How to Get and Farm Exotic Class Items in Destiny 2

A close-up shot of a Hunter holding a knife in front of them and activating Prismatic in Destiny 2 The Final Shape. A Warlock and Titan can be seen faintly in the background.
Credit: Bungie.

A close-up shot of a Hunter holding a knife in front of them and activating Prismatic in Destiny 2 The Final Shape. A Warlock and Titan can be seen faintly in the background.
Credit: Bungie.

One of the most exciting additions in The Final Shape expansion and Episode Echoes is the new Destiny 2 Exotic class items. While Destiny 1 had Exotic class items, this feature was not originally carried forward into Destiny 2. With The Final Shape though, Exotic class items are back and better than ever. However, figuring out how to get Exotic class items in Destiny 2 isn't as simple as you'd hope, as you need to complete the awkward secret Dual Destiny mission.

Along with the many other Destiny 2 The Final Shape Exotics like weapons and armor, the Exotic class items are great for making your Guardian more powerful. What sets these class items apart from standard Exotic gear, however, is that each one combines the Exotic perks of two other armor pieces. If you’re looking to storm through the Destiny 2 The Final Shape missions list with Prismatic, then these Exotic class items help you do just that.

How to Get Exotic Class Items in Destiny 2 The Final Shape

You can get Exotic class items in Destiny 2 as a reward for completing the Dual Destiny activity. This activity is farmable and you are guaranteed to get a random roll each time you complete it. After beating Dual Destiny once, you can also earn Exotic class items from chests in the Pale Heart.

The Dual Destiny mission is a required two-person activity in the depths of the Pale Heart. While this mission can be unlocked solo, it unfortunately requires two people to complete it. Yes, that also means the traditional three-player fireteam limit is out of the window here. If you're a solo player, use the built-in LFG system to find a second player.

Check out our Destiny 2 Dual Destiny guide to find out more about how to beat it.

Once you've beaten Dual Destiny, you will be awarded one drop of the Exotic class item for your class. Importantly, you can then either farm this mission or loot chests in the Pale Heart (including Overthrow). So, if you used LFG to struggle through Dual Destiny at least once, you can then return to the safety of patrolling the Pale Heart by yourself.

Either way, if you’re hunting for the perfect roll on your Exotic class item, then you could be there for a while considering all the different perk combinations available on each one.

A first-person screenshot of a player holding a grenade launcher at looking at Taken enemies in an open cave in the Pale Heart to unlock the Dual Destiny mission in Destiny 2.
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Credit: Bungie. Screenshot taken by GfinityEsports.

How to Unlock Dual Destiny

Importantly, you have to complete a secret quest to unlock the Dual Destiny Exotic mission. These steps can be done solo, unlike the Dual Destiny mission itself.

To do this, complete Overthrow once (any boss) in each region of the Pale Heart. After each completion, you will need to search the area for a Secret Keeper, a named Hive Witch, within the cooldown time.

To speed things up, the Secret Keeper locations are:

  • The Blooming - In a cave beneath the spawn point.
  • The Impasse - In a large cave near the Lost Sector and Region Chest.
  • The Landing - In the large cave outside of the Lost Sector entrance.

Once you've killed the three Secret Keepers, head to The Blooming and follow the green beam of light towards The Refraction. You will end up in the large, crystal cave of The Refraction, where you will then be granted the 'Savathun's Envoy' buff for seven minutes.

Continue outside and kill enemies to spawn two Subjugators. Defeat these Subjugators and grab the Light and Darkness orbs that they drop. Take these orbs back to the crystal room in The Refraction and place them on the pedestals. This will unlock the Dual Destiny mission.

A player looking at a the mission start flag for Dual Destiny inside a crystalline cave in Destiny 2.
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Credit: Bungie. Screenshot taken by GfinityEsports.

How to Complete Dual Destiny

First things first, you need two players. Dual Destiny cannot be completed solo or in a full, three-person fireteam.

With that out of the way, one player will need to equip a Light subclass and the other player must use a Darkness subclass. Prismatic counts as either, and will be randomly assigned at the start of the mission. Check your buffs in the bottom left of your screen to see which effect you have.

Escape:

The first objective is to escape the starting room. This is done by having the Light player stand on the Light plate, and the Darkness player on the Darkness plate.

A player looking at two symbols on pedestals in a crystalline cave in the Dual Destiny mission in Destiny 2.
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Credit: Bungie. Screenshot taken by GfinityEsports.

Find Balance 1:

Head through the caves until you reach the first puzzle area, which gives both players a different role. The Light player will have to read symbols, Darkness player will have to shoot the correct symbols.

Defeat the enemies, including two enemies which can only be killed by the Light and Darkness player respectively. Once defeated, the Light player should pick up the Mote of Light as this lets them read the symbols on the nearby plates. Activate both plate symbols and then read them out from left to right for your partner to shoot the correct ones.

You will then have to complete two more rooms using this process, with the roles inverting and the number of symbols required increasing.

Explore the Anomaly 1:

This is a simple platforming section, common to Exotic missions. Navigate through the area, making sure to avoid the traps and eliminate the enemies as you go. Periodically, you and your partner will have to stand on the correct plates based on your subclass to open the path forward, just like at the start of the mission.

Find Balance 2:

For this encounter, you will want to use both AoE, add-clearing weapons, as well as high DPS precision weapons for killing Tormentors.

Activate the Light and Darkness plates as usual, and then defeat the enemies as they spawn. Eventually, defeat the Tormentor that spawns too.

Whoever lands the killing blow will get the Harmonic Sundering buff, which lets you view the Darkness Crux 'clock' at the back of the room and shoot the correct ones. Take note of which Cruxes have orange beams joining them. The easiest way to do this is by equating them to clock-face numbers. The other player should call out which Cruxes they have active.

The goal is to shoot the three Cruxes that both players have active, joined with the orange lines. So if your partner calls out a Crux that you also have active, shoot it.

Repeat this process three times to open the door and move on to the next area.

Explore the Anomaly 2:

Yet another platforming section that you'll have to navigate. Follow the path and defeat the enemies along the way. Like the previous platforming section, you will periodically have to activate Light and Darkness plates based on your subclass alignment.

Mastery of Balance:

Mastery of Balance is the boss phase of the Dual Destiny mission, tasking you with defeating Expertor Selin. The first phase is as simple as dealing enough damage to remove the first third of its health.

The boss will then become immune and Servile Wizards will spawn. Defeat these to create various symbols around the room. Have the Light player read out the three symbols they see near the boss - from top to bottom - and the Darkness player needs to find and shoot the correct Cruxes in the right order. This will begin the second damage phase until the boss goes immune once more.

A new boss will then spawn - Inspector Yemiq. Damage them until two more Servile Wizards spawn and once again read out the symbols near the boss. Doing so will make this boss vulnerable again. Damage them until they raise their shield at 33% health.

You will then have to defeat two more Servile Wizards, only this time doing so will activate the Crux clocks on either side of the arena. Have one player read out their Crux numbers and find the one Crux you both have active. Do this three times and the final damage phase will begin for both bosses at the same time.

Claim Your Reward/Schism:

After you have defeated Selin and Yemiq, you have successfully beaten Dual Destiny. All you must do now is follow the objective marker to leave the room and claim your reward. Well, it's not actually that simple.

In the reward room, both players must stand on their respective Light and Darkness plate. However, this actually begins a 1v1 PvP duel. Yes, you will have to fight the player you've been working with and then 'crush' their Ghost. Don't worry, this doesn't affect your reward, which you will receive after this duel.

How to Farm Exotic Class Items in Destiny 2

The best way to farm Exotic class items in Destiny 2 is to complete the Dual Destiny mission repeatedly, as each run guarantees a single reward drop for the item. Once you've learned its mechanics, it's possible to complete this mission and earn an Exotic class item roughly every 20 minutes.

Plus, there is currently an exploit which lets you earn double Exotic class items from completing Dual Destiny. While this is bound to get patched soon, it makes the best method even better.

To do this Dual Destiny Exotic class item glitch, both players need to be playing the same class. It doesn't matter which class, just that both are matching. Then, complete the mission as usual but at the very end, choose peace to bypass the duel. Proceed to the reward pedestal and make sure you both collect your reward at the exact same time. Once you've done that, turn around and clamber up the large pillars behind you to jump out of the area and onto the ledge. When you see the message that you'll be respawned next to your allies, then you're doing it right. You will then be teleported back to the location, allowing you to pick up another batch of Exotic class items.

If you don't want to grind Dual Destiny to farm Exotic class items, then you can also farm them through Overthrow once you have completed the mission for the first time on your character. This is significantly slower than doing the Dual Destiny method, but it is a good alternative.

All Destiny 2 Exotic Class Items

There are three Exotic class items in Destiny 2, one for each class, which combines the effects of two Exotics from their home class and, in some cases, even the Exotic armor of other classes. These are:

  • Solipsism - Warlock Exotic class item
  • Existentialism - Hunter Exotic class item
  • Stoicism - Titan Exotic class item

To be able to wear an Exotic class item, you must be using the Prismatic subclass. Otherwise, the effects of these items will not be applied.

A close up of the Warlock Exotic class item as the character, standing at a slight angle, holds out their hands.
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Credit: Bungie.

Solipsism - Warlock Class Item

The Exotic Warlock class item, Solipsism, can drop with the following perks:

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Spirit of Apotheosis - Temporarily gain greatly increased melee and grenade regen after your Super ends.
Spirit of Harmony - Final blows with weapons that have a damage type matching your Super’s element grant you Super energy.
Spirit of Osmiomancy - Your grenades recharge quicker on hits. The seeker spawned from Coldsnap grenades travels further.
Spirit of Starfire - Grenades recharge from empowered weapon damage, with empowered weapon final blows granting more energy.
Spirit of the Assassin - Finishers and powered melee final blows grant invisibility.
Spirit of the Claw - Gain an additional melee charge.
Spirit of the Filaments - Casting an empowering rift will grant you Devour.
Spirit of the Star-Eater - While your Super energy is full, picking up an Orb of Power overcharges your Super, granting it bonus damage.
Spirit of Inmost Light - Using an ability empowers the other two abilities, granting them improved energy regeneration.
Spirit of the Swarm - Destroying a Tangle spawns Threadlings.
Spirit of the Necrotic - Damaging combatants with your melee poisons them. Defeating a poisoned enemy spreads the condition.
Spirit of Synthoceps - Improved melee damage when you’re surrounded.
Spirit of the Ophidian - Weapons ready very quickly.
Spirit of Verity - Weapon final blows with a damage type matching your grenade grant a stacking grenade damage bonus.
Spirit of the Stag - Your Rift provides damage reduction to allied Guardians standing in it.
Spirit of Vesper - Rifts periodically release Arc shockwaves.

Warlock Exotic class item Solipsism god roll perk combinations include:

  • Spirit of Inmost Light and Spirit of Verity
  • Spirit of the Necrotic and Spirit of The Claw
  • Spirit of the Necrotic and Spirit of Synthoceps
  • Spirit of Osmiomancy and Spirit of Verity

Check out the best Destiny 2 Prismatic Warlock build to find out how Solipsism works in action.

An image from behind of a character wearing the Hunter Exotic class item in Destiny 2 The Final Shape as they look over their left shoulder.
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Credit: Bungie.

Existentialism - Hunter Class Item

The Exotic Hunter class item, Existentialism, can drop with the following perks:

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Spirit of Caliban - Powered melee final blows trigger an ignition.
Spirit of the Coyote - Gain an additional class ability charge.
Spirit of Galanor - Hits and final blows with your Super will return Super energy after it ends.
Spirit of the Cyrtarachne - Gain Woven Mail when you use your grenade.
Spirit of Renewal - Allies inside the Duskfield take reduced damage, and targets inside the area deal reduced damage.
Spirit of the Gyrfalcon - Your Void weapons gain Volatile Rounds after you emerge from being invisible.
Spirit of the Assassin - Finishers and powered melee final blows grant invisibility.
Spirit of the Liar - Dealing damage with a powered melee or being hit by a melee attack will allow you to follow up with an extremely powerful melee counterpunch.
Spirit of the Dragon - Using your class ability reloads all weapons and increases weapon handling speeds for a brief time.
Spirit of the Star-Eater - While your Super energy is full, picking up an Orb of Power overcharges your Super, granting it bonus damage.
Spirit of the Foetracer - Damaging a powerful combatant or Guardian with an ability grants you a temporary damage bonus for weapons matching that ability’s element.
Spirit of Synthoceps - Improved melee damage when you’re surrounded.
Spirit of Inmost Light - Using an ability empowers the other two abilities granting them improved energy regeneration.
Spirit of the Wormhusk - Dodging gives a small health and shield increase.
Spirit of the Ophidian - Weapons ready very quickly.
Spirit of Verity - Weapon final blows with a damage type matching your grenade grant a stacking grenade damage bonus.

Hunter Exotic class item Existentialism god roll perk combinations include:

  • Spirit of Inmost Light and Spirit of Verity
  • Spirit of Galanor and Spirit of the Star-Eater
  • Spirit of Caliban and Spirit of the Liar
  • Spirit of Inmost Light and Spirit of Cyrtarachne

Take a look at the best Destiny 2 Prismatic Hunter build to see how Existentialism can be used in a setup.

A close up of the Titan Exotic class item in Destiny 2 The Final Shape, with the character slightly bending their legs and clenching their fists.
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Credit: Bungie.

Stoicism - Titan Class Item

The Exotic Titan class item, Stoicism, can drop with the following perks:

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Spirit of Hoarfrost - Your Barricade becomes a wall of Stasis crystals that slows nearby targets when created.
Spirit of Alpha Lupi - Generates a healing pulse when Barricade is activated.
Spirit of Inmost Light - Using an ability empowers the other two abilities with faster regeneration.
Spirit of Contact - Damaging a target with a powered melee causes all nearby targets to suffer lightning strikes and become jolted.
Spirit of Severance - Powered melee final blows and finishers unleash a damaging explosion.
Spirit of Scars - Final blows with weapons that have a damage type matching your Super's element create a burst of healing around you that grants allied restoration.
Spirit of the Abeyant - Drengr's Lash Barricades spawn two additional projectiles, track targets more aggressively, and travel further.
Spirit of Synthoceps - Improves melee damage when you're surrounded.
Spirit of the Assassin - Finishers and powered melee ability final blows grant invisibility.
Spirit of Verity - Weapon final blows with a damage type matching your Grenade grant a stacking Grenade damage bonus.
Spirit of the Bear - Move faster while guarding with the Unbreakable shield. Damage blocked with Unbreakable is converted to Super energy.
Spirit of the Armamentarium - Gain an additional Grenade charge.
Spirit of the Eternal Warrior - Gain bonus damage for weapons matching your Super's element when your Super ends.
Spirit of the Horn - Your Barricade unleashes a blast of Solar Energy that scorches targets.
Spirit of the Ophidian - Weapons reload very quickly.
Spirit of the Star-Eater - While your Super energy is full, picking up an Orb of Power overcharges your Super with bonus damage.

Titan Exotic class item Stoicism god roll perk combinations include:

  • Spirit of Inmost Light and Spirit of Contact
  • Spirit of the Abeyant and Spirit of Contact
  • Spirit of Inmost Light/Spirit of the Abeyant and Spirit of Scars

Use our guide to the best Destiny 2 Prismatic Titan build to see how Stoicism works with your subclass abilities and more.

How to Use Exotic Class Items in Destiny 2

Chances are, if your Exotic class item isn't working then that's because you're not using Prismatic. The only requirement to use an Exotic class item is that you have your Prismatic subclass equipped. As with other Exotics, you can only have one Exotic armor piece and one Exotic weapon equipped at once.

That covers everything there is to know about Destiny 2 Exotic class items in The Final Shape, from the perk combinations for each one to how to get your hands on them. To get more Exotics and powerful gear, check out the new Destiny 2 Pathfinder system and the Destiny 2 Overthrow activity in the Pale Heart.

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