20 Best Hunter Exotics in Destiny 2

Image: Bungie

Human Made

Kody is our expert Destiny 2 and shooter genre writer. He lives in Oregon.

Playing as a Hunter in Destiny 2 favors being elusive and quick. You’re constantly working at mid-distance, laying out traps, targeting and tracking foes, and getting in close only to disappear. Your ability to get in and out can even be augmented with the right Exotic piece of armor to compliment your Hunter build.

As of Beyond Light, there are currently thirty-two pieces of Exotic Hunter Armor to collect. However, Hunter Exotic Armor is incredibly specific making it very hit or miss. Thankfully, the best options and even specific Subclass support items are easy to identify. Unlike the other Classes, they truly stand out with Perks that elevate the Hunter class.

The Best Hunter Exotics in Destiny 2

Now, here are the 20 best Hunter Exotics in Destiny 2 as of 2022.

1/20

The Bombardiers

Type: Boots
Perk: Dodging leaves behind an explosive that detonates after a short delay.

Dodging is key when playing as a Hunter. This Exotic leaves behind a parting gift in the form of a Grenade that will explode after a few seconds. It may not always do a lot of damage, but it will leave your opponents off balance and can be a great method for chipping away at the health of multiple enemies in one go.

2/20

Khepri’s Sting

Type: Gauntlets
Perk: Punching someone with full melee energy casts Smoke Bomb. You gain Truesight while in your own Smoke Bomb and they deal increased damage.

Next on our list of the best Hunter Exotics in Destiny 2 is a revision of a piece of Armor from the original Destiny. Like many of these reissues, it retains the benefits of the original but in a far weaker state. In this case, your Smoke Bomb still activates upon a successful hit with maxed-out energy, but it’s not a guaranteed kill. However, the ability to sneak around using Truesight in your own smoke screen is still incredibly useful.

3/20

Young Ahamkara’s Spine

Type: Gauntlets
Perk: Increases Tripmine Grenade duration and blast radius. Ability damage boosts Tripmine Grenade recharge rate.

If you’re a fan of laying out Grenades and leading enemies into somewhat of a kill box, this is a great Exotic to help ensure that happens. While you are forced to use Tripmines, the increased radius and time it deals damage can make it an elegant tool, especially in PvP. Land a few Melee hits, entrap a few enemies with your Grenades, and land some Super kills, and you’ll always have a fresh supply available.

4/20

Sealed Ahamkara Grasps

Type: Gauntlets
Perk: Melee hits reload your currently equipped weapon.

Getting up in an enemy’s face isn’t always the go-to option as a Hunter, but this Exotic can help ensure you survive the experience. Unload your weapon, land a hit, and immediately start shooting again without the risk of having to reload. This can be especially useful if you’re running higher short-range damage weapons like Shotguns or Fusion Rifles with small clips.

5/20

Ophidia Spathe

Type: Chest
Perk: Grants two knives per charge.

This is the equivalent to the Titan’s Armamentarium Exotic Chest Armor, just not quite to the same degree of damage output. Yes, having two knives available, which can potentially lead to an instant kill with great aim, just isn’t the same as having two Grenades available. But, as a generalist Exotic, it can be a great option to use alongside mid-range weapons like Hand cannons if the two Throwing Knives can’t quite put the enemy down.

6/20

Raiden Flux

Type: Chest
Perk: Quick attacks with Arc Staff boosts damage and duration.

While this ability has diminished over time, the potential to clear out Minor ADS as well as a chunk of health on a boss is still very real. This is one of the best options if you’re running Arc Staff and want to try to extend the duration and tack on a damage boost. The only drawback is that this can become useless in more spacious arenas and requires you to time activation perfectly in Crucible.

7/20

Foetracer

Type: Helmet
Perk: Marks targeted enemies and deals more damage to those marked with low health.

Having the ability to target and track enemies is always useful in Crucible. This Exotic also gives you the added bonus of increased damage if they happen to be at low health. Losing sight of a hurting enemy in a one-on-one fight is far less likely, but that scenario aside you basically just get the tracking ability. It would be great if this provided some sort of health buff upon a successful kill, but you take what you can get.

8/20

Shards of Galanor

Type: Gauntlet
Perk: Hits and kills with Blade Barrage earn Super energy that applies to your Super recharge.

Shards is one of the best options for Super regeneration. It won’t ever provide a full Super charge no matter how many successful hits and kills you get with Blade Barrage, but it gets really close. So close that it can take just a few Major kills to execute again. The only real drawback is that this is limited to that specific Super, which may not always be the most useful option.

9/20

Gwisin Vest

Type: Chest
Perk: Each Spectral Blades kill before going into stealth will recharge your Super energy.

Gwisin Vest has seen more powerful days, but it’s still incredibly useful. It’s best used for PvE in any encounter that has Minor ADS flooding in, allowing you to keep your Super activated close to double the time. It can also be useful in PvP but may end up putting you more at risk if you try to stretch out your killstreaks instead of disappearing.

10/20

Liar’s Handshake

Type: Gauntlet
Perk: Your Arc melee ability or being hit by a melee attack allows you to execute a counterpunch that activates health regeneration.

This is another piece of Exotic Armor that can provide a safety net when getting in close. It requires you to run an Arcstrider Subclass, but its activation is very forgiving. Land a Melee punch or get hit by an enemy hit and you can return the favor with a far more powerful DPS-laden punch. So, increase your Strength stats and be ready to one-hit enemies and get away scot-free.

11/20

Assassin’s Cowl

Type: Helmet
Perk: Arc, Solar, and Void melee final blows grant invisibility and restore a portion of health and shields. Defeating more powerful enemies will increase the duration and amount restored.

Another generalist piece of Armor, the Assassin’s Cowl can be useful with any elemental build. Like the Liar’s Handshake, it does require you to get up close and land a Melee final blow, meaning you’ll want to invest in your Strength stat. However, if you can regularly finish with a punch the Invisibility pop and recovery boost is excellent in both PvP and PvE.

12/20

Orpheus Rig

Type: Legs
Perk: Each enemy tethered by Deadfall anchors increases ability energy and the Moebius Quiver has more shots.

Shadowshot is already a very useful Super, especially if you’re running with the Moebius Quiver and get multiple uses. This Exotic basically just rewards you for using your Super well and provides you with more opportunities to anchor enemies. It provides the opportunity to have your Super almost ready again after using it, making this one of the best Hunter Exotics in Destiny 2 PvP and end-game content.

13/20

Celestial Nighthawk

Type: Helmet
Perk: Golden Gun fires a single high-damage shot, with kills causing enemies to explode and boost your Super regeneration.

There was once a time when Celestial Nighthawk was the go-to Hunter Exotic. Now, it’s still incredibly useful and a great classic option for those that love running with the Golden Gun. Sure, you lose out on the additional shots, but you can easily eliminate most Major enemies in a single blow and potentially take out anywhere from an eighth to a quarter of Boss health. You just need to get comfortable with successfully using the Golden Gun in one go.

14/20

Star-Eater Scales

Type: Legs
Perk: Gain additional Super energy from Orbs of Power and gain a healing and Super damage buff, alongside an Overshield, if your Super energy is full.

There’s a lot going on with this Exotic, which basically stacks up Super regeneration to varying degrees. In short, it lets you use your Super far more often but also allows you to hold off on executing in order to buff it. Keep grabbing Orbs of Light with a full Super, and you get increased damage and health regen once you pop it. Stack it all the way to eight times its max and you get an Overshield. It’s sort of a risk-reward Exotic, but it can be useful any way you decide to activate your Super.

15/20

Fr0st-EE5

Type: Legs
Perk: Increased grenade, melee, and dodge regeneration while sprinting and dodging increases your sprint speed.

Fr0st-EE5 is among the Destiny 2 best Hunter Exotic gear just for the dodge and sprinting boost loop it provides. It reinforces how elusive Hunters can be while adding in additional boosts for Grenade and Melee regeneration. It’s basically the close encounter toolkit that can keep you competitive and dangerous in seemingly dire situations.

16/20

The Sixth Coyote

Type: Chest
Perk: Gain an additional dodge charge.

Having a second dodge may seem like a so-so benefit. However, depending on the Class skill you’re running with, it can provide an additional Melee charge or weapon reload. Depending on the Subclass you use, it can also provide additional invisibility charges and opportunities to chain Arc damage among other things. Focus on how you can stack benefits and run this Exotic with a Subclass that provides an additional boost.

17/20

Mask of Bakris

Type: Helmet
Perk: Your Stasis subclass Dodge becomes a longer range, faster, and partially cloaked Shift. Shifting increases the damage of Arc weapons and slowed or frozen combatants.

Beyond Light added so many interesting mechanics and Armor that mixed up how to play Destiny 2. The Mask of Bakris is no different, providing a short-range teleport ability that simultaneously cloaks you and boosts Arc weapon damage. It does require that you run Stasis and Arc weapons, but with the right build, this can become a deadly combo, even with the Stasis nerf.

18/20

St0mp-EE5

Type: Legs
Perk: Increases sprint speed and slide distance.

If you want to be as nimble, fast, and precise as possible, St0mp-EE5 is your best bet. They’re great for platforming puzzles, can provide an excellent height advantage in Crucible, and make you far harder to hit when sprinting and sliding. This is purely a movement-based Exotic but it can be crucial when paired with short-range weapons.

19/20

The Dragon’s Shadow

Type: Chest
Perk: Dodging reloads all weapons while increasing movement and weapon handling speeds.

Leaning into how integral dodging is as a Hunter, The Dragon’s Shadow provides some excellent Perks. It basically provides the combined benefits of multiple weapon Perks along with instant weapon reloads and a Mobility boost that lasts up to ten seconds. If you’re able to max out your Mobility stat, you can keep your Dodge stowed at almost all times, basically meaning you may never have to reload.

20/20

Wormhusk Crown

Type: Helmet
Perk: Dodging provides a health and shield boost.

Of course, the Destiny 2 best Hunter Exotic Armor is built around dodging. However, this Exotic doesn’t pop some random stat boost or increase speed; it instead gives you a minor health and shield boost. It’s not a major boon, but it can be a crucial stat jump when in tight Crucible or end-game situations. Again, max out your Mobility, and keep your Dodge available to keep yourself alive and fighting.

Become a High Grounder

Hopefully, this guide to the best Hunter Exotics in Destiny 2 has helped you narrow down which gear is worth keeping as you expand your collection. Be sure to help out the rest of the Hunter mains in your Fireteam by sharing this article on your favorite social platforms. And for the latest guides like this, as well as how specific Exotics can help you create a killer Hunter build, and everything else in Destiny 2, sign up for our newsletter.