Published , by Sam Chandler
Published , by Sam Chandler
Unlocking Exotic Catalysts in Destiny 2 is what gets most players out of bed every day. Each Catalyst, when completed, upgrades an Exotic to a Masterwork version, increasing its power through some stat boost or by introducing a new perk, and causing it to generate Orbs of Light on multi-kills. Players who want to increase the potency of their favorite Exotic weapons will want to begin tracking down and completing the many Exotic Catalysts in Destiny 2.
Last updated on June 4, 2024.
Exotic Catalysts can drop from numerous locations in Destiny 2, though each Catalyst has its own specific drop location. Catalysts can drop from general content like Patrols, Strikes, Nightfalls, and Heroic Adventures, from multiplayer content like Quickplay Crucible and Competitive Crucible, as well as from end-game activities like the many raids. The best option is to find one you want, and then farm the activity until the Catalyst drops.
Note: With the release of each expansion, several Exotic catalyst sources are removed. If you do not unlock a catalyst before the arrival of a new expansion, you will not be able to unlock them until Bungie changes the drop source.
Use the table below to learn what Exotic weapons have Catalysts, what the Catalyst does to the weapon, where to find the Catalyst, and how to upgrade it to Masterwork.
| All Exotic Catalysts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Weapon | Catalyst Effect | Where to find Catalyst | How to upgrade Masterwork |
| Ace of Spades | Funerl Pyre (Firefly does more damage while Memento Mori is active) | Heroic Strikes & Nightfall bosses | 500 kills |
| Ager's Scepter | Will Given Form (Drain Super energy, overflowing the magazine and empowering the beam with bonus damage and the ability to slow and freeze targets until the magazine or Super energy runs out, or the weapon is stowed. Can only be activated when Super energy is full) | Dropped from Astral Alignment or Nightfalls after Season of the Lost (Dropping September 21, 2021) |
1000 kills Precision kills and destroying walls in the Shattered Realm grant additional progress. |
| Anarchy | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Arbalest | Genesis (Breaking a combatant's shield with this weapon fills its magazine from reserves. Energy weapons regenerate ammo on hit when matching the damage type to the combatant's shield) | Strikes, Gambit, and Crucible matches | 500 kills |
| Bad Juju | Unending Curse (Extends the duration of String of Curses) | 45 Tributes in the Tribute Hall or complete Playlist activities. | 700 kills |
| Bastion | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Black Talon | Reveral (Shots blocked immediately after guarding increase the damage of Crow's Wings for a very short duration) | Heroic Strikes, Gambit, and Crucible matches | 500 kills |
| Borealis | +20 Reload Speed | Kill PVE enemies | 150 Arc, Solar, and Void kills |
| Buried Bloodline | Splitvein Lineage (While Devour is active, this weapon weakens on hit.) | Complete In the Shadows of the Mountain and then solve puzzles in Warlord's Ruin & defeat Primeval Thressia, Font of Blight. | 700 kills |
| Centrifuse | While amplified, this weapon gradually gains overcharge. | Complete the Higher Voltage quest | 700 kills |
| Cerberus+1 | Focused Fire (Hold reload to swap to a tighter, close-ranged spread) | Kill PVE enemies | 500 kills |
| The Chaperone | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Cloudstrike | Triple Tap (Rapidly landing precision hits will return one round to the magazine) +25 Handling |
Strikes, Gambit, & Crucible | 400 kills |
| Coldheart | +20 Stability +20 Reload Speed |
Heroic Strike & Nightfall bosses | 300 kills |
| Collective Obligation | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| The Colony | +1 Magazine Deeper Pockets (Increased ammo reserves) |
Complete Crucible matches | 500 kills |
| Conditional Finality | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Crimson | +20 Range | Kill PVE enemies | 300 precision kills |
| Cryosthesia 77K | Cold Efficiency (Shattering a frozen target refills this weapon's magazine from reserves) | Complete the Stasis Trigger quest | 700 kills |
| D.A.R.C.I. | +20 Stability | Kill PVE enemies | 300 precision kills |
| Dead Man's Tale | Dark-Forged Trigger (Increased hipfire rate of fire and removes hipfire accuracy penalties) | Complete Presage mission when it is available on the Exotic mission rotator Drops from playlist activities on Febuary 22, 2022 |
800 kills with Dead Man's Tale and/or collecting Hidden Caches' in Presage. |
| Dead Messenger | Turnabout (Using this weapon to break the shield of a combatant or a Guardian using their Super will grant you an overshield) | Complete Vox Obscura mission when it is available on the Exotic mission rotator | 200 Solar, Arc, & Void kills |
| Deathbringer | Dead Weight (Increases how quickly Dark Descent reaches its full potential) | Heroic Strikes, Gambit, and Crucible matches | 400 kills |
| Delicate Tomb | Ionic Interment (Collecting an Ionic Trace partially reloads the magazine from reserves) | Complete The Form of the Danger quest | 700 kills |
| Deterministic Chaos | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Devil's Ruin | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Divinity | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Dragon's Breath | Pyromancer (This weapon replenishes its fuel faster. Defeating targets with this weapon causes them to periodically drop Firesprites.) | Complete An Old Flame quest. | 300 kills? |
| Duality | +2 Magazine +20 Range |
Complete Walk the Line quest | 400 kills |
| Edge of Action | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Edge of Concurrence | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Edge of Intent | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Ergo Sum | Transcendent Steel (Dealing damage with Transcendent grenade grants Ergo Sum ammo) | Complete Excision on Grandmaster difficulty. | 500 kills |
| Eriana's Vow | More to Give (Increases magazine & adds Auto-Loading Holster) | Collected from Banshee-44 after completing a bounty or recieving a rank-up package. | Complete Gambit matches, Crucible, Vex Offensive, and Strikes while using Eriana's Vow 700 kills |
| Ex Diris | Berserk Rush (Weapon enrages faster while amplified. Final blows with this weapon make you amplified) | Complete the Grenade Logic quest from Banshee-44. | 400 kills |
| Eyes of Tomorrow | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Fighting Lion | +30 Reload Speed Chimera (After this weapon fires, equipped Kinetic and Power weapons gain a brief period of increased handling and accuracy) |
Rewarded during the Festival of the Lost OR killing PVE enemies | 1000 kills and bounties |
| Final Warning | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Forerunner | The Rock (For several seconds after a final blow, you can consume part of your ammo reserves, converting your next thrown grenade into a fragmentation grenade) | Rank 16 at Xur to unlock Anomalous Access Card and the Magnum Opus II quest. | 700 kills |
| The Fourth Horseman | Adds an additional round to the magazine and increases reload speed | Legendary Lost Sectors and Seraph Tower Public Events Drops from playlist activities on Febuary 22, 2022 |
400 kills |
| Gjallarhorn | More Wolves (Increases magazine size. Final blows with Wolfpack Rounds spawn a faster, more powerful missile at the target's location) | Three unique chests in Grasp of Avarice dungeon | 400 kills |
| Grand Overture | +20 Stability +20 Handling Missile explosions will blind combatants. Those defeated by missile impacts then explode. |
Complete the quest, Heavy Does It | 400 kills |
| Graviton Lance | +20 Range +15 Aim Assist Hidden Hand (Better target acquisition) |
Heroic Strikes & Crucible matches | 500 kills and 1,000 kills with the Cosmology perk |
| Hard Light | +25 Stability | Heroic Strikes & Nightfall bosses | 1,000 kills |
| Hawkmoon | Hunter's Trance (Increased magazine size. Grants increased handling, reload speed, and weapon range based on number of stacks of Paracausal Charge) | Complete the Harbinger mission then Bird of Prey quest Drops from playlist activities on Febuary 22, 2022 |
700 kills |
| Heartshadow | Wraithwalk (Faster movement while invisibile) | Defeat Nightmares and deposit unique Standards in the Duality dungeon. | 400 kills |
| Heir Apparent | Legion's Bulwark (Increases the Arc Shield's durability and partially reloads the magazine if it is destroyed) | Complete the Competitive Catalyst quest during Guardian Games | 700 kills |
| Hierarchy of Needs | Protocol: Emergency Scramble (Deploying a Guidance Ring or striking a target with a seeking projectile improves draw time and reload speed for a moderate duration) | Complete Spire of the Watcher dungeon on Master | 700 kills |
| The Huckleberry | Bull Rider (Kills with this weapon now reload the entire magazine) | Complete Playlist activities | 500 kills |
| Izanagi's Burden | Damage bonus with 4x Honed Edge | Complete Playlist activities | 500 kills |
| The Jade Rabbit | +30 Stability | Crucible wins | 250 kills in Crucible |
| Jötunn | Cornered (Faster charge time or draw time when surrounded by combatants) Incandescent (Defeating a target spreads scorch to those nearby. More powerful combatants and opposing Guardians cause scorch in a larger radius) |
Complete Playlist activities | 500 kills |
| Khvostov 7G-0X | Pending... | Pending... | Pending... |
| The Lament | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| The Last Word | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Legend of Acrius | +40 Reload Speed Deeper Pockets (Increased ammo reserves) |
Prestige Leviathan raid or Nightfall bosses | 500 kills |
| Leviathan's Breath | Colossal Quiver (+5 Reserve ammo) | Kills with Leviathan's Breath | 1500 kills Defeating high-tier Wrathborn increases completion rate |
| Lord of Wolves | Increases reload speed while Release the Wolves is active, and increases stability when it is not. | Complete Crucible matches | 500 kills |
| Lorentz Driver | Jump Driver (Lorentz Driver gains an enhanced radar. Additionally, while this weapon has 3 telemetry patterns, EM Anomaly detonations no longer require a precision final blow) | Complete the quest, Revision 7.2.2 | 400 kills |
| Lumina | Resonant Virtue (2 Nobel rounds per kill) | Heroic Strikes, Nightfall bosses, Gambit and Crucible matches | Heal 250 allies with Noble rounds |
| Malfeasance | Vorpal Weapon (Increased damage against bosses, vehicles, and Guardians with their Super active) | Heroic Strikes, Gambit, and Crucible matches | 700 kills |
| The Manticore | Flying Monster (Final blows with this weapon while airborne grant damage resistance) | Complete the quest, Volantes Violentiam | 700 kills |
| Merciless | +40 Range +40 Stability |
Heroic Strike & Nightfall bosses | 500 kills |
| Microcosm | Pending... | Pending... | Pending... |
| MIDA Multi-Tool | No Distractions (Aiming this weapon for a short period reduces flinch) | Competitive Crucible wins at Fabled Glory Rank. Guaranteed after Legend Glory Rank. | Defeat Crucible enemies with precision damage (with MIDA Multi-Tool) |
| Monte Carlo | Stochastic Vengeance (At 5 stacks of Markov Chain, alt-weapon action switches between your melee attack and Monte Carlo's bayonet. Landing a bayonet melee grants melee energy) | Strikes, Gambit, & Crucible | 700 kills |
| Le Monarque | Unrelenting (Rapidly defeating targets triggers health regeneration. Guardians and powerful combatants count as more than one kill) | Strikes, Gambit, & Crucible | 700 kills |
| The Navigator | Gordian Knot (Hold reload and then fire to create a Grapple Tangle at the targeted point) | Ghosts of the Deep dungeon. | 700 Kills |
| Necrochasm | One for Thrall (Damaging 3 combatants in quick succession provides a period of increased damage, range, and aim assist) | Crota's End raid vendor quest. | 35 Essence of the Oversoul |
| No Time to Explain | Blast from the Side (Projectiles from Time-Slip shoot more frequently) | Complete Soon quest | 700 kills |
| One Thousand Voices | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Osteo Striga | Poison final blows return ammo to the magazine. +20 Stability +30 Reload Speed |
Unlocked at the Relic by leveling the gun to Level 10. | Kills |
| Outbreak Perfected | Disease Vector (Increases nanite damage. Enemies that die with nanites attached to them generate additional nanites) | Complete Zero Hour Heroic Drops from playlist activities on Febuary 22, 2022 |
Complete Zero Hour Heroic mission to get SIVA particulates. Use Void, Arc, and Solar configuration for bonus points. 500 Precision kills |
| Parasite | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Polaris Lance | Dragonfly (Precision kills create an elemental damage explosion) | Complete Nascent Dawn quest line or complete Playlist activities. | 500 kills and 50 kills with the Perfect Fifth perk |
| Prometheus Lens | +20 Stability +20 Handling |
Heroic Strikes & Nightfall bosses | 300 kills |
| The Prospector | +40 Blast Radius Deeper Pockets (Increased ammo reserves) |
Heroic Strikes & Nightfall bosses | 500 kills |
| The Queenbreaker | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Quicksilver Storm | Nano-entanglement (This weapon's damage type becomes Strand. Final blows with grenades from this weapon create Tangles) | Complete the quest, Any Data Port in a Storm | 700 kills |
| Rat King | +20 Aim Assist +20 Recoil Direction Infestation (Improved aim assist and recoil direction. Refreshes health on Vermin invisibility trigger) |
Heroic Strikes & Nightfall bosses | 500 PVE kills with Fireteam using Rat King |
| Red Death Reformed | Pending... | Pending... | Pending... |
| Revision Zero | Frenzy (Being in combat for an extended time increases damage, handling, and reload for this weapon until you are out of combat) Under Pressure (Improved stability and accuracy as the magazine gets lower) Outlaw (Precision kills greatly decrease reload time) Fourth Time's the Charm (Rapidly landing precision hits will return two rounds to the magazine) |
Complete Operation: Seraph's Shield mission when it is available on the Exotic mission rotator | N/A |
| Riskrunner | +30 Range | Heroic Strikes & Nightfall bosses and the Pain and Gain Exotic quest | 300 kills and 300 lightning chain kills |
| Ruinous Effigy | Deconstruction (Ruinous Effigy deals more damage against enemies damaged by Transmutation spheres) | Unlocked after completing Ruinous Effigy's Growth questline or PVE kills | Kills with Transmutation spheres or destroy all Savathun's Eyes |
| Salvation's Grip | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Skyburner's Oath | +30 Range | Heroic Strikes, Gambit, and Crucible matches | 1,000 Cabal kills |
| Sleeper Simulant | +75 Charge Time Accelerated Coils (Speeds up weapon charge time) & Deeper Pockets (Increased ammo reserves) |
Prestige Spire of Stars raid or complete Nightfall: The Ordeals | Kills with each Escalation Protocol weapon: 1,000 Sniper Rifle kills, 1,000 Shotgun kills, 2,000 Submachine Gun kills Open the Oracle chest in The Whisper 500 kills with Sleeper Simulant |
| Still Hunt | Pending... | Pending... | Pending... |
| Sturm | +20 Range +40 Handling |
Defeat enemies on Nessus | 500 kills with Sturm and 500 kills with Drang (Both guns equipped) |
| Sunshot | +20 Range +20 Stability |
Heroic Strikes & Crucible matches | 500 kills and 1,000 kills with Sun Blast perk |
| SUROS Regime | +50 Recoil Direction SUROS Ascendance (Increased chance for kills to regen health) |
Crucible wins | 300 Crucible kills |
| Sweet Business | Serious Busness (When this weapon is fully spun up, the flinch from incoming damage is greatly reduced) | Heroic Strikes & Nightfall bosses | 250 multi-kills |
| Symmetry | +10 Reload Speed +10 Handling Eddy Current (Temporarily increases reload speed after sprinting. This effect is improved when you are amplified) Electric Styx (Increases the maximum number of Dynamic Charge stacks) |
Picked up from Banshee-44 as part of the quest, Symmetry Remastered | Complete the Symmetry Remastered quest 700 kills |
| Tarrabah | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Telesto | +3 Magazine Deeper Pockets (Increased ammo reserves) |
Prestige Eater of Worlds raid or complete Legend & Master Lost Sectors | Complete all Lost Prophecy Verses for Brother Vance in the Lighthouse on Mercury or 300 kills |
| Tessellation | Pending... | Pending... | 400 kills |
| Thorn |
Refined Soul (Grants bonus range and stability. Dealing a final blow or absorbing a Remnant grants additional increased weapon range, as well as increased mobility and handling for a short time. +20 Range |
Playlist activities | 700 kills |
| Thunderlord | Return Stroke (Causing a lightning strike with this weapon partially reloads the magazine from reserves) | Playlist activities | 500 kills |
| Ticuu's Divination | Causality Quiver (Perfectly drawn arrows that detonate Sacred Flames increase arrow damage. Striking targets unaffected by Sacred Flame instead refreshes Causality Arrows) | Complete the Points Piercing Forever quest |
200 Calibration data generated |
| Tommy's Matchbook | Heat of the Moment (While Ignition Trigger is active, your health recovers much faster) | Complete A Good Match quest | 700 kills |
| Touch of Malice | Rapid Hit (Rapid precision hits temporarily increase stability and reload speed) | Dunk unique relics throughout the King's Fall raid. | 700 kills |
| Tractor Cannon | +3 Magazine Deeper Pockets (Increased ammo reserves) |
Kill PVE enemies | 300 kills |
| Traveler's Chosen | Increases Magazine Osmosis (Using your grenade ability changes this weapon's damage type to match your subclass until you stow it) Full Auto Trigger System (Holding down the trigger will fire this weapon at full auto) |
Heroic Strikes, Gambit, and Crucible matches | 700 kills |
| Trespasser | Tunnel Vision (Reloading after defeating a target greatly increases target acquisition and aim down sight speed for a short duration) | Complete No Trespassing quest. | 700 kills |
| Trinity Ghoul |
Forked Lightning (Lightning Rod perk activates on all Arc kills) |
Heroic Strikes & Nightfall bosses | 400 kills |
| Truth | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Two-Tailed Fox | Third Tail (Adds an additional Arc rocket to the second shot in a volley. The Arc rocket jolts targets) | Strikes, Gambit & Crucible | 350 kills |
| Verglas Curve | Shiver Quiver (Freezing a target grants this weapon faster draw speed for a short period of time) | Complete Nock, Draw, Loose, Quiet quest | 700 kills |
| Vexcalibur | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Vex Mythoclast | Calculated Balance (Higher stacks of Overcharge increase stability) | Interact with Vex plates and destroy Oracles in Vault of Glass. | 700 kills |
| Vigilance Wing | Full Auto Trigger System (Holding down the trigger will fire this weapon in full auto) | Crucible wins | 250 PVP kills and 5 Blood for Blood medals (avenge teammates) |
| The Wardcliff Coil | Pinpoint Guidance Module (Improved tracking on projectiles) | Heroic Strike & Nightfall bosses | 500 kills |
| Wavesplitter | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Whisper of the Worm | +30 Reload Speed Whispered Breathing (Aiming this weapon without firing for a brief moment grants bonus range and precision damage while it remains zoomed) |
Awarded after clearing The Whisper for the first time Drops from playlist activities on Febuary 22, 2022 |
Complete The Whisper and open chests in The Whisper to collect Blighted Essence |
| Wicked Implement | Hadopelagic Tribute (Collecting Stasis shards gradually overflows the magazine) Headstone (Precision final blows spawn a Stasis crystal at the victim's location) |
Complete a Tier 7 Deep Dive Drops from playlist activities on June 4, 2024. |
700 kills |
| Winterbite | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Wish-Ender | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Wish-Keeper |
Multi-Threaded Snare Refit (Snareweaver traps can suspend more targets) Hatchling Refit (Precision final blows or rapidly defeat targets with a non-precision weapon spawns a Threadling at the target's location) Enduring Snare Refit (Snareweaver traps last longer) Vorpal weapon Refit (Increased damage against bosses, vehicles, and Guardians with their Super active) |
Complete the Constellation quests in the Starcrossed Exotic mission | N/A |
| Witherhoard | Silent Alarm (Increased handling and Auto-Loading Holster) | Complete the quest, The Bank Job. | 400 kills |
| Worldline Zero | Another Dimension (Reduces the activision time of Tesseract) | Kills in PVE with a sword | Hit each Level 7 Escalation Protocol boss with Worldline Zero or 300 kills |
| Xenophage | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Some information courtesy of light.gg Destiny database.
There are still a few Exotic weapons that have yet to receive their Exotic Catalyst, so check back with us periodically as we update this list once new Catalysts are added to Destiny 2. Be sure to check out the Shacknews Destiny 2 Complete Strategy Guide for more comprehensive guides, information, and walkthroughs.