In Destiny, when completing Vanguard and Crucible bounties at Level 20 for Xander 99-40 in the Tower, Guardians will sometimes be offered rare Exotic Bounties. These bounties, which are extremely hard-to-come-by, demand players complete a series challenging tasks in reward for a guaranteed Exotic weapon. Unlike most other things in Destiny, completing these Exotic Bounties guarantee you an Exotic Weapon, so there's no fear of wasting your time.
If you are lucky enough to be rewarded with an Exotic Weapon Bounty, Xander 99-40 will present you with three (randomly) selected ones in which you must choose one of them to complete. There are currently six different Exotic Weapon Bounties, each quest line associated with a different specific Exotic weapon. Be careful though, as Destiny doesn't you what weapon is associated with each, nor does it let you know the challenges you must complete to get the weapon. Although the steps in which you acquire your Exotic Weapon may differ, each of these Bounties are equally long. Typically, each Exotic Weapon Bounty is comprised of at least one PvE and one PvP task. Because of the type of player you may be, certain parts of a Bounty may take longer.
So if you happen to be presented with three Exotic Weapon Bounties, make sure you know what weapon you want first, and then be prepared to complete the tasks associated with it. Below we've got a guide to each of the six Exotic Weapon Bounties, including links to the weapon each will reward you with.
A LIGHT IN THE DARK
Weapon: Thorn – Exotic Handgun (primary weapon)
Bounty Steps:
- Complete the Summon Pits strike on the Moon
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Earn 500 points by killing Hive enemies on the Moon
- 2 Points per kills (Hallowed Knights give 20 points)
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Use Void Damage to defeat Guardians in the Crucible, while avoiding death. You need a total of 500 points
- 1 kill = 5 points, 1 death = -2 points
- Obtain an Infusion of Light from the Speaker (trade for one Mote of Light)
- Defeat Xyor, the Unwed in a special level 26 version of the Summoning Pits strike on the moon. He will appear once you have killed all of the minions around Phogoth
TOLAND’S LEGACY
Weapon: Bad Juju – Exotic Pulse Rifle (primary weapon)
Bounty Steps:
- Complete a heroic or epic strike
- Complete 25 strikes of any difficulty level
- Buy a darkness-infused weapon frame from Xur for 1 strange coin (NOTE: Xur is only available as a vendor from Friday to Saturday)
- Fight in the Crucible and obtain 10,000 points from kills.
AN UNKNOWN PATRON
Weapon: Fate of All Fools – Exotic Scout Rifle (primary weapon)
Bounty Steps:
- Win 5 crucible matches
- Complete feats of skill in the Crucible
- Obtain Osiris Coins by trading Motes of Light and then compete in the Trials of Osiris. You need to win 10 times in a row, or 25 times total to complete this phase. If you lose 3 times you will need to use another coin
- Perform a set number of kills, headshots, and killing sprees with any scout rifle in the Crucible
A DUBIOUS TASK
Weapon: Invective – Exotic Shotgun (special weapon)
Bounty Steps:
- Complete a total of 5 strikes (of any difficulty level) without dying. Note: I recommend doing the Earth Strike.
- Earn a Kills/Death spread of 25 in the Crucible
- Complete the Weekly Heroic Strike.
- Trade 50 special weapon ammo packs to the Gunsmith for the Invective component. Note: You can purchase them from him first if you don't have enough
SHATTERED MEMORY FRAGMENT
Weapon: Pocket Infinity – Exotic Fusion Rifle (special weapon)
Bounty Steps:
- Locate the damage Ghost on Venus in the Shattered Coast. Here's a guide
- Kill a Vex Gate Lord in a heroic story mission
- Dismantle 10 rare or higher quality Fusion Rifles
- Kill 200 enemies in Weekly Nightfall activities using any Fusion Rifle
A VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS
Weapon: Super Good Advice – Exotic Machine Gun (heavy weapon)
Bounty Steps:
- Search loot caches on Mars for A Mournful Gun
- Buy an ammunition module from Xur for 1 strange coin (Note: Xur is only available as a vendor from Friday to Saturday).
- Kill 500 enemies with a machine gun to obtain An Enthusiastic Gun
Alternate Steps: The quest structure of this bounty may differ from player to player; in some cases, you can find "A Recalcitrant Gun" from the loot chests. In that case, you'll have to do the following steps:
- Find a A Recalcitrant Gun by opening loot caches on Mars.
- Buy an ammunition module from Xûr for one Strange Coin to obtain A Pleased Machine Gun frame.
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Kill 500 enemies with a machine gun to obtain An Enthusiastic Gun.
- kills = 1 point, headshots = 3 points, kills with rocket launchers = 5 points)
- Bring the Frame to the Gunsmith to obtain Super Good Advice
It's important to note that Exotic Weapon Bounties are completely random after obtaining Level 20; although, some Guardians seem to have better luck than others. To date, I've received two Exotic Weapon Bounties: "Toland's Legacy" for the Bad Juju Pulse Rifle and "A Dubious Task" for the Invective Exotic Shotgun. Both were fairly easy, though Toland's Legacy took a bit longer due to having to complete 25 Strikes. It's important to note that Destiny only allows you to equip one Exotic weapon at a time so even though I currently have two, I can only equip one. Still, it's fairly simple to switch between the two from your inventory screen depending on the situation.
In last week's dev notes, Bungie also talked about the current state of Exotic weapons in Destiny, explaining they are designed "to look, feel and sound overpowered," while not actually breaking the game. The developer acknowledged that not all of these Exotic Weapons are living up to that promise, noting particularly that the Thorn and Bad Juju may look and sound amazing, but feel underpowered. Bungie didn't get into specifics, but they did warn players not to shard these guns because "their time will come."
