In Destiny 2's Crucible PvP mode, using the right Exotic weapons can go a long way towards playing well. Players can bring Exotic weapons into competitive mode, but not all Exotics are created equal. This guide was compiled by looking at all types of Exotic weapons in Destiny 2 in the Kinetic, Energy, and Power classes. Since an Exotic weapon's stat roll can drastically affect its performance, we've also included a few finalists where we felt deserved some credit. Try these exotic species in the Crucible and prosper.
PvP Exotic Kinetic Weapons
Automatic rifle: Cerberus + 1 (4.1 / 5)
- Intrinsic Exotic: Four-Headed Dog – Fires erratic bullets from all gun barrels at once.
- Exotic character: Spread-Shot Pack – Aiming this weapon reduces the spread of its projectiles.
Automatic rifle: SUROS regime (4/5) – Mention honorable
- Intrinsic Exotic: SUROS Legacy – The bottom half of each magazine deals bonus damage and has a chance to recover health on kill.
- Exotic character: Spin - Holding down the trigger increases the rate of fire.
Combat bow: Wish-Ender (4.2/5)
- Intrinsic Exotic: Queen's Wrath – While aiming down sights with a fully drawn bow, enemies behind walls are highlighted.
- Legendary trait: Broadhead – Piercing arrowhead that damages the target on entry and exit. A shot can overpenetrate several targets.
Hand cannon: The Last Word (4.9/5)
- Intrinsic Exotic: Fire Fan – This weapon can be fired rapidly and continuously. Faster reload and increased accuracy on successive damage from hip shots.
- Legendary trait: Hip-Fire Grip – Ergonomic grips that increase accuracy and stability when firing from the hip.
Hand Cannon: Ace of Spades (4.8/5) – Mention honorable
- Basic intrinsic: Memento Mori – Reloading after a magazine kill charges with some extra bullets. Grants radar while aiming sights.
- Legendary trait: Firefly – Precision kills with this weapon increase reload speed and cause the target to explode, dealing Solar damage to nearby enemies.
Linear Fusion Rifle: Arbalest (4.1 / 5)
- Basic intrinsic: Compounding Force – Fires slugs that cause massive damage to enemy combatants' elemental shields.
- Legendary trait: Disruption Break – Breaking an enemy's shield with this weapon makes them more vulnerable to kinetic damage for a short time.
- Note: The Arbalest is currently the only linear fusion rifle in the game that uses special ammo instead of heavy.
Pulse Rifle: Vigilance Wing (4.5/5) – Season 9
- Intrinsic Exotic: Harsh Truths – This weapon fires a 5 round burst. When a nearby ally is killed, gain health regeneration and increased movement speed.
- Legendary trait: Last Stand – Improved weapon performance and greatly increased recovery when the wielder is the last living member of a fireteam.
Pulse Rifle: Outbreak Perfected (4.1/5) – Mention honorable
- Basic intrinsic: Corruption Spreads – This weapon creates swarms of SIVA nanites on fast hits and precision shots.
- Legendary trait: Parasitism – This weapon deals more damage to enemies based on the number of SIVA Nanites attached to it.
Scout Rifle: MIDA Multi-Tool (5/5)
- Intrinsic Exotic: MIDA Multi-Tool – This weapon increases movement speed.
- Legendary trait: MIDA Radar – Radar remains active while aiming down sights.
- Note: When equipped with the MIDA Mini-Tool, a Legendary Solar SMG, a “MIDA Synergy” creates greater speed advantages.
Shotgun: The Chaperone (4.8 / 5)
- Basic intrinsic: Precision Slug – Fires a single slug precision bullet.
- Exotic character: The Roadborn – Precision kill briefly grants handling, range, and accuracy bonuses with this weapon.
Pictured: Vigilance Wing, Kinetic Pulse Rifle, Season 9
PvP Exotic Energy Weapons
Combat Arc: The Monarch – Void (4.3/5)
- Intrinsic Exotic: Poison Arrows – Arrows fired quickly after a full draw become Poison Arrows. Precision hits with poison arrows spread poison to nearby enemies.
- Legendary trait: Instant Sights – Faster time to aim down sights.
Combat Bow: Trinity Ghoul - Bow (4/5) – Mention honorable
- Basic intrinsic: Split Electron – Fires an arrow that splits when released. Aiming down sights and fully firing the bow decreases spread.
- Exotic character: Lightning Rod – Precision attacks grant the next shot chain lightning abilities.
Fusion Rifle: Telesto – Void (5/5)
- Intrinsic Exotic: Unforeseen Reprieve – Fusion projectiles attach and detonate with a delayed Void blast.
- Exotic character: Harbinger's Pulse - Multikills with this weapon immediately reload your equipped Kinetic and Energy weapons from reserves.
Fusion Rifle: Jötunn – Solar (4.8/5) – Mention honorable
- Intrinsic Exotic: Charge Shot – Hold the trigger to charge a follow-up shot that explodes and burns on impact.
- Legendary trait: Disorienting Shield – An equal energy shield explosion disorients nearby combatants.
Grenade Launcher: Fighting Lion – Void (4.7/5)
- Intrinsic Exotic: Delayed Gratification – Grenade projectiles will bounce off surfaces. Hold to shoot and release to detonate.
- Legendary trait: Thin the Herd – Direct hits do more damage to enemy shields. Quick shots against enemies damaged by a grenade fill the magazine. Kills always drop primary ammo.
- Note: This weapon has a bit of a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, you'll appreciate that all it takes to blast your opponents off the dash is a bit of primary ammo (no special ammo or power) and some measured Hourly.
Hand Cannon: Eriana's Vow - Solar (4/5)
- Basic intrinsic: Looks Can Kill – This weapon fires special Shield Piercing ammo. It comes with a scope. Strong against Barrier Champions.
- Legendary trait: Death at First Glance – Damage bonus when aiming down sights on the opening hit of an attack. This bonus is retained if the shot inflicts precision damage or hits an elemental shield.
- Note: Takes special ammo (not primary).
Scout Rifle: Symmetry – Arc (4.2/5) – Season 9
- Basic intrinsic: Revolution – This weapon fires in full automatic mode. Hold recharge to enter Arc Seeker mode. Arc Seekers move towards enemies you target.
- Legendary trait: Dynamic Charge – Precision hits accumulate Dynamic Charge. Switching to Arc Seeker mode increases damage and partially reloads the magazine based on the number of charges.
Sidearm: Devil's Ruin - Solar (4.2/5) – Season 9
- Basic intrinsic: Close the Gap – Variable trigger. Press and release to fire individual shots. Hold it down to recharge a high-powered stagger laser. Strong vs Unstoppable
- Legendary trait: Pyrogenesis – Full charge of the laser fills the magazine with reserves.
Trace Rifle: Coldheart - Bow (4/5)
- Intrinsic Exotic: Cold Fusion – This weapon fires a steady cold fusion powered laser.
- Legendary trait: Longest Winter – Coldheart's laser deals exponential damage the longer it stays on a target.
Trace Rifle: Wavesplitter – Void (4/5) – Mention honorable
- Basic intrinsic: Harmonic Laser – Laser damage has three power levels that oscillate when the trigger is held down.
- Legendary Battery: Supercharged Battery – Collecting an Orb of Light grants a short period of maximum power that begins with an auto-recharge.
Sur la photo: Devil’s Ruin, Solar Sidearm, Saison 9
PvP Exotic Power Weapons
Fusil à fusion: One Thousand Voices – Solar (4.7 / 5)
- Basic intrinsic: Eye of Ahamkara – Charging this weapon triggers a giant continuous death ray.
- Exotic character: Unintended Repercussions – This weapon's beam overheats its targets on impact, causing delayed explosions.
Grenade Launcher: The Colony – Void (4.7/5)
- Intrinsic Exotic: Insectoid Robot Grenades – The grenades in this weapon are insectoid robots that chase targets and explode near them.
- Exotic character: Serve the Colony – Robotic Insectoid Grenades quickly restock the Supply Store while the Colony is unequipped.
Linear Fusion Rifle: The Queenbreaker – Arc (4.2/5)
- Basic intrinsic: Wire Rifle – Fires a long-range precision arc bolt that blinds enemies on hit.
- Legendary trait: Hip-Fire Grip – Ergonomic grips that increase accuracy and stability when firing from the hip.
Linear Fusion Rifle: Sleeper simulating – Solar (4/5) – Honorable Mention
- Intrinsic Exotic: Dornröschen – The weapon's laser over-penetrates enemies and refracts on hard surfaces.
- Legendary trait: Moving Target – Increased movement speed and target acquisition when moving while aiming down sights.
Submachine gun: thunder lord – Arc (4.7 / 5)
- Intrinsic Exotic: Reign Havoc – Kills with this weapon generate lightning strikes from above.
- Legendary trait: Feeding Frenzy – Kills with this weapon increase reload speed for a short time.
Rocket Launcher: le Wardcliff Coils – Arc (5/5)
- Intrinsic Exotic: Mad Scientist – This weapon fires a volley of rockets.
- Legendary trait: Mechanized Autoloader – This weapon automatically reloads when picking up ammo.
Rocket Launcher: deathbringer – Empty (4.5 / 5)
- Intrinsic Exotic: Dark Deliverance – Fires ranged projectiles that detonate Void Orbs at enemies. Hold to shoot, release to detonate.
- Legendary trait: Dark Descent – The more an empty orb falls, the more powerful its detonation becomes.
Rocket Launcher: Truth – Empty (4.5 / 5)
- Intrinsic Exotic: Trueseeker Prototype – The rockets in this weapon have tracking. Lock on targets when aiming down sights.
- Legendary trait: Grenades and Horseshoes – Projectiles explode when in close proximity to their targets.
Shotgun: Legend de Acrius – Arc (5/5)
- Intrinsic Exotic: Shock Blast – This weapon fires high damage arcing energy blasts that excessively penetrate enemies.
- Legendary trait: Long March – Detect enemies on your radar from further away.
Shotgun: Tractor Canon – Void (4.5/5) – Honorable Mention
- Intrinsic Exotic: Repulsor Force – This weapon emits a powerful pulse that knocks enemies back, suppressing their abilities and making them more vulnerable to all incoming damage.
- Legendary trait: The Scientific Method – Damaging an opponent temporarily increases speed and maneuverability.
Sword: Worldline Zero – Arc (5/5)
- Intrinsic Exotic: Tesseract – While sprinting, press the designated button to perform an AoE attack. After sprinting and then jumping, press the designated button while airborne to teleport forward.
- Legendary trait: Tireless Blade – Sword ammo granted for every other powered sword kill.
Although the weapons on this list are widely considered by the community to be the best Exotic weapons for PvP in Destiny 2, having the correct roll on each weapon is a huge help. You can check your own weapon rolls and even compare stat-stat weapons on light.gg. You can also check out our list of the best legendary weapons to date for Crucible here.
