Destiny 2: How To Earn Exotic Catalysts And What All Of Them Do

Most of Destiny 2's weapons can be enhanced by Masterworking them. When a weapon is Masterworked, it gains additional properties such as bonus stats or new perks. Legendary weapons also receive a 10 increase to a random stat that's rolled when the weapon is obtained.

Exotics work a bit differently. Rather than obtain a random stat bump, these weapons gain massive stat increases or new perks. Masterworking an Exotic requires the discovery of an Exotic Catalyst, an item that can drop from certain activities. Most Exotics, but not all, have a Catalyst that Guardians can earn. This guide will cover everything from what Catalysts are to what every single Exotic Catalyst does in Destiny 2.

Updated January 13, 2025, by Charles Burgar: So many Exotics have been added to Destiny 2 over the years that this guide was starting to buckle under its own weight. To help you find all Catalyst effects as quickly as possible, we've overhauled the formatting of this guide to consolidate all of our Catalyst information into easy-to-digest tables, separated by weapon ammo type. We've also added Catalyst information for Revenant's latest weapons: Alethonym and Slayer's Fang.

What Are Exotic Catalysts?

Exotic Catalysts are a unique item found in a variety of activities. When you receive a Catalyst for a particular Exotic weapon, you can apply that Catalyst to an Exotic weapon from its perk menu. If a weapon does not have a Catalyst slot in its perk menu, it doesn't have one and, therefore, cannot be Masterworked.

These Catalysts will Masterwork a weapon once their Catalyst objective is complete. While the objective varies from Exotic to Exotic, they generally ask for 500 combatant kills while using that weapon.

Once a Catalyst objective is complete, inspect the weapon one more time and apply the Masterwork by hovering over the Catalyst icon. That Exotic weapon is now Masterworked, gaining additional stats or even a new perk.

Exotic Catalyst Drop Locations

Virtually every matchmade activity in Destiny 2 has an Exotic Catalyst in its drop table. While the Beyond Light expansion did sunset many of these activities, there are still quite a few ways to earn Catalysts.

Every Exotic weapon in Destiny 2 that has a Catalyst can be farmed from a certain activity. The MIDA Multi-Tool Catalyst, for example, only drops in the Competitive Crucible playlist. Some Exotic Catalysts can drop from a variety of activities, one example being the Trinity Ghoul Catalyst which drops from strikes, Crucible, or Gambit matches

If you're looking for a specific Exotic Catalyst, they are all listed in the nested tables below. Once again, if an Exotic weapon does not have a Catalyst slot in its perk screen, it cannot be Masterworked.

Primary Exotic Catalysts

Weapon	Drop Source	Catalyst Effect
Ace of Spades	Strikes and Nightfalls Get 500 kills	New perk (Funeral Pyre): Firefly deals more damage while Memento Mori is active.
Alethonym	Banshee-44 Quest Get 500 kills	New perk (One for All): Hitting three separate targets in a short period grants a 35% damage buff for 10 seconds.
Bad Juju	Strikes, Crucible, Gambit Get 500 kills	New perk (Unending Curse): Extends the duration of String of Curses by one second.
Centrifuse	Banshee-44 Quest Get 700 kills	New perk (Static Buildup): While Amplified, this weapon gradually gains overcharge.
Cerberus 1	PvE Combatants Get 500 kills	New perk (Focused Fire): After a final blow, hold the reload button to swap to a tighter, Close-ranged spread that deals increased damage.
Crimson	PvE Combatants Get 500 kills	20 Range
Cryosthesia 77K	Banshee-44 Quest Get 700 kills	New perk (Cold Efficiency): Shattering a frozen target refills this weapon's magazine from reserves.
Dead Man's Tale	Presage (Expert) Reforge at the Enclave	New perk (Dark-Forged Trigger): Increased hipfire rate of fire and removes hipfire accuracy penalties.
Fighting Lion	PvE Combatants 500 kills; complete 100 bounties	New perk (Chimera): 30 reload speed; after this weapon fires, equipped Kinetic and Power weapons gain a brief period of increased handling and accuracy.
Final Warning	Strikes, Crucible, Gambit Get 700 kills	New perk (String Theory): Hits against marked targets deal increased damage and have a chance to refund ammo to the magazine.
Graviton Lance	Stikes and Nightfalls Get 500 kills and 100 Cosmology kills	New perk (Hidden Hand): 20 range; better target acquisition (grants 15 aim assist).
Hard Light	Strikes and Nightfalls Get 1,000 kills	25 stability.
Hawkmoon	Strikes, Crucible, Gambit Get 700 kills	New perk (Hunter's Trance): 1 magazine size; gain increased handling, reload speed, and weapon range based on the number of stacks of Paracausal Charge.
Hierarchy of Needs	Spire of the Watcher (Master) Get 700 kills	New perk (Panoptic Tessellation): Deploying a Guidance Ring or striking a target with a seeking projectile improves draw time and reload speed for a moderate duration.
The Huckleberry	Strikes, Crucible, Gambit Get 500 kills	New perk (Kinetic Tremors): Sustained damage to a target emits a shockwave that damages all nearby targets.
The Jade Rabbit	Crucible Get 500 kills	30 stability.
Le Monarque	Strikes, Crucible, Gambit Get 700 kills	New perk (Unrelenting): 18 reload speed and 27 stability; rapidly defeating targets triggers health regeneration. Guardians and powerful combatants count as more than one kill.
Lumina	Strikes, Crucible, Gambit Heal 250 Guardians with Noble Rounds	New perk (Resonant Virtue): Gain two Remnants per final blow instead of one.
Malfeasance	Strikes, Crucible, Gambit Get 700 kills	New perk (Vorpal Weapon): 20 range; deal 20% increased damage against bosses and vehicles. Guardians in Super take 50% more damage.
The Manticore	Banshee-44 Quest Get 500 kills	New perk (Flying Monster): Final blows with this weapon while airborne grant damage resistance.
Monte Carlo	Strikes, Crucible, Gambit Get 700 kills	New perk (Stochastic Vengeance): At x5 Markov Chain , hold reload to charge your bayonet. Landing a bayonet melee hit grants melee energy.
MIDA Multi-Tool	Competitive PvP Land 250 precision kills in PvP	New perk (No Distractions): Aiming this weapon for a short period reduces flinch.
Necrochasm	Crota's End Acquire 35 Oversoul Essence	New perk (One For Thrall): Hitting three separate targets increases damage, range, handling, and aim assist for a moderate duration.
No Time to Explain	Exo Stranger Quest Get 700 kills	New perk (Blast from the Side): Projectiles from the time portal shoot more frequently.
Osteo Striga	Get Osteo Striga to Level 10 Reforge at the Enclave	New perk (Osteo Striga Catalyst): Poison final blows return ammo to the magazine.
Outbreak Perfected	Zero Hour (Expert) Reforge at the Enclave	New perk (Disease Vector): Increases nanite damage. Enemies that die with nanites attached to them generate additional nanites.
Polaris Lance	Strikes, Crucible, Gambit Get 500 kills and 50 The Perfect Fifth kills	New perk (Dragonfly): Precision kills create an elemental damage explosion.
Quicksilver Storm	Post-Lightfall Quest Get 700 kills	New perk (Nano-Entanglement): This weapon's damage type becomes Strand. Final blows with grenades from this weapon create Tangles.
Rat King	Strikes and Nightfalls Get 1,000 kills while you or anyone in your fireteam is using Rat King	New perk (Infestation): Improved aim assist and RECOIL direction. Refreshes health on Vermin invisibility trigger. 20 aim assist, RECOIL, and 80 bounce intensity
Red Death Reformed	Banshee-44 Quest Get 700 kills	New perk (Helping Hand): Final blows charge the weapon. Once charged, your next kill creates a healing burst at your location and leaves a remnant behind that provides restoration to allies.
Revision Zero	Operation: Seraph's Shield Reforge at the Enclave	New perk (pick one): Feeding Frenzy Under Pressure Outlaw Fourth Time's the Charm
Riskrunner	Pain and Gain quest Get 500 kills and 50 Arc Conductor kills	30 range
Skyburner's Oath	Strikes, Crucible, Gambit 500 Cabal kills	20 reload speed
Sturm	Nessus kills Get 500 kills and 500 Drang kills	20 range, 40 handling
Sunshot	Strikes, Crucible, Gambit Get 500 kills and 100 Sun Blast kills	30 range, 20 stability
SUROS Regime	Crucible Get 300 kills	New perk (SUROS Ascendance): Increases chance for kills to regen health. 50 RECOIL and bounce intensity.
Sweet Business	Strikes, Crucible, Gambit Get 250 multikills	New perk (Serious Business): When this weapon is fully spun up, the flinch from incoming damage is greatly reduced.
Symmetry	Banshee-44 Quest Get 700 kills	New perk (Electric Styx): Increases the maximum number of Dynamic Charge stacks to 20. New perk (Eddy Current): Gain reload speed and handling after sprinting or while Amplified. The effect is improved while you're Amplified.
Thorn	Strikes, Crucible, Gambit Get 500 kills	New perk (Refined Soul): Dealing a final blow or absorbing a Remnant grants additional increased range, as well as increased mobility and handling for a short time. 15 range, 5 stability
Ticuu's Divination	Banshee-44 Quest Get 700 kills	New perk (Causality Quiver): Perfectly drawn arrows that detonate Sacred Flames increase arrow damage, up to 100%. Striking targets unaffected by Sacred Flame instead refreshes Causality Arrows' duration.
Tommy's Matchbook	Banshee-44 Quest Get 700 kills	New perk (Heat of the Moment): While Ignition Trigger is active, your health recovers much faster, and sustained fire Scorches your target.
Touch of Malice	King's Fall Get 700 kills	New perk ( Rapid Hit ): Rapid precision hits temporarily increase stability and reload speed.
Traveler's Chosen	Strikes, Crucible, Gambit Get 700 kills	New Perk (Osmosis): Using your grenade ability changes this weapon's damage type to match your subclass until you stow it. 2 magazine size. New Perk (Surplus): Increases handling, reload speed, and stability for each fully charged ability.
Trespasser	Banshee-44 Quest Get 700 kills	New perk (Tunnel Vision): Reloading after defeating a target greatly increases target acquisition and aim down sight speed for a short duration.
Trinity Ghoul	Strikes, Crucible, Gambit Get 400 kills	New perk (Forked Lightning): Lightning Rod now triggers from any Arc damage final blow. -30 draw time.
Verglas Curve	Banshee-44 Quest Get 700 kills	New perk (Shiver Quiver): Freezing a target grants this weapon faster draw speed for a short duration.
Vex Mythoclast	Vault of Glass Get 700 kills	New perk (Calculated Balance): While in full auto mode, final blows with this weapon grant 20% bonus damage, accuracy, and stability for a short duration.
Vigilance Wing	Crucible Get 250 kills	New perk (Ensemble): Improves handling and reload speed when allies are nearby.
Wicked Implement	Whetstone Get 700 kills	New perk (Hadopelagic Tribute): Collecting Stasis Shards gradually overflows the magazine. New perk (Headstone): Precision final blows generate a Stasis Crystal at the target's location.
Wish-Keeper	Starcrossed Reforge at the Enclave	New perk (pick one): Enduring Snare Refit: Snarewaever traps last longer. Multi-Threaded Snare Refit: Snareweaver traps can suspend more targets. Vorpal Weapon: This weapon deals 20% more damage to bosses and Champions. Guardians in their Super take 50% more damage. Hatchling Refit: Precision final blows spawn a Threadling at the target's location.

The above is the detailed content of Destiny 2: How To Earn Exotic Catalysts And What All Of Them Do. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!