Destiny 2 will soon let you upgrade every exotic weapon in the game

Destiny 2: Warmind is expanding on the upgrade feature for legendary weapons that developer Bungie introduced in January — with a system to improve exotic weapons as well, the studio announced this week.

Like legendary weapons and armor over the past few months, each exotic weapon in Destiny 2 will be getting its own Masterwork version through a “catalyst.” But these new upgrades will do more than just track kills and spawn orbs. (To be clear, exotic Masterworks will be available for all Destiny 2 players, not just those who buy the Warmind expansion.)

Bungie didn’t go into many details, but we know that Masterworks will offer bonus stats and potential perks for your exotics. For instance, Vigilance Wing will be getting the Full Auto perk once you complete its Masterwork path, allowing players to hold down the trigger for burst after burst, according to a video from PlayStation Access.

Another example was for Crimson, the hand cannon recreation of the Destiny gun Red Death. The Masterwork upgrade for this weapon is apparently a massive range increase, taking the gun from 60 range to the max of 100.

Bungie/Activision

Each weapon’s Masterwork catalyst will be unique and secret. The example that Bungie gave was Coldheart. The hint for the trace rifle’s catalyst is that it is “found in strikes against the most challenging opponents.” In all likelihood, this is talking about a Nightfall strike. Whether the catalyst only drops from a specific strike remains to be seen.

Once you’ve gotten a catalyst to drop, or completed the required activity — depending on how that catalyst is obtained — you can apply it to the exotic to get a more direct objective for the upgrade. At this point, the weapon will function like any legendary Masterwork, counting kills and granting orbs of light on multikills. These upgrade quests are far more direct, such as killing a certain amount of enemies with your exotic.

Bungie did announce that not all exotic weapons will have catalysts available right away. Players will need to check each exotic weapon they have by inspecting it. If a catalyst slot is there, the exotic Masterwork upgrade is available.

Exotic Masterwork weapons will launch alongside Destiny 2: Warmind and Destiny 2 season three on May 8.