Destiny 2 kicked off Season 18 with a bang, releasing the redesigned Arc 3.0 subclasses. The subclass overhaul presents the opportunity to create new builds, try new weapons, and perhaps take some old Exotics out of the vault.
Once you dust off those beauties, the best way to pick one to upgrade is by trying each with your preferred build. If you're low on time or simply don't know where to start, then there are a few standout options that will make your Arc 3.0 experience shockingly fun.
Updated August 10th, 2023 by Andrew Scariati: As a living, breathing world, Destiny 2 is continuously changing, as is the gear we use to survive. Whether you're suiting up for Grandmaster Nightfalls, or you're just looking for the best Arc Hunter exotics, we've got you covered.
Some exotic armor – like Cuirass of the Falling Star – has dropped in viability, while other armor has gained a foothold in several meta builds. These exotic armor pieces will have your Arc subclass vaporizing foes while keeping you safe.
11 Liar's Handshake — Hunter*
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Cross Counter
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- Using your Arc melee ability or being hit by a melee attack will allow you to follow up with an extremely powerful melee counterpunch that will heal you.
Liar's Handshake has always been a solid Exotic, but Arc Hunter was an underperforming subclass in Destiny 2 — until the rework.
When combined with the Hunters' Combination Blow ability, your melee deals even more damage and should keep you healthy without issue.
For an even more potent melee build, combine these perks with the Lethal Current and Flow State Aspects for some incredible results. Each of your punches will Jolt your target, Amplify you, and make you generally harder to kill among a myriad of other useful boons.
10 Cuirass Of The Falling Star — Titan*
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Glorious Charge
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- Greatly increases your Thundercrash impact damage.
- Gain an overshield that lasts longer the farther you travel before striking a target.
From its introduction, Cuirass of The Falling Star has been hailed as a savior for Thundercrash enthusiasts due to its damage buff.
This buff to Thundercrash initially skyrocketed it toward the upper echelon of the damage charts, while also keeping its thrill-seeking users safe in the process. Unfortunately, that damage is no longer as high, but this chest piece is still useful in core content like Strikes.
Although its damage is now more limited, Cuirass is a good option for Titans who just want to make big booms without worrying about the consequences of their positioning.
9 Stormdancer's Brace — Warlock*
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Ascending Amplitude
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- Each target you defeat with Stormtrance increases the damage you deal with it and refunds Super energy when Stormtrance ends.
For Warlocks who have been itching to re-live their Emperor Palpatine power trips, Stormdancer's Brace is the path to fast super regeneration that some consider unnatural.
If you're already running maximum Intellect to use your Stormtrance as quickly as possible, then this combination should yield even better results, as you will have access to your devastating add-clearing powers with unbelievable frequency.
With the right build, it's possible you'll be spending more time in your Stormtrance than out of it.
8 Dunemarchers — Titan
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Linear Actuators
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- Increases sprint speed. Sprinting builds up a static charge.
- After melee-attacking an enemy, that charge will chain damage to nearby enemies.
As Titan mains will tell you, Dunemarchers enable perhaps one of the most fun Titan builds to use for either PvP or PvE, as they offer several helpful benefits.
What Dunemarchers doesn't indicate is that these Arc-chains spread in a 12-meter radius, which is nerfed from its previous 20m range.
This is extremely hard to avoid in PvP (though its damage was nerfed) but also does an excellent job clearing adds in PvE when combined with the Titan's Ballistic Slam melee ability — which, while airborne, slams you into the ground with an arc explosion.
7 Crown Of Tempests — Warlock*
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Conduction Tines
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- Arc ability or jolt final blows increase the recharge rate of your Arc abilities and extend the duration of Stormtrance.
Warlocks who love their Stormtrance and abilities equally won't have to decide on which to favor with this wonderful helmet.
In practice, you'll need to build around the Electrostatic Mind Aspect for the greatest effect, as you'll appreciate the extra ability energy from absorbing Ionic Traces in order to keep your ability regeneration going.
Once you get a hang of the ability-kill-regenerate loop, you'll be clearing entire dungeons with ease.
6 Raiju's Harness — Hunter*
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Mobius Conduit:
- Deactivate Arc Staff early to create a blinding explosion and gain a temporary boost to Arc weapon damage.
- Arc Staff consumes energy more slowly when not attacking.
Raiju's Harness has a tumultuous history, previously being exploited for providing an indefinite shield in 2021, and for extending Whirlwind Guard for longer than it should. However, when working as intended, Raiju's is a must-have Exotic for Whirlwind Guard aficionados.
If you like deflecting incoming damage or turning opposing Hunter Squall storms against their owners without fear, then Raiju's is for you.
This Exotic continues to make Whirlwind Guard a more viable option than its base version, even with the addition of newer, shinier toys like the Gathering Storm Super.
5 Getaway Artist — Warlock*
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Dynamic Duo
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- Convert your Arc grenade into an Arc Soul and become amplified.
- The Arc Soul functions as an autonomous turret.
For most of Destiny 2's lifespan, Getaway Artist provided the sole path to acquiring an enhanced Arc Soul — a floating autonomous arc buddy that serves as a portable turret.
However, with the introduction of the reworked Arc subclasses, Warlocks gained an Aspect — "Arc Soul" — that functionally provides the same benefit as Getaway Artist.
This new Aspect didn't make these gauntlets defunct, but rather changed their use case, as they are now best suited for PvP while using the Lightning Surge Aspect.
Lightning Surge allows Warlocks to blink forward after sliding, calling forth a lightning strike that jolts targets when you reappear. Using this Aspect along with Getaway Artist should yield some satisfying kills, so hop into Crucible and try it out.
4 Star-Eater Scales — Hunter*
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Feast of Light
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- You gain additional Super energy from Orbs of Power you pick up.
- While your Super energy is full, picking up an Orb of Power overcharges your Super, causing you to gain a burst of healing when cast and a bonus to your Super damage.
- At maximum overcharge, you also gain an overshield.
Star Eater Scales provides an excellent buff, to any Hunter Super. However, there is some set-up involved as you must acquire four Orbs of Power in order to overcharge your boots.
For Arc Hunters, Gathering Storm is definitely the best pairing for these boots, as the numerous ticks of large damage chunks down health quickly. This adds up against raid bosses and other powerful combatants, making Star Eater Scales as powerful as they are stylish.
3 Heart Of Inmost Light — Titans*
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Overflowing Light
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- Using an ability (grenade, melee, or Barricade) empowers your other two abilities.
- Empowered abilities regenerate faster, melees, and grenades do more damage, and Barricades have more HP.
If you're a fan of speedrunning or short-handed Raid completions, then Heart of Inmost Light is definitely in vogue.
It was used to defeat Rhulk, the final boss of the Vow of the Disciple Raid, shorthanded. Empowering abilities increased the strength of Storm Grenades — an already powerful option — which aided in defeating Rhulk with a three-person fireteam.
For Titans looking to pull off some incredible Damage Per Second (DPS) or who just want to spam their abilities, Heart of Inmost Light has the tools to get the job done.
2 Assassin's Cowl – Hunter*
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Vanishing Execution
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- Powered melee final blows grant invisibility and restore a portion of health and shields.
- Finishers and final blows against more powerful targets increase the duration of the invisibility and the amount of health and shields restored.
Despite its usability across subclasses, Assassin's Cowl stands among the best Arc Hunter exotics in the game. It can excel as the linchpin for your best Hunter builds, whether you're on Arc or not.
However, this helmet is particularly useful for an Arc Hunter that uses a Combination Blow build.
You can use Combination Blow's stacking damage effect to eviscerate crowds of minor enemies by performing a final blow with your powered melee, dodging, then doing it again. This incredibly easy-to-perform gameplay loop will keep you invisible and healed so long as you continue to get more powered melee kills.
1 Fallen Sunstar — Warlock*
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Ionic Conductor
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- Ionic traces you create move faster and grant you additional ability energy.
- Nearby allies also gain ability energy when you collect an ionic trace.
Introduced alongside Arc 3.0 in Season 18, Fallen Sunstar claims the title of best Arc Warlock exotic in Destiny 2. It gives Warlocks an Exotic ability regeneration option comparable to Heart of Inmost Light — except even more useful.
Fallen Sunstar makes a fantastic Warlock build the focal point of any fireteam, as you will be shredding through hordes of Taken, Hive, and more — all while restoring the abilities of you and your friends via ionic traces.
While Sunstar will not be useless in solo settings, it does lose some appeal, so try it out in the next Nightfall or Raid you're in. Enjoy the squeals of delight from your teammates as they spam their abilities, giddy with unlimited power.