Destiny 2 Sunshot + Catalyst: How to get them (2024)

Sunshot is the only Exotic Solar hand cannon in Destiny 2, and it packs a significant punch. Explosions left and right and in-built Explosive Rounds make Sunshot one of the top weapons in the game.

Today, we cover how powerful this Exotic hand cannon is and tell you how to get both the weapon and the catalyst.

Name: Sunshot

Type: Hand Cannon Archetype: Exotic

Ammo: Primary Element: Solar

Craftable: No Released: Season 1

Source: Exotic Engram Requires: Free-to-Play

How to get the Sunshot Catalyst

The Sunshot catalyst can drop at the end of any core ritual activity, such as Crucible, Gambit, or Vanguard Ops. As of Update 7.3.5, Comp matches have an increased Exotic Catalyst drop rate:

Competitive matches will also have an increased chance to drop Exotic weapon catalysts on victories.

The Catalyst adds+27 Range and +18 to Stability. Both of these stats are underwhelming on the base version of Sunshot, making the catalyst a hot commodity, especially for PvP-minded people.

Once you have obtained the catalyst, you’ll need 500 weapon kills and 1000 ‘Sun Blast’ kills. Using typical farming methods such as Shuro Chi or the opening section of Grasp of Avarice will speed things along. However, simply using the weapon in day-to-day content will get the catalyst done in a reasonable timeframe.

Catalyst: Sunshot

Ammo: Primary Element: Solar

Source: Playlist Activity completions Requires: Free-to-Play

How to Unlock: ► 500 kills ► 1000 Sun Blast kills Released: Season 1

How to get Sunshot in Destiny 2

Sunshot is somewhat elusive. The weapon isn’t tied to a specific Exotic quest, and you can’t get it from the Monument to Lost Lights, meaning there isn’t a direct path to the weapon. You’ll have to get lucky and have it drop from one of these random RNG-based sources:

• Random Exotic drops or Activity Completion
• Xur’s rotation or Xur’s Fated Engram

Getting the weapon through Xur can be pretty frustrating, as it may take months, but due to the Fated Engram providing an Exotic you do not have, you will get it if you persist. Therefore, if you don’t own the Exotic weapon or class-specific armor piece that Xur is selling, buy them to improve your odds with the Fated Engram.

How good is Sunshot

Sunshot cooks enemies with the buffs Hand Cannons received in Season of the Witch, plus the Exotic Weapon damage buff from The Witch Queen. These changes and its own strength give it an S-tier rating in both PvE and PvP. Sunshot’s perks make it a mainstay in PvE and PvP:

• Sunburn: This weapon fires explosive rounds and highlights targets that take damage from Sunshot.
• Sun Blast: Targets killed with Sunshot explode in Solar energy.

Sunburn is an excellent perk in PvP, as explosive rounds cause Sunshot to flinch your enemy. This, coupled with its unique 150 RPM and strong stats, makes it a force to be reckoned with. With the +18 stability and +27 range provided by its catalyst, Sunshot is truly a menace in the Crucible.

Sun Blast is what makes this weapon truly special in PvE. The explosion damage is nothing to scoff at and kills from the explosion trigger, which triggers even more explosions while scorching any enemy that doesn’t die initially.

Best Sunshot Build: All Solar

Sunshot is the Solar weapon in Destiny 2. It scorches enemies, pumps out incredible damage, and will work with practically any Solar build you pair it with. There is no specific exotic pairing with Sunshot that brings it to the next level, but combining it with Ember of Empyrean and the Radiant and Restoration character buffs on Solar will make you near unkillable while also dealing remarkable damage to anything that isn’t a yellow-bar enemy.

Before you go…

Are you looking for other top-tier Exotics worth chasing? We cover How to get Ace of Spades + Catalysthere.