How to get the Hierarchy of Needs Exotic bow and its catalyst in Destiny 2

Like most of Destiny 2’s dungeons, the new Spire of the Watcher from Season of the Seraph adds a special new Exotic to the game. The Hierarchy of Needs Exotic bow is an explosive, massive weapon capable of clearing out hordes of enemies at once. It’s also a random drop from the dungeon’s final boss. However, you can improve your chances for the bow by completing some dungeon-related Triumphs.

In this guide we’ll help you improve your chances for the Hierarchy of Needs, tell you what it does, and how you can get its Catalyst.

How to improve your chances for the Hierarchy of Needs

Image: Bungie via Polygon

Unlike raids, you’ll be able to get loot every time you run the Spire of the Watcher dungeon. So if you really want that Dead Man’s Tale-esque scout rifle or the super cool cowboy hat helmet, you can play the dungeon over and over again in a single week until you get it.

However, the one exception to this rule is the Hierarchy of Needs bow. Characters can only get the bow from Persys (the final boss) the first time they kill it each week, so you’ll have three total shots each reset — assuming you have three characters.

With only a limited amount of runs between now and Lightfall, you might be stressed about getting the Hierarchy of Needs Bow before heading to Neomuna. But don’t worry; you can up your chances at the bow by completing these Triumphs:

• Devil in the Details — Find and listen to all six Devilish Recordings hidden in the Spire of the Watcher
• Resident Vexpert — Complete the Spire of the Watcher on Master difficulty mode
• The Magnificent One — Complete all the encounters in the Spire of the Watcher solo
• Mind the Vexplosion — Complete all the encounters in the Spire of the Watcher without dying
• Untarnished Grit — Complete all the encounters in the Spire of the Watcher solo and without dying

Four of these Triumphs might be a little tough for the average player, but one of them is extremely easy. The next time you go through the dungeon, use our Devilish Recordings guide to help you pick up the Devil in the Details Triumph (which you’ll also need for the dungeon Seal and Title). Just make sure to claim the Triumph in your inventory before fighting the final boss so you can up your chances for the bow.

The other four Triumphs take a lot more skill, but will definitely make getting the Hierarchy of Needs easier. And with the new Solo Operative seasonal mod, which ups your damage if you’re alone in your party, Season of the Seraph is the perfect time to get some of those tough Triumphs done before Lightfall.

Nobody outside of Bungie is sure what the actual drop rate for Hierarchy of Needs is, or how substantial the Triumph improvements are. However, when Bungie first did this “increase Exotic drop rate with Triumph completions” system in the Duality dungeon earlier this year, many of our own Destiny pals quickly picked up the Heartshadow Exotic sword after completing three of the five Triumphs.

It’s worth stating that you can get Hierarchy of Needs without doing any of these Triumphs and just completing the dungeon.

How to get the Hierarchy of Needs Catalyst

Once you have the Hierarchy of Needs, all you need to do to get the Catalyst is complete the Master version of the dungeon. The dungeon is still young — so players aren’t 100% certain — but it appears that the Hierarchy of Needs Catalyst is a guaranteed drop from a Master completion.

What does Hierarchy of Needs and its Catalyst do?

Image: Bungie via Polygon

Hierarchy of Needs is one of the more interesting Exotics we’ve seen in Destiny 2 over the past few years.

Its main Exotic perk is Guidance Ring, which causes your precision hits and normal kills to build Guidance Ring energy. Once you have six stacks of Guidance Ring, you can hip-fire the bow to create a Guidance Ring mid-air. The bow’s secondary perk is Apollonic Tangent, which causes any arrows you fire through the Guidance Ring to release seeking projectiles and deal more damage based on how far they travel.

We were lucky enough to get Hierarchy of Needs on our first run and it seems extremely potent — especially in activities where targets tend to live longer. It’s not as easy to use as the Ticuu’s Divination bow from last year, but it seems like it’ll be even more useful in Grandmaster Nightfalls.

The Catalyst for the Hierarchy of Needs just makes it better, as it helps lower the draw time. The perk is called Protocol: Emergency Scramble. Deploying the Guidance Ring or striking targets with Apollonic Tangent arrows improves both draw time and reload speed for a “moderate” duration.

The one con this bow has is its draw speed, so this is a very welcome perk that will just allow players to fire even more buffed-up arrows before the Guidance Ring expires.