Season 18 for Destiny 2 is upon us and with it comes the final light subclass rework, Arc 3.0. With all the changes coming to the game for this subclass, the build potential for Arc is now fully available to us similarly to the other subclasses. Today, we'll be going over the best Destiny 2 Arc 3.0 exotics that you'll be sure to want to bring in your loadouts.
In this guide, we'll be going over the top exotic weapons and armor for all classes, as well as where you can find these exotics so you can try to target farm them.
While you're here, if you're interested in what's coming up for Destiny, definitely check out our Destiny 2 Arc 3.0 guide, as well as what's coming up in Destiny 2 Season 18. If you're a little more forward thinking, then check out what information is available for Lightfall.
What are the best Destiny 2 Arc 3.0 exotics?
With Arc 3.0, the name of the game is dealing with a lot of enemies quickly to take advantage of one of the new mechanics, amplified. There's also some emphasis on a melee playstyle for all classes. Let's start with the weapons.
Best Arc 3.0 exotic weapons
- Monte Carlo: If melee is a major theme of Arc 3.0, then the Monte Carlo is going to be a really nice addition to your build. It's passive reduces the cooldown on your Melee just by doing damage, and kills have a chance to fully refund it. Can be obtained from the Kiosk.
- Riskrunner: If SMG's are your jam, then Riskrunner is going to serve you well. At 900 RPM, you're putting out a LOT of damage, and with it's abilities to chance to shoot a chain lightning, you're going to clear adds with ease. Can be obtained from the New Light missions.
- Trinity Ghoul: Bows could be making a comeback this season, and Trinity Ghoul is one that you're going to want. With kills causing chain lightning, you'll get amplified very quickly. On top of that, Bows will have an Overload champion mod so there's a double benefit there. This is obtained as a world exotic drop.
- Dead Messenger: Wave-Frame grenade launchers are absolutely stellar for killing a lot of little ads. With Dead Messenger shooting three waves, you're going to be set. It also can change element types, which can be helpful for taking down elemental shields. Honorable mention does go out to Forbearance, being a really great Arc wave-frame if you don't want to use up an exotic slot. This is obtained through the Vox Obscura mission.
- Anarchy: Anarchy is one of the most insane damage dealing weapons in the game. It has potential to clear a bunch of adds if need be, but this thing shines in boss encounters. This can be obtained through the Kiosk, but requires Spoils of Conquest.
- Thunderlord: The king of add clear returns! Thunderlord is a heavy machine gun, which is a weapon archetype that's getting some love this season. Getting an Overload champion mod, as well as Thunderlord receiving inherent Overlord is stellar. On top of that, it chain lightnings on kills, just like Trinity Ghoul, and if you hold down the trigger it fires faster, which makes it solid for boss damage. This is a world exotic drop.
Now let's look at the best exotic armor pieces for each class.
Best Arc 3.0 Titan exotic armor
- An Insurmountable Skullfort: If a major theme of Arc titans is going to be punching things hard, then the Skullfort is the banner for the playstyle. The passive ability grants health and melee energy on kill. Combine this with the Knockout Aspect, and you have a recipe for a beatdown. This is a world drop.
- Cuirass of the Falling Star: It goes without saying that Cuirass Thundercrash titans were one of the best combos pre-arc 3.0. There's absolutely nothing wrong with running this, and with the aspects and fragments that we've seen thus far, it's our pick to be one of the better solo high end content builds. This can be obtained through Legendary / Master Lost Sectors.
- Armamentarium: One of the more fun playstyles out there is grenade spam builds. We've seen this with Warlock's Starfire Protocol solar build, and Armamentarium is a great start to making that happen with Arc. Granting an additional grenade charge can provide that extra bit of time needed to recharge the first, and then you're flowing with grenades galore. This can be found in world drops.
- Peregrine Greaves: One of the strongest melee builds in the past has been the Peregrine Greaves / Shoulder Charge build. It was incredibly strong in Void, and Solar has it's own variations as well. With the melee focus of Arc, it's a pretty safe bet that Peregrine Greaves will be a viable and strong build. This is a world drop.
Best Arc 3.0 Hunter exotic armor
- Assassin's Cowl: If you're looking for a really safe but strong option, then Assassin's Cowl is a great choice. Powered melee kills grant healing and invisibility as the build around effect synergizes very well with a melee focused build. This is a world drop.
- Liar's Handshake: Liar's Handshake seems to be the exotic that lets you live out the "bonk titan" fantasy but with hunter. Combo this with the Flow State aspect, and you're looking at a strong and potentially very tanky build. This is a world drop
- Raiden Flux: Raiden Flux is an exotic that hasn't seen a ton of love because Arc Staff hasn't been super popular, but that ends with Arc 3.0. While Arc Staff tends to be a PVP super or an add clear super, but with the buffs in Arc 3.0 Arc Staff and Raiden Flux could be a great choice. This is a world drop.
- Star-Eater Scales: This one is a speculative pick. Star-Eaters were the exotic of choice when Solar 3.0 came out for Blade Barrage. While it's a bit of a chore to set up, if the new Arc super is good it could synergize really well. This can be found from Legendary / Master Lost Sectors.
Best Arc 3.0 Warlock exotic armor
- Crown of Tempests: Crown of Tempests is a great choice for warlocks who want to be able to spam abilities. Between your grenades and your chain lightning melee ability, you should have pretty decent ability spam potential. This is world drop.
- Getaway Artist: Getaway Artist is a very interesting choice. It allows you to convert your Arc grenade to a supercharged Arc Soul. That being said, with the new Arc Soul aspect, you also get this by becoming amplified, so now you have more flexibility to gain a supercharged Arc Soul. This is a world drop.
- Geomag Stabilizers: Geomags have been the exotic of choice for Chaos Reach for a long time, and there's nothing wrong with them now. This is a world drop.
- Stormdancer's Brace: If you're interested in playing Stormtrance as your super, the Stormdancer's Brace is what you're looking for. Kills with the super extend your duration and buffs damage with this equipped, so it's a great add clear exotic. This is a world drop.
And that's all that we have for you! There's bound to be new exotics that get introduced to the game with Season 18, so there's a good chance that those could be great picks for Arc 3.0 as well. On top of that we could see some rebalancing of some existing exotics to bring them into the meta.
While you're here if you're looking for more Destiny content, definitely consider checking our our guide for soloing the Duality dungeon, as well as our Repressed Memories guide for that dungeon as well.