In the Warmind expansion, Destiny 2 introduced Exotic Catalysts, special modifiers that make Exotic weapons even better. However, each Exotic has its own Catalyst, as well as a hidden condition that will further upgrade it to Masterwork.
Here’s where to find the Exotic Catalyst for your favorite weapon in Destiny 2, and how to turn it into a Masterwork.
Destiny 2 Exotic Catalysts and Masterwork Upgrade Guide
Each individual Exotic weapon has its own Catalyst, although not all of them have been added to the game yet, and that Catalyst in turn has a specific place where it drops. Just about everything you can do in Destiny 2 has a potential Catalyst drop attached to it, such as Patrols, Strikes, Nightfalls, raids, and the Crucible.
You’ll want to find your Exotic of choice on the following list, then keep after its connected activity until you get the Catalyst you want.
Once it’s installed, the Catalyst instantly upgrades your Exotic in at least one specific way. From there, once you satisfy the attached conditions, the Exotic weapon is upgraded to Masterwork tier.
Note that items in boldface under Catalyst Effect in the following table are the names of perks that are actually added to the Exotic weapon by its Catalyst.
| Weapon | Catalyst Effect | Catalyst Location | Masterwork |
| Ace of Spades | Funeral Pyre: Firefly does more damage while Memento Mori is active | Kills or completion bonuses in Strikes or Nightfall | Get 500 kills |
| Bad Juju | Unending Curse: The damage increase from String of Curses lasts longer | Place 45 Tributes in the Tribute Hall | Get 700 kills |
| Black Talon | Reversal: blocking shots immediately after guarding gives a short-lived damage increase to Crow’s Wings | Kill enemies in PVE | Get 500 kills |
| Borealis | Reload Speed +18 | Kill enemies in PVE | Get 150 Solar Mode kills, 150 Void Mode kills, 150 Arc Mode kills |
| Cerberus+1 | Focused Fire: hold the reload button to swap to a tighter close-range spread | Kill enemies in PVE | Get 500 kills |
| Coldheart | Stability +18, Reload Speed +18 | Kills or completion bonuses in Strikes or Nightfall | Get 300 kills |
| The Colony | Deeper Pockets: magazine size +1, greater max ammo reserve | Kills or wins in the Crucible | Get 500 kills |
| Crimson | Range +18 | Kill enemies in PVE | Get 500 precision kills |
| D.A.R.C.I. | Stability +18 | Kill enemies in PVE | Get 300 precision kills |
| Eriana’s Vow |
| Complete “The Vow,” obtained from the Season of the Undying season pass | Get 700 kills |
| Fighting Lion |
| Kill enemies in PVE |
|
| And its name was Death: Magazine size +1, reload speed +40 | Complete Seraph Bunkers or Legendary Lost Sectors; participate in Public Events at Seraph Tower | Get 400 kills | |
| Graviton Lance |
| Kills or wins in Crucible; kills or completions in Strikes or Nightfall |
|
| Hardlight | Stability +18 | Kills or completions in Strikes or Nightfall | Get 1000 kills |
| The Huckleberry | Bull Rider: kills with this weapon fully reload its magazine | Kills or completions in Heroic Adventures | Get 500 kills |
| Izanagi’s Burden | Peerless Edge: increases Honed Edge’s damage bonus when all 4 bullets are consumed | Complete Heroic Menagerie with a Masterworked Chalice of Opulence | Get 500 kills |
| Jade Rabbit | Stability +27 | Kills or victories in Crucible | Get 250 PVP kills |
| Legend of Acrius |
| Complete encounters and open Underbelly chests in Leviathan on Prestige difficulty | Get 500 kills |
| Lord of Wolves | Fang and Claw: when Release the Wolves is active, reload speed increases; when Release the Wolves is not active, stability increases | Completions in Gambit, Crucible, Strikes, or Nightfalls | Get 500 kills |
| Lumina | Resonant Virtue: Gain 2 Remnants per final blow | Kills and completions in Gambit, Crucible, Strikes, or Nightfalls | Get 250 Noble Round heals |
| Merciless | Stability +36, Range +36 | Kills or completions in Strikes and Nightfalls | Get 500 kills |
| MIDA Multi-Tool | Outlaw: increase reload speed after a precision kill | Kills or wins in Competitive Crucible matches at Glory rank of Legend | Get 250 PVP precision kills |
| Outbreak Perfected | Disease Vector: deal additional nanite damage; enemies that die while under the effect of SIVA nanites spread the effect to other nearby enemies | Complete Zero Hour on Heroic difficulty |
|
| Polaris Lance | Dragonfly: precision kills make the target explode | Complete the 5th and final Nascent Dawn quest |
|
| Prometheus Lens | Stability +18, handling +18 | Kills or completions in Strikes and Nightfalls | Get 500 kills |
| The Prospector |
| Kills or completions in Strikes and Nightfalls | Get 500 kills |
| Rat King | Infestation: aim assist and recoil direction improves; you regain health when Vermin activates | Kills or completions in Strikes and Nightfalls | Get 1000 kills while everyone in your fireteam is also using Rat King |
| Riskrunner | Range +27 | Complete the Pain and Gain questline |
|
| Skyburner’s Oath | Rage +27 | Complete encounters in the Leviathan raid | Get 1000 Cabal kills |
| Sleeper Stimulant | Charge rate -250, improved ammo reserves | Complete encounters in Leviathan on Prestige difficulty |
|
| Sturm | Handling +40, range +18 | Kill PVE enemies on Nessus |
|
| Sunshot | Stability +18, range +27 | Kills or wins in Crucible, kills or completions in Strikes and Nightfall |
|
| SUROS Ascendance: increases recoil direction, chance that SUROS Legacy will activate | Kills or wins in Crucible | Get 300 PVP kills | |
| Sweet Business | Serious Business: reduces incoming flinch when firing Sweet Business at full speed | Kills or wins in Crucible, kills or completions in Strikes and Nightfall | Get 250 Multikills |
| Symmetry | Electric Styx: increases Dynamic Charge’s maximum stack size to x20 | Complete “Symmetry Remastered” from Banshee-44 | Get 700 kills |
| Telesto | Deeper Pockets: magazine size +3, expanded ammo reserves | Complete encounters in Leviathan, Eater of Worlds on Prestige difficulty | Acquire the Gift of the Lighthouse, then interact with the forge on Mercury |
| Heat of the Moment: your health recovers faster while Ignition Trigger is active | If you have the Season of the Worthy season pass, complete Banshee-44’s quest | Get 700 kills | |
| Tractor Cannon | Deeper Pockets: magazine size +3, expanded ammo reserves | Kill enemies in PVE | Get 300 kills |
| Vigilance Wing | Full Auto Trigger System: hold down the trigger to fire on full automatic | Kills or wins in Crucible | Get 250 PVP kills, 5 Blood for Blood medals |
| The Wardcliff Coil | Pinpoint Guidance Module: tightens rockets’ spread | Kills and completions in Strikes and Nightfall | Get 500 kills |
| Whisper of the Worm |
| Complete The Whisper on Heroic difficulty | Farm 100 Blighted Essence from The Whisper on Heroic difficulty |
| Worldline Zero | Another Dimension: reduces Tesseract’s activation time | Kill enemies in PVE while you have a sword equipped | Hit all 5 of the weekly bosses in Mars Protocol with Worldline Zero while they’re unshielded |
At time of writing, Exotic weapons without Catalysts include Arbalest, Deathbringer, Heir Apparent, and the Queenbreaker. However, Bungie is still working on adding more Catalysts to the game, so sooner or later, every Exotic will have a mini-upgrade quest to call its own.
The Guardian Games are still underway in Destiny 2, although it’s going into its final week. Go in prepared with our guides and tips, including:
- How to complete the Chain Reaction Bounty
- A guide on farming Laurels during the Guardian Games
- Where to find the legendary weapon Escape Velocity
The Titans are currently winning Destiny 2‘s Guardian Games, as I’m writing this, and are overpowering the early favorite, the Hunters. Bungie is sweetening the pot, however, by doubling the points for each daily winner. It’s still anyone’s match. If you play a Hunter or a Warlock, coordinate your plans for a come-from-behind victory with our squad via our official Twitter, @PrimaGames.
Published: May 6, 2020 02:36 am