Destiny 2 best Exotic weapons for PvE & PvP (Season of the Witch)

Destiny 2 has a vast and ever-expanding weapon pool often leaving players overwhelmed by the options. But amidst all the fodder there are some clear-cut best Exotic weapons in Destiny 2 for PvE & PvP in Season of the Witch.

Destiny’s Exotic weapons have always stood out as some of the most coveted items in the looter shooter, dating back to the very start of the original game. These exotic weapons can be collected by purchasing them from Xur, completing Exotic missions, or even fishing.

Players can only equip one Exotic gun at a time, so it’s important to know which are meta to make the best use of your limited slot. To see what to partner your Exotic with check out our dedicated guides on the best PvE and PvP Weapons in Destiny 2.

Below are our choices for the best exotic weapons in Destiny 2 PvE & PvP, and how to find them for Season of the Witch.

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Contents

• Best Exotic Kinetic Weapons
• Best Exotic Energy Weapons
• Best Exotic Heavy Weapons

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Best Destiny 2 Exotic Kinetic Weapons

Arbalest

Best use: PvE

The Arbalest is a truly unique weapon with it being the only Linear Fusion Rifle that uses Special Ammo while filling the Kinetic slot. Its stand-out feature is its ability to break pretty much any Champion or Boss’ shield in one shot.

It isn’t just limited to being a shield-shattering support weapon though. For a special weapon, the Arbalest has excellent DPS and range. Assuming you have the aim to land consistent precision shots this is a great choice on just about every build and a necessity in some encounters.

Arbalest can be acquired as a rare random drop from world drop Exotic engrams.

Conditional Finality

Best use: PvE/PvP

Conditional Finality is an unusual shotgun as it’s surprisingly versatile and has plenty of use across all of Destiny’s core playlists. That’s thanks to this Exotic’s ability to deal both Stasis and Solar damage, igniting and freezing targets with each shot.

This makes it particularly useful against champions in higher-level content where it can reliably stun them in a way that’s just not possible with any other weapon. If we get a Shotgun anti-Champion Artifact in the future expect this to be in every meta loadout.

Conditional Finality can be acquired as a rare drop after completing the Root of Nightmares raid.

Quicksilver Storm

Best use: PvE

With the rise of Exotic primary weapons in Season of the Witch, Quicksilver Storm has become a popular pick thanks to its huge upsides. This Strand Auto Rifle has 100 Stability making it extremely easy to control, but it’s the unique underbarrel grenade launcher that truly stands out.

Shooting enemies charges up the Storm’s grenade launcher which can then be fired at no additional cost. These explosive shots deal fantastic damage comparable to that of the meta Special weapons. Throw in the obvious Strand synergy this AR also has and you’re left with an Exotic weapon for all occasions.

Quicksilver Storm can be acquired by speaking to the Cryptarch at The Tower after purchasing Lightfall.

Wish-ender

Best use: PvE

Wish-ender has been a powerful option for some time thanks to its great damage for a Primary and intrinsic anti-Barrier shots. Its slow draw rate can take some getting used to but it’s a fair trade-off given its potency.

Season of the Deep’s Oathkeeper rework didn’t hurt either with the once niche PvP Exotic armor becoming a fan favorite amongst Hunter players. You don’t need to be a Hunter to justify using Wish-ender though as it excels regardless.

Wish-ender can be acquired by completing the ‘Wish-ender’ Exotic quest obtained in the Shattered Throne dungeon.

Witherhoard

Best use: PvE/PvP

Witherhoard is one of the best Kinetic weapons in the game, especially when it comes to PvE. It also happens to be arguably the best Grenade Launcher in Destiny 2 which is saying a lot given Forbearance exists.

Witherhoard is a single-shot Grenade Launcher that specializes in AOE damage. It’s one of the best tools for clearing adds while also dealing some solid damage to bosses, especially once its catalyst is unlocked which gives it Auto-Loading Holster allowing for some tasty DPS rotations.

The Witherhoard can be acquired by purchasing it from the Exotic Archive for x1 Exotic Cipher, x100,000 Glimmer, x200 Legendary Shards, and x1 Ascendant Shard.

Best Destiny 2 Exotic Energy Weapons

Cloudstrike

Best use: PvP

The Cloudstrike is an iconic Exotic sniper rifle introduced in Season 12. It offers a lot that Crucible players would want including consistent one-shot kills, good handling, and the potential for some crazy montage clips.

Its unique trait, Mortal Polarity creates lightning whenever you land a precision final blow. This spreads lightning to nearby enemies, giving the Cloudstrike AOE capabilities and the ability to take out multiple Guardians in one shot. It’s not bad in PvE either but snipers need some love before we can recommend it.

The Cloudstrike can be acquired as a rare drop from completing higher-difficulty Empire Hunts obtained from Varik on Europa.

Divinity

Best use: PvE

Divinity has always been a strong choice as it’s one of the very few guns in Destiny 2 that can debuff bosses, making them take more damage. More specifically, all targets enveloped by Divinity take 15% more damage. That includes regular enemies, champions, and even bosses.

What makes Divinity even better is Cenotaph Mask, a new Exotic added in Season 21. This Exotic helmet reloads the Divinity from reserves, gives it the ability to mark targets, and will cause enemies to produce ammo for your team which is more important than ever after Double Special was nerfed.

Divinity can be acquired by completing the ‘Divinity’ Exotic quest which requires a run-through of the Garden of Salvation raid.

Le Monarque

Best use: PvE/PvP

Le Monarque is a versatile Energy slot Exotic Bow that can be used with just about any build. It offers great damage and AOE capabilities thanks to its Intrinsic Trait, Poison Arrows.

A bow with good add clear isn’t overly common but that isn’t the only reason Le Monarque is strong. It also has intrinsic Overload stun making it a great weapon for dealing with champions. As an added bonus it’s one of the best options to use with the reworked Oathkeeper Exotic armor.

The Le Monarque can be acquired from the Exotic Archive for x1 Exotic Cipher, x125,000 Glimmer, x200 Legendary Shards, and x1 Ascendant Shard.

Sunshot

Best Use: PvE

Of all the Exotics in Season of the Witch, none received a glow-up quite as spectacular as Sunshot. The Hand Cannon PvE buffs have left this Solar Exotic in a really strong position and possibly even the best Exotic Primary weapon in Destiny 2.

It has good damage, tons of Solar build synergy, and is even good for clearing adds, offering everything and more that you could want from a Primary weapon. If there’s one gun on this list you need to try it’s Sunshot.

Sunshot can be acquired as a rare random drop from world drop Exotic engrams.

Trinity Ghoul

Best use: PvE

If Le Monarque doesn’t suit your needs then Trinity Ghoul is another excellent Exotic Combat Bow. This Arc Bow offers arguably the best add clear of any weapon in Destiny 2, thanks to its unique perk, Lightning Rod.

Throw in its catalyst which lets Lightning Rod trigger on any Arc final blow and you are left with an extraordinarily reliable Primary weapon that can wipe out large groups of enemies in seconds. It isn’t all-purpose by any means but it is comfortably the best weapon in its specific role.

The Trinity Ghoul can be acquired as a rare random drop from world drop Exotic engrams.

Best Destiny 2 Exotic Power Weapons

Gjallarhorn

Best use: PvE/PvP

A true legend in the Destiny franchise, Gjallarhorn returned as part of the 30th Anniversary Pack’s set of weapons. It fires Wolfpack Rounds that split into smaller explosives after an initial detonation. New in D2, though, it’ll also share these rounds with non-exotic Rocket Launchers that your fireteam is using.

The Gjallarhorn’s greatest strength is its lack of weaknesses. It deals great damage, fires tracking missiles, has insane add clear potential, and can even generate a lot of Orbs of Power when its catalyst is unlocked. Although nerfs to Wolfpack Rounds in Season of the Witch have seen it fall in popularity.

Gjallarhorn can be acquired by completing the ‘And Out Fly the Wolves’ Exotic quest obtained from Xur in Eternity.

Legend of Acrius

Best use: PvE

Sometimes all a gun needs to be meta is for it to pump out an absurd amount of damage. The Legend of Acrius isn’t a versatile weapon by any means and it doesn’t have much range. However, barrel-stuffing this Exotic shotgun into an enemy is bound to kill them quicker than just about everything else.

It was always a good albeit situational choice but a damage range buff in Season 21 combined with the reworked No Backup Plans turned this shottie into an absolute monster. If used in the right encounter this will prove itself as one of the best Exotic weapons in Destiny 2.

Legend of Acrius can be acquired from the Exotic Archive for x1 Exotic Cipher, x150,000 Glimmer,  x2 Ascendant Shard, and x240 Spoils of Conquest.

Sleeper Simulant

Best Use: PvE

A gun doesn’t necessarily have to be well-rounded to be worth using. No weapon proves that more than the Sleeper Simulant, an Exotic Linear Fusion Rifle that excels at one thing and one thing only. It deals a ton of damage to bosses by hitting precision hits over and over.

This exotic is essentially just a Linear Fusion Rifle taken to the next level. It hits very hard, it’s easy to use, it has a fast fire rate, and it even pairs well with certain Solar 3.0 builds. If you’ve got the aim to hit shots consistently the Sleeper Simulant is one of the best damage dealers in Destiny 2.

Sleeper Simulant can be acquired from the Exotic Archive for x1 Exotic Cipher, x125,000 Glimmer, x200 Legendary Shards, and x1 Ascendant Shard.

Thunderlord

Best use: PvE/PvP

Ah, the Thunderlord. This is the first Exotic ever shown off in Destiny 1, so it has a place in history.  However, it was pretty useless for most of that history but Machine Guns got buffed in Season 20 and it became the most dominant PvE weapon in Destiny 2.

It has declined slightly since then but Thunderlord is still a top-tier choice thanks to its constantly reloading magazine and more than respectable damage output. It can clear adds, deal boss damage, and even stun Overload Champions.

The Thunderlord can be acquired as a rare random drop from world drop Exotic engrams.

Tractor Cannon

Best Use: PvE/PvP

Using your Heavy slot on a utility shotgun of all things may sound questionable but the reality is that Tractor Cannon is one of the best Exotic weapons in Destiny 2. Why? Because it can inflict a debuff onto enemies that make them take 30% more damage from all sources.

In large teams, this is an incredible debuff that will drastically speed up how fast you can clear encounters. Plus it’s a surprisingly good PvP weapon too with its generous spread easily one-shotting any Guardians that get too close.

Tractor Cannon can be acquired as a rare random drop from world drop Exotic engrams or opening Maeve’s Stash on the Cosmodrone.

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That’s everything you need to know about the best Exotic weapons in Destiny 2 for both PvE and PvP. Be sure to check out more of our guide content on Dexerto:

Deepsight Harmonizers: How to farm, use, and what weapons to convert | Exotic Mission Rotator: What it is, how to access, schedule, loot table | Best Exotic weapons | Best PvP Weapons | Best PvE Weapons | Destiny 2 Season of the Witch: Release date, raid, power cap, & more | Best Titan Builds | Best Warlock Builds | Best Arc 3.0 Builds | Best Solar 3.0 Builds | Best Void 3.0 Builds  |  Best Stasis Builds