The Hunter class in Destiny 2 goes from underwhelming to powerhouse all because of the exotic armor available to players. No other class features exotic armor that complements super abilities as much as it does the Hunter. Sure, the Warlock and Titan do have some incredible exotics, but in terms of straight up benefits to the super ability, the Hunter has the most powerful exotic armor in Destiny 2. Here’s a list of every piece that you need to collect, plus the traits and intrinsic perks that come with it.
Young Ahamkara’s Spine
Full Review of Young Ahamkara’s Spine
- Type: Gauntlets
- Trait: Mobility Enhancement Mod
- Intrinsic Perk: Wish-Dragon Teeth – Increases Tripmine Grenade duration and marks enemies damaged by the blast.
Good or Bad: I don’t like calling anything bad because the right player can find a use for this in the right circumstance, but there are almost always better options when it comes to exotic Hunter armor.
Mechaneer’s Tricksleeves
- Type: Gauntlets
- Trait: Mobility Enhancement Mod
- Intrinsic Perk: Spring-Loaded Mounting – Increases sidearm ready and reload speed.
Good or Bad: If you are a sidearm maniac in Crucible, there could be value here. Otherwise, these are not the exotic arms you’re looking for.
Raiden Flux
- Type: Chest Armor
- Trait: Plasteel Reinforcement Mod
- Intrinsic Perk: Synapse Junctions – Quick successive attacks with Arc Staff increase its damage output and duration.
Good or Bad: Amazing. Pair this with your Arc Staff super ability and you can clear entire rooms of enemies without running out of juice. These can decimate a Royal Beast in the Leviathan raid, or clean out one of the rooms during The Whisper quest for the Whisper of the Worm exotic sniper rifle.
Lucky Raspberry
- Type: Chest Armor
- Trait: Plasteel Reinforcement Mod
- Intrinsic Perk: Probability Matrix – Increases the chaining capabilities of Arc Bolt Grenade and has a chance to recharge it each time it deals damage.
Good or Bad: Requires a higher skill level, but these can be good in the right PvE situation. I still feel like there are much better options out there for the Arcstrider, like the Raiden Flux.
The Dragon’s Shadow
- Type: Chest Armor
- Trait: Plasteel Reinforcement Mod
- Intrinsic Perk: Wraithmetal Mail – Grants increased movement and weapon handling speed for a short time after dodging.
Good or Bad: Bad, which is a shame. This is one of the cooler looking exotic armor pieces when it comes to Hunters, but the benefit just isn’t there compared to other options. I forget to dodge most of the time as it is, and when I do it’s normally just to reload. I’m not doing much sprinting afterwards.
Knucklehead Radar
Full Review of Knucklehead Radar
- Type: Helmet
- Trait: Plasteel Reinforcement Mod
- Intrinsic Perk: Upgraded Sensor Pack – Provides radar while aiming.
Good or Bad: Good in PvP if you’re not running the MIDA Multi-Tool. You can ADS (aim down sight) with your weapon and keep your radar active to avoid being flanked. If you run Golden Gun in the Crucible, you might choose this exotic helmet over the Celestial Nighthawk.
Celestial Nighthawk
Full Review of Celestial Nighthawk
- Type: Helmet
- Trait: Plasteel Reinforcement Mod
- Intrinsic Perk: Hawkeye Hack – Modifies Golden Gun to fire a single, high-damage (6x) shot. Enemies eliminated by the shot explode.
Good or Bad: Best in the group. You can insane amounts of damage to Calus with this, or chunk a Fallen Walker down to half health. It will obliterate most yellow-bar enemies in Lost Sectors. It’s a monster. Do not wear it in the Crucible. You’re better off having three Golden Gun shots there since they will typically one-shot any PvP Guardian.
Foetracer
- Type: Helmet
- Trait: Plasteel Reinforcement Mod
- Intrinsic Perk: Relentless Tracker – Visually marks targeted enemies. Deals more damage to low-health marked enemies.
Good or Bad: I can’t imagine a situation where a player would choose this over one of the big three, those being Celestial Nighthawk, Raiden Flux or Orpheus Rig. Plus, I don’t like the look of it, and Destiny 2 is all about fashion!
Lucky Pants
- Type: Leg Armor
- Trait: Mobility Enhancement Mod
- Intrinsic Perk: Illegally Modded Holster – Increases hand cannon ready speed and initial accuracy.
Good or Bad: If you love hand cannons and play a lot of Crucible, I could see how this might be appealing. Not likely useful for PvE and, as someone who doesn’t love hand cannons, not my favorite.
Orpheus Rig
- Type: Leg Armor
- Trait: Mobility Enhancement Mod
- Intrinsic Perk: Uncanny Arrows – Provides ability energy for each enemy tethered by Shadowshot anchors.
Good or Bad: Amazing. The more enemies you anchor with your Shadowshot, the faster you get your super ability back. If you anchor an entire group from a Fallen Skiff, you can instantly super again. This is for big PvE mobs, not single enemies or the Crucible.
St0mp-EE5
- Type: Leg Armor
- Trait: Mobility Enhancement Mod
- Intrinsic Perk: Hydraulic Boosters – Increases sprint speed and slide distance. Improves double jump.
Good or Bad: These were buffed recently, and have gone from something I’d never wear to something I might wear in the right scenario. They could be a benefit for almost any jumping puzzle in the game. However, they will never be the Bones of Eao, which gave me a fourth jump when I combined them with triple jump in the origina Destiny.
Aeon Swift
- Type: Gauntlets
- Trait: Impact Absorption Mod
- Intrinsic Perk: Aeon Energy – Dodging near allies grants grenade energy to Warlocks, barricade energy to Titans, and dodge energy to Hunters.
Good or Bad: It’s interesting, but I have a tough time seeing how you could justify this over the big three; Celestial Nighthawk, Raiden Flux or Orpheus Rig. Could be very useful in very specific situations where having a Towering Barricade or Healing Rift is the difference between success and death. Even then, is providing ability energy to your allies really better than hitting Calus with a Golden Gun and Celestial Nighthawk combination? Nah.
Gemini Jester
- Type: Leg Armor
- Trait: Mobility Enhancement Mod
- Intrinsic Perk: Misdirection – Dodging disorients nearby enemies and temporarily removes their radars.
Good or Bad: Good for skilled Hunters in the Crucible, especially if they are using the Arcstrider subclass with the Arc Staff super ability. I would even combine this with the Way of the Wind perk tree. You’ll take less damage while dodging, and when you dodge you’ll remove your opponent’s radar and disorient them. This would make Arc Staff especially deadly. Gemini Jester would be almost useless in PvE, though.
Shinobu’s Vow
- Type: Gauntlets
- Trait: Mobility Enhancement Mod
- Intrinsic Perk: New Tricks – Improves Skip grenade, and you gain an additional Skip grenade charge.
Good or Bad: The Skip grenade falls into the Arcstrider subclass for the Hunter, which obviously has the Arc Staff super ability. I’m not sure how you could choose this over Raiden Flux in PvE. If you’re running the Nightfall and Torrent is active as a modifier, recharging your grenade every few seconds, this might make some sense.
Graviton Forfeit
- Type: Helmet
- Trait: Plasteel Reinforcement Mod
- Intrinsic Perk: Vanishing Shadow – Increases the duration of any invisibility effects. Your melee recharges faster while you are invisible.
Good or Bad: Bad. In the original Destiny, where Hunters had more ways to go invisible, this could have been a monster in Crucible, or in specific PvE situations where you needed to remain undetected for a short period of time. In Destiny 2, however, the only place I can see this being useful is when you’re clearing out Watchers from the underbelly of the Leviathan.
Ophidia Spathe
- Type: Chest Armor
- Trait: Plasteel Reinforcement Mod
- Intrinsic Perk: Scissor Fingers – Grants two knives per charge.
Good or Bad: I really like the idea of having two knives, but this comes off more as a gimmick than anything. You could use it to complete a bounty or task to unlock an ornament, but in an actual fight, what value do you get here?
Wormhusk Crown
- Type: Helmet
- Trait: Plasteel Reinforcement Mod
- Intrinsic Perk: Burning Souls – Dodging begins health regeneration. Small bump to health when dodging.
Good or Bad: Not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. This is the kind of exotic that makes having five Renown tolerable, or helps you get through a strike where health regeneration is largely restricted. Anything that can help keep you alive in Destiny 2 has some use. Plus, it looks pretty cool.
Sealed Ahamkara Grasps
- Type: Gauntlets
- Trait: Mobility Enhancement Mod
- Intrinsic Perk: Nightmare Fuel – Dealing melee damage reloads your currently equipped weapon.
Good or Bad: Cool concept, but I struggle to see the advantage this exotic provides that isn’t outdone by something else. When I need to reload I don’t think about needing to punch something, and when I punch something and find my gun already reloaded, it catches me off guard, so I probably lose any time I’d save from this perk. Long story short, use something else.
Fr0st-EEF
- Type: Leg Armor
- Trait: Mobility Enhancement Mod
- Intrinsic Perk: Rapid Cooldown – Increased grenade, melee, and dodge regeneration while sprinting. Dodging increases your sprint speed.
Good or Bad: Good. An exotic piece of armor should provide you a measurable benefit that at least makes you weigh its usefulness against other exotics, and this does that. At its core, this exotic charges my grenade faster, and if I dodge I can sprint faster, which could help me in quite a few time-sensitive scenarios. I don’t think I’ll use it often, but I’ll keep it handy for the right scenario.
You’ll be needing three characters to get the most out of your Destiny 2 life. Once you’ve collected all the exotic Hunter armor, be sure to visit the Shacknews Destiny 2 complete strategy guide for all your Guardian needs.
Source: Shacknews Destiny 2 – All Exotic Hunter Armor