Historically, Hunters have had a whole mess of great Exotics to choose from in Destiny 2, and that continues in Season of Plunder. Whether you’re playing PVE or PVP, there are plenty of choices to suit all manner of playstyles. In no particular order, here are some of the best Hunter Exotics in Destiny 2 right now.
Star-Eater Scales (PVE)
Do you like casting your Super? Star-Eater Scales help you do that more often, and can even overcharge it. When overcharged, you gain a burst of healing when you cast your super, as well as a bonus to damage. At max charge, you also gain an overshield. Works great with any subclass, but probably best with Gunslinger, where it can boost your Golden Gun damage to absurd levels.
Assassin’s Cowl (PVE)
Assassin’s Cowl has been in Destiny 2 for a long time, but it’s really come into its own with Arc 3.0. This Exotic turns you invisible and restores some health and shields when you get powered melee and finisher kills, granting you invisibility for up to 15 seconds at a time. Combined with Arc 3.0’s emphasis on melee attacks and speed, you can be a kind of electric ninja, disappearing and punching out enemies left and right while avoiding taking any damage yourself.
Wormhusk Crown (PVE/PVP)
Heal when you dodge — what a concept! Wormhusk is perfectly fine in PVE and can keep you alive in some tight situations, but really shines in PVP, where it can easily turn losing engagements into wins. Wormhusk is one of the Exotics that Titans and Warlocks are most jealous of Hunters for, since it makes their already-great PVP class ability even better.
Omnioculus (PVE)
For high-level content, Omnioculus is invaluable, helping you and your allies reposition yourselves, avoid dangerous situations, and stay alive. If you regularly run Grandmaster Nightfalls or Master Raids as a Hunter, Omnioculus is one of the most useful Exotics in Destiny 2.
St0mp-EE5 (PVP)
They aren’t flashy, but the St0mp-EE5 are one of the best all-around PVP Exotics in Destiny 2. They boost your sprint speed, slide distance, and give you better jumps. It’s worth noting that after the changes to airborne effectiveness, St0mp-EE5 reduce your airborne effectiveness, but you should be fine as long as you don’t try to engage people from the air.
Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk (PVE)
Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk is a kind of complicated Exotic, but basically it boosts a lot of aspects of the Nightstalker class. When you attack out of invisibility, you gain a huge 35% damage buff. Additionally, doing a finisher while invisible makes enemies Volatile, increases you and your allies’ class ability recharge rate, and causes your next dodge to grant you and your allies a Void overshield. It’s a great all-around PVE Void Exotic that can also hang in PVP, where the damage buff is less substantial but still impactful.
Aeon Swift (PVE/PVP)
The Aeon Cult Exotics have mostly been a joke for much of Destiny 2‘s history, but Aeon Swift is actually pretty useful in both PVE and PVP. For the former, Sect of Insight allows you to generate Heavy ammo by finishing Champions, which is a huge deal in Grandmaster content. For the latter, Sect of Vigor grants you Dodge energy whenever an ally dies, which can really drive your Dodge uptime in 6v6 modes.
