Trace Rifles have received a major buff thanks to Destiny 2’s Episode Heresy Act 2 update, which includes a plethora of Artifact Perks that are specifically related to Trace Rifles. Whether it’s increasing their overall damage or potential to heal players with kills, Trace Rifles are must-have weapons for Destiny 2: Episode Heresy.
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The best Trace Rifles to use in Episode Heresy can be found below so that players have a wide range of options when it comes to support weapons and viable DPS options in the endgame content that will see them dominate the darkness with ease.
1
Chronophage
The Void Trace Rifle to Grant Volatile Rounds
- PvE God Roll Perks: Repulsor Brace, Destabilizing Rounds
- How to Get: Episode: Echoes Activities, Echoes Engrams at Failsafe in the H.E.L.M.
Chronophage is a Void Trace Rifle that can be obtained from Episode: Echoes activities, and it’s a weapon that players are going to want for Episode: Heresy. Chronophage can be crafted into the perfect Trace Rifle thanks to its perk combo of Repulsor Brace and Destabilizing Rounds, which grants immense synergy this season.
Not only does Destabilizing Rounds annihilate targets with explosive bursts thanks to final blows, but the season’s Artifact Perks benefit Void weapons to grant further damage to volatile targets and shielding so that players will never die.
2
Lodestar
The Exotic Arc Trace Rifle that Uses Primary Ammo
- Starlight Beam: This weapon fires a low-intensity Arc beam with enhanced stability and accuracy.
- Arc Alignment: Dealing Arc damage from any source aligns the battery’s coils. When alignment is complete, enable hip-fired Starlight Beam to apply Jolt to any targets damaged for a short time.
- How to Get: Level 1 in the Premium Season Pass, Level 40 in the Free Season Pass
An absolute blast to use in PvE, Lodestar is a recent Exotic Trace Rifle that makes use of Primary Ammo so that players can always reload without fearing an empty magazine. The Arc synergy it has with Episode: Heresy makes it a top-notch pick, especially when everyone can get this Exotic, regardless of whether they have the Premium Season Pass or not.
Arc and Prismatic users will benefit greatly from Lodestar, as its Arc beam will be further enhanced by things like Bolt Charge, and its synergy with Trace Rifle Artifact perks means it is superior when Jolting targets to provide debuffs to enemies and buffs to players with ease.
3
Wavesplitter
An Exotic Void Trace Rifle to Suppress and Explode Enemies
- Harmonic Laser: Laser damage has three power levels that oscillate while the trigger is held down.
- Supercharged Battery: Collecting an Orb of Power grants a period of maximum power that starts with an automatic reload. Sustained fire in this mode suppresses targets.
- How to Get: Random chance from Exotic Engrams
It’s time to dust off the Wavesplitter from the Vault, as Episode: Heresy is the perfect time to bring back this classic Void Trace Rifle. As an Exotic, Wavesplitter obviously grants further benefits to players thanks to its unique intrinsic traits, since not only will it provide Void damage with three power levels, but the ability to reload and suppress.
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Suppressing targets provides a debuff that will see their damage output reduced, along with an amazing synergy with Artifact Perks to cause even more damage with this Trace Rifle. Wavesplitter is a great choice for ad-clear and for debuffing mini-boss and boss enemies, especially with an abundance of Orbs of Power.
4
Keraunios
The Arc Trace Rifle to Jolt Targets Thanks to Guardian Games 2025
- PvE God Roll Perks: Overflow, Detonator Beam/Jolting Feedback/Rolling Storm
- How to Get: Rushdown, Crucible: Supremacy, Deposit Medallions (Guardian Games 2025 Activities)
Keraunios is a Trace Rifle that players are going to have to be quick about claiming, as this exclusive weapon to the Guardian Games will leave the loot pool on April 1st, and won’t be back until 2026. As such, it’s now or never to claim this Arc Trace Rifle that benefits greatly from a new set of revamped perks to make for the perfect weapon in Episode: Heresy.
Keraunios delights with its shocking perks, providing players with a choice between three great perks: Detonator Beam to explode targets with sustained damage, Jolting Feedback to Jolt enemies with sustained damage, and Rolling Storm to gain Bolt Charge on sustained damage. Each perk is a treat, so it’s the buyer’s choice with this Arc weapon.
5
The Navigator
The Exotic Strand Trace Rifle to Grant Woven Mail and Sever
- Protective Weave: Firing this weapon at an ally grants Woven Mail to both the user and the target.
- Weft Cutter: Dealing sustained damage severs the target.
- How to Get: Random chance from the Final Encounter of Ghosts of the Deep Dungeon
The Navigator is immensely fun to wield, for it is both a Trace Rifle that can be used as a support weapon and as a DPS weapon. The Navigator will grant Woven Mail to the user and the targeted player that is shot, which in turn grants a reduction to damage taken so players can really tank out the harshest of hits.
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What makes The Navigator so good this season is that sustained damage severs targets, providing a debuff on enemies that will benefit the Artifact Perks by allowing this Trace Rifle to deal more damage and to grant Supers extra damage too.
6
Coldheart
An Arc Trace Rifle to Generate Ionic Traces
- Cold Fusion: This weapon shoots a steady cold-fusion-powered Arc laser, dealing more damage the longer it remains on a target.
- Longest Winter: Periodically generates Ionic Traces while in its high-damage state.
- How to Get: Random chance from Exotic Engrams
Coldheart is another Exotic Trace Rifle, benefiting players from the Arc energy slot for Episode: Heresy. With Coldheart equipped, players will not only provide themselves with a cold-fusion-powered Arc laser to shoot that deals more damage with sustained fire, but they will also generate Ionic Traces.
Ionic Traces are great for restoring melee, grenade, and class ability energy, and they really benefit Warlocks in particular for the Stormcallers out there. Being able to use an Arc Super is always an electrifying blast, so synergizing that with Coldheart makes for a fun build indeed.
7
Microcosm
The Heavy Kinetic Trace Rifle to Damage Shields and Grant Supers
- Paracausal Beam: Fires a beam of Kinetic light, dealing massive bonus damage to shields.
- Paracausal Imbuement: Final blows with this weapon grant Super energy. This weapon gains bonus damage once your Super expires.
- How to Get: Complete Micah-10’s Quests and then three Cooperative Focus Mode Campaign Missions (The Final Shape only)
Microcosm is the first Exotic Trace Rifle in the Power Weapon category, providing a Heavy Trace Rifle that the competition can only aspire to be like. This heavy weapon is a devastatingly powerful choice for content like the Court of Blades or Rushdown due to its ad-clearing potential, and how easily it will eradicate endgame bosses and mini-bosses with its devastating beam.
Not only can it eradicate Subjicators and Tormentors thanks to its extra damage to shielded enemies, but by pairing it with Storm’s Call and Bolt Charge, players can easily debuff enemies from behind their Titan’s shields to provide extra damage, sustained fire, and immense Super damage.
8
Unsworn
The Strand Trace Rifle to Sever Targets with Ease
- PvE God Roll Perks: Tear/Rewind Rounds, Detonator Beam
- How to Get: Any encounter from the Sundered Doctrine Dungeon (on Savathun’s Throne World)
Unsworn is found exclusively in the encounters from the Sundered Doctrine dungeon, and it is definitely a weapon worth trying to obtain through farming for a few reasons. Unsworn is a Strand Trace Rifle, which is always a nice touch for players, especially since with perks like Tear, they will be able to sever targets after precision final hits.
Severing targets for the debuff, and then pairing it with the devastating explosions from sustained damage with Detonator Beam, makes Unsworn a must-have Trace Rifle, especially in a season so heavily focused on sustained damage and debuffs to make Trace Rifles the most fun aspect of the PvE meta.
