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Among the vast range of weapon types in Destiny 2, Scout Rifles are one of the most impressive and powerful. Though there are plenty of Scout Rifles available for Guardians, only eight of them are Exotics with unique perks and traits. Due to these special perks, they can take on most PvE content and lead you to success. However, only some are desirable inside the Destiny 2 PvE sandbox.
In this article, we rank every Exotic Scout Rifle based on its potency for the PvE content of Destiny 2 in 2024. It also covers the perks of each Exotic, so you can pick one according to your playstyle and build.
Disclaimer: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinion.
Tier list for Destiny 2 Exotic Scout Rifles for PvE in 2024
SS-tier
This tier list comprises the best Exotic Scout Rifles Guardians can use in Destiny 2's PvE content. They provide some of the most robust perks in the game, making them a must-have in the end-game content.
Touch of Malice
Exotic Perk: The final round of the magazine uses the Guardian's health and deals additional damage before regenerating itself. However, it also recovers health points when three targets are rapidly defeated. Furthermore, landing precision shots charges a ball of darkness and drains the life force of the combatants.
Once charged, the alternate weapon action of Touch of Malice will shoot a Blight projectile that can temporarily blind enemies.
Here are all the buffs that were implemented in the Touch of Malice, making it one of the best Exotics to use, from a negligible gear piece:
- Final Round damage increased by 20% in PvE.
- Self-damage reduced from the Final Round from 10 to 7.
- Final Round cannot kill the user anymore.
- Health reward has been increased from 30 to 75.
- Touch of Mercy has been reworked to work like Unrelenting perk.
- Ball of Darkness will have an anti-Unstoppable perk, blinding effect on enemies, and will deal Arc damage.
S-tier
Although the S-tier list is in no way inferior to the SS-tier, it contains some great Exotic Scout Rifles that need specific builds to shine in Destiny 2 PvE. However, with the seasonal mods, aspects, and fragments, guardians can easily make them superior in the PvE sandbox.
Polaris Lance
Exotic Perk: Returns ammo in the magazine upon striking precision hits. Landing four precision shots loads a delayed explosive shot that can trigger a Solar explosion. Also, the Zen Moment trait decreases the recoil and flinch over time when dealing damage.
Here's how Polaris Lance is the best fit for endgame content right now (Season of the Wish):
- The returning ammo with precision hits allows its user to keep firing without reloading, as long as the shots are landing in precision spots
- The Solar explosive round after four precision hits will now deal Scorch stacks on enemies, instead of a custom burn damage.
- Ignitions can be activated this way by sustained precision shots on elites and bosses, making it a perfect fit against Champions.
Wicked Implement
Exotic Perk: Landing precision hits slow down the combatants. Once this gun's Exotic Perk is active, breaking Stasis crystals or landing precision shots creates a Stasis shard. Upon collecting these shards, the magazine will be refilled.
WIcked Implement was a classic case of being underwhelming despite having some of the best perks and synergies. The Shards used to take up a lot of precision hits to farm, eventually creating a slow loop typical of a Scout Rifle. However, Bungie quickly followed up, granting its Catalyst the Headstone perk.
Additionally, the timer for resetting between each precision shot was increased from 3 seconds to 4.5 seconds, and now creates shards from breaking crystals. Hence, players can now synergize their Stasis builds with this Destiny 2 Exotic Scout Rifle by using the following loop:
- Making crystals with Headstone
- Create shards by either destroying crystals or landing precision shots
- Reload the weapon by collecting the created shards.
A-tier
The weapons in this tier list have more niche use cases than the S-tier weapons. Although they already come with unique and powerful perks, they must be improved for end-game PvE content in Destiny 2.
Skyburner's Oath
Exotic Perk: Shoots explosive shots. While aiming down sights, the shots travel fast and straight. On the other hand, hip-fire shots have larger explosions and apply Scorch. This Scout Rifle also deals extra damage to Cabal and penetrates Phalanx shields.
Since the launch of Solar 3.0, this Exotic Solar Scout Rifle saw a decent uprising in usage rate in PvE, compared to the usual rate in PvP. The increased RPM to 150, alongside Scorch applications on hip fire shots was a massive rework for low to mid-tier activities, allowing players to use it for add clears (additional enemies).
In Destiny 2 Season of the Deep, each Scorch stack has been increased from 3 to 5 at the base, which can be further amplified to 10 with Embers of Ashes Fragment.
Dead Man's Tale
Exotic Perk: Chaining precision hits grants additional target acquisition and range. Defeating combatants also offers increased mobility, weapon range, and handling for a short duration.
This is a craftable Exotic, which means you can create the perfect Dead Man's Tale with god rolls.
Dead Man's Tale is still one of the best weapons to have against Guardians in PvP, be it the competitive rankings, or casual Momentum Control. However, the Tex Mechanica powerhouse falls short of its peers in PvE, as the Destiny 2 arsenal holds stronger weapons to counter elites and Champions in most cases.
Symmetry
Exotic Perk: Alternate weapon action shoots Arc Seekers that track combatants you target. Hitting precision shots builds up Dynamic Charge. Once charged, it also ramps up the damage in the Arc Seeker mode and partially reloads the gun.
Despite its flashy perks and tracking Arc projectiles, Symmetry falls short when it comes to DPS against bosses, or clearing adds in PvE. While the tracking activation is useful in PvP, it isn't worth sacrificing an Exotic slot for PvE.
B-tier
Although these weapons are not at the apex of the meta, the Exotic Scout Rifles work pretty well at the low-level PvE content, where you don't need to assess any champions or high-level enemies.
These weapons are usually not a great choice because of their weak perks and traits, so using the SS, S, and A tier for all the high-end PvE content is better.
MIDA Multi-Tool
Exotic Perk: Increases the movement speed of the wielder. Also, the MIDA Radar stays active while aiming down the sight, making the Guardian aware of its surroundings.
MIDA Multi-Tool has been kept unchanged, making it more fitting to use in Destiny 2 PvP than PvE in most cases.
The Jade Rabbit
Exotic Perk: Chaining precise shots grants bonus damage on the next shot. Also, it returns ammo to the magazine and increases stability. Dealing damage with this weapon also decreases its recoil and flinch over time.
Although this exotic performs very poorly inside the PvE content of Destiny 2, it is one of the top contenders in the Exotic Scout Rifle tier list for PvP.
