If you’re trying to brave the Lightfall campaign, dive into Season of Defiance, or try your hand at the Lightfall raid, odds are you’re gonna need some Exotic weapons. Having one of those shiny weapons can be a huge help, whether you’re looking for a specific effect (such as an anti-Champion mod) or just want a Primary that deals extra damage to red bars.
With Lightfall, Bungie is overhauling buildcrafting and changing some weapon classes. Legendary linear fusion rifles, for instance, are taking a hit, while some machine guns will see a buff to damage and reserves and Heavy grenade launchers will see a bump in damage.
Between the changes and general utility, players should chase a few Exotic weapons before Lightfall to make sure they’re geared up. Here are some of the best Exotics to have in your arsenal before Lightfall drops, listed in no particular order. This list takes into account some of the buffs and nerfs slated for the expansion, as well as useful weapons to have going into Lightfall.
Best Exotic weapons to have before Lightfall
Wish-Ender
Since the wave of buffs, Wish-Ender has gotten a ton of firepower and intrinsic Anti-Barrier capabilities, which was more than enough to earn it a spot in some guardians’ loadouts even in higher-level content. After Lightfall, though, this deadly Exotic could get even better. Bungie is buffing the damage of Kinetic weapons across the board, with Primary weapons dealing an extra 10 percent damage against all targets (instead of the five percent against unshielded enemies).
Even if the buff doesn’t apply to Wish-Ender, though, this Exotic can still one-shot Barrier Champion shields in higher-level content in the pre-Lightfall sandbox, and it will continue to be an unstoppable force in the next expansion.
Leviathan’s Breath
Leviathan’s Breath has seen a few buffs throughout the past years, which have tuned it from a mostly niche Exotic into a solid weapon thanks to the improved Archer’s Tempo from its catalyst. With Lightfall, though, Leviathan’s Breath will get a base boost to damage, additional damage against Champions, and apply Volatile on perfectly drawn arrows. It’s a lot of bonus firepower for a weapon that already had some good firepower in the first place and its built-in Unstoppable doesn’t hurt its case either.
Osteo Striga or Huckleberry
Osteo Striga brings some tremendous add clear capacity thanks to its poison and a hefty magazine, while the Huckleberry allows players to shoot it without firing and even gives it an overturned version of Rampage. Pair their deadly potential with the buff to Kinetic weapons and the intrinsic 40-percent buff against red-bar enemies they get from being Exotics, and they might just take up your Exotic slot for good.
One Thousand Voices
It’s about time the Last Wish Exotic got some use again outside of its short (and almost miraculous) relevance in the meta during Season of the Lost, aided by the Particle Deconstruction mod. With Lightfall, though, the weapon will scorch targets and should trigger an Ignition with a full burst if you have Ember of Ashes equipped, according to Bungie. Between the nerfs to Legendary linear fusion rifles and its buffs, One Thousand Voices could climb up in viability in Lightfall. Just remember that it can (and will) blow you up if the enemy is too close, or if a guardian jumps in front of you.
Arbalest
Arbalest has been one of the undisputed best Exotics in Destiny 2 since it received intrinsic Anti-Barrier capabilities. Even though Match Game is going away with Lightfall, Arbalest will still continue to crack shields and Barrier Champions easily—especially if it gets the upcoming Kinetic buff to 15 percent more damage to Special weapons.
Witherhoard
Much like Wish-Ender and Arbalest, Witherhoard is easily one of the most useful and most popular Exotics in Destiny 2. Though Bungie has reined in its power a bit by reducing the duration of its Taken Blight pool, this Exotic continues to be invaluable even in higher-level content. The extra Kinetic damage it gets is just icing on the cake.
Two-Tailed Fox
Two-Tailed Fox is a promising choice for Lightfall. The cut to Legendary linear fusion rifles means other viable damage options will have to emerge, but Bungie will make it into “the only weapon that can apply subclass verbs from multiple damage types without extra steps.” Solar rockets will apply Scorch, the Void rocket will continue to apply Suppression, and Bungie also teased a catalyst that will add some Arc synergy, potentially with Jolt thrown in the mix.
Izanagi’s Burden
Izanagi’s hits like a Heavy weapon and burns through your Special ammo more quickly than you can say “Honed Edge x4.” This weapon continues to be a staple of high-damage rotations, especially when paired with Heavy weapons that bring Auto-Loading Holster, and odds are it’ll continue to be almost a household name in Lightfall, Kinetic buff or not.
Gjallarhorn
With the nerf to Legendary linear fusion rifles in Lightfall, players will gravitate toward other options, and rockets may be at the top of that list. Gjallarhorn boosts rocket launcher damage through its Wolfpack Rounds, so anything that boosts rocket launchers also benefits Gjallarhorn. This historic rocket launcher is also a solid weapon for any task. It’s not mandatory like it was in the Destiny days, but you can’t really go wrong with it either.
Sleeper Simulant
Heavy linear fusion rifles will escape the nerf hammer in Lightfall, so Sleeper will look more valuable in comparison, especially with its catalyst. It’s a familiar weapon for most players and hits decently hard, even if it takes a good deal of farming to get its catalyst ready to go. Depending on how the post-Lightfall DPS sandbox turns out, having Sleeper Simulant in your back pocket may not be a bad idea.
Grand Overture and Thunderlord
The machine gun meta could rise even more with Grand Overture and Thunderlord. With buffs to damage and reserves looming over Thunderlord and a possible damage bump on the horizon for Grand Overture, these weapons will have even more room to shine in Lightfall.
Merciless
Merciless may be last on the list, but it’s definitely not the least. This fusion rifle skyrocketed to the top of damage charts thanks to an unanticipated buff, which makes it fire extremely quickly and pack a shockingly deadly punch. It will burn through your ammo and doesn’t have too much range, but if you can set it up properly, Merciless is a great weapon to have without sacrificing your Heavy slot. Its caveats are ammo consumption and optimal range, but its benefits are certainly worth a consideration.
