Greetings, Guardians! This is Librarian Husky, welcoming you to the new season with an updated exotic weapon tier guide, built around your feedback and last season’s testing. I’ve re-evaluated each weapon to provide the clearest insights on which exotics truly shine in the current meta, whether for PvE or PvP. Inside, you’ll find concise updates on new tiers, rankings, and standout additions, all crafted to help you make the most of your arsenal this season. Let’s dive in and uncover the best choices to power your journey to victory!

Re-Evaluation and Feedback

Taking into account feedback from last season, we re-evaluated weapons like Graviton Lance and Kastav based on their previous tiers. I’m pleased to share a change log reflecting adjustments from last season to this one. This season also introduces several new exotics, such as Choir and Alanm, along with Icebreaker, which we didn’t cover last season.

Change Log and Key Updates

Moving on to the change log for exotic weapons, I won’t list every adjustment, as some are minor or involve less popular exotics. Instead, I’ll highlight the most notable updates. Additionally, you’ll notice the introduction of a new G-tier, which functions similarly to the concept of origin traits, providing another layer of classification for these weapons.

Refining Tier Classifications

I aimed to make the upper tiers more precise and stringent in their requirements, which led me to split the F-tier into F and G tiers. G-tier now represents weapons suited only for PvP or those that have no real value in PvE. In contrast, F-tier may have some situational value, even if these weapons are niche or less effective compared to alternatives. This restructuring brings more clarity to the A and E tiers as well, while F now covers minimally beneficial PvE weapons, and G includes PvP-only or otherwise ineffective options.

Highlights from the Change Log

Next, let’s explore the change log, where I’ve noted key updates based on exotic weapons that players find significant. For example, the Arbalest has become overshadowed by Ariana’s V and Wish-Ender. Despite having niche uses, Arbalest’s charge time and overall damage profile aren’t competitive, even against Champions, due to recent nerfs. Meanwhile, the sandbox now offers better options with radiant and artifact mods, making special weapons more viable without occupying the exotic slot.

Notable Weapon Adjustments

Bad Juju received a notable boost to its explosion frequency, which warranted moving it up from E-tier to D-tier. Additionally, Bastion received some similar enhancements. This tier restructuring and these updates help ensure that each exotic is placed accurately according to its current viability in the game’s evolving sandbox.

Adjustments to Exotic Weapon Tiers

I realized I had overestimated the general usefulness of certain weapons in endgame content, especially following the recent +5 changes, which made them less common even in speedrunning. As a result, I moved it down two tiers to E-tier. Additionally, Buried Bloodline received a re-evaluation due to its universal devour access, which is advantageous on setups like Prismatic Titan. After the nerf to legendary rocket sidearms, this exotic rocket sidearm stands out with excellent ammo reserves, making it more viable.

Cloudstrike and Its Role

Cloudstrike was adjusted from B to C-tier. Initially, I overrated its overall damage potential. Although Cloudstrike is useful, it remains a sniper and therefore situational for general DPS, often outclassed by exotic heavies in regular endgame content. It’s better suited as a long-range, Day One option rather than a regular pick, and the change in tier better reflects that.

Evaluating Deterministic Chaos

Deterministic Chaos’s weaken-on-hit effect has become less significant with the availability of Wither and Gaze perks, which replicate its functionality on a range of legendary weapons, including non-heavy options. Given the prominence of Prismatic, which also offers weaken effects, and the consistent availability of artifact mods providing weaken effects each season, Deterministic Chaos has diminished value as a machine gun in endgame scenarios.

Reassessment of Dragon’s Breath

Dragon’s Breath is highly dependent on specific builds, yet delivers relatively modest effects. Even if you manage to achieve triple or quadruple ignitions with precise placement on a large boss, its damage output remains inconsistent and unimpressive. The reliance on ignitions for reloading also means that you must rely on other special weapons or abilities to trigger ignitions faster. Despite the effort, last season’s damage testing (unpublished) confirmed that the results were underwhelming.

Gallahorn’s Reduced Relevance

Once a top-tier exotic, Gallahorn has dropped in relevance. Previously rated as S-tier and later A-tier, it’s now been downgraded to B-tier. Gallahorn used to be highly versatile, effective in both ad-clearing and DPS for raid and dungeon bosses. Currently, in ad-clearing metas, Prismatic options have taken precedence, and for damage output, players lean more toward heavy GLs. The 26.4% damage bonus it offers is mainly relevant in six-player content, so Gallahorn no longer stands as a game-changer in today’s meta.

Graviton Lance Re-Evaluation

Graviton Lance has received a tier upgrade, reflecting its improved viability and effectiveness in current content. This re-evaluation is part of a broader set of adjustments that align the weapon’s tier placement more accurately with its current utility and player demand.

Graviton Lance Tier Adjustment

Initially, placing Graviton Lance in C-tier seemed too low, especially given the feedback that putting it two tiers below Sunshot felt excessive. Sunshot remains superior in endgame content due to factors like hand cannons’ damage profile, engagement range, explosive payload, and weapon stagger. Sunshot offers a more consistent experience, but the two-tier gap felt too large. Consequently, I raised Graviton Lance by one tier to better reflect its utility.

Kastav’s Role in Endgame Content

The exotic weapon Kastav, a kinetic option with an on-hit ad-clear capability, performs similarly to Graviton in its category. To better evaluate these exotics, I tested them in a master lost sector, where Kastav proved to be fairly effective. In endgame settings, on-hit weapons like Kastav are preferred over on-kill alternatives. However, Kastav does require a more committed playstyle, which may limit its flexibility.

Kastav’s Tier and Comparison to Other Exotics

Kastav requires a strong commitment to maximize its effectiveness, yet this should not be overly criticized, especially compared to more situational exotics like Hierarchy of Needs. It remains a solid kinetic, on-hit ad-clear option, earning its place in B-tier alongside Graviton Lance. Both weapons provide viable options for endgame content, with a similar balance of pros and cons in terms of utility and consistency.

Legend of Acrius Re-Evaluation

Last season, Legend of Acrius was slightly overrated, mainly due to its niche use in melee-focused scenarios. Although Acrius boasts high DPS with techniques like reload-shot canceling, there are other exotics better suited for melee damage situations. Its overall utility is somewhat limited, similar to Cloudstrike, and thus its B-tier rating has been reassessed accordingly.

Leviathan’s Breath Tier Jump

Leviathan’s Breath has moved up two tiers, from D to B-tier, for two main reasons. First, it received an increase in ammo reserves from 15 to 18 shots. Second, unlike many exotics, it achieves maximum total damage without needing multiple reserve mods. With zero reserve mods, it holds 16 shots; with one void reserve mod, it reaches 18 shots, making it highly efficient in terms of damage output compared to other exotic weapons in challenging endgame content.

Reserve Mod Efficiency in Endgame Content

For optimal performance in endgame content, it’s ideal to use only one reserve mod, allowing room for resist mods. This ensures a balance between damage capacity and survivability, especially in challenging encounters where resist mods can be crucial.

Tier Drop for Lumina and Edge of Action

Lumina and Edge of Action both dropped one tier, mainly due to the overshadowing effect of other exotics like No Hesitation. While Lumina remains useful in specific scenarios, such as providing a 35% buff in dungeons where Well or Radiant are unavailable, it is no longer as essential as the weapons in B-tier. Similarly, Edge of Action’s functionality is outclassed, leading to its tier adjustment.

Impact of the Lucky Pants Nerf on Malin

Malin dropped two tiers, largely due to the nerf to Lucky Pants, which affected its DPS effectiveness, even against Taken enemies. When calculating Lucky Pants effectiveness, I mistakenly accounted for Vorpal on high RPM hand cannons, slightly skewing my initial estimate. Although Malin remains competitive, it lags behind options like Warden’s Law with Vorpal. This, combined with the presence of other improved exotic hand cannons, justifies Malin’s placement in E-tier.

Upcoming Discussion: Merciless

Next in the list is Merciless, which will be examined for its place in the current tier system. This section will cover Merciless’s performance and potential adjustments based on its effectiveness and utility.

Merciless Tier Adjustment

Merciless is now considered an extremely niche option. For mid-range exotic special weapons with strong burst damage, Choir now outshines Merciless, even after Choir’s nerf. Merciless has dropped two tiers as a result, as its use cases have become very limited. Even if Choir didn’t exist, Merciless would still be an exceptionally niche weapon due to its situational nature.

Necrochasm’s Re-Evaluation

Necrochasm’s previous low ranking was re-evaluated after testing in master lost sectors and community discussions. While it doesn’t perform as consistently in endgame content as options like Graviton or Kastav, it’s more effective than initially assessed. Although its auto rifle archetype struggles with precision kills at longer ranges, Necrochasm’s exotic perk, “One for Thrall,” provides solid splash damage, making it valuable even in high-level content. This season, C-tier seems a more suitable placement.

Outbreak’s Tier Increase

Outbreak also received an upgrade this season, moving up one tier. Last season’s damage testing demonstrated its effectiveness, reinforcing its viability in various content. This re-assessment reflects Outbreak’s strong performance and adaptability, justifying its higher tier ranking.

Outbreak’s Performance and Tier Increase

Outbreak demonstrated impressive super and Transcendence generation, along with solid DPS, even in solo play, making it competitive with other DPS options like Thunderlord. For Day One activities, Outbreak provides a reliable way to contribute DPS without consuming heavy ammo. While its ad-clear potential is often overrated, its utility and DPS capacity have proven valuable, prompting an increase in tier this season.

Parasite’s Versatility and Tier Upgrade

Parasite has moved up one tier due to its versatility, embodying the qualities of an A-tier exotic. It performs well with holsters, supports ability-based builds, and excels in both DPS and high-end content. After impressive performance in the last Day One contest, Parasite has shown its utility across various scenarios, making it a standout option this season.

Challenges with Red Death Reformed

Red Death Reformed lacks splash damage, which is often essential for an exotic special weapon. Its sustain-focused abilities feel redundant, given the sustain available from legendary perks and subclass abilities like Buried Bloodline. Consequently, Red Death Reformed does not meet the typical expectations for an effective exotic primary.

Red Death Reformed’s Tier Adjustment

Currently, the meta favors splash-damage weapons over single-target sustain options, which led to Red Death Reformed’s demotion by two tiers. Even weapons in E-tier have more relevance in endgame PvE, whereas Red Death Reformed lacks the impactful presence necessary for high-level content.

Silhunt’s Significant Drop in Relevance

Silhunt has dropped three tiers from S to C-tier due to two main factors. First, it received a significant nerf with Celestial Nighthawk, which greatly reduced its effectiveness. Second, the current meta has shifted toward exotic-heavy weapons for both casual endgame play and precise speedrunning damage rotations, favoring consistent heavy DPS output over single-shot bursts. Silhunt, now resembling a one-time burst weapon like Fourth Horseman, lacks reliable ways to refresh its full damage output and is hindered by a long reloading process.

Loss of Silhunt’s Niche Role

Previously, Silhunt maintained a niche by delivering mathematically worthwhile bursts with its 90 RPM shots, justified by the high payoff from the Nighthawk-enhanced shot. However, in today’s meta, this sustained shot strategy is less appealing, especially as Warlocks and Titans now have more competitive options, resulting in a diminished role for Silhunt in most scenarios.

Silhunt’s Position on Warlock, Titan, and Hunter

While Silhunt wasn’t nerfed for Warlocks and Titans, it’s nearly ineffective for these classes. Even on Hunters, it’s niche due to its mechanics; using Silhunt requires dedicating time to landing shots with a 90 RPM sniper, taking focus away from powerful heavy weapons. In a season where strong exotic and legendary heavies, such as Chill Inhibitor and Better Suite, are prevalent, Silhunt’s situational role becomes even more awkward.

Silhunt’s Limited Burst and DPS Comparison

Silhunt offers range burst damage higher than Izanagi’s Burden (Izzy) but lacks Izzy’s ability to refresh effectively, meaning it also prevents the use of exotic heavy weapons for both burst and sustained damage. When compared to similar niche weapons like Cloudstrike, Silhunt stands on par in terms of DPS, with Cloudstrike slightly surpassing it in total damage. Moreover, achieving comparable results with Silhunt and Celestial Nighthawk demands significantly more effort, making its utility in endgame content increasingly limited.

Silhunt and Cloudstrike: Comparable Niche Roles

Silhunt and Cloudstrike have reached a similar level of niche utility. The balancing approach for Silhunt, where one spends significant time using a 90 RPM sniper, is less effective in most current content outside of rare speedrunning scenarios. This post-nerf setup makes Silhunt less practical for regular endgame use.

Fourth Horseman Tier Reduction

Fourth Horseman has been moved down from B to C-tier, primarily due to the release of Choir of One, which fulfills many of the same roles without the severe ammo and reload challenges that Fourth Horseman faces. Choir of One’s efficient reload and manageable ammo economy make it a stronger alternative in most PvE scenarios.

The Last Word’s PvE Buff and Tier Increase

The Last Word moved up from F to E-tier following an unintentional but impactful PvE buff last season. While Malfeasance remains a superior choice for neutral gameplay due to intrinsic Unstoppable and extra damage against Taken, The Last Word now has potential in damage rotations with Lucky Pants. This improvement makes it a viable option, hence its promotion to E-tier.

The Navigator’s Tier Adjustment

The Navigator has been adjusted from A to B-tier, reflecting its current standing in the exotic meta. This reclassification better aligns it with its performance and utility compared to other exotics in similar roles.

The Navigator’s Reduced Relevance

The Navigator has become less relevant since the nerfs to grapple melee damage, which has made players rely on it less frequently. While it’s still useful for providing woven mail to teammates or applying Sever effects on bosses, its use remains niche. B-tier is appropriate given the overall quality of exotics in this category, as The Navigator doesn’t quite match the impact of A-tier exotics this season.

Prospector’s Damage Rework

Prospector received a significant damage profile rework. In recent testing, it demonstrated DPS comparable to Acrius but with notably lower total damage. For a user-friendly weapon, this level of DPS is valuable, so Prospector has been placed in C-tier as an accessible damage option. It outperforms exotics like Microcosm and Thunderlord in ease of use and reliability.

Wardcliff Coil’s Speedrunning Utility

Wardcliff Coil has received a tier increase due to its effectiveness in speedrunning, particularly for boss encounters like Riven. It’s widely regarded as one of the best speedrun damage weapons, making it popular among players, even outside of speedrunning contexts on classes like Warlock. This boosted utility justified a bump up one tier.

Tractor Cannon’s Tier Demotion

Tractor Cannon has been moved down from S to A-tier. While still powerful, it no longer holds the same top-tier value as other S-tier options, given shifts in the meta and the emergence of alternative options in the current season.

Tractor Cannon’s Reduced Importance

The 30% debuff from Tractor Cannon no longer defines the meta as it once did, primarily due to the widespread availability of weaken effects across various abilities and weapons. With potent damage options now readily accessible, having a dedicated Tractor Cannon user has become less crucial, especially in content involving fewer than six players. Since six-man content is only a small part of the endgame, Tractor Cannon’s role has diminished. Additionally, in solo play, it’s less common for grapple melee setups, leading to its demotion in priority.

Witherhoard’s Fall from Relevance

Witherhoard has dropped significantly in value, now residing in F-tier. The release of Law Signal has essentially replaced Witherhoard, removing any compelling reason to use it in most scenarios. While it can still be used to stick bosses for Envious Arsenal swaps, this is generally more out of convenience than effectiveness, as superior options are available.

Introduction of New Exotics

Finally, there are three new exotics entering the tier list. First, we have Athim Lethim, which presents unique mechanics that could warrant a higher placement depending on future updates. If Bungie does not patch the ability to farm ammo from immune targets, Athim Lethim may retain this distinctive advantage, though its exact placement remains flexible as the meta evolves.

Athim Lethim’s Placement and Potential

Athim Lethim currently sits in C-tier, as its ammo-farming mechanic, while unique, isn’t particularly impactful in most endgame scenarios. Although it offers some novelty, its utility is situational, likely beneficial only in contest mode or specific Master challenges. It does, however, offer a useful vertical movement boost, acting like a primary ammo Mountain Top for speedrunning scenarios. If Bungie doesn’t patch the immune-sticking mechanic, it could be reconsidered for B-tier, but for now, C-tier seems appropriate.

Choir of One’s Versatility and Efficiency

Even after its recent nerf, Choir of One remains effective for burst damage against major enemies in content like Grandmaster Nightfalls. It’s still viable in some speedrunning situations and boasts impressive ammo efficiency, especially compared to alternatives like Fourth Horseman. With access to exotic Catalyst perks, Choir of One continues to be a versatile choice, offering both utility and decent ammo economy for various PvE content.

Choir of One’s Ammo Efficiency

Choir of One manages well with its 200 ammo reserves, making it viable in various content without needing additional reserves. Although I initially overestimated the impact of the reserve nerf, it remains effective and decent across multiple scenarios. It’s not meta-defining but earns its place in A-tier for its reliability and utility.

Icebreaker’s Potential and Current Limitations

The final new exotic, Icebreaker, has gained popularity for its synergy with stasis builds. However, for optimal endgame play, it feels somewhat gimmicky and lacks general strength. I’m currently testing its potential as a swap weapon in damage rotations due to its unique 49 RPM and large magazine size. Although interesting, it hasn’t yet proven itself worthy of C-tier alongside options like Acrius and Lumina, so it sits in D-tier for now.

The Absence of an S-Tier Exotic This Season

Notably, there is no S-tier exotic this season, reflecting a shift in the meta. This decision emphasizes the current balance across exotics, where no single weapon dominates the endgame landscape. This observation highlights a broader variety of viable choices without an overwhelming standout option.

The Lack of Meta-Defining Exotic Weapons

Currently, there are no exotic weapons that fundamentally shape or define the meta. Many exotics now serve as support tools, enhancing DPS or complementing specific class builds, but none reach the central role of something like Year Five Gjallarhorn. In Year Five, Gjallarhorn was so powerful that entire strategies for ad clear, boss damage, and even Day One activities were built around it. Today’s exotic weapons, while effective, don’t occupy such a core position in gameplay.

Assessment of A-Tier Exotics

In A-tier, we have six strong candidates, but none are quite meta-defining. Buried Bloodline, for example, is a useful addition to certain builds but doesn’t independently shape the meta. Choir of One is a versatile special weapon, Argo is effective for ad clear and boss damage but lacks the overall impact, and Parasite provides a solid DPS boost but doesn’t feel essential to high-level play in the way Year Five Gjallarhorn did. This diversity reflects a balance where exotics complement, rather than dictate, endgame strategies.

No Meta-Leading Exotic Weapon

At this point, I believe there’s no exotic weapon currently shaping or leading the meta in a specific direction. Instead, exotics are designed to enhance the existing meta or to serve as minor improvements to builds. Each exotic adds value without redefining the core gameplay, simply aligning with established strategies or offering supplemental benefits.

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