In Destiny 2, every player usually looks forward to a golden, exotic engram. However, when one of these 5 Exotics drops, faces get long. They are currently the least popular Exotics. Without improvements, they will continue to gather dust in the vault.
Exotics in Destiny 2 are arguably the most interesting armor pieces and weapons. They change the way the game is played with a specific character or weapon.
- Exotics offer unique and powerful benefits.
- There are both exotic weapons and armor pieces.
- For effective builds and optimal ability usage, Exotics are indispensable.
However, a few of them are currently in a sad state. Either Bungie has nerfed them into the ground, such as for the Titan “Ursa Furiosa,” or they were simply never very strong. However, if you take a closer look at the candidates, a few small changes could actually suffice to make them valuable again.
Mask of Bakris – Exotic Hunter Helmet
The exotic trait “Light Shift” replaces the Stasis-focused dodge ability with an additional, faster dive that is partially cloaked while in use. After the dive, Arc weapons deal increased damage for a short time to combatants, and you deal increased damage to any slowed or frozen combatants for a brief period.
The Exotic was released with the Beyond Light expansion. At that time, it was a strong choice, especially in PvP. However, Destiny 2 has changed since then. There was only one Stasis weapon, “Grasp of Salvation.” When Bungie added more Stasis weapons to the game, the Mask of Bakris was pushed aside.
This is what Bungie should change: To make the Mask of Bakris more valuable for players again, Bungie could add Stasis weapons for the exotic perk. This would also complement the currently strong meta with elemental sources. It encourages the use of weapons of the same element, which in turn promotes the subclass of the wearer. With “Source of Power” and “Elemental Armament,” that would be a practical thing.
Grasp of Salvation – Exotic Power Grenade Launcher
It literally sounded really cool what this grenade launcher can do. Its projectiles create Stasis crystals and freeze nearby targets. Nevertheless, this power grenade launcher is not an Exotic that you often see in Destiny 2.
While other Exotics are indispensable in raids and harder difficulty levels, the “Grasp of Salvation” is among the Exotics that players don’t store but dismantle right away. This shows how unimportant it currently is. It has actually been useful only for a quest and then for building creative ice piles or bridges.
This is what Bungie should change: “Grasp of Salvation” would certainly become more interesting for players if it switched between the three known ice grenades. This way, it could not only create the typical Stasis grenade crystals but also utilize the Dome of the Dawn or the Cold Snap grenade.
In Destiny 2, there are now legendary Stasis weapons:
Chromatic Fire – Exotic Warlock Chestpiece
Actually, “Chromatic Fire,” from the Forsaken DLC, is not the worst exotic armor piece for a Warlock. When a Light focus is equipped, precision multikills with a kinetic weapon create an explosion corresponding to the element of the focus. This is basically the weapon perk “Nighthawk” on an armor piece. It functions quite well in normal playlist activities. Nevertheless, there would be two small changes that would make sense for “Chromatic Fire.”
This is what Bungie should change: Currently, “Chromatic Fire” only works with Light classes. Since Stasis has now become firmly established as a focus, the Darkness class should also be considered for this Exotic. Secondly, the Exotic should also gain more significance in endgame content. At present, it is too weak for that. However, if Bungie were to add a stackable debuff for precision shots, it could trigger a stronger damage explosion, making it effective against champions and bosses.
Khepri’s Horn — Exotic Titan Helmet
The exotic Titan helmet “Khepri’s Horn” came into play with the “Curse of Osiris” expansion. However, Titans hardly ever use the horned headgear. This couldn’t change even with the increased resilience that the Exotic provides. Nor the fact that it adds solar energy to Titan barricades, which then recharge the barricade. To trigger this, solar kills are mandatory. Much too inflexible.
This is what Bungie should change: It would make more sense if Bungie adjusted “Khepri’s Horn” and shifted it more towards the “Ice Avalanche Mantle”. For example, the Exotic could entirely remove the Titan barricade ability, as the Ice Avalanche Mantle does, and instead provide a powerful solar explosion ability. Additionally, the trigger for that could also be adjusted.
Skull of Dire Ahamkara – Exotic Warlock Helmet
There was a time when the Exotic “Skull of Dire Ahamkara” was a staple for every Warlock Void build. Those wearing the helmet had additional damage resistance while using Nova Bomb, and every kill with the Nova Bomb granted super energy. At times so much so that the super would almost be fully charged again after. Too much for Bungie, leading to a hard nerf. Since then, this once reliable Exotic has fallen into obscurity.
This is what Bungie should change: Surely the Exotic was a bit too strong. Bungie’s primary aim for a few seasons has been for us to regenerate less super energy. However, they could polish up the “Skull of Dire Ahamkara”.
Every Warlock knows this. Despite aiming, a Nova Bomb often does what it wants and flies toward smaller enemies instead of the boss. By adding an adjustment that increases the accuracy of the Nova Bomb, it could possibly become a good option again. Additionally, the Nova mini-bombs could also target only the aimed enemy, which would be practical for boss fights.
Those were just five examples of Exotics in Destiny 2 that could certainly use some help. While they are not all useless, they are often outdated. On December 7th, Bungie already announced extensive sandbox changes. Here, the Hunters are hit particularly hard. It remains to be seen whether more Exotics will lose their usefulness.
Which is the least popular Exotic in Destiny 2 for you? Is there an Exotic that you would never play? And if you could wish for a perk on an Exotic, what would it be?
