Destiny 2 Exotic Weapon Tier List

Destiny 2 Exotic Weapon Tier List (The Witch Queen)

Destiny 2 has a lot of different variables where different weapons excel.

This tier list is designed to highlight the most versatile that function well outside of specific situations and then go downwards.

Tier lists are by no means definitive and are designed to create an intelligent place to discuss the pros and cons of different weapons, so please join our discussion!

Note: Red represents PVP-only, purple represents PVP + PVE, and everything else is PVE-only.

Destiny 2 Exotic Weapon Tier List

• S-tier
  • Kinetic
    • Ace of Spades – Hand Cannon 
    • The Chaperone – Shotgun 
    • Osteo Striga – SMG
    • Witherhoard – Grenade Launcher
    • Agers Scepter – Trace Rifle
    • Eriana’s Vow – Hand Cannon
  • Energy
    • Vex Mythoclast – Fusion Rifle 
    • Trinity Ghoul – Combat Bow
    • Divinity – Trace Rifle
  • Heavy
    • Heir Apparent – Machine Gun
    • 1k Voices – Fusion Rifle
    • Gjallajorn – Rocket Launcher
    • The Lament – Sword
• A-tier
  • Kinetic
    • Thorn – Hand Cannon
    • No Time to Explain – Pulse Rifle
    • Dead Man’s Tale – Scout Rifle
    • MIDA – Scout Rifle
    • Travelers Chosen – Sidearm
    • Crimson – Hand Cannon
    • Bastion – Fusion Rifle
    • The Last Word – Hand Cannon
    • Sturm (PVP) – Hand Cannon
    • Forerunner – Sidearm
    • Huckleberry – SMG
    • Monte Carlo – Auto Rifle
    • Hawkmoon – Hand Cannon
    • Outbreak Perfected – Pulse Rifle
    • Rat King – Sidearm
    • Izanagi’s Burden – Sniper Rifle
  • Energy
    • Jötunn – Fusion Rifle
    • Lorentz Driver – Linear Fusion Rifle
    • Duality – Shotgun
    • Riskrunner – SMG
    • Cloudstrike – Sniper Rifle
    • Sunshot – Hand Cannon
    • Wavesplitter – Trace Rifle
    • Dead Messenger- Gernade Launcher
  • Heavy
    • Deathbringer – Rocket Launcher
    • Eyes of Tomorrow – Rocket Launcher
    • Wardcliff Coil – Rocket Launcher
    • Thunderlord – Machine Gun
    • Sleeper Simulant – Linear Fusion Rifle
    • Whisper of the Worm – Sniper Rifle
    • Xenophage – Machine Gun
    • Anarchy – Grenade Launcher
• B-tier
  • Kinetic
    • Fighting Lion – Grenade Launcher
    • Vigilance Wing – Pulse Rifle
    • Arbalest – Linear Fusion Rifle
    • Wish-Ender – Combat Bow
    • Malfeasance – Hand Cannon
    • Bad Juju – Pulse Rifle
    • Lumina – Hand Cannon
  • Energy
    • Polaris Lance – Scout Rifle
    • Ticuu’s Divination – Combat Bow
    • Ruinous Effigy – Trace Rifle
    • Symmetry – Scout Rifle
    • Hard Light – Auto Rifle
    • Tommy’s Matchbook – Auto Rifle
    • Merciless – Fusion Rifle
    • Lord of Wolves – Shotgun
    • The Fourth Horseman – Shotgun
    • Sky Burner’s Oath – Scout Rifle
  • Heavy
    • Black Talon – Sword
    • The Colony – Grenade Launcher
    • Legend of Acrius – Shotgun
    • The Queenbreaker – Linear Fusion Rifle
    • Parasite- Grenade Launcher
    • Tractor Cannon – Shotgun
• C-tier
  • Kinetic
    • The Jade Rabbit – Scout Rifle
    • Sweet Business – Auto Rifle
    • Cerberus+1 – Auto Rifle
    • Crosethia 77k – Sidearm
  • Energy
    • Borealis – Sniper Rifle
    • Coldheart – Trace Rifle
    • Prometheus Lens – Trace Rifle
    • Graviton Lance – Pulse Rifle
  • Heavy
    • Truth – Rocket Launcher
    • Leviathan’s Breath – Combat Bow
    • Two Tailed Fox – Rocket Launcher
    • Salvation’s Grip – Grenade Launcher
    • The Prospector – Grenade Launcher
    • D.A.R.C.I. – Sniper Rifle
    • Worldine Zero – Sword

S- Tier

• Kinetic Weapons: This slot is dominated by some great PVP weapons like Ace of Spades that are extremely reliable and heavily used. You also have unique weapons like Witherhoard and Osteo Striga which are hard to replace with other exotics.
• Energy Weapons: Of course the vex is here, a weapon that has constantly been nerfed for many years (since its D1 inception). All weapons here are best in class.
• Heavy Weapons: Gjallarhorn, the weapon that literally excluded you from raids in Destiny 1. Not as oppressive in Destiny 2, but still the best heavy exotic in the game, and more easily obtained. The Lament can be replaced with a legendary sword but its still an amazing weapon with super high damage output.

A- Tier

• Kinetic Weapons: There are a lot of solid kinetic weapons in Destiny. Some of them are amazing for PVP and some of them are amazing for PVE, and some of them are amazing for both. Your preference can go a long way, so you should feel comfortable using anything here. Some of them are super unique like Izinagi’s.
• Energy Weapons: Here you will find some great energy weapons that fulfill their role nicely- both Jotun and Lorentz are amazing for all content. Wavesplitter makes a surprise appearance because its the season for void!
• Heavy Weapons: There are a lot of great heavys here, but unless you have a specific need then you need to ask yourself why not Gjallarhorn. Special mention to the Sleeper Simulant and Anarchy which have had their time to shine in their respective weapon archetype seasons.

B- Tier

• Kinetic Weapons: Weapons here can be great in specific scenarios. Nothing beats Bad Juju for farm content and supers galore, for example. You can create some crazy synergies and setups that are niche.
• Energy Weapons: Weapons here have some specific use cases, like Hard Light’s ability to be versatile vs different shield types.
• Heavy Weapons: The hard part about the heavy weapons here is that it’s very difficult to justify the slot for something you use occasionally unless it’s game-breaking like Gjallahorn. Weapons like Parasite and Tractor Cannon have specific unique applications that can come in handy for certain content for example.

C- Tier

• Kinetic Weapons: These weapons all need some love, but Cerberus +1 does have some interesting niche applications this season- one to watch!
• Energy Weapons: These guns fall prey to their better counterparts that do the same thing but better. Why take Borealist when you can take Cloudstrike?
• Heavy Weapons: These weapons just aren’t special enough to justify the exotic slot, and some of them like Worldine Zero and DARCI just feel troll.

Methodology

This is an exotic tier list, which as you know only one can be equipped. The tier list itself is heavily dependent on the power of legendary weapons and the seasonal mods and activities.

Different guns excel in different content- we will label them as PVP or PVP+PVE

Here’s our criteria for each tier:

• S- Tier: Always good and worthy of the name exotic because of something unique they bring to the table
• A Tier: Great and only potentially game-breaking in specific situations
• B- Tier: Only good when certain conditions have been fulfilled. Hard to justify an exotic slot for them
• C-Tier: Impractical weapons that are for funsies or niche nice cases. Hard to justify an exotic slot, especially with better ones there that are easy to obtain and completely outclass them.

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