Hunters are essential to any fireteam in Destiny 2 due to their high mobility and DPS abilities. This class has been a part of the meta for both PvP and PvE since the launch of Destiny. Besides class abilities, armor also plays a vital role in every game scenario, especially endgame activities, and exotic armor is the core of any build crafting in Destiny 2.
Hunter class has some fantastic exotic armor pieces available in Destiny 2. Some focus more on survival, which can be very handy in PvP activities, while others can inflict tons of damage in PvE. This article will discuss the top 10 exotic armor pieces for hunters that can dominate in every game activity.
10. Knucklehead Radar (Best for PVE)
Knucklehead Radar is one of Destiny 2's oldest exotics, having been introduced with the game's launch in 2017. The Season 22 rework gave this exotic the traits of the old Foetracer perk, which increased damage against bosses with less than 30% health.
Its intrinsic trait, Upgraded Sensor Pack, provides radar while you aim, which is especially useful in PvP settings. A nice bonus is the +20 Airborne Effectiveness buff to your guns, which improves the Hunter Exotic Armour stats and is very helpful in PvP.
Exotic Perk:
"Provides radar while you're aiming. Enhances your radar resolution while crouched. Visually marks targets. Deals more damage to low-health marked targets. Provides a small benefit to the airborne effectiveness stat of all weapons."
9. Lucky Pants (Best for PVE)
The Lucky Pants exotic is very powerful, especially with weapons like Malfeasance or the newly revamped Warden's Law. This combination can lead to exceptionally high DPS outputs.
The mechanism involves gaining a buff that increases with every hit from Kinetic or Hand Cannons of a matching element. These Hand Cannons then deliver 60% more damage for each stack, which can go up to 600%. However, it's important to note that this buff is time-sensitive, lasting only for 5.5 seconds.
Exotic Perk:
"When you ready a fully loaded Hand Cannon that deals kinetic damage or a damage type that matches your subclass energy type, each hit from that Hand Cannon increases the damage of the next shot for a short time against a combatant. Hand Cannons ready faster and are more accurate immediately after swapping to them."
8. Radiant Dance Machines (Best for PVE)
Radiant Dance Machines feature an intrinsic trait known as The Dance, which significantly enhances your dodging capabilities. This trait allows for multiple dodges after you activate your dodge ability when close to enemies.
Moreover, defeating enemies while this buff is active extends its duration, potentially leading to an infinite dodge situation. Thanks to their multi-dodge perk, these boots are an excellent choice for achieving the highest DPS possible in the game.
Exotic Perk:
"Activating your dodge ability while near targets allows you to dodge additional times for a short period. Defeating targets extends the duration of the additional dodge."
7. Celestial Nighthawk (Best for PVE)
After the introduction of Blade Barrage, the Solar Golden Gun saw a decline in relevance. However, the situation changed with the arrival of Season of the Wish, which brought a significant buff to Celestial Nighthawk, catapulting Golden Gun to the top as the most powerful Super Damage in Destiny 2.
Celestial Nighthawk transforms the regular Golden Gun into a one-shot Super, capable of dealing tremendous damage. This exotic can be effectively paired with solar builds, allowing players to tackle any PvE activity effortlessly.
Exotic Perk:
"Modifies Golden Gun to fire a single high-damage shot. Enemies eliminated by the shot explode and grant you Super energy."
6. Wormhusk Crown (Best for PVP)
The Wormhusk Crown is an extremely effective exotic, particularly in PvP. The Crown's main feature, Burning Souls, is simple yet effective. Using the Hunter's dodge ability results in a modest recovery of health and shields.
This feature significantly improves the Hunter's class ability, making it even more powerful when combined with invisibility skills. Gaining +67hp while dodging is a significant advantage in PvP combat. The Wormhusk Crown is a reliable and comfortable option for hunters unsure which exotic to choose.
Exotic Perk:
"We strive to know infinity, and sharpen our minds on the whetstone of the impossible."
5. Young Ahamkara’s Spine (Best for PVP)
Young Ahamkara's Spine experienced a significant decrease in effectiveness in PvP due to a nerf, diminishing its strength in the Crucible. Despite this, it continues to be one of the most impactful exotics for Hunters.
This exotic enhances gameplay by providing grenade energy upon using abilities, which you can synergize with various ability builds. Although it was considered overly powerful in previous seasons because of these overpowered abilities, Young Ahamkara's Spine remains challenging to counter in PvP.
Exotic Perk:
"Increases Tripmine Grenade duration and blast radius. Ability damage grants Tripmine Grenade energy."
4. Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk (Best for PVE)
Gyrfalcon's Hauberk is considered one of the most potent exotics in the game, almost forming a complete build on its own. It is especially effective for Nightstalker setups, transforming them into efficient ad-clearing systems.
The exotic perk of Gyrfalcon's Hauberk grants volatile rounds upon emerging from invisibility. Additionally, while invisible, using a finisher gives various bonuses. The true power of this Exotic Perk becomes evident when paired with the Stylish Execution aspect.
Exotic Perk:
"Your weapons gain a bonus to damage briefly after you emerge from being invisible. When you are invisible and defeat a combatant using a finisher, you and your nearby allies gain a reserve overshield and improved class ability regen. These reserve overshields can be deployed by using a class ability."
3. Renewal Grasps (Best for PVP)
Renewal Grasps is one of the few Hunter exotics tailored for stasis use. These gloves feature the intrinsic trait, Depths of Duskfield, which significantly enhances the range of your Duskfield grenades.
A key update for Renewal Grasps was the reduction of their previously lengthy cooldown to standard levels, resulting in a substantial buff. Although Stasis may not be the strongest option, the Renewal Grasps have significantly boosted the Revenant Hunter's viability.
Exotic Perk:
"Your Duskfield grenades have a much larger effect radius. Allies inside the Duskfield take reduced damage and targets inside the area deal reduced damage."
2. Omnioculus (Best for PVE)
The Omnioculus is an exceptionally strong exotic in Destiny 2, beneficial for both PvE and PvP. It provides an additional smoke bomb charge and replenishes melee energy when rendering allies invisible, which is already a significant advantage.
The real game-changer, however, is its ability to give your team on-demand damage resistance. This feature improves the Omnioculus' utility, offering almost endless smoke bombs in PvE and significantly increasing your survivability in PvP. Its excellent synergy with the Nightstalker subclass enhances its overall effectiveness, making it a highly valuable exotic piece in various game scenarios.
Exotic Perk:
"You gain a second Smoke Bomb charge and have damage resistance while invisible. When you make an ally invisible, they gain damage resistance while invisible and you gain melee energy."
1. Star-Eater Scales (Best for PVE)
The Star-Eater Scales are extremely powerful, focusing solely on boosting your superpowers. They increase Hunter supers' DPS to the highest levels in Destiny 2. They allow you to use your Super more frequently and increase its power if you save it for future use.
The Star-Eater Scales are an excellent option for PvE activities, particularly in endgame scenarios. Their exotic perk is centered around generating supers, which is incredibly beneficial for tackling challenging PvE content.
Exotic Perk:
"You gain additional Super energy from Orbs of Power you pick up. While your Super energy is full, picking up an Orb of Power overcharges your Super, causing you to gain a burst of healing when cast and a bonus to your Super damage. At maximum overcharge, you also gain an overshield."
How to get Exotic Armor
One of the simplest and most frequent methods to acquire new exotic armor pieces in Destiny 2 is through Solo Lost Sectors. Each day, a different Lost Sector is randomly selected from various game locations. Players have a 24-hour window to earn Exotic armor and Enchantment Cores by completing the Lost Sector solo. Additionally, exotic armor can be obtained by decoding exotic engrams and is available for purchase from Xur.
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