maximizes guard stats on equipped Swords. You take reduced damage while blocking with a Sword. Rapidly damaging targets after blocking shots with a Sword grants restoration for a duration determined by the number of shots blocked.”
Stronghold is a sleeper pick for Titans as they allow them to be near Invincible when guarding with a sword. It also offers maximum guard stats on swords and bonus restoration upon attacking an enemy after blocking damage from it. A Stronghold Titan can take the boss’ attention away from the fireteam in raids and dungeons, essentially giving players breathing room. This is particularly useful in endgame raids where bosses hit way harder than usual. Titans have often been called the tank class and this Exotic is a clear example of why that is.
6. Heart of Inmost 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.”
With ability cooldowns getting a nerf in Season of the Wish, Heart of Inmost Light became more valuable than before as it offers faster regeneration on abilities provided one of the three abilities has been used. Using an ability empowers the other abilities for a brief duration and this can be chained up to two times. Empowered melees and grenades do more damage and empowered barricades get more hit points than normal ones. The duration of empowered abilities isn’t that long, but it’s still viable in all forms of content in Destiny 2.
5. Synthoceps
“When you're surrounded, gain increased melee and Super damage, as well as improved weapon handling and reload speed.”
Synthoceps received several changes this season, some buffs and some nerfs. It lost its extended melee lunge distance and its increased melee, the Super damage bonus got nerfed from 200% to 165%, too. At the same time, Synthoceps got bonus handling and reload speed when surrounded and it got an increase to glaive melee damage from 50% to 100%. These changes are a bit of a mixed bag but that doesn’t stop them from being one of the top Exotics for Titans across all forms of activities.
4. Pyrogale Gauntlets
“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.”
Pyrogale Gauntlets, affectionately called “Celestial Titanbonk” by the community, is a top-tier Titan Exotic. It turns the Burning Maul hammer into a one-shot high-damage Super, which causes cyclones of flame. This is similar to how Celestial Nighthawk operates for Solar Hunters running Golden Gun. Moreover, this Exotic also creates a mini cyclone of flame for Titans using the Consecration aspect. Pyrogale Gauntlets are both powerful and creative, making them a great choice for all Solar Titans out there.
3. Peregrine Greaves
“All shoulder charge abilities (Seismic Strike, Hammer Strike, or Shield Bash) deal bonus damage when activated in the air. Damaging mini-bosses, Tormentors, or Champions with your shoulder charge refunds your melee. Provides a small benefit to the airborne effectiveness stat of all weapons.”
Peregrine Greaves got a buff this season that refunds melee energy upon damaging Tormentors, mini-bosses, and Champions with a Shoulder Charge melee while also dealing increased damage. This Exotic can effectively one-shot Champions and let players infinitely Shoulder Charge strong enemies. Sure, the Exotic needs players to be airborne for a brief duration before the Peregrine Strike Exotic perk activates, but it’s a small tradeoff for one of the strongest ways to delete Champions in the game. Shoulder Charge melees have often felt out of place in PVE, outside of Wormgod Caress, and have been used in PVP more than anything else. But with its latest buff, Peregrine Greaves has effectively brought them back on the table for PVE.
2. Precious Scars
“Final blows from weapons with a damage type matching your subclass energy create a burst of healing around you that grants allies restoration. After reviving or being revived, you gain an aura that provides overshields to you and nearby allies.”
Precious Scars also got a buff in Season of the Wish, which grants players and nearby allies Tier 1 restoration upon getting kills with weapons matching their subclass. This restoration buff lasts for three seconds in PVE and 1.5 seconds in PVP. This may not seem significant on the surface, but this Exotic can effectively keep a fireteam alive with the right setup. Restoration provides a strong source of healing and while it’s not Tier 2 Restoration like what Warlocks have, getting Restoration for you and your allies simply by killing an enemy is helpful. This Exotic excels in endgame content and I highly recommend giving it a try the next time you run Master level content.
1. Wormgod Caress
“Defeating a target with melee or a finisher grants escalating melee damage, which decays over time. Higher levels of Burning Fists grant increased weapon damage.”
Wormgod Caress is back this season with a significant buff. The Burning Fist trait has been reworked to offer an escalating damage bonus that decays over time. This bonus can be stacked up to five levels of damage, with higher levels offering increased weapon damage as well. This Exotic combined with the Strand Banner of War aspect is extremely powerful. This build is so strong that players have beaten the new Warlord’s Ruin dungeon in less than 10 minutes. About a year ago, this Exotic received a significant nerf to the point where it was abandoned for other choices. But that’s no longer the case and Wormgod Caress has become a top contender for boss DPS once again.
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