5) Hard Light
Five Best Buffed Destiny 2 Exotic Weapons
Hard Light kicks off this list and, while there might technically be a stronger weapon in the batch of revamped sandbox exotics for season 3, Hard Light cracks the top 5 because of the thoughtfulness behind the redesign. Hard Light, since Destiny 1, has been a cool idea that didn’t translate well when actually put into practice. Sure, having bullets that penetrate and bounce around is cool and all, but it was always hard to take advantage of it. In Destiny 1 (and 2), it was mostly good for taking out packs of trash enemies like Thrall.
This redesign doesn’t make it any easier, but it at least rewards players for pulling it off with a massive 100% damage boost to ricocheted shots. If someone can figure out the perfect way to whip these bullets around in PvP, they could be an absolute monster since Hard Light is pretty strong on its own without the damage boost. Also, in PvE, not only can you take advantage of that perk as well, but Hard Light can now have its element switched up on the fly.
Before, it was just an average auto rifle with a neat but hard to use perk. Hard Light is now a powerful and versatile exotic that can rip any shields down quickly, regardless of what you’re up against, and if used correctly, can deal massive damage.
Honorable Mention: Riskrunner
Spoiler alert, Riskrunner isn’t on this list, and it’s not because it isn’t good. We’re just of the mind that it was awesome and underrated before Season 3 and Warmind, and now it’s just next level great, especially when you’re up against Hive and Fallen enemies that make frequent use of Arc attacks. It was never dead to begin with.
4) Tractor Cannon
Five Best Buffed Destiny 2 Exotic Weapons
The Tractor Cannon before Season 3 and Warmind was a mostly a meme weapon used to make funny PvP highlight videos. Whether it’s Overwatch or Destiny 2, blasting people off of the map to their death is always hysterical. It really wasn’t that useful for much else though. A shotgun that pushes enemies away from you seems a little counterintuitive doesn’t it? The revamp gives the Tractor Cannon a totally new purpose and lease on life.
Now, when you use the Tractor Cannon, it suppresses enemies (makes them unable to use their abilities for a short period of time) and amplifies the damage they take from void sources. This gives the Tractor Cannon dual purpose in both PvE and PvP.
In competitive PvP, suppression can be the difference between winning and losing if used properly. A guardian without their abilities is at a huge disadvantage. Shutting down someone’s super is incredibly satisfying. Plus, you know, shotguns hurt. In PvE ,you and your teammates can set up a void-based loadout that takes full advantage, and go to town on bulky enemies.
It’s not suddendly the best exotic in the game or anything like that, but the Tractor Cannon went from a joke, to having an actual purpose real quick.
3) Crimson
Five Best Buffed Destiny 2 Exotic Weapons
Crimson was one of those weapons that existed in mediocrity and didn’t really feel that special prior to season 3 and Warmind. It was fine, but not anything that most people would be thrilled to use. Unlike the other weapons on this list that got total overhauls, Crimson didn’t any sexy new abilities. Instead, it just got tuned up to do exactly what it did before, just way better, and is now a much stronger gun for it.
Crimson received changes to its damage, rate of fire, and recovery time between bursts. All of this combines for a better time to kill for both PvE and PvP encounters. On top of that, it also received an increase in ammo inventory, and for us, that’s the kicker.
Now with its increased power and ammo reserves, you can rip through enemies in PvE and constantly keep your health up, and if you can land the precision kills, keep firing non-stop. The increased ammo reserves make it much easier to do the latter, and it gives Crimson a huge boost in clearing out waves of enemies.
2) Graviton Lance
Five Best Buffed Destiny 2 Exotic Weapons
The Graviton Lance always looked awesome, but in practice, was one of the dullest exotics in the game. Sure it was OK… but it didn’t really do anything that special and was outclassed by many other guns, both exotic and otherwise. That completely changed this week.
The Graviton Lance is now an absolute beast. It received a huge boost in damage and kills now create an explosion that does damage, and releases projectiles that seek to blow up more enemies. This makes it one of the best crowd clearing weapons in PvE and, even aside from that perk, Graviton Lance is a powerful and all around solid to use Pulse Rifle now.
It’s going to take a little time for the hardcore Destiny 2 community to sort out exactly how Graviton Lance ranks in PvP now versus some of the best of the best weapons, but it definitely shot up from totally outclassed to being viable in the Crucible. It’s a very stable pulse rifle with excellent range and is powerful if you can land headshots. Plus, in competitive modes where teams are often sticking together, the void projectiles can easily get double kills for you if the opposing team isn’t careful.
1) D.A.R.C.I
Five Best Buffed Destiny 2 Exotic Weapons
D.A.R.C.I proves the old adage of be careful who you make fun of in middle school. D.A.R.C.I was a joke of a gun that was generally considered one of the worst exotic weapons in the game. Now, after its Season 3 buff? It’s likely to be a required weapon for many raid groups looking to speed run.
What the buff did is increase precision damage to 4x (!) when locked on. Meaning, if you give D.A.R.C.I a second to do its thing, you’re going to be ripping off massive chunks of damage. This will be especially useful on big mean raid bosses that are designed for you to rock them with precision damage. Imagine a fully decked out fireteam wailing on Calus with six D.A.R.C.Is? I cannot wait to see that.
This potential leaves no doubt in our mind that the most dramatic exotic weapon revamp is certainly D.A.R.C.I. What are your favorite revamped exotic weapons? Let us know in the comments below.
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