Exotic armor is a crucial element in Destiny 2, enhancing your gameplay and making you more lethal. While weapons often steal the spotlight, the right armor can elevate your playstyle to new heights. This guide focuses on Warlock Exotics in Destiny 2, including the latest addition, Briarbinds Exotic arms. We will rank them from best to worst and provide tips on maximizing their potential.
Destiny 2 Warlock Exotics Tier List
This tier list showcases the top-tier Warlock Exotic armor pieces in the game, suitable for both PvE and PvP:
- S Tier – Best: The highest-ranking weapons in our tier list.
- A Tier – Strong: Very powerful weapons, though not on the same level as S Tier choices.
- B Tier – Average: Decent options that can be lethal in the hands of skilled players.
- C Tier – Weak: Mediocre choices that fall in the middle of the pack.
- D Tier – Worst: Lagging behind the competition, offering little value.
Additionally, you’ll find some armor pieces ranked as “Swap.” This refers to pieces that are generally not outstanding but can excel in specific situations, particularly when using your Super. As a result, they have a different ranking since they still have a place in your loadout.
Warlock Exotics: Other Noteworthy Picks
This section includes all the other Warlock Exotics available in Destiny 2.
More Destiny 2 Exotic Armor Tier Lists
If you’re interested in Titan Exotics, Hunter Exotics, or Lost Sector Exotics, check out our other tier lists.
Best Destiny 2 Warlock Exotic Armor in Season 21
This section not only highlights the top Exotic armor options for Warlocks but also informs you where to find them. These armors not only excel in PvE and PvP but are also visually impressive, often seen in Destiny 2 fashion contests.
10. Mantle of Battle Harmony
Excels in PvP
Mantle of Battle Harmony provides significant additional super energy and a damage buff when your super is full. These advantages are incredibly valuable, and the armor works with any subclass element, amplifying its power even further.
While it may require some setup, once you match your weapon and subclass elements, you only need to get kills to witness its effects. Each kill grants you super energy, allowing you to unleash your most powerful ability before your opponents. Moreover, kills with your matching weapon at full super energy provide a 20% damage increase for 10 seconds, making it useful in any activity. Additionally, this damage increase can stack with debuffs on enemies, further boosting your damage output.
Mantle of Battle Harmony offers two invaluable benefits at a minimal cost, making it an extremely potent choice in both PvE and PvP. Crafting builds around this chestpiece is straightforward and highly effective.
How to get it: Mantle of Battle Harmony can be acquired via solo Legend/Master Lost Sectors.
10. Contraverse Hold
Excels in PvE
Contraverse Hold is an essential Warlock Exotic that has found its place in various builds and loadouts.
Despite facing nerfs and significant changes, Contraverse Hold remains relevant. Its ability to enhance Void grenades with Chaos Accelerant is unparalleled in terms of build potential, enabling infinite Weaken and Volatile Rounds. These gloves were frequently used in The Crucible, especially before Void 3.0 with Handheld Supernova. While their strength in PvP has diminished, they still return a fair amount of grenade energy, proving useful.
While some players now prefer Secant Filaments, Contraverse Hold continues to be a popular choice for many Voidwalker setups.
How to get it: Contraverse Hold can be acquired via Exotic engrams, Xûr, or by farming Lost Sectors.
9. Boots of the Assembler
Excels in PvE and PvP
These exotic boots provide on-the-go rift benefits to your allies, making them a valuable asset for support players.
While using a healing rift, standing in it sends out small healing orbs that automatically track and heal nearby allies. This is beneficial in PvP, ensuring your team’s survival, and useful in PvE. It allows your fireteam to play more aggressively without the fear of death.
Alternatively, while running an empowering rift, you can send out small orbs that buff your teammates’ damage by 35% (20% in PvP). This damage increase surpasses that of supers like Well of Radiance or Ward of Dawn. It proves to be an exceptional buff in both PvE and PvP, often more useful than its healing counterpart.
Overall, these boots are fantastic and easy to use, offering immense power in both PvE and PvP. Any Warlock who enjoys playing a support role and wants to steer clear of Well of Radiance should consider having these in their loadout.
How to get it: Boots of the Assembler can be acquired via solo Legend/Master Lost Sectors.
8. Fallen Sunstar
Excels in PvE
Fallen Sunstar is the perfect Exotic for Stormcaller builds, providing you and your allies with a substantial boost in ability energy.
Fallen Sunstar enhances Ionic Traces in various ways. Equipping this Exotic makes the traces move faster, grant more ability energy, and share some of that ability regeneration with nearby allies. Combined with the Electrostatic Mind aspect, this creates a perfect loop where ability kills generate Ionic Traces, which, in turn, replenish energy. Additionally, Arc Soul can further enhance your support role by granting extra firepower to you and your allies.
While Fallen Sunstar is limited to a single subclass, it’s an easy choice for most Stormcaller builds. If you want to support your allies while benefiting yourself, investing in this Exotic is a wise move.
How to get it: Fallen Sunstar can be acquired via solo Legend/Master Lost Sectors.
7. Ophidian Aspect
Excels in PvP
Ophidian Aspect continues to dominate the PvP neutral game, even after recent nerfs.
In addition to its fast weapon ready and reload speeds, Ophidian Aspect previously extended your melee range. While Bungie removed this extra benefit, the Exotic’s existing perks remain useful in The Crucible. Together with Transversive Steps, Ophidian Aspect is an excellent choice when you’re not sure what else to run. Its buffs noticeably impact moment-to-moment gameplay and can make a difference in 1v1 battles.
How to get it: Ophidian Aspect can be acquired via Exotic engrams, Xûr, or by farming Lost Sectors.
6. Transversive Steps
Excels in PvE and PvP
Transversive Steps are the go-to Exotic for most Warlocks. While they may not have any flashy abilities, the buff they provide is incredibly valuable and passive, making them one of the best Exotics for any situation.
These boots offer two simple benefits: increased movement speed and automatic weapon reload after a short sprint. The movement speed boost is substantial, allowing you to navigate PvP maps, complete jumping puzzles, and engage in PvE activities more quickly than ever before. Additionally, the faster reload speed is a welcome bonus, reducing one of the concerns in combat.
While Transversive Steps are commonly seen in PvP, they can also prove useful in PvE when no other Exotic matches your playstyle or subclass. Neutral and straightforward, Transversive Steps excel at what they do, making them an excellent choice for any Warlock player.
How to get it: Transversive Steps can be acquired via Exotic engrams, Xûr, or by farming Lost Sectors.
5. Osmiomancy Gloves
Excels in PvE and PvP
Stasis abilities are inherently powerful, but what if you could harness even more of their potential? Osmiomancy Gloves answers that question, making it one of the best Exotic armor pieces available.
In PvE, you can use Bleak Watcher to convert two Coldsnap Grenade charges into Stasis Turrets that slow and freeze large groups of enemies in higher-level activities.
In the Crucible, Osmiomancy Gloves shine even brighter. With two Coldsnap Grenades at your disposal, you can freeze groups of opposing Guardians effortlessly. Moreover, well-executed grenade throws can replenish some grenade energy.
While Osmiomancy Gloves and Stasis haven’t received recent buffs, their popularity continues to rise. If you’re aiming for a reliable option in mid-high level PvE or general Crucible encounters, these gloves are a must-have.
How to get it: Osmiomancy Gloves can be acquired via solo Legend/Master Lost Sectors.
4. Sunbracers
Excels in PvE
Since the introduction of Solar 3.0 subclasses in Season of the Haunted, Sunbracers’ popularity has steadily increased. They are more than just fun picks for casual PvE content.
Using the Incinerator Snap melee, which ignites targets, you can trigger Sunbracers easily. Combining it with Touch of Flame, Heat Rises, and Phoenix Dive leads to substantial DPS and infinite Restoration.
Sunbracers remain a top choice for casual content and are even finding their way into higher-difficulty scenarios. If you’re seeking an alternative to the nerfed Starfire Protocol, Sunbracers are the way to go.
How to get it: Sunbracers can be acquired via Exotic engrams, Xûr, or by farming Lost Sectors.
3. Felwinter’s Helm
Excels in PvE
Despite offering one of the most potent debuffs in the game, Felwinter’s Helm remains an underrated choice.
Upon performing a finisher or obtaining a charged melee kill, nearby enemies are instantly blinded and weakened. Notably, this isn’t your standard 15% weaken—it’s a staggering 30%. With such an impactful debuff, many Warlocks choose this Exotic. When combined with Voidwalker’s Echo of Obscurity, you can apply significant debuffs to large groups of enemies safely.
The main drawback of Felwinter’s Helm is the high-risk situation it places you in while triggering its effects, especially in challenging content. Although synergies like Echo of Obscurity mitigate this risk, finding the perfect balance remains challenging. Nevertheless, the result of disorienting enemies, who receive 30% more damage, is worth the trade-off.
Felwinter’s Helm deserves more recognition than it currently receives. While other builds may be stronger, the potency of this debuff should not be overlooked.
How to get it: Felwinter’s Helm can be acquired via Exotic engrams, Xûr, or by farming Lost Sectors.
2. Verity’s Brow
Excels in PvE
When used effectively, Verity’s Brow can be extremely potent in any PvE activity.
With its ability to enhance grenade damage and recharge rate, Verity’s Brow shines when no other Exotic matches your playstyle or subclass. While Sunbracers and Starfire Protocol benefit from running specific grenades, Verity’s Brow will excel with any other grenade type.
This helmet pairs exceptionally well with the Armor Charge system, allowing you to generate numerous Orbs of Power with Firepower and Harmonic Siphon. While not the flashiest Warlock Exotic, Verity’s Brow is a fantastic neutral choice for those who want to specialize in grenades.
How to get it: Verity’s Brow can be acquired via Exotic engrams, Xûr, or by farming Lost Sectors.
1. Karnstein Armlets
Excels in PvE and PvP
Karnstein Armlets are one of the most powerful Exotics in the game, providing constant healing. While they excel in PvP, they are equally impressive in PvE, ensuring your survival in moderately challenging content.
Upon getting a melee kill, you receive an instantaneous substantial health bump (approximately 50-70%). Additionally, you gain about 8 seconds of health regeneration, which continues to function even when taking damage.
Furthermore, these gauntlets work with projectile melee abilities, making it easier to trigger the health regeneration buff from a significant distance. Karnstein Armlets can easily turn the tide of a Crucible fight and keep you alive in PvE. Overall, they are an exceptional choice for any game mode, offering unrivaled health regeneration.
How to get it: Karnstein Armlets can be acquired via Exotic engrams, Xûr, or by farming Lost Sectors.
Honorable Mentions
While not among our top 10 favorites, Exotics like Starfire Protocol and Osmiomancy Gloves can be used to create incredibly powerful builds.
How to Farm Warlock Exotics
Farming specific Exotic armor in Destiny 2 can be challenging. Unlike Exotic weapons, which have direct acquisition methods, Exotic armor can only be farmed indirectly, heavily relying on RNG. However, Bungie has introduced new avenues to make Exotic armor farming more accessible:
Exotic Engrams
Most Exotic armor can be found within Exotic Engrams. These engrams can be obtained through the Season Pass, purchased from Xûr, or obtained randomly. End-game activities have a higher chance of dropping Exotic Engrams. If collecting Exotics is your priority, Nightfall: The Ordeals is your best bet.
Exotic Armor Focusing
Some Exotic engrams can be decrypted into the specific Exotic you desire. However, this service comes at a cost. Detailed information on Exotic armor focusing can be found here.
Lost Sector Farming
To farm new Exotic armor, complete Legend and Master Lost Sectors solo on specific days. Each day is dedicated to a specific armor piece type. Read more about farming Legend and Master Lost Sectors here.
Vex Strike Force Public Event
Participating in Vex Strike Forces, unique and challenging public events that randomly occur in Neomuna, can grant up to three Exotic armor pieces per completion.
