Best Exotic Weapons To Get For The Witch Queen in Destiny 2
Bungie announced some of their champion mods last week, and that gives us a good idea of what weapons are going to be good in Season 16 when Witch Queen drops. Today I’m going to into some of the best exotic weapons to get to match these champion mods, and how to get them, so you can be best prepared for Witch Queen coming in February 2022.
Next season we’ve got a few changes coming to champion mods with Scout Rifles, Bows, and Submachine Guns coming into focus. We are likely to have more to go along with that, so expect another update in the future. Therefore I’ve picked out ten exotic weapons that will be very good next season with those champion mods in mind, plus some generally strong exotic weapons right now.
Let me know in the comments what Exotic weapons you are going to be using in Witch Queen, and which ones are you still hunting down?
Without further delay, let’s dive into the list.
Polaris Lance (Scout Rifle)
This is an Exotic Energy Scout Rifle that deals with solar damage. Looking at the perks we have
The Perfect Fifth – Precision hits return ammo to the mag. Landing 4 precision hits loads a delayed solar explosive round for your nxt shot.
Zen Moment – Causing damage with this weapon increases the stability.
Next season we have Anti-Barrier Scouts, so this is going to be very useful for Nightfalls and other endgame PVE content.
You can get this from the Exotic Kiosk in the Tower.
Huckleberry (Submachine Gun)
The Huckleberry is an Exotic Kinetic Submachine Gun. Checking out the perks we have
Ride the Bull – Increased rate of fire and recoil when you’re holding down the trigger. Kills with the weapon reload a portion of the magazine.
Rampage – Kills grant increased damage which stacks up to 3 times.
Submachine guns are going to get some time in the sun for Witch Queen, and Huckleberry has to be one of the most fun submachine guns out there.
You can get this one from Xur when he’s selling it. Or do Nightfalls, or find exotic engrams, plus you can buy the exotic engram from Xur too.
Witherhoard (Grenade Launcher)
This one comes with Primevals Torment – Projectiles fired by this weapon light the target or nearby area on impact. It also comes with Break the Bank – Blighted Targets take more damage over time and blight the nearby area on death.
Witherhoard is a 90 rpm grenade launcher and holds 6 shots, but can only be shot one at a time. It’s got impact stats of 60, stability of 67, and handling of 53. This is a pretty unique gun. Rather than shooting bullets, or regular grenades, this shoots out blights that damage over time and this can be used in one of two ways. You can either shoot directly at the target for maximum damage, or you can shoot next to the enemy to cause partial damage or essentially create a trap that sits on the floor damaging over time.
You can get this one from the Monuments to Lost Lights Exotic Kiosk in the Tower.
Risk Runner (Submachine Gun)
Risk Runner is good if you’re going to be going up against tanky enemies offering up Arc Damage, as the intrinsic perk on Risk Runner is Arc Conductor. When taking Arc Damage the weapon becomes more powerful and resists incoming Arc Damage. Kills extend the time in this overcharged state. It also has a perk called Super Conductor, when Arc Conductor is active shots fired have the chance the become chain lightning and return ammo. Risk Runner is a pretty underrated Exotic Weapon. That may be because it’s been with us since day one, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less effective than others. Definitely recommend giving this one a shot!
You can get this weapon from the New Light quest. This is also a free-to-play exotic, and you don’t need any DLC to access this one.
Ticcu’s Dvination (Bow)
Ticuu’s Divination is an Exotic Energy Combat Bow with some very interesting perks.
Sacred Flame – Hipfiring this weapon fires multiple tracking projectiles. Targets marked by these projectiles explode upon death, or when struck by another Sacred Flame’s explosion.
Causality Arrows – Arrows fired while aiming down sights cause Sacred Flames to instantly detonate. Precision hits with perfectly drawn arrows increase the power of this detonation.
In terms of stats, it has Impact 68, Accuracy 52, Stability 57, Handling 69, Reload Speed 64, and Draw Time 612. As well as the main perks it comes with Tactile String which slightly increases stability and also Straight Fletching which increases accuracy.
This was the seasonal exotic from Season of the Chosen, but you can pick it up in the Tower in the Exotic Kiosk next to your vault.
Dead Man’s Tale (Scout Rifle)
Dead Man’s Tale is an Exotic Kinetic Scout Rifle. Checking out the perks we have:
Cranial Spike – Chaining precision hits grants bonus damage and quickens reload speed.
This is another Exotic weapon that’s going to have random rolls. Good PVE rolls include Vorpal Weapon and Outlaw. For PVP Snapshot Sights and Moving Target. This Scout Rifle is one of the best feelings in the game. I can’t tell you how good it feels and also how good it sounds.
You can get this one from the Presgae mission, but that is going away with Witch Queen. After that, you should be able to get it from the Exotic Kiosk in the Tower.
Trinity Ghoul (Bow)
Trinity Ghoul was introduced during Forsaken back in Season 4 of Destiny 2. The idea was good, but given it was a bow it never really felt powerful in your hands. Now, with this new catalyst, it’s gone from a bang-average weapon into one of the best weapons in the game.
Let’s check out the perks on the Combat Bow.
Split Electron – Fires an arrow that splits when released. Aiming down sights and fully drawing the bow both decrease the spread.
Lightning Rod – Precision kills grant the next shot chain-lightning capabilities.
To get Trinity Ghoul it’s a random world drop exotic, so finding them out there in the wild, grinding nightfalls, and making sure you check Xur each Friday to see if he’s selling it or not. At the time of creating this guide, you do need the Forsaken Expansion to get this bow.
To get the catalyst you’ll want to complete strikes and it’s dropping at random. This one dropped for me on the strike in the opening mission of Season of Arrivals and it seems like a common drop, so the best thing to do is run through some strikes and see if you can get it.
Vex Mythoclast (Fusion Rifle)
Vex Mythoclast is an Exotic Energy Fusion Rifle. This one comes with the perks
Timeless Mythoclast – This weapon fires full auto when in its default firing mode.
Temporal Unlimiter – Defeating targets builds stacks of Overcharge.
[Alternate Weapon Action] : Swap firing modes when fully Overcharged.
In alternative firing mode, hold the trigger to charge up and fire more powerful linear fusion shots.
The Vex Mythoclast is unique amongst fusion rifles. Instead of charging up a rapid burst of bolts, the Vex Mythoclast fires in full auto. Additionally, it is capable of switching between its auto rifle mode to a linear fusion rifle mode. Kills overcharge the weapon, up to a maximum of six, to which it can switch to its linear fusion rifle mode. Different enemy tiers provide differing charge levels.
To get Vex Mythoclast, it’s a random drop from the Atheon encounter in the Vault of Glass raid. Takedown Atheon at the end of the raid and there’s approximately 5% chance of getting the weapon to drop for you. Personally, it took me 29 completions of the Vault of Glass raid to get the weapon to drop. You don’t have to run the whole raid, it’s only tied to the final boss encounter, so you can keep an eye out on LFG websites for the Atheon encounter.
Arbalest (Linear Fusion Rifle)
This one is going to be essential for Nightfall content next season.
Arbalest is an Exotic Kinetic Linear Fusion Rifle. Looking at the stats we have Impact 42, Range 42, Stability 55, Handling 32, Reload Speed 35, Charge Time 533, and Magazine 5. Let’s check out the perks of the weapon.
Compounding Force – Fires slugs that cause massive damage to elemental shields of enemy combatants.
Disruption Break – Breaking an enemy’s shield with this weapon makes them more vulnerable to Kinetic damage for a brief period.
These days you can get Arbalest from random exotic engrams out there in the wild. This includes Nightfalls, especially higher tier nightfalls like Master and Grandmaster. Also, you can get this from Xur. Xur has exotic weapon protection, so he’ll give you something you don’t have rather than give you something you already have. Therefore if you don’t have Arbalest, then one of the best ways to get it is from Xur. I do a weekly Xur update video, letting you know location and loot, so subscribe to the channel and enable notifications to never miss an update.
Sleeper Simulant (Linear Fusion Rifle)
Sleeper Simulant is an Exotic Power Linear Fusion Rifle. Looking at the exotic perk
Dornröschen – The weapon’s laser over penetrates enemies and refracts off hard surfaces.
Moving Target – Increased movement speed and target acquisition when moving while aiming down sights.
Compared to a standard Fusion Rifle, the Sleeper Simulant has much more range and accuracy. Instead of firing seven individual bolts per burst, it only fires once. It has the pinpoint accuracy of a sniper rifle (though it uses a low-zoom sight), which is something most heavy weapons lack and is capable of precision damage. Each beam fired has virtually unlimited range as well as no damage falloff, meaning that the damage inflicted, either at close or long-range, will be all the same.
You can get this one from the Monuments to Lost Lights Exotic Kiosk in the Tower.
Let me know in the comments what Exotic weapons you are going to be using in Witch Queen, and which ones are you still hunting down?
That’s it for this guide for the best exotic weapons to get for the Witch Queen. For more Destiny 2 content like this check out This Week In Video Games on YouTube and subscribe today.