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Destiny 2’sSeason of the Witch has brought back some of the franchise’s best PvE content in the form of the Exotic Mission playlist. Older Exotic-themed missions like Presage and Seraph’s Shield have returned with their own dedicated playlist, awarding craftable Exotic weapons, older seasonal guns, and Pinnacle Engrams.
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Whether you’re a newcomer or have cleared these missions hundreds of times, the Exotic Mission playlist is currently the only source of fully-modular, craftable Exotics in the game outside of Witch Queen Exotics likeOsteo Striga. This guide will explain how this Exotic Mission playlist works, how to access it, and we’ll give a brief overview of every mission available in this playlist.
What Are Exotic Missions?
An Exotic mission is a hybrid between a dungeon and a strike, merging difficult combat encounters with light puzzle solving and platforming sections.Each Exotic mission consists of multiple combat encounters, usually timed, broken up with platforming sections or short puzzles.As the playlist name suggests, the Exotic Mission playlist awards a unique Exotic weapon when completed. Some notable Exotics tied to this playlist include Dead Man’s Tale, Dead Messenger, and Revision Zero.
Many consider these Exotic missions to be Destiny 2’s best content, and thanks to the Exotic Mission playlist, it’s now possible to experience these missions while earning useful in-game rewards.This playlist offersPinnacle Gear, craftable Exotic weapons, and previous seasonal weapons that are otherwise unobtainable.
Accessing The Exotic Mission Playlist
The Exotic Mission playlist is located in the"Legends" tab of the Director. Each week, one Exotic mission will be selected to be the weekly playlist activity. There are currently three Exotic missions in the playlist as of Season of the Witch:
Each Exotic mission may be cleared on eitherNormal or Legend difficulty, guaranteeing a craftable version of that mission’s Exotic weapon when you first clear it. Subsequent clears will awardIntrinsic Upgradeswhich unlock additional crafting options for that mission’s Exotic weapon. For example, Dead Man’s Tale requires four Intrinsic Upgrades to unlock all magazine upgrades. Normal clears grant one Intrinsic Upgrade, Legend grants two.
Additionally,each mission has a weapon drop pool that consists of past seasonal weapons.This allows players to earn seasonal weapons that they previously missed out on, such as the seasonal weapons from Haunted (Presage) or Seraph (Seraph’s Shield).All Legendary weapons awarded from Exotic missions are also fully craftable, although you’ll need to find five Deepsight variants before the weapon can be crafted at the Enclave.
Crafting Exotic Weapons
After you’ve completed an Exotic mission at least once, you’ll receive a Deepsight version of that Exotic, making it craftable at the Enclave.Visit the Enclave at Savathun’s Throne World tocraft or adjust your Exotic weapon.Making a weapon this way follows the same procedure as any Legendary weapon, including material costs.
Unlike most weapons, Exotic weapons needIntrinsic Upgradesto unlock all of their crafting options. These upgrades may be obtained by completing the Exotic’s respective mission multiple times. Normal clears grant one upgrade, while Legend clears grant two. Each gun may have its Intrinsic upgraded four times.Excluding Revision Zero, Intrinsic Upgrades are used solely for unlocking new crafting options;they don’t buff the gun’s base stats.
Nearly every aspect of your Exotic weapon can be adjusted, including the barrel, magazine, secondary trait, and weapon stock. The only thing you can’t change is the gun’s Exotic trait. Secondary trait options can be found below.
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Long (30-60+ minutes)
No*
*The Legend variant adds a 30-minute timer.
Presage is a lengthy Exotic mission that takes place aboard the Glykon, a derelict Cabal ship that is rumored to house some of Emperor Calus' experiments.This mission has an even mix of combat encounters and navigational puzzles, most of which revolve around a timed buff called Egrigore Link. You’ll need to navigate through a maze of winding corridors and locked rooms to reach the depths of the ship. Combat difficulty itself is fairly low, arguably the lowest out of all Exotic Missions currently. Any decent 3.0 build should be able to kill the final boss with minimal attempts.While the Normal version isn’t timed, Legend difficulty initiates a 30-minute timer the second you board the Glykon.Memorize the navigational puzzles on Normal before attempting a Legend clear.
Your reward for exploring the Glykon isDead Man’s Tale, an Exotic 120 RPM Scout Rifle made by Tex Mechancia. This weapon is an old-fashioned lever-action rifle that gains increased range and aim assist with each headshot. At five stacks, the gun transforms into a 180 RPM Scout Rifle when fired from the hip while retaining its 120 damage profile, making this a powerful weapon for killing majors and stunned Champions. Its Exotic Catalyst gives the weapon perfect hip-fire accuracy.Season of the Haunted weapons—weapons like Bump in the Night and Firefright,notthe Menagerie reprisals—can also drop from every Presage clear.
Medium (30 minutes)
Timed?
Yes
Vox Obscura brings your Guardian back to the Meridian Bay from the original Destiny. This region of Mars has been turned into a stronghold for a rogue group of Cabal that worship Calus. You’ll need to use the Cabal’s vehicles against them to find a way inside, then you’ll have a short window to end the Psionic operation within the base before Caiatl’s forces bomb the whole complex. In gameplay terms,this is a combat-focused mission with no puzzles and strict timers. You have 8 minutes to clear the first encounter and 15 minutes for the second half.Veteran players might notice that these timers are actually much more forgiving than when the mission first released. The vehicle section had its timer nearly doubled, and the stronghold gauntlet received an additional five minutes, resulting in a mission that’s far more forgiving to solo players.
With that said, this mission heavily encourages you to strike fast and stay alive during intense gunfights. You’ll need to get comfortable using Cabal Interceptors, Drake Tanks, and find a build that can survive getting shot at by dozens of enemies.Unstoppable Championsare also present on both difficulty modes, so be sure you have some Champion counters at the ready. The final encounter features many adds, although the boss itself is fairly weak.
Successfully completing this mission will award you withDead Messenger,a Wave-Frame Grenade Launcher that releases three waves of energy that fan out in a cone. It deals less damage than your typical Wave-Frame GL in PvP, but this weapon offers added utility withThe Fundamentals, allowing this gun to dynamically swap between Arc, Solar, and Void damage through its reload. Additional perks can be added to the gun through an added trait column and its Masterwork. Additionally, all seasonal weapons fromSeason of the Risenmay also drop here. Some noteworthy weapons include Explosive Personality, Under Your Skin, and Thoughtless.
Long (40+ minutes)
No
Eramis' House of Salvation has uncovered one of Rapustin’s orbital stations, and she plans to use it against the Traveler and the Last City. This mission is similar to Presage in terms of length and design, consistingof an even mix of combat encounters and platforming puzzles.Role mechanics from the Deep Stone Crypt raid make an appearance here, and the combat encounters are quite challenging.It’s recommended to bring a good build or a few friends along for this mission.
Clearing the station of House Salvation will award you withRevision Zero, a fully modular Pulse Rifle that mimics the Exotic Khvostov from the original Destiny. you may adjust the gun’s barrel, magazine, stock, secondary trait, fire mode, and buff its stats with Intrinsic Upgrades. Once fully upgraded, Revision Zero is nothing short of a stat monster. This weapon can also morph into a Sniper Rifle upon landing multiple precision hits, allowing you to one-tap Guardians to the head in PvP or deal some serious damage to a stunned Champion in PvE.Season of the Seraph weapons also drop in this activity, including the likes of Disparity and Judgment of Kelgorath. The IKELOS reprisals that shipped with Seraph arenotpart of the mission’s drop pool, however.
