The 7 returning 'Destiny' exotics in 'Destiny 2: Warmind,' ranked
There's a lot that's new in Warmind, the second major expansion for Destiny 2. But for longtime fans, one of the expansion's most exciting additions may be old news.
Bungie dusted off and updated a fresh batch exotic gear from the first Destiny, and will be adding it all to the Destiny 2 loot pool with the release of the May 8 expansion. In all, there are seven returning exotics that we know of.
Because I'm a monster, I decided to rank them. It's mostly armor, so your own ranking is probably super different, and entirely dependent on which class you prefer to play. Personally, I think Warlocks are a trash character class with a trash jump, and you'll see that reflected here.
All of which is to say: Please enjoy my 100 percent scientific, completely official, and impossible to argue ranking of Warmind's returning Destiny exotics.
(Note: This ranking assumes all of this returning gear works just like it did in the original Destiny. I might re-rank them after Warmind is out and all secrets are revealed. But this is really just for fun, folks. Don't have a cow.)
7. Suros Regime
Look. Any serious Destiny fan knows that Suros is actually #1 here. It's the only weapon in this lineup, for one. But more than that: It's freaking Suros Regime. One of the best weapons in the original game. Not only can it heal you as it deals damage, the bottom half of its magazine also deals bonus damage. For some Destiny players, this is the only exotic they ever used.
Suros gets the bottom-rung nod mostly because it's the only weapon here, and it's always fun to start these dumb lists with a curveball. Or hey, let's say it's because the gun is blue now. Sure. That works. Suros is blue and that's bad.
6. Claws of Ahamkara
As we've already discussed, Warlocks are trash. They're better in Destiny 2, sure, but their jump still sucks. The Claws of Ahamkara are a Warlock exotic, so instant demerit there.
They also come with a fairly useless ability, which is a real problem for a class of gear that's supposed to make you feel powerful. Equip the Claws and you can charge up to two melee attacks instead of the usual one. It's the height of meh.
Let's also not overlook the physical makeup of this thing you've willingly chosen to equip. It's basically a bunch of golden feathers protruding from your wrist, with all of them held in place by what appears to be a snap-on leather BDSM restraint. It's... different! But it's not going to up your Destiny 2 game. Sorry Claws of Ahamkara, you lose.
5. Apotheosis Veil
Oh hey, look at that. Another Warlock exotic. Woopity scoop.
Apotheosis Veil is somehow less useful than Claws of Ahamkara. It's got an exotic perk fully heals you and recharges your melee/grenade attacks whenever you activate your super. That's... nice. You really shouldn't be popping your super when you're at low health, though. Not unless you're wearing Apotheosis Veil, I guess. But why would you? There are better options.
Looks alone give this one the edge over Claws of Ahamkara. What the hell is going on in there? Can our Warlock friend breathe? Is there some kind of cool space gas in there that activates your so-so exotic perk? Apotheosis Veil gives good screenshot, but little more than that.
4. Sealed Ahamkara Grasps
Visually, Sealed Ahamkara Grasps are a step up from the Claws' BDSM feathers. Beyond that, I'm not entirely sure what's going on with these Hunter gauntlets. It's like someone polished and shaped a pile of fossils and glued it onto a sci-fi gauntlet.
These rank higher than the Claws of Ahamkara largely because Sealed Ahamkara Grasps are not a Warlock exotic. The perk is also just provably better: You still get to charge up to two melee attacks, but you also have a chance of automatically reloading your weapon whenever you deal melee damage. It's almost as if Destiny itself is out to troll Warlocks.
3. Eternal Warrior
Eternal Warrior has one edge here over all the other exotics: It looks the coolest. It's a helmet that has its own face. What more do you need to know?
It's also useful! Assuming it works the way its predecessor did, Titans get added damage resistance whenever their Fist of Havoc super is active. Eternal Warrior also makes Fist of Havoc last even longer. Most of all: It's not Warlock gear. Huge bonus for this (or any other) helmet.
2. Armamentarium
Armamentarium is what the Punisher would wear if he existed in the Destiny universe. Look at this thing. Those rows of bullets. The two breast grenades. A pair of Liefeld-ian pouches. This is an exotic for the Titan that is ready to go to war.
It also happens to come with one of the most useful exotic perks in the game: Two grenades. It may not be as flashy as some of the others, but being able to store up as many as two grenade charges is never not useful in Destiny, especially for Titans, one of the most powerful grenade classes in the game. There are always things worth chucking grenades at in Destiny 2.
1. Fr0st-EE5
The Hunter is Destiny 2's forgotten class, and that's a real shame for me, self-professed Hunter 4 Lyfe. But with the Fr0st-EE5 (pronounced "frosteez") coming back, that's all going to change.
See all the tubes coming out of the boots in the image above? Those things charge up with power when you're sprinting around. That power then feeds into your abilities, speeding up your melee and grenade regeneration while you're running (you can also turn faster).
Hey, you know what's terrible in Destiny 2? The recharge time on melee attacks and grenades. Bring on the Fr0st-EE5, baby. To lightly paraphrase what a wise Star Wars man once said: They may not look like much, but they've got it where it counts.
You can buy Destiny 2 here.
Topics Gaming
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
