Destiny: Rising Exotic Weapons List
Which of the amazing Exotic Weapons in Destiny: Rising is top of your list?

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Update: We’ve added more information on how to get Exotic weapons in Destiny: Rising, as well as a section on whether you should choose Borealis, Crimson or The Huckleberry.
Exotic Weapons are the pinnacle of ordinance in Destiny: Rising, offering not just unique abilities, but unique visual designs which add a distinct flair to your loadout.
However, unlike in other versions of Destiny, in Destiny: Rising only certain characters can use particular Exotic Weapons, as different characters are locked to specific weapon archetypes , adding a new dimension to both your character building and weapon choices.
Here are all of the Exotic weapons we’ve seen so far in Destiny: Rising, including their Exotic Traits and Perks, as well as how to get your hands on them!
How to get Exotic Weapons in Destiny: Rising
Like in other versions of Destiny, in Destiny: Rising Exotic Weapons are acquired through Exotic Engrams. These are rare rewards dished out for completing end-game content like Heroic Strikes, Heroic Gauntlets and Onslaughts .
These activities are recommended for experienced players level 50+, and you’ll need to run them multiple times to get your desired Exotic from the loot pool.
However, from Team Level 71, you can also “Synthesize” your own Exotic Engrams too. These are created using “Exotic Weapon Parameters” which come from dismatling duplicates or completing Bounties. Bounties are small challenges like defeating enemies with a particular damage type, and you can get more Parameters each week, eventually leading up to enough for an Exotic.
At the launch of the game, you can also get two free Exotics for logging in for 14 days . This is in addition to the free items you can get from Destiny: Rising codes .
After 7 days you get a choice between the Borealis Sniper, The Huckleberry SMG and Crimson Hand Cannon. Then after another 7 you get to choose Unlike other versions of Destiny though, your choice will depend more on the characters you have unlocked than which of the Exotics is best, since each of the Guardians in Destiny: Rising can only use one type of Primary and Power weapon.
Alternatively, because Destiny: Rising is also a gacha game, you can acquire a limited few Exotic weapons through bundles in the in-game store. For more on the gacha elements of Destiny: Rising, here’s the Banner Schedule .
Should you choose Borealis, Crimson or The Huckleberry?
All three of the Exotic weapons you can choose at the beginning of Destiny: Rising are good and you can be secure in your choice whichever you pick.
However, Borealis is probably the best and safest pick because it’s currently equippable by 2 S-Tier characters, and the ability to choose different types of damage to break shields for a magazine full of super ammo will always be useful.
But, if you’ve managed to roll Jolder, then The Huckleberry is an insta-pick . In Destiny: Rising, unlike Destiny 2, you have infinite Primary ammo, which makes extremely fast-firing weapons like The Huckleberry and Sweet Business Auto Rifle very powerful - effectively removing their draw-back.
Finally, Crimson is also very strong, but can currently only be equipped by Attal , who’s decent for early-game play but becomes less effective as you go on due to the narrow focus of her kit. Burst Hand Cannons have been legendarily OP at times in Destiny 2, because the vertical recoil bump from the 3-shot combo made headshots really easy. This isn’t as big of a deal if you’re playing on a small screen, but is worth considering if you play on an emulator.
To sum up: I think the sniper rifle will always be useful, but the others are worth considering if you can make the most of them.
Destiny: Rising Exotic Weapons list
| Exotic Weapons | Weapon Type | Primary/Power | Damage Type | Exotic Trait | Exotic Perk | How to obtain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concerto | Sidearm | Primary | Void | Cadenza: Final Blows grant Cadenza, increasing this weapon’s damage (4x stacks). Dying clears all stacks. Landing Final Blows while Cadenza is active fully reloads this weapon. | Concertino: When Cadenza is active, swapping to your Power weapon automatically fills its magazine and transfers Cadenza stacks to it. | Store, Exotic Engram, Exotic Weapon Random Engram - Strikes |
| Furies III | Pulse Rifle | Primary | Solar | Neural Currents: When firing repeatedly this gun’s firing rate can gradually increase. | War Machine Learning: Consecutive strikes will surround the target with criticality points which deal higher damage when hit. | |
| Sweet Business | Auto Rifle | Primary | Solar | Payday: Larger Magazine, increased accuracy when firing from the hip. Picking up heavy ammo immediately reloads this weapon | Business Time: Sustained fire boosts range and rate of fire. | Exotic Engram, Exotic Weapon Random Engram - Adventurer, Shifting Gates |
| Riskrunner | SMG | Primary | Arc | Arc Conductor: When taking Arc damage this weapon becomes more powerful and resists incoming Arc damage. Kills extend the time in this overcharged stat | Superconductor: When Arc Conductor is active, shots fired have a chance to become chain lightning and return ammo | Exotic Engram, Exotic Weapon Random Engram - Strikes, Exotic Weapon Random Engram - Gauntlet Ops |
| Izanagi’s Burden | Sniper Rifle | Power | Solar | Honed Edge: Tap reload to consume the magazine and load a round with additional range and damage | No Distractions: After aiming, gains greatly reduced flinch when taking a hit / Outlaw Refit: Precision final blows grant increased reload speed | Exotic Engram, Exotic Weapon Random Engram - Gauntlet Ops |
| Mahamayuri | Auto Crossbow | Power | Arc | Trimurti: Fires a volley of three bolts | Dharani’s Bolt: Hip-fired bolts overpenetrate targets. Bolts fired while aiming have significantly reduced spread and deal increased precision damage | Mysterious Artifact - Mahamayuri from Gauntlet: Onslaught |
| Royal Contravene | Linear Fusion Rifle | Power | Arc | Wire Rifle: Holding reload toggles this weapon’s sights and changes its firing mode | N/A | Exotic Engram, Exotic Weapon Random Engram - Gauntlet Ops, |
| JoTUNN | Fusion Rifle | Primary | Solar | Charged Shot: Hold down the trigger to charge up a tracking shot that explodes and burns on impact | Sympathetic Arsenal: Reloading shortly after a final blow also reloads stowed weapons | Exotic Engram, Exotic Weapon Random Engram - Gauntlet Ops |
| Heir Apparent | LMG | Power | Solar | Heavy Grenade Launcher: Holding ADS spins up this weapon. This weapon can only be firing when fully spun up | Armor of the Colossus: While at full health, spinning up this weapon protects you with an Arc Shield | Exotic Engram, Exotic Weapon Random Engram - Gauntlet Ops |
| Gallows | LMG | Power | Void | Bosenova Grenades: Inflicting damage charges up and fires two homing Void Grenades | N/A | Exotic Weapon Choice Engram - Gauntlet: Onslaught, Gauntlet Onslaught - Issakis’s Tabernacle |
| The Old Prefect | Hand Cannon | Primary | Solar | Tiger’s Throw: This weapon fires scattered rounds | Dragon’s Breath: Successive hits will scorch the target and deal increased damage | Exotic Engram, Exotic Weapon Random Engram - Strikes, Exotic Weapon Random Engram - Gauntlet Ops |
| Polaris Lance | Scout Rifle | Primary | Solar | The Perfect Fifth: Precision hits return ammo to the magazine. Landing 4 precision hits loads a delayed Solar explosive round for your next shot | Nanoinflammation: Each debuff on the target increases their damage taken from this weapon | Exotic Engram, Exotic Weapon Random Engram - Strikes |
| Borealis | Sniper Rifle | Power | Void | The Fundamentals: Tap reload to change this weapon’s damage type between Solar, Arc and Void | Ionic Return: Breaking a combatant’s shield with a matching element fully reloads this weapon and grants bonus damage to the current magazine, increasing the damage of the next 5 rounds | Exotic Engram, Exotic Weapon Random Engram - Strikes, Dawn’s First Light Login Rewards |
| Two-Tailed Fox | Rocket Launcher | Power | Void | Twintails: Shoots 2 rockets, 1 Void and 1 Solar, that track onto the same target | Play with your Prey: The Void rocket suppresses enemies. The Solar rocket causes damage over time | Exotic Engram, Exotic Weapon Random Engram - Strikes |
| The Huckleberry | SMG | Primary | Void | Ride the Bull: This weapon has an increased rate of fire and recoil while you’re holding down the trigger. Kills with this weapon reload a portion of the magazine | Reincarnation: Final blows with this weapon grant increased damage - stacks | Exotic Engram, Exotic Weapon Random Engram - Adventurer, Dawn’s First Light Login Rewards |
| The Chaperone | Shotgun | Power | Void | Precision Slug: Fires a single slug precision round | The Roadborn: Precision kills briefly increase this weapon’s handling, range and precision damage | Exotic Engram, Exotic Weapon Random Engram - Adventurer |
| Octant Riot Disperser | Shotgun | Power | Arc | Salvo of Artillery: Hold down the reload button to enable a volley mode which fires all of the remaining bullets at the same time | Deafening Rumbles: Damage from this weapon’s volleys significantly increases based on the number of pellets shot | Exotic Weapon Choice Engram - Gauntlet: Onslaught, Gauntlet: Onslaught - The Menace Above |
| Satiyaaliksni Smart Bomb | Grenade Launcher | Power | Arc | Airburst Grenades: This weapon fires in a straight line. Projectiles will detonate when they are within close proximity to a target | Red Giant: Holding the fire button will charge a grenade, increasing its blast damage and radius | Exotic Engram, Exotic Weapon Random Engram - Adventurer, Complete primary quest “Reforging” in Main Story |
| Crimson | Hand Cannon | Primary | Arc | Banned Weapon: This weapon fires a 3-round burst | Cruel Remedy: Multikills with this weapon immediately reload your equipped Primary and Power weapons from their reserves | Exotic Engram, Exotic Weapon Random Engram - Adventurer, Dawn’s First Light Login Rewards |
| Partridge Sky | Sword | Power | Solar | Arrows of Silver: Heavy attacks fling shrapnel which sets the ground alight and are stronger with full energy | N/A | Exotic Engram (Lv 71 Quick Synthesis) |

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