10 Destiny Exotics That Let Us All Down in the End

There are a lot of different weapons and armor in Destiny that can be used to great effect and help wipe vicious aliens off of the map. The most powerful tools for achieving this are called “Exotics” and are the rarest items in all of Destiny. Acquiring these special items can be a difficult task and some players can go months without the one they want appearing. However, there are some exotics that are complete let downs and feel as if they aren’t worth the effort you’ve had to go through.

When deciding on this list of exotics we decided to take in a variety of factors such as the gun/armor before any buffs or nerfs. Sure some weapons are fantastic now, but when they released it could have a completely different story. We are also factoring in both their usefulness for PvP and PvE respectively. If the weapon is only useful for one mode then it may make our list, because not every user plays in the Crucible.  Yet, these are the 10 Exotics that just felt like complete let downs.

Hereafter – Sniper Rifle

While the throwback to the Halo sniper rifle’s design is cool, it really isn’t that useful when compared to other long distance weapons. It’s very rare that the crouch to zoom mechanic is useful, which is a shame given how awesome the gun looks and sounds. Even though it’s easier to use when under fire, there are just far superior choices for other exotic sniper rifles.

Alchemist’s Raiment – Chest Armor

Speaking of awesome looking designs with underwhelming properties, the Alchemist’s Raiment just doesn’t hold up to the other choices for Warlocks. The chest piece is really only needed if you want to farm for Glimmer, but outside of that, it doesn’t offer anything special. Sure being able to charge your grenades and melee is nice, but with certain Warlock builds this won’t even be necessary.

ACD/0 Feedback Fence – Gauntlet

This one is just alright at best and feels like a more situational tool than one you would always wear. Sure a lot of enemies melee in Destiny, but the majority of the ones that do are incredibly weak. With the exception of Fallen Captains and Hive Knights, you should be able to put down any close range foe with relative ease. While this armor piece can be useful for the first portion of the Croata’s End Raid, it just doesn’t stack up to the other gear you could be running.

Empryean Bellicose – Helmet

If there is any piece of gear that screams situational it’s the Empryean Bellicose. Unless the “Airborn” modifier is active during a Nightfall or in Prison of the Elders, this piece of gear is borderline useless. Yeah, it can be used to get some extra air time while sniping, but when the Twilight Garrison exists, why bother with this helmet? The idea of hovering in the air is cool in concept, but in practice, it’s barely helpful.

The Faction Exotics

What’s that? You spent months maybe even 2 years grinding up yourDestiny Dead Orbit reputation to get a special exotic? Well, prepare to be disappointed because unless you are interested in the thrill of wearing two exotics at once, there is literally nothing special about these items. This is such a shame because there is potential for faction specific exotics be a great representation of that group’s values and ideologies. Nope, just some flashy clothes that adds nothing special to your character outside of some aesthetic value.

Hard Light – Assault Rifle

In theory, the Hard Light sounds like an awesome and unique weapon that stands out among other assault rifles. Yet, the concept of your rounds ricocheting off of walls to hit enemies is really just for show unless you are in a really cramped area. Most of the time you will just end up firing at enemies normally, with the bouncing rounds doing little to anyone around them. Well, at least it’s good if you want to throw a rave at The Tower.

Skull of Dire Ahamkara – Helmet

When it comes to abilities that grant you damage resistance during your super, we’ve found that this is only useful if said super is a sustained one. Subclasses like Stormcaller and Blade Dancer can benefit greatly from this due to the prolonged state you are in while activating it. However, when it comes to the Nova Bomb adding a bit to your damage resistance is really not useful. It’s exceedingly rare you will die while using this, especially since you can activate this super from a distance.

ATS/8 Arachnid – Helmet

When using the Hunter’s Golden Gun the ability to zoom in while firing is certainly one of the last features we care about. Even though you can ready the gun for longer, this is easily overshadowed by the lackluster ability that comes with this helmet. Given most engagements will never require you to actually have a zoom for your Golden Gun, this has always felt like an underwhelming perk for an exotic armor piece.

Starfire Protocol – Chest Armor

It’s not that the Starfire Protocol is bad, but just overly mediocre. Since you only get an addition Fusion Grenade (on a subclass that already can give you that option) this just felt like a redundant set of armor. Especially since it specifies the type of grenade, making it only useful to those Destiny players that can land sticky grenades.

Dragon’s Breath – Rocket Launcher

Yes, it got slightly better with Year 2, but the rocket launcher is still a big of a let down. The original version of this weapon was utterly atrocious, offering little in the way of actual damage and usefulness. Unless your target was significantly immobile, most enemies would just walk right out of the massive fireball you launched. Even with its upgrade the missile launcher still doesn’t seem to fully stack up to the other options. Sure, burning your enemies in a lake of fire is amusing, but unless solar burn is on prepare for them to rush out and keep firing.