Exotic armor in Destiny 2 is one of the better ways to make a build really pop. Warlocks, the specialists of space magic and grenades, have a decent range of great Exotics to choose from and this is likely to expand in the future as Bungie keeps on releasing more with The Final Shape and upcoming episodes.

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However, for now, Warlock mains looking to become increasingly more powerful either in the Crucible or in PVE should focus on getting their hands on the following Exotic armor pieces. Here are some of the best Exotic armor pieces for Warlocks in Destiny 2.

Updated on May 6, 2024, by Anastasia Maillot: The Final Shape is approaching fast for Destiny 2 players and with it the conclusion to the long Light and Dark saga. In the meantime, Bungie has released a bit of new content in the form of Into the Light to help tide guardians over to the expansion's release on June 4, 2024. While this means that big meta changes and shifts haven't really occurred, a few minor details have been added in for some of the older Exotic pieces on the list. Additionally, Apotheosis Veil has risen among some of the best rather unexpectedly, as proven by some of its performance in early gameplay in Pantheon, the raid gauntlet. Warlocks looking to prep for The Final Shape should look no further than this list of the strongest Warlock Exotics in the game to figure out what to grind out next.

How To Get Exotic Armor

There are several ways to get Exotic armor in Destiny 2, but these are the most straightforward methods:

• Legend & Master Lost Sector completions (Master has a high drop chance)
• Neomuna's Vex Strike Force Public Event (Lightfall expansion required)
• Nightfall Strikes (Higher difficulty has a higher drop chance)
• Random world drops of Exotic Engrams can be focused at Rahool
• For new players, Ikora in the Tower has quests that unlock a few of the best Warlock Exotics in the game once completed
• During Season of the Wish, completing Riven's Wish quests for Mara Sov allows players to pick an Exotic armor reward (only available until end of May)
• Every Friday, a vendor called Xur appears in either the EDZ, Tower, or Nessus and sells one Exotic for each class, as well as a randomized Exotic engram for Legendary Shards

18 Apotheosis Veil

Regenerate Ability Energy For Everyone After Casting Super

• Casting Super refreshes ability cooldowns for the player and their allies
• After Super ends, abilities recharge quicker for a short period
• Recommended Subclasses: Strand or Solar

Apotheosis Veil may not be everyone's go-to Exotic, but in terms of DPS phases, it's one armor piece that some players might still be sleeping on. It works for a number of different subclasses from Strand to Solar and is wonderful for chucking out a bit of extra damage in the form of grenades when entering a damage phase as a Warlock.

The two ideal Supers to use the Veil with would be Needlestorm, followed by a bunch of Threadling grenades that do a significant amount of damage, or Well, with Fusion or even Solar grenades equipped. Even though it doesn't provide any benefits to neutral gameplay between boss phases, it's well worth investing in for a DPS build.

17 Verity's Brow

Boost The Grenade Recharge Rate For Everyone On The Fireteam

• Kills with matching subclass type grants Death Throes buff—grenades do more damage and recharge faster
• Activating the grenade ability with Death Throes grants nearby allies an increased recharge rate
• Recommended Subclass: Solar

Verity's Brow has seen a decent rise in popularity due to some subtle changes to Solar and a few weapon updates. Verity's Brow remains an incredible pick in boss DPS situations where multiple Warlocks might want to use it to buff each other's grenade recharge rate and defeat a powerful enemy with the strength of fusion grenades alone. With this helmet, that's perfectly possible.

It can also come in handy in any support-type builds. For example, equipping something like the Vex or Sunshot, and using a healing grenade guarantees that players are always ready to save teammates from death at a moment's notice. Being able to not only slot itself into a support build but also a boss DPS build goes to show that this Exotic packs some serious punch due to its versatility.

16 Cenotaph Mask

Infinite Heavy Ammo Bricks For The Fireteam

• Trace rifles are passively reloaded
• Using a trace rifle on a boss or champion or vehicle marks the target for everyone
• Marked targets defeated by allies drop Heavy ammo bricks for allies and Special ammo bricks for the player wearing the mask
• Recommended Subclass: Any, but Solar with Well works excellent for a support build

If Heavy ammo is an issue, having a Warlock with this Exotic is usually the answer, provided there are plenty of champions and mini-bosses around to slay. Pair it up with a trace rifle like Divinity, and it's the perfect support-type build for almost any endgame content.

Not only does the Cenotaph Mask create Heavy ammo with each kill on a marked target, but it also grants the one marking the enemies Special ammo bricks. It's an infinite cycle that feeds itself continuously and is a fantastic replacement for the Aeon gauntlets.

15 Swarmers

More Threadlings For Strand Warlocks

• Threadlings spawn from destroyed Tangles
• Targets damaged by Threadlings will be Unraveled
• Strand subclass required

Destiny 2'sLightfall expansion brought players a new darkness subclass called Strand, and with it, a Strand Exotic for Warlocks: Swarmers. These boots are an excellent addition to any Warlock Strand Build, due to the increased potency they give to Threadlings, the little green creatures that can be summoned and deal damage after tracking to enemies.

With Swarmers equipped, each time a player shoots a Tangle, it will spawn a Threadling for them. Moreover, their Threadlings now have the ability to Unravel any enemies that they come in contact with, which deals an additional area of effect damage and is quite handy in ad-clear scenarios. For Warlocks set on building around Threadlings when using Strand, Swarmers are an absolute must-have.

14 Lunafaction Boots

Rifts Provide Reload Or Range Boost

• Healing Rifts and Well of Radiance grant increased reload speed
• Empowering Rift and Well of Radiance grant an increased range
• Must-have for a Solar subclass build

Among all the other flashy Exotics that Warlocks have, Lunafactions may feel incredibly underwhelming due to how little they provide to the players themselves. Lunafaction Boots provide increased weapon reload speed to the player and their allies while standing in the player's rifts or Well of Radiance. This makes Lunafaction Boots great for boss DPS phases where reloading damage weapons quickly is key to success.

The downside is that this is all that Lunafaction Boots can provide. It's definitely a trade-off Exotic, the kind that players will likely whip out from the dark corners of their Destiny 2 vault to help their team as a whole when running through a raid, thanks to how well it pairs with Well of Radiance.

13 Necrotic Grip

Clear Enemies With Poison

• Poisons enemies damaged by the player
• Enemies infected that are defeated further spread the poison
• Sorrow weapons' airborne effectiveness is increased
• Recommended Subclass: Strand

For neutral game, Necrotic Grip is an excellent Exotic piece of armor that pairs well with melee-centric builds, as well as the incredibly powerful Osteo Striga Exotic SMG. When players deal damage to their enemies, they apply a poison effect which deals more damage over time. Any enemies that are killed by the poison will further infect other nearby enemies.

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Necrotic Grip works great with a variety of different builds, but since Lightfall's release, it's splendid when paired with Strand in particular and can hold its own even in high-tier PVE content. The poison AoE effect is incredibly potent, even against beefier single-target enemies like bosses for a bit of extra damage. Those who don't have Strand unlocked can slot this Exotic into just about any subclass for a bit more damage and 'oomph', and it even works well with DPS phases due to a lack of better damage Exotics for Warlocks.

12 Crown Of Tempests

Gain Ability Energy Faster And A Longer Stormtrance Duration

• Jolted kills and Arc final blows speed up ability recharge rate
• Stormtrance's duration is increased
• Arc subclass required

Crown of Tempests is currently on roughly equal footing with the Fallen Sunstar helmet. One deals with Ionic Traces, while the other focuses more on jolted targets and Arc final blows. The downside with the Crown is that it favors Stormtrance, but even with Chaos Reach selected, its passive effects are well worth it.

It's one of the more generalist, bread-and-butter Exotics that grant ability recharge speed and ensure that a Warlock's neutral gameplay is as smooth as possible. For any generalist, ad-clearing Arc build, it's a solid choice if Fallen Sunstar isn't in the player's Vault just yet.

11 Dawn Chorus

Boosts Daybreak, While Significantly Improving Scorch

• Daybreak's Scorch is improved and projectiles track targets better
• Scorch efficiency is increased, and Scorching targets grants melee energy
• Solar subclass required

With Daybreak buffed as of 2023, Dawn Chorus is properly back on the menu for Warlocks who wish to break out of the Well of Radiance jail. On top of the buffs the Super already received, Dawn Chorus makes it even deadlier with its heightened projectile tracking and far better Scorch damage.

Outside of Super gameplay, Dawn Chorus still shines just as brightly due to how much it buffs the effectiveness of Scorch. Pair this up with the Ember of Ashes, as well as weapons with the Enhanced Incandescent trait, and players will be clearing out rooms with the power of Scorch alone.

10 Rain Of Fire

Boosts Fusion Rifles And Linears, While Granting Infinite Radiant

• Icarus Dash in the air reloads weapons and boosts linear fusion and fusion rifle airborne effectiveness stats
• Fusion rifle and linear fusion rifle final blows grant Radiant

Rain of Fire is a solid Exotic pick for Warlocks in PVP, but they have also become an excellent choice for certain PVE scenarios. These boots have multiple effects. First of all, dodging with Icarus Dash reloads all of the player's weapons and buffs the in-air accuracy of linear fusion rifles and fusion rifles. Scoring final blows with either of these weapon archetypes will instantly make the player Radiant, which is a massive advantage and grants a 10% damage boost.

In PVE, Rain of Fire is brilliant for longer damage rotations where players might want to Icarus Dash to reload their weapons automatically, whether it be rocket launchers or fusion rifles. Pair it with Heat Rises from the Solar subclass to gain a second dash, and it becomes even more powerful in DPS scenarios.

9 Karnstein Armlets

Melee Hits Heal The Player

• Final blows with melees and finisher provide Restoration and Cure
• Any subclass works, but recommended for subclasses with slightly lower survivability such as Stasis or even Strand

Karnstein was one of the Exotics to have received a rework in 2023, and it's quite promising. The Vampiric buff is now replaced with subclass-specific terms like Cure and Restoration. Melee and finishers allow players to have infinite access to these two effects, making Karnstein an incredible tool for survival in a pinch.

Rather than using Karnstein with the Solar subclass, its best use will likely be in subclasses that lack survivability, such as Stasis or Strand Warlock (even with Woven Mail). Consider how powerful it is to have Cure and Restoration available, while having the damage and crowd control potential of something like Strand Warlock for example, and the power of Karnstein Armlets is obvious. This Exotic pairs brilliantly with glaives, as they count as melee hits as well.

8 Sunbracers

Endless Supply Of Solar Grenades

• Solar grenades last longer
• Scoring Solar melee kills grants a short buff during which players can chuck an infinite amount of Solar grenades
• Solar subclass required

Solar is one of the bread-and-butter classes for Warlocks, and to spice things up for Solar 3.0, Sunbracers are the natural choice for PVE. These bad boys will grant the player infinite grenade energy charge for a short period of time after a Solar melee kill.

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Pair this up with the new Solar grenades that spew out blobs of scorching lava (select the Touch of Flame aspect for the effect) and fragments that create Firesprites (Ember of Searing), and Warlocks won't ever have to worry about not having their grenade charged up. Thanks to the significant buff of 25% in damage to Solar grenades and Starfire Protocol's fall from grace with its 2023 nerfs, Sunbracers are still in 2024 by far the best Solar Exotic for Warlocks.

7 Osmiomancy Gloves

Keep Enemies Frozen Near-Indefinitely

• Gain a second Coldsnap grenade that refreshes on direct hit
• Seekers spawned from Coldsnap grenade travel further
• Stasis subclass required

Shadebinders are easily the strongest of Stasis subclasses, and that's solely thanks to the Osmiomancy Gloves. These gloves pair with the Coldsnap grenade, which on its own isn't very powerful, but becomes a real menace with this Exotic.

Not only will players now have two Coldsnap grenade charges, but direct hits on targets also immediately refund one grenade charge fully. Moreover, Coldsnap grenade Seekers will travel a longer distance and freeze other nearby targets further away. It's the ultimate addition to any Stasis build and works wonderfully even in difficult PVE content, despite how neglected the Stasis subclasses currently are in the game.

6 Nezarec's Sin

A Huge Buff To Ability Charge Rates

• Void weapon kills boost ability recharge rate
• Works best with a Void build, but can be paired with any subclass to boost ability recharge rate as long as a Void weapon is used

If there's one Exotic that Voidlocks should include in their arsenal, it's Nezarec's Sin. This helmet allows players to significantly boost their ability recharge rate, so long as they are scoring Void-damage kills, either with abilities or with weapons.

This means that Nezarec's Sin is the perfect Voidlock Exotic that's far more general than Contraverse Holds. Pair it up with a solid Void build and a Void weapon, and players will be constantly refreshing their Void abilities and gaining Volatile Rounds on command. It also works well with Strand or Stasis where the ability charge rate is slower, so long as players stick to a Void weapon for their build.

5 Phoenix Protocol

Gain 50% Of Super Energy Back With Kills In Well

• Scoring kills and assists while in Well grants up to 50% of Super energy back
• Solar subclass required

The Phoenix Protocol Exotic chest piece is an essential pick for any Warlocks specialized in supporting their team. Its position on this list could easily be tied with Lunafaction Boots, as both are key enhancements to the Well of Radiance, which remains one of the most essential Supers in endgame PVE content.

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Its purpose is simple: while standing in their Well, players can simultaneously charge their next Well by scoring kills and assists. It's the perfect tool for farming Well of Radiance, though it's important to note that the charge only goes up to 50% following a nerf to Phoenix Protocol. While it might not be great for boss DPS rotations due to kills and assists counting towards the next Well, it can be nice to have in situations where players are struggling with hordes of enemies and can't stay alive—such as the new Onslaught activity.

4 Contraverse Hold

A Powerful Buff To Void Grenades

• Hold to charge Void grenades, resisting incoming damage
• Direct hits with grenade grant grenade energy
• Void subclass required

Back to the Voidlock lifestyle, Contraverse Hold Exotic gauntlets are another mind-blowingly good choice, especially now that Vortex grenades are back on the menu and Warlocks have gained an additional fragment slot when choosing Feed the Void and Chaos Accelerant aspects. With these gauntlets on, players can charge their grenades, which gives them damage resistance. Charged grenades return grenade charge when hitting enemies, so it's almost like a Void version of Sunbracers that provides near-infinite grenade charge.

Pair this up with the Feed the Void and Chaos Accelerant Void aspects, and players will be guaranteed their grenade cooldown. It's a fantastic alternative for players who want to focus on ad-clearing but prefer the Voidlock life over Solar Warlock.

3 Transversive Steps

Move Faster And Passively Reload Weapons In PVP

• Increased running speed
• Weapons are passively reloaded while sprinting
• Perfect for any subclass in the Crucible

For PVP Warlock players, Transversive Steps are a common sight. Speed is everything in the Crucible, which is why something that increases sprint speed can be very powerful for a class that isn't exactly famous for its high mobility.

Transversive Steps allow Warlocks to spring faster, but they also reload equipped weapons after sprinting for a while. This is incredibly powerful in PVP, where being ready for an engagement on the spot and quickly is important. For shotgun users, in particular, this Exotic is perfect.

2 Starfire Protocol

Gain Two Fusion Grenade Charges & Cycle Cooldowns Seamlessly

• Gain a second fusion grenade charge
• Deal empowered damage with weapons to charge grenades faster
• Grenade kills grant Rift energy
• Solar subclass required, and Ember of Benevolence highly recommended for extra ability recharge rate

Starfire Protocol may have fallen hard from its top position, but make no mistake—it still holds a powerful spot for Warlocks who know how to take advantage of it. Although the grenade recharge rate isn't as impressive as before, few can deny that fusion grenades continue to be extremely powerful when taking down champions, hordes of enemies, and even bosses. It still does a commendable job at cycling a Warlock's two most important cooldowns: Rift and grenade.

The builds floating around nowadays featuring Starfire Protocol tend to take advantage of the Ember of Benevolence as a way to quickly charge abilities, instead of the Exotic's intrinsic powers. This does force players to use Starfire Protocol more in a team environment, but given how overpowered it was before, it feels like a necessary evil.

1 Ophidian Aspect

Reload And Ready Weapons Faster In PVP

• Faster reload speed and weapon-ready speed
• Increased airborne effectiveness

Ophidian Aspect was hit by a serious nerf in 2023, and its additional melee capabilities were completely removed. This means that there's no added lunge distance for PVP players to exploit anymore, but that doesn't mean these gloves aren't a favorite among Crucible enthusiasts.

The quick reload speed and weapon-ready speed alone are what make this Exotic one of those generally good picks for PVP. One simply can't go wrong with these, as in the Crucible, shooting first is almost a guaranteed victory against the enemy.

Destiny 2

Platform(s)

PS5 , PS4 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , Xbox One , PC , Stadia

Released

August 28, 2017

Developer(s)

Bungie

Genre(s)

FPS