Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - Ranking Every Exotic Weapon #40

Ranking Every Exotic Weapon in Destiny 2

#40 - #21

Between the launch of Shadowkeep, the newest expansion, and going to free-to-play, Destiny 2 has seen a vast increase in its player count. New players intrigued by the radical changes at Bungie and old, disenchanted guardians alike are logging in to check out the current PvP and PvE sandboxes. And whether they're engaging with the insidious forces of darkness or duking it out in the Crucible, some of the best tools of destruction to utilize are the exotic weapons. With the ever evolving meta and a vast collection of exotic specific quests, it can be tough to decide which weapons are worth pursuing and which ones are better off vaulted.

With that in mind I've put together a complete list of all sixty-one exotic weapons in the game and ranked them based on a variety of criteria. The categories within which I ranked each weapon are as follows: Player vs. Environment, Player vs. Player, Gambit, Power Fantasy, Endgame, and Fun Factor. Each individual ranking is out of ten points and each score will accompany the weapon descriptions below along with a brief summary of my thoughts. While most of these are self-explanatory, the 'Power Fantasy' category judges how well a weapon performs its intended action. For example, if a gun is supposed shoot grenades that crawl on walls and seek out enemies, does it do that well or not? Furthermore, this category will rank if an exotic's unique ability is interesting or not. Finally, the 'Endgame' category simply determines how useful the weapon is in either endgame PvE or PvP activities such as raids or competitive crucible.

Now, without further adieu, thank you for reading and please enjoy the ranking!

Want to check out the full list? Click the links below!

*** #61 - 41 *** #20 - 1 ****

40. Lord of Wolves

PvE - 5.0 * PvP - 6.5 * Gambit - 4.0 * Power Fantasy - 5.0 * Endgame - 1.0 * Fun Factor - 5.5

Total - 27.0/60.0

In the months leading up to Shadowkeep, Lord of Wolves received a change on how you activated it's exotic perk along with a buff. Immediately, it went from relative obscurity to completely overpowered, destroying guardians throughout the Crucible with relative ease. It got so bad that Bungie gave out a unique emblem for those brave souls who faced the Wolven Lord in Iron Banner. While they have since fixed the bug that was over powering this shotgun, don't sleep on it as it is still capable of utter annihilation in the Crucible. Simply holding a button will activate the Release the Wolves perk which allows you to shoot a full burst of 10 pellets at the same time. This one-shots active supers and erases any guardian foolish enough to get within 20 feet of you. This power is tempered by the fact you only spawn with enough ammo for a single burst and bricks will replenish only one shot so you have to be careful how you use it. In PvE, this shotgun deals middling damage to bosses and breaks any majors in one burst, something that most shotguns can do anyway. Still, it's a pretty fun weapon to use as it behaves like no other weapon in the game.

39. Telesto

PvE - 5.5 * PvP - 6.0 * Gambit - 3.0 * Power Fantasy - 6.0 * Endgame - 1.0 * Fun Factor - 6.0

Total - 27.5/60.0

With the buff to fusion rifles that came in Season of the Drifter, Telesto can be a potent option for average PvE or Crucible. The average shot with Telesto will kill most majors and detonate any nearby red bar enemies with the pellets that are left behind. It is supremely satisfying to burst a Hive Knight, watch him run back to his Acolyte buddies, only to explode and kill them all as well. While it definitely doesn't have incredible DPS, it can be a powerful tool in clearing basic enemies. In Crucible, it does an admirable job killing guardians with the added benefit of briefly locking down popular lanes, occasionally getting kills out of nowhere. This utility elevates an otherwise mediocre fusion rifle. The only place that I don't recommend Telesto is Gambit where killing enemies quickly takes priority over utility and it doesn't have enough range to challenge invaders at range. I would tell less to use it in this mode. Overall, a solid choice for most activities.

38. Leviathan's Breath

PvE - 3.5 * PvP - 7.0 * Gambit - 6.0 * Power Fantasy - 4.0 * Endgame - 3.5 * Fun Factor - 4.5

Total - 28.0/60.0

Leviathan's Breath is probably the laziest exotic in the game currently, utilizing the favorite pass time of Bungie which is simply swapping an archetype into a different class and calling it an exotic. Look everyone, it's a bow but it's also a heavy weapon! Crazy right! This could have been cool too but unfortunately, there's nothing really special about this weapon in PvE, doing comparably terrible DPS, a lackluster AoE effect, and an incredibly lengthy draw time that takes longer than a behemoth's exhale. The fact that it staggers Unstoppable Champions is nice and probably the one thing that justifies a slot in an endgame loadout. However, despite my bias, Leviathan's Breath has found a home in the Crucible, offering an unlimited range one-shot heavy against any guardian even if they're in their super. This translates well to Gambit but it lacks the crowd clearing ability of other heavy weapons.

37. Xenophage

PvE - 6.0 * PvP - 1.0 * Gambit - 8.5 * Power Fantasy - 4.5 * Endgame - 1.0 * Fun Factor - 6.5

Total - 28.5/60.0

Xenophage is an odd monster at launch. It offers reasonably high damage that detonates in a small AoE making it a breeze to kill anything that's not a boss or ultra. However, it can't hit precision shots and has a pitifully low ammo reserve making it awkward for serious boss encounters or any long engagements. This basically requires you to use all of your Machine Gun Reserves and Machine Gun Ammo Finder mods in order to actually consistently use the weapon. With all of those requirements met, the Xenophage is ton of fun to use and can be quite effective at clearing out full PvE encounters. However, the real home for the Xenophage is Gambit where the practically infinite range and heavy damage makes it a champion at taking down enemies and invaders alike. Enemies are tightly packed so massacring a full wave with the AoE shots is easy and it even provides some decent boss damage in a pinch. As for Crucible... don't use it in Crucible. You only get three shots and I've seen oafs age faster than getting a kill with this. Give this a shot in Gambit though, and you won't be disappointed.

36. Tarrabah

PvE - 7.0 * PvP - 4.5 * Gambit - 5.0 * Power Fantasy - 5.5 * Endgame - 2.0 * Fun Factor - 6.0

Total - 30.0/60.0

As the raid exclusive exotic for Crown of Sorrows, you'd expect Tarrabah to be a bit better than it actually is, especially when stacked against the other exotic and pinnacle submachine guns. Unfortunately, despite being a blast to use when you finally get to activate its exotic perk, the minute to minute gameplay from Tarrabah doesn't measure up nearly as well. In average PvE activities, Tarrabah shines the brightest since you can get the perk going easily and get seven seconds of godlike power, shredding anything in front of you. Activating the perk requires you to inflict damage with Tarrabah or take damage from enemies and it increases the fire rate, damage, and reload speed for seven seconds. You can extend this buff's timer as long as you continue to do damage with Tarrabah. This feels totally amazing against a constant tide of opponents. However, bringing this to Crucible feels pretty tarrabah since you have to kill around two other players without the perk to unleash the beast. This is compounded by the fact that you must keep Tarrabah equipped to make progress on activating the perk which negates any secondary weapon you may have equipped. This weapons simply has too many requirements before you can even use the exotic perk to make it a top-tier weapon.

35. Wish-Ender

PvE - 6.0 * PvP - 6.5 * Gambit - 5.0 * Power Fantasy - 5.0 * Endgame - 3.0 * Fun Factor - 5.0

Total - 30.5/60.0

Basically, whether or not you like Wish-Ender comes down to how much you like using bows in general. If you're a fan of bows, then Wish-Ender is probably the best feeling bow in PvE. It does a ton of damage, it can overpenetrate targets allowing you to hit multiple enemies and it even grants you true sight when you ADS. So, if you need a long-range kinetic weapon that will one-shot most sniper red bars, then this a great option. In the Crucible, this weapon does even better when you ADS, allowing you to see when a guardian is going to pop their head around a corner. As long as you play the long game and use cover to your advantage, this is a powerful tool to end the wishes of your opponents. In Gambit, while it is decent against invaders, it's less than optimal for an exotic as you need to get close to actually pick up motes.

34. Wavesplitter

PvE - 4.0 * PvP - 9.0 * Gambit - 5.0 * Power Fantasy - 1.5 * Endgame - 6.5 * Fun Factor - 5.0

Total - 31.0/60.0

Genuinely, Wavesplitter annihilates in Crucible. In terms of range, it sits somewhere between fusion rifles and sniper rifles, making it a perfect choice for any mid-range combat while complimenting either a pulse rifle or a submachine gun. Despite my biggest gripe about this weapon being its inconsistent exotic perk which is supposed to randomly increase and decrease the damage as you continue firing, whenever you're using it PvP, it always seems to increase the damage at the perfect moments. As you're moving through the competitive survival mode, you're bound to run into a few of these and once you get erased a few too many times, you'll understand its power. However, this doesn't translate very well to PvE content since you never really know how long it's going to take to kill a major thanks to the inconsistent exotic perk. I don't mean to split waves here but sometimes you'll kill a major in seconds, other times you'll start to wonder if you're even hitting them. Wavesplitter will get the job done eventually but other weapons do same thing with more dependability.

33. Le Monarque

PvE - 5.0 * PvP - 7.0 * Gambit - 4.5 * Power Fantasy - 5.5 * Endgame - 4.0 * Fun Factor - 5.5

Total - 31.5/60.0

As my personal choice for the best bow in Crucible, Le Monarque shoots slightly faster than Wish-Ender and it poisons your target if you fire your shot quickly after nocking an arrow. And that poison is a big deal. Not only does it deal about 15 extra points of damage but it also lets you know where that person is going if they got behind cover. Are they just huddling there? Probably has a shotgun. Are they running? Chase them down and get a kill. While this still suffers at closer ranges, it's a fantastic ranged killer that hits hard and offers additional utility. In PvE, the extra poison damage is nice but doesn't really justify an exotic slot. Meanwhile, in Gambit, it's a bow, so... no thanks. Regardless, if you're looking for bow kills for a bounty or need a reliable weapon in PvP, Le Monarque is the choice of monarchs.

32. Deathbringer

PvE - 7.5 * PvP - 4.0 * Gambit - 6.5 * Power Fantasy - 6.5 * Endgame - 1.0 * Fun Factor - 6.5

Total - 32.0/60.0

As one of the only exotics in Shadowkeep that had an actually interesting mechanic, Deathbringer brings a lot of death to the table. Firing a shot and then detonating it in mid-air will raid down a barrage of seeking void orbs similar to the top-tree Nova Bomb. The farther these orbs fall, the more damage that they will inflict, allowing you to play around with different heights and letting you control whether you want more widespread destruction or a more focused blast. In general PvE play, their will be groups of enemies surrounding an ultra or major in nearly every room and detonating one of these monsters directly above them is a sight to behold as the orbs bombard your enemies. In Crucible, it can result in multiple kills if you time your shot correctly but the projectiles move a little too slow if they see you coming. For Gambit, Deathbringer absolutely annihilates envoys and Primevals but is lackluster against other guardians. As of this writing, Deathbringer doesn't have any place in the endgame meta but I wouldn't be surprised to see that change if rockets get the buff that they so desperately need.

31. Malfeasance

PvE - 6.5 * PvP - 5.5 * Gambit - 7.0 * Power Fantasy - 6.0 * Endgame - 2.0 * Fun Factor - 6.5

Total - 33.5/60.0

Despite a lengthy quest involving A LOT of Gambit, the reward of Malfeasance is worth the time investment offering a remarkably stable hand cannon with a useful exotic perk. As one of the few 180 RPM hand cannons along with Trust, Malfeasance feels great to shoot thanks to the minimal recoil and clean sights once you get into the faster rhythm. If you stack enough shots into a single enemy, the embedded projectiles will detonate dealing damage to any nearby foes. Since this was designed for Gambit with extra damage against Taken and invaders, it's no surprise that Malfeasance is at its best there, melting blockers and surprising invaders intent on dastardly malfeasance. In Crucible, it's good but not great, outranked by the 150 hand cannons with longer range. All in all, just a solid weapon that can justify it's exotic nature in both regular PvE and gambit activities.

30. The Jade Rabbit

PvE - 3.0 * PvP - 8.5 * Gambit - 6.0 * Power Fantasy - 3.0 * Endgame - 5.5 * Fun Factor - 8.0

Total - 34.0/60.0

While its exotic nature is questionable, Jade Rabbit excels at being one of the best scout rifles in the game for Crucible. With a combination of pinpoint accuracy, superb handling and reload speed, and the best sights in the entire game, it has an incredibly responsive and kinetic feeling while your firing it. Able to hit targets across any distance, it challenges snipers with ease, killing them before they can retaliate. While ineffective in close combat, it more than makes up for that with what it offers at range. Jade Rabbit's exotic perk increases damage to headshots the more bodyshots you hit and this is practically irrelevant in most activities, with even the auto-loading portion of the perk feeling tacked on considering how quick the reload is. In PvE, the Polaris Lance is the better choice due to its utility but the Emerald Hare remains a viable choice for Gambit, as it can pick off multiple Guardians before they know what hit them.

29. The Chaperone

PvE - 2.0 * PvP - 10.0 * Gambit - 3.5 * Power Fantasy - 3.5 * Endgame - 7.0 * Fun Factor - 6.0

Total - 34.5/60.0

The Chaperone is the best shotgun in the Crucible if you put just a little time into mastering the slug shot. The single-slug nature of this weapon gives this gun range that seems ridiculous as long as you hit a headshot. Then the exotic perk procs and you get seven seconds with even more range, increased handling, and an increased firing rate. This allows you to push full squads and as long as you get the first headshot, you're in business. Your opponents will need a chaperone the next time they return to PvP after the beating you're going to give to them with this beast. In PvE, it does technically work but getting headshots is more finicky and less rewarding, especially when compared to the smorgasbord of other shotties in the game that have trench barrel or one-two punch.This gets a little better in Gambit where clearing groups becomes much easier with the perk active but still doesn't outplay other legendary options. While I'm not a huge fan of exotic perks simply giving you stat buffs, there's no doubt that The Chaperone is the real deal in Crucible.

28. Sweet Business

PvE - 6.5 * PvP - 6.5 * Gambit - 5.5 * Power Fantasy - 7.5 * Endgame - 1.0 * Fun Factor - 8.0

Total - 35.0/60.0

When you first see this gun, it makes you a promise. It promises that you're going to weild a portable minigun and love every second of it. Fortunately, Sweet Business delivers on this promise in spades. With a mag of 99 that works beautifully with the Titan exotic chest piece, Actium War Rig, you simply shred through redbar enemies, maniacally smiling as you do it. Despite not being great at melting ultras or bosses, Sweet Business can be a viable part of any build that needs significant minor clear. In Crucible, it has also made a surprising comeback dishing out a seemingly unending tide of bullets once it has spun up. Coming around a corner already firing can be an exhilarating experience as you deliver to your enemies the sweet, sweet business. Sweet Business is an above average auto-rifle with a kick-ass delivery system that is always worth a good bit of fun.

27. Coldheart

PvE - 8.0 * PvP - 5.0 * Gambit - 5.5 * Power Fantasy - 6.0 * Endgame - 5.5 * Fun Factor - 5.5

Total - 35.5/60.0

Despite being recently upstaged by the new raid exotic, Coldheart remains a terrific choice to bring to any PvE activity, even approaching endgame content. The exotic perk allows you to do increasing damage the more you beam the same target and this damage quickly escalates on any ultra or boss enemy. Coldhear also casually destroys any minor or major enemies. The amount of single target damage this laser can produce can compete with even the best legendary snipers in the game given enough time. That's something you could only dislike if you had a heart of ice. Bringing Coldheart to the Crucible is a losing proposition as it essentially is just a worse version of the Wavesplitter. Regardless, this can fill a mid-range gap in your loadout if you need it to.

26. Graviton Lance

PvE - 7.0 * PvP - 7.0 * Gambit - 5.0 * Power Fantasy - 7.0 * Endgame - 3.5 * Fun Factor - 6.5

Total - 36.0/60.0

While it has slipped slightly from its glory days of being the best weapon in the Crucible, Graviton Lance hasn't slipped that far, especially since its rework in Forsaken. Essentially, it's scout rifle disguised as a pulse rifle since the second shot in your two-shot burst is the only one that does serious damage, Regardless, once you adapt to the weapon, it rewards you with a three head-shot kill and generates a seeking void explosion on every successful final blow. In PvE, these void explosions chain in a hilarious fashion against minor red bar enemies. Killing one thrall in a group will result in a purple fire work show that destroys anything in the vicinity. A terrific primary for all occasions despite lagging a bit in Gambit thanks to the prevalence of tankier units.

25. Crimson

PvE - 6.5 * PvP - 8.0 * Gambit - 5.5 * Power Fantasy - 5.5 * Endgame - 5.0 * Fun Factor - 6.0

Total - 36.5/60.0

Crimson has recently seen a resurgence of play in the Crucible after the general hand cannon range nerf left it relatively unaffected, especially if you have the catalyst that boosts the range. Firing in a three-burst fashion like a pulse rifle, Crimson can reliably three tap guardians even if you hit a few body shots. The best thing about this gun though is the exotic perk which heals you on every kill and reloads your magazine on every precision kill. If you can get a handle on its unique recoil, then getting your health back on every kill in PvP is a huge bonus, getting you back into the next engagement faster with each arena running crimson with blood. In PvE, this allows you to bypass certain annoying health restriction modifiers such as 'Attrition' or 'Momentum' and gives you a great deal of survivability in any encounter. I'm not as much of a fan of Crimson in Gambit simply because it doesn't challenge invaders well but if you're afraid of death by enemies, then this can definitely be added to any loadout.

24. Whisper of the Worm

PvE - 9.0 * PvP - 1.0 * Gambit - 6.5 * Power Fantasy - 6.5 * Endgame - 8.5 * Fun Factor - 5.5

Total - 37.0/60.0

Once the undisputed king of PvE before its significant nerf, Whisper of the Worm recently became a lot better thanks to another nerf of the auto-loading abilities, allowing its exotic perk to actually feel unique and powerful. For every three head shots, you automatically reload your mag from your reserves giving you eighteen shots in a row on any weak point. This stacks up serious damage very quickly and is extremely useful on all bosses that require a ton of damage. It even shines in Gambit where having a powerful sniper with endless ammo is a terrific tool against both the primeval and invaders. And, in case it needs to be said, don't bring this to PvP. All in all, Black Whisper of the Worm's Spindly Hammer is a terrific option for endgame PvE activities.

23. Eriana's Vow

PvE - 8.0 * PvP - 5.5 * Gambit - 5.0 * Power Fantasy - 5.0 * Endgame - 7.5 * Fun Factor - 6.5

Total - 37.5/60.0

Putting the cannon back in hand cannon, this iteration of the Bungie classic 'switch class of weapon archetype to make it exotic' is the most successful one yet. It has appropriate heftiness, absurd recoil, and serious damage. The one aspect of Eriana's Vow that helps it the most is its expansive ammo reserves which allows you to not only deal with pesky majors but also to still have ammo for bosses and ultras. Furthermore, with the introduction of barrier, overcharge, and unstoppable champions and the fact that only primary weapons can have the appropriate mods for each, having a secondary weapon with built-in barrier stripping is extremely useful in a both the Master Nightmare Hunts and the Master Nightfall. Whether this retains usefulness after this season is a matter of speculation but for now I vow that it's a great addition to the sandbox. Using this in Crucible is a mixed bag with heavy damage but totally absurd recoil forcing you to reacquire each target that you strike once. But if you do manage to land two shots on someone, with at least one of them being a head shot, it's a two shot kill.

22. Truth

PvE - 3.5 * PvP - 10.0 * Gambit - 10.0 * Power Fantasy - 3.5 * Endgame - 7.5 * Fun Factor - 3.5

Total - 38.0/60.0

As the only rocket launcher in the game that has the original Destiny perk Grenades and Horseshoes, the truth is that there are no other rocket launchers better suited for PvP. This rocket flies fast and, even it's only near your enemy, it is going to detonate and kill them. Combine that with the three rocket magazine so you don't have to reload before taking another shot, and the Truth is far and away the best rocket launcher, if not the best heavy weapon, for the Crucible. In average PvE activities, despite its large magazine, it still doesn't measure up to the best heavy weapons in the game, even other legendary rocket launchers. However, in Gambit, this is the biggest fire and forget weapon in the game for invaders. Simply aim, hear the beeping, pull the trigger, and look for your next victim. It even provides a sizable chunk of DPS on the Primeval. Still, the exotic nature of this weapon is a bit questionable with only a single unique perk that used to be in Destiny one on standard launchers and basic tracking unlike the the corner-turning style of the original.

21. Sunshot

PvE - 6.5 * PvP - 9.0 * Gambit - 5.5 * Power Fantasy - 6.0 * Endgame - 5.0 * Fun Factor - 6.5

Total - 38.5/60.0

Does blowing up a bunch of enemies with a hand cannon sound like your cup of tea? Then look no further than the deadly and fluid Sunshot! During average PvE activities, this cleans out adds just about as well as any other weapon in the entire game and in fiery explosions to boot. Then I tried it out in PvP and I was speechless. Seriously, I was blown away when I took this into the Crucible after acquiring the catalyst. It has the least amount of recoil out of any 150 RPM hand cannon, it detonates on impact knocking people off their aim, and even highlights them so you can get an easier shot. That doesn't even take into account the random explosions that you get on a final blow which can seriously mess up any nearby guardians. I will certainly be taking this bad boy into the Survival playlist soon and my opponents' will be like, "Is that the Sun?" *Shot*... Oh God, that was bad, I'm sorry.