Destiny 2: Exotic Energy Weapon Tier List

It’s not the flashiest of options, but when there’s a pesky enemy that is looking to make your life difficult with their dumb shields, the energy weapons in Destiny 2 are there for you during those difficult times.

Well, it may be more accurate to say, “For those particular enemies you want to shoot,” but that’s just nitpicking at this point. Anyhow, there are plenty of cool exotics to go along with your selection. Here’s how they measure up to one another on our tier list: Keep in mind that this will be updated once more balance patches are released.

Related: Destiny 2: Exotic Kinetic Weapon Tier List

Destiny 2 Exotic Tier List

Tier	Weapon
S	Divinity, Sunshot, Trinity Ghoul
A	Cloudstrike, Merciless, Wavesplitter, The Fourth Horseman, Graviton Lance, Ticuu’s Divination, Le Monarque, Eriana’s Vow, Riskrunner, Coldheart, Tommy’s Matchbook, Centrifuse, Dead Messenger, Delicate Tomb, Devil’s Ruin, Duality, Ex Diris, Fighting Lion, Hierarchy of Needs, Lorentz Driver, Polaris Lance, Prometheus Lens, Ruinous Effigy, Skyburner’s Oath, Symmetry, Trespasser, Vex Mythoclast
B	Borealis, Edge of Action, Edge of Concurrence, Edge of Intent, Hard Light, Jötunn, Lord of Wolves, Tarrabah, Telesto, The Manticore

Tier S

This S-tier is pretty lonely, particularly compared to similar tier lists we’ve done, but the three here that sit atop the rest of the pack. Divinity has the best overload in the game, and the weakness debuff bonuses are naturally amazing. The Sunshot is still trekking along, as it exploded on the scene when it first came out with its constant big damage bonuses, and no solar build is complete without it. As for the Trinity Ghoul, it’s amazing at clearing big groups of ads and is still relevant despite all the new additions.

Tier A

We swear, at least fifty percent of the options are on this list for a reason. It’s a literal game of inches when trying to decide what’s “better” in this tier, as they are all pretty much on the same level in terms of effectiveness. Even the Coldheart has received improvements from Bungie and now has the ability to generate ionic traces to help with abilities. On the other hand, the Fighting Lion is such an up-and-down weapon thanks to the difficulty of mastering its quirks, which come in the form of bouncing grenades off walls and near opponents.

Tier B

The lowest tier is not as big as the A tier, but it does have an equally diverse playstyle with the options there. Unfortunately, the potential just isn’t there in comparison, like the Borealis, which uses different weapon types all in one gun and breaks shields, but the Dead Messenger is the same and does it better while being a Grenade Launcher. We do like the Manticore due to the airborne madness that it instills when used, but it’s very easy to counter once you understand how the gimmick works.