Destiny 2 Best Warlock Exotic Armor

Exotic armor in Destiny 2 is one of the better ways to make a build really pop. Warlocks, the specialists of space magic and grenades, have a decent range of great Exotics to choose from and this is likely to expand in the future as Bungie keeps on releasing more with The Final Shape and upcoming episodes.

However, for now, Warlock mains looking to become increasingly more powerful either in the Crucible or in PVE should focus on getting their hands on the following Exotic armor pieces. Here are some of the best Exotic armor pieces for Warlocks in Destiny 2.

Updated on September 3, 2024, by Anastasia Maillot: Following the release of The Final Shape and Episode: Echoes, a ton of new content has been introduced into Destiny 2. That also means two new Exotic armor pieces for Warlocks: the Mataiodoxia chest piece and the Speaker's Sight helmet. Both of these Exotic armor pieces are quite powerful, but Speaker's Sight in particular has garnered plenty of attention due to its ability to provide bursts of Restoration to teammates in a time when Well of Radiance is significantly weaker in the sandbox. There's also the Exotic class item Solipsism, a special Exotic that can be earned from Dual Destiny, or purchased from Xur. With the Prismatic subclass, some older Exotics have also reared their heads, and become far more relevant. So, here's what the best Warlock Exotics are in Destiny 2 post-The Final Shape.

How To Get Exotic Armor

There are several ways to get Exotic armor in Destiny 2, but these are the most straightforward methods:

• Legend & Master Lost Sector completions (Master has a high drop chance)
• Neomuna's Vex Strike Force Public Event (Lightfall expansion required)
• Nightfall Strikes (Higher difficulty has a higher drop chance)
• Random world drops of Exotic Engrams can be focused at Rahool
• For new players, Ikora in the Tower has quests that unlock a few of the best Warlock Exotics in the game once completed
• Xur sells Exotic armor in the Tower starting every Friday

21 Solipsism

Two Powerful Perk Combinations That Bring Prismatic Warlock To New Heights

• Spirit Of Apotheosis and Spirit of Star-Eater are the perfect DPS combination
• Spirit Of Osmiomancy and Spirit Of Starfire work as the ideal grenade recharge combination

The new Exotic class items released with The Final Shape have had a mixed reception due to how grindy it is to earn them, but they truly are worth the attention they are getting. For Warlocks, two combinations in particular have been highlighted: one for DPS and one for grenade spam. Keep in mind that Solipsism is only available on Prismatic subclass.

Both of these perk combinations really complement the two main builds that most Warlocks (or Destiny 2 players in general) should have in their arsenal: a damage one, and an ad-clear one. With Warlocks, the no-brainer choice is always more grenade, so combining Starfire and Osmiomancy into one (Verity can also work here, depending on preference), is absolutely perfect. For damage, Apotheosis is a nice pick, and borrowing from the Hunter perk pool, Star-Eater just adds even more damage to Prismatic Warlock's already fantastic Supers.

20 Speaker's Sight

The Most Powerful Support Exotic A Destiny 2 Player Could Hope For

• Throwing a Healing Grenade spawns a turret that heals the user and allies for 15 seconds.
• The turret spits out healing projectiles that seek allies that are within 30 meters of the turret and drops Orbs of Power.
• The projectiles splash Restoration x1 and Cure x1 on allies. With Touch of Flame, the wearer gains Restoration x2 and Cure x2.

Inspired by a character most Destiny fans will be familiar with, Speaker's Sight is the ultimate endgame Exotic that ensures teammates will never die. While a Healing Grenade is equipped, the Exotic turns it into a healing turret that spawns seeking projectiles that heal allies by granting them Restoration and Cure. It also drops Orbs of Power.

This helmet was so powerful that it had to be nerfed in the PVP sandbox. In PVE, it's fantastic for any fireteam that's struggling to stay alive in endgame content. Pair it up with a Solar subclass and Ember of Benevolence, and the gameplay loop is practically handed out to players.

19 Mataiodoxia

Tweaks Arcane Needle's Capabilities

• Grants Arcane Needle Strand melee anti-barrier properties
• When defeating targets affected by Arcane Needle damage, create a suspending burst that also returns melee energy
• Multiple hits from the melee create a more powerful burst

There's no doubt that Arcane Needle is the best melee for Warlocks. It has incredible damage and debuff potential when used correctly, and Mataiodoxia grants it the possibility to be just as useful and powerful in Prismatic subclasses. While the Exotic isn't exclusive to it, it does bring the most to any Prismatic build by granting access to suspend.

Not only that, but the intrinsic anti-barrier feature and the instant return of melee energy from a suspending burst make it downright perfect for super spammy Prismatic builds that rely on quick ability charge rates.

18 Apotheosis Veil

Regenerate Ability Energy For Everyone After Casting Super

• Casting Super refreshes ability cooldowns for the player and their allies
• After Super ends, abilities recharge quicker for a short period
• Recommended Subclasses: Strand or Solar

Apotheosis Veil may not be everyone's go-to Exotic, but in terms of DPS phases, it's one armor piece that some players might still be sleeping on. It works for a number of different subclasses from Strand to Solar and is wonderful for chucking out a bit of extra damage in the form of grenades when entering a damage phase as a Warlock.

The two ideal Supers to use the Veil with would be Needlestorm, followed by a bunch of Threadling grenades that do a significant amount of damage, or Well, with Fusion or even Solar grenades equipped. Even though it doesn't provide any benefits to neutral gameplay between boss phases, it's well worth investing in for a DPS build.

17 Verity's Brow

Boost The Grenade Recharge Rate For Everyone On The Fireteam

• Kills with matching subclass type grants Death Throes buff—grenades do more damage and recharge faster
• Activating the grenade ability with Death Throes grants nearby allies an increased recharge rate
• Recommended Subclass: Solar

Verity's Brow has seen a decent rise in popularity due to some subtle changes to Solar and a few weapon updates. Verity's Brow remains an incredible pick in boss DPS situations where multiple Warlocks might want to use it to buff each other's grenade recharge rate and defeat a powerful enemy with the strength of fusion grenades alone. With this helmet, that's perfectly possible.

It can also come in handy in any support-type builds. For example, equipping something like the Vex or Sunshot, and using a Healing Grenade guarantees that players are always ready to save teammates from death at a moment's notice. Being able to not only slot itself into a support build but also a boss DPS build goes to show that this Exotic packs some serious punch due to its versatility.

16 Cenotaph Mask

Infinite Heavy Ammo Bricks For The Fireteam

• Trace rifles are passively reloaded
• Using a trace rifle on a boss, champion or vehicle marks the target for everyone
• Marked targets defeated by allies drop Heavy ammo bricks for allies and Special ammo bricks for the player wearing the mask
• Recommended Subclass: Any, but Solar with Well works excellent for a support build

If Heavy ammo is an issue, having a Warlock with this Exotic is usually the answer, provided there are plenty of champions and mini-bosses around to slay. Pair it up with a trace rifle like Divinity, and it's the perfect support-type build for almost any endgame content.

Not only does the Cenotaph Mask create Heavy ammo with each kill on a marked target, but it also grants the one marking the enemies Special ammo bricks. It's an infinite cycle that feeds itself continuously and is a fantastic replacement for the Aeon gauntlets.

15 Swarmers

More Threadlings For Strand Warlocks

• Threadlings spawn from destroyed Tangles
• Targets damaged by Threadlings will be Unraveled
• Strand subclass required

Destiny 2's Lightfall expansion brought players a new darkness subclass called Strand, and with it, a Strand Exotic for Warlocks: Swarmers. These boots are an excellent addition to any Warlock Strand Build, due to the increased potency they give to Threadlings, the little green creatures that can be summoned and deal damage after tracking to enemies.

With Swarmers equipped, each time a player shoots a Tangle, it will spawn a Threadling for them. Moreover, their Threadlings now have the ability to Unravel any enemies that they come in contact with, which deals an additional area of effect damage and is quite handy in ad-clear scenarios. For Warlocks set on building around Threadlings when using Strand, Swarmers are an absolute must-have.

14 Getaway Artist

The Go-To Prismatic Exotic For Warlocks

• Consuming Arc grenade grants amplified and spawns up a powerful version of the Arc Soul
• Hits from the Arc Soul returns grenade energy (but not if Devour is active, as per recent nerf)

When Prismatic was released, Getaway Artist rose to a meta-position incredibly fast. Why? Due to its ability to grant amplified, which has some additional benefits in the current artifact, an Arc Soul which grants extra ability spam and recharges grenade energy, and a Bleak Watcher Stasis turret if that aspect is selected in the Prismatic subclass. Pair this up with Hellion, and players can have three different sentient things shooting for them at once.

Even with Bungie's slight nerf to it regarding Devour, this Exotic is still king when it comes to powerful, Warlock Prismatic builds.

13 Necrotic Grip

Clear Enemies With Poison

• Poisons enemies damaged by the player
• Enemies infected that are defeated further spread the poison
• Sorrow weapons' airborne effectiveness is increased
• Recommended Subclass: Strand

For neutral game, Necrotic Grip is an excellent Exotic piece of armor that pairs well with melee-centric builds, as well as the incredibly powerful Osteo Striga Exotic SMG. When players deal damage to their enemies, they apply a poison effect which deals more damage over time. Any enemies that are killed by the poison will further infect other nearby enemies.

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Necrotic Grip works great with a variety of different builds, but since Lightfall's release, it's splendid when paired with Strand in particular and can hold its own even in high-tier PVE content. The poison AoE effect is incredibly potent, even against beefier single-target enemies like bosses for a bit of extra damage. Those who don't have Strand unlocked can slot this Exotic into just about any subclass for a bit more damage and 'oomph', and it even works well with DPS phases due to a lack of better damage Exotics for Warlocks.

12 Crown Of Tempests

Gain Ability Energy Faster And A Longer Stormtrance Duration

The Crown of Tempests

• Jolted kills and Arc final blows speed up ability recharge rate
• Stormtrance's duration is increased
• Arc subclass required

Crown of Tempests is currently on roughly equal footing with the Fallen Sunstar helmet. One deals with Ionic Traces, while the other focuses more on jolted targets and Arc final blows. The downside with the Crown is that it favors Stormtrance, but even with Chaos Reach selected, its passive effects are well worth it.

It's one of the more generalist, bread-and-butter Exotics that grants ability recharge speed and ensure that a Warlock's neutral gameplay is as smooth as possible. For any generalist, ad-clearing Arc build, it's a solid choice if Fallen Sunstar isn't in the player's Vault just yet.