Published on: Mar 29, 2015 @ 19:52

There’s a lot of Exotic armor in Destiny, but which pieces fall short? Which are worth using over the others, and why?

This article will analyze each piece of Exotic Titan armor, ranking them tiers, just as we did with the Exotic Weapons for PvE & PvP.

Be sure to check out our Warlock and Hunter tiers as well.

For the House of Wolves Exotics, you can find our initial thoughts for each of them here.

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We have individual reviews for all of these items as well – click the armor category to read/watch them.

Tiers

Tier 1 armor is considered the best of the best, useful in nearly all situations.
Tier 2 armor is exceptional, but not as great as Tier 1 pieces.
Tier 3 armor is OK, worth using sometimes.

The armor in each tier is listed in alphabetical order.

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PvP Rank

Tier 1

It grants Discipline (perfect for maximizing cooldown on those all-important grenades), gives full melee energy on respawn, and provides Transfusion free of charge; what’s not to love? This helmet is ideal for the punch-happy Titan.

Although it doesn’t grant the useful Rain Blows perk, Skullfort’s Transfusion is potent, activating on both regular melee and Shoulder Charge kills alike. You are free to select between Aftershocks and Headstrong with this benefit, and Amplify and Discharge become appealing options in lieu of Overload with Skullfort granting melee energy after every death.

Helm of Inmost Light

While it languishes in PvE, the Helm of Inmost Light finds a home in the Crucible. It grants two perks that buff the Titan super to scary levels, “Death From Above” and “Headstrong”. With these as gimmes, a Striker is able to select freely from the other appealing options in those rows, knowing full well that he or she will be able to make the most of their frequent and deadly Fist of Havocs.

Although its pure Strength is a little disappointing, the increased Melee Speed and utility of its signature perk is too good to pass up.

The Armamentarium

The Armamentarium makes a case for ‘best’ Titan Exotic by excelling equally in PvP and PvE. In PvP, you can gain an early surge of momentum by starting with an extra grenade. Strikers will love this boon, as their Lightning Grenades frequently terrorize Control battlefields and are excellent for snagging early kills and building a lead.

Defenders always appreciate another Magnetic sticky too. The pure Discipline will guarantee maximum grenade uptime, and increased special ammo can’t be overlooked in ensuring you’ll always have your backup plan ready.

Tier 2

Crest of Alpha Lupi

This is another example of an Exotic that shines in PvP. Its signature perk “Keeper of the Pack” has no equal in Skirmish and Salvage, providing faster revives and increased orb generation for tactical team play, though not universally useful enough to earn Tier 1 status.

Pure Intellect is ideal for Strikers and Defenders, and Special Weapon Ammo is always welcome during droughts between boxes. Unfortunately, this piece loses a bit of its niche potency in Control and Clash, and for that reason is best reserved for the aforementioned content.

No Backup Plans

These gauntlets are designed around doing one thing and doing it well. With a pure Strength roll and a signature ability that increases Force Barrier duration, you’re only going to find these worthwhile if you’re adept at scoring melee kills. Fortunately, Rain Blows will give you some leeway with your timing to assist in this. If you’re able to consistently deal finishing blows with Disintegrate, you will be hard to take down.

To this end, “Unbreakable” and “Relentless” are almost mandatory, creating a situation in which it’s feasible to keep your overshield up until the next one is ready. Ultimately, there are too many variables that can foil even the best laid plans, so these Gauntlets sit at the lowest end of Tier 2. But if you can make them work for you, opponents beware.

The Glasshouse

This Defender-specific Exotic can be tricky to implement under the best of circumstances, but provides an undeniable edge when fully utilized. It is naturally geared toward helping a Defender get their Ward of Dawn as quickly as possible, granting more Super Energy from Grenade kills on top of its Pure Intellect roll.

There’s a lot of perk synergy here, which is nice, as 5 extra seconds on both Weapons and Blessing of Light is not immediately overwhelming. If you’re patient, though, it can be a force to be reckoned with, providing crucial extra time to yourself and your allies for survivability or lethality.

Still, we know this isn’t easy to pull off or always doable, which is why The Glasshouse earns Tier 2.

Tier 3

Helm of Saint-14

It pains us to have to include the undeniably cool Saint-14 in the bottom tier of Destiny’s PvP-capable of Exotics. Although the pure Intellect roll is nice for assisting with Ward of Dawn’s cooldown, the rest of the perks just don’t quite fit. A monster in PvE, Inverse Shadow is literally useless in the Crucible.

Its signature perk, infamous for blinding any and all that walk into your bubble, is only useful if opposing players are reckless. On the off chance that someone decides they have a chance against you, you’ll squeal with glee as they immediately become disoriented and walk around until you invariably put them down.

These instances are a few and far between, though, and not worth using a helmet with a giveaway plume that is better suited to PvE. Rain Blows is welcome, but a drop in the bucket in the face of its downsides.

Mk. 44 Stand Asides

If you were to look up “Tier 3” in the Dictionary, The MK. 44 Stand Asides would be pictured alongside it. Although their signature perk was ostensibly designed for PvP use, is is situational at best, downright pointless at worst. By adding 3 extra seconds to Shoulder Charge’s uptime, habitual sprinters can hope they’ll have more opportunities to use the deadly melee for a guaranteed kill, but this is already shoehorning Guardians into an unsustainable playstyle.

Shoulder Charge is best used tactically, with timing and a target in mind. Is three extra seconds to Shoulder Charge worth using them? Probably not. Other than this, the MK. 44 Stand Asides provide disappointing pure Strength, and extra Heavy Ammo carrying capacity – a pointless perk in PvP.

Ruin Wings

Another PvE dominator, the Ruin Wings find themselves borderline useless in the Crucible. None of its perks contribute toward one another, and the pure Strength roll is unfortunate for gloves that actively discourage melee with their lack of incentives.

Special Weapon reloader can be helpful for slow shotguns, and Impact Induction conceivably can assist in Grenade cooldown, but the signature perk is a non-factor. As heavy ammo granted is a function of base magazine size, Seeds of Ruin might as well not exist. Avoid these in PvP.

PvE Rank

Tier 1

Helm of Saint-14

This futuristic ‘Roman-style’ helm is a standout in more ways than one. It’s the ultimate Defender Exotic, turning the Ward of Dawn into an offensive powerhouse as well as a defensive one.

Its pure Intellect roll pairs perfectly with Inverse Shadow, as both guarantee loads of Super Energy from enemy kills to ensure you have your Bubble rocking as often as possible. Once enemies enter your dominion, they’ll be helpless, stumbling, and blind thanks to “Starless Night”. This leaves you free to eliminate them with the help of Rain Blows or the weapon of your choice.

The ability to use Ward of Dawn as crowd control is a delight in all sorts of content, and secures Saint-14’s spot as a top-tier PvE Exotic.

Ruin Wings

The Dark Below introduced this wild card and the community at large responded with unanimous joy. The pure Strength and Impact Induction is practically irrelevant when compared to the potential devastation that Seeds of Ruin offers. This Exotic perk acts as a universal “Surplus” for any Heavy Weapon, while offering the added benefit of stacking with any Surplus perk you happen to have.

If that weren’t enough, it also increases the drop rate for the best ammo of all. We don’t need to tell you how easy this can make encounters, and if you haven’t experienced the joy of near-unlimited Rockets, it’s time give Ruin Wings a shot. You won’t ever stop firing.

The Armamentarium

“Armamentarium” means “the medicines, equipment, and techniques available to a medical practitioner.” The chest is the equipment, and you’re the ‘medical’ Titan, prescribing grenades for your enemies.

This chest makes an equally strong case for your choosing it in PvE as well. Its myriad of ammo-boosting perks ensures you will never run out in any content. As an Exotic chestpiece can grant the most of a given statistic, Armamentarium could theoretically grant you 63% of the Discipline required to maximize your cooldown on Grenades.

To take advantage of this meaty boost, the Armamentarium provides that all-important access to a second grenade. With the wonderful options Titans have available for grenades, there’s a reason this Exotic is considered to be the best around. It is subclass neutral and universally useful!

Tier 2

An Insurmountable Skullfort

The Skullfort is very much of a Jack-of-all-trades Exotic in PvE. Its focus is split neatly between Grenades and Melee, and although its signature perk can not be fully taken advantage of, it is a worthy selection for most content. Its pure Discipline and Impact Induction work in tandem to help speed Grenade cooldown, which is crucial for keeping you ready to deal with anything.

The Improved Transfusion is helpful if not revolutionary, contributing to survivability while allowing for some perk flexibility. There aren’t many uses in which full melee energy on spawn will be worthwhile. Because of its split focus with admirable perks, Skullfort is a comfortable Tier 2.

Crest of Alpha Lupi

This chestpiece is very right for a few things, and mostly unfit for others. Thankfully, it has a pure Intellect roll that is friendly to its subclass neutral nature; both Defenders and Strikers appreciate Intellect over Strength. Keeper of the Pack can be a lifesaver in Nightfalls for fast revives, and more orbs is never a bad thing. Indeed, if you are with a coordinated group, a Defender or a Titan with the CoAL will be a valuable fireteam member.

For solo play however, this Exotic is completely outclassed, as its main benefits are entirely wasted. Increased Special Weapon Ammo is nice, but doesn’t save this Exotic from scraping the bottom of Tier 2 as a mostly niche piece of armor.

No Backup Plans

Though arguably more universally helpful than the Crest of Alpha Lupi, these gauntlets are also far too restrictive. For low-stress content, they can reach their full potential, helping to grant near-constant uptime on the useful Force Barrier by landing easy melee kills on low level enemies.

Unfortunately, as relying on melee is a dubious proposition in Nightfalls, Weekly Strikes, Crota’s End, and even Vault of Glass, you’ll find a hard time successfully incorporating these into your game in these activities.

When being unable to take advantage of Improved Disintegrate, you’re left with Rain Blows – similarly poor – and Special Weapon Loader, which at least gives you some utility outside of punch, punch punch. These narrowly avoid Tier 3.

The Glasshouse

Though it’s tough to measure up to the standard set by Saint-14, The Glasshouse comes close. Possessing the same Intellect roll, and reliably useful Quintessence Transfer perk, the Glasshouse is able to generate Super Energy with comparable efficacy. As no Titan is complete without Rain Blows, the Glasshouse provides this as well.

Once your Ward of Dawn is ready, enjoy the potency of its signature “Bathed in Light” perk, which grants 50% increases to Blessing/Weapons of Light durations on yourself and your allies. This perk can be a godsend when used correctly, and Atheon is known to be especially afraid of 5 coordinated Guardians with 15 seconds of Weapons of Light at their disposal.

Still, the Glasshouse loses out in solo content, where the buff is harder to use effectively. For this reason, it sits in the middle of Tier 2.