20 Best Warlock Exotics in Destiny 2

Image: Bungie

Human Made

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

Warlocks in Destiny 2 are the bridge between Titans and Hunters. You play from a distance, navigating the air above the battlefield and unleash powerful space magic upon your enemies while looking for opportunities to buff your Fireteam. But to truly make you the all-powerful space wizard you are meant to be, you’ll need the right Warlock Exotic Armor.

As of Beyond Light, there are currently 32 pieces of Exotic Warlock Armor to collect. However, what you choose can really dictate exactly how you’ll play, even more so than the other Classes. In fact, the most recent updates to Destiny 2 have really honed in on what makes Warlocks so powerful and unique, bringing plenty of new Exotics into the loot pool.

The Best Warlock Exotics in Destiny 2

Without further ado, here are the 20 best Warlock Exotics in Destiny 2 as of 2022.

1/20

Eye of Another World

Type: Helmet
Perk: Highlights priority targets and boosts the regeneration speed of your abilities.

First on our list of best Warlock Exotics in Destiny 2 is Eye of Another World. Being able to track enemies in Crucible is always useful. Add in the ability recharge rates that don’t require a prerequisite to pop and you have yourself an automatic advantage over opponents. The only real drawback is that the automatic boost is somewhat small, but that’s the tradeoff you get for not having to work for it.

2/20

Astrocyte Verse

Type: Helmet
Perk: Blink further and more frequently while retaining your radar and readying weapons quickly out of Blink.

Being able to effectively Blink away and into fights can be a major disruptor in both PvP and PvE. This Exotic allows you to push the range limits and execute Blinks far more often while helping you avoid the typical delay that comes with raising your weapon post-blink and keep enemies in your site with active radar. It is a skill-based perk that can, unfortunately, be pretty useless in inexperienced hands.

3/20

Getaway Artist

Type: Gauntlets
Perk: Hold to convert your Arc Grenade into a supercharged Arc Soul that acts as an autonomous turret.

Think of the Arc Soul as another variation of the No Time to Explain Exotic Pulse Rifle’s Temporal Rounds. It’s an automated turret that follows you around for up to 20 seconds and lays out consistent Arc damage at a faster rate than typical Arc Souls. You can even double the duration of the turret by running through your Rifts.

4/20

Necrotic Grip

Type: Gauntlets
Perk: Damaging combatants applies poison that deals increasing damage over time and causes the poison to spread if an enemy is defeated.

The damage output of Necrotic Grip has slowly diminished over time, but the overall effect is still incredibly useful. First, it’s not reliant on a specific element to activate the poison debuff. Second, the continuous spread that can occur among Minor enemies basically makes this a room clearer. If you have an upgraded Thorn, be sure to run it for additional damage benefits.

5/20

Chromatic Fire

Type: Chest
Perk: Precision kills with your Kinetic weapon create an explosion that matches the element of your Subclass.

For those that love running with Pulse Rifles, Scout Rifles or Hand Cannons, this Exotic can be incredibly useful. Its Perk really rewards you for being accurate, meaning that you need to stack your ability to land headshots in order to get consistent explosions. Luckily if you do, the AOE is utterly ridiculous and can instantly kill multiple enemies, especially if there’s an active burn.

6/20

Claws of Ahamkara

Type: Gauntlets
Perk: Gain an additional melee charge.

An additional melee charge can really come in handy, especially in close quarters PvP encounters. While there are no major standout Subclass abilities that make this the best Warlock Exotic Armor, it’s a great neutral option to run, especially if you have a high Strength stat. Just don’t lean on this piece too much, as the actual usefulness is fairly limited to small Crucible maps.

7/20

Crown of Tempests

Type: Helmet
Perk: Arc ability kills boost the recharge rate of your Arc abilities and extend the duration of Stormtrance.

If you’re a fan of Stormcaller, this is one of the the best Warlock Exotics in Destiny 2 for you. It’s basically a glorified recharge cycle that boosts your ability regeneration by using any Arc damage, which also means your abilities. The fact that you can actually extend the duration of Stormtrance as well basically provides you with a boost right after you’ve popped the Super.

8/20

Geomag Stabilizers

Type: Legs
Perk: When Chaos Reach Super energy is almost full, sprinting tops it off. Damaging enemies with your Super extends its duration.

What’s better than topping off your Super energy just by sprinting? Not a whole lot, since this allows you to be far riskier with how you execute Supers and take on enemies up close without having it ready. However, it’s really the secondary benefit of extending the duration of Chaos Reach on top of the Super boost that makes this Exotic truly valuable.

9/20

Sunbracers

Type: Gauntlets
Perk: Increases the duration of Solar Grenades with Solar melee kills briefly granting unlimited Solar Grenade energy.

Sunbracers basically allow you to spawn Solar Grenades at will after a successful Melee kill. The duration is also stretched out long enough to make the wide swath of Solar energy difficult to avoid and navigate around. So, if you’re a fan of using Dawnblade, pop this on to make your Solar AOE attacks that much more consistent and deadly.

10/20

Lunafaction Boots

Type: Legs
Perk: Rifts increase weapon reload speeds and Empowering Rifts make weapons effective over longer ranges.

Any of the best Warlock Exotic gear that provides a Perk after using a Rift is worth considering. In this case, it can be incredibly useful if you save using your Rift until you’ve used up your clip. The increased range can also be useful if you’re running Hand Cannons, Fusion Rifles, or Shotguns and want to leverage the surprising reach. Like a few of these Exotics, it’s not necessarily a game-breaking Exotic but it can still be useful.

11/20

Karnstein Armlets

Type: Gauntlets
Perk: Melee kills restore a large amount of health and gradually restore health for a short duration.

When these were first unveiled, the Karnstein Gauntlets were incredibly overpowered. Now, the large health boost and regeneration duration have been decreased through a series of updates, but it’s still a worthy Exotic to run. It’s best used if you run Stormcaller since your Super qualifies as Melee attacks and can provide continuous health regen after your Super ends.

12/20

Felwinter’s Helm

Type: Helmet
Perk: Arc, Solar, and Void Melee kills create a burst of energy that weakens nearby enemies. Finishers and powerful enemy kills increase the radius and duration.

Being able to weaken enemies no matter the Subclass you run is incredibly useful for PvE, especially when facing large groups of Minor enemies during Boss encounters. Additionally, this qualifies as an enemy debuff, rather than a buff, meaning that you can stack other Perks and Mods that increase damage or cause enemy debuffs. Focus on increasing your Strength stat to maximize your Melee recharge and your Resilience to make sure you last long enough to get close.

13/20

Verity’s Brow

Type: Helmet
Perk: Energy weapon kills grant Death Throes, providing bonus Grenade damage and energy. Nearby allies also gain increased Grenade regeneration for a short time.

Energy weapon and Grenade damage combinations are a surprisingly easy way to take out large groups of enemies up close or from afar. All it takes is one Energy kill to activate Death Throes and boost your Grenade damage. With a high enough Discipline stat, you can have this combo prepped at all times, essentially allowing you to take out a Minor enemy and improve your chances of clearing a Majors with a Grenade toss.

14/20

Nezarec’s Sin

Type: Helmet
Perk: Void kills boost ability energy recharge rate.

Seeking the best Exotic helmet for Warlocks in Destiny 2? Say hello to Nezarec’s Sin. Another broad activation Perk, Nezarec’s Sin will broadly recharge every ability with any kills caused by Void energy. This can be your class abilities, weapons, or any randomized Void damage that may propagate from Mods or other Perks. To get the most out of this, you will need to run fully Void which can be a limiting factor, but well worth the continuous ability cycle.

15/20

Phoenix Protocol

Type: Chest
Perk: Kills and assists while in your Well of Radiance return Super energy.

If you’re running Well of Radiance, this should be your go-to Exotic. Being able to recharge your Super, not only from your own kills, but your Fireteam’s makes it far easier to maximize the boost. With good timing, you can potentially gain back up to half of your Super in a single go. To help increase the regeneration speed even further, be sure to increase your Intellect stat.

16/20

Contraverse Hold

Type: Gauntlets
Perk: Increased damage resistance while charging your Void Grenade with Chaos Accelerant, Feed the Void, or Handheld Supernova. Charged Grenades grant a random amount of Grenade energy when damage is dealt.

Since Warlocks fall somewhere between offensive and defensive players, being able to resist damage can be a major benefit in either scenario. In this case, since you’re actively charging your Void Grenade, you’re automatically looking to attack. This ability will then provide the necessary defense to let you complete the charge. Plus, gaining back some Grenade energy means that you can keep running this defense almost continuously.

17/20

Boots Of The Assembler

Type: Legs
Perk: Standing in a healing rift creates Noble Seekers that heal allies. Standing in an empowering rift creates Noble Seekers that grant both you and your ally a damage bonus. Each ally boost increases the duration of your rift.

Healing rifts are already incredibly useful for keeping you and your Fireteam alive. This Exotic expands your range, sending out auto-targeting healing shots that will extend the duration of your rift when you find an ally. You’re also able to increase your damage output with Empowering Rifts through the same process, giving you some options to work with.

18/20

Ophidian Aspect

Type: Helmet
Perk: Energy weapon kills grant Death Throes and provides allies with increased Grenade regeneration if you throw near them.

Increasing the range of your abilities can immediately throw off enemies, especially with Melee attacks. The additional weapon speed is a natural complement that allows you to cancel and switch between a punch and firing. Especially in the Crucible, being able to switch on the fly can mean the difference between you or your enemy being taken out.

19/20

Mantle Of Battle Harmony

Type: Chest
Perk: Kills with weapons with a burn that matches your Subclass element grants Super energy. While your Super energy is full, you gain a temporary weapon damage boost.

Mantle of Battle Harmony is an apt name for how this Exotic works. As long as you run with weapons that match your Subclass burn, you can actively boost your Super regeneration just by getting kills. If you sit with a full Super charge, you then get a decent damage boost. So, theoretically, you can save your Super and keep rolling that weapon damage buff, which can be incredibly useful in end-game content.

20/20

Transversive Steps

Type: Legs
Perk: Increases sprint speed and reloads your equipped weapon when sprinting.

Transversive Steps can be useful for any Warlock but are most useful for those willing to put the time in to refine their ability to stay mobile. The best use of this Perk is if you’re running a weapon with a small clip, slow reload speed, and shorter range. This Exotic can completely make up for those drawbacks and makes it far easier to stay on top of enemies.

Become a High Grounder

Hopefully, this guide to the best Warlock 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 Warlock-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 Warlock build, and everything else in Destiny 2, sign up for our newsletter.