As you grow your light and move onto greater challenges, you’ll come across content and quest steps that set you against Champions. Champions are tough, but we’re going to make sure you’re tougher.
In the guide below we’ll cover what Champions are, how to beat them, and where to farm them. Let’s set you up for success, Guardian.
What are Champions in Destiny 2
Champions are a mini-boss enemy type that started appearing back when the Shadowkeep expansion was released. These days, they appear in PVE content that includes, but is not limited to, raids, Legend/Master Lost Sectors, dungeons, and some can be found on the moon while on patrol. They come in 3 flavors: Barrier, Overload, and Unstoppable.
A Fallen Overload Champion
All champions will be yellow bar enemies named as the type of champion they are. They also sport a slight red glowing animation to their models. Each type has its own special mechanics and mods you will need to follow to successfully stun them, then take them down.
How to fight champions in Destiny 2
For all three Champion types, you will need to stun them by using the right weapon/mod combination for each Season. Once stunned, the Champions will pause, drop their guards, and become more vulnerable to attacks.
The ability to stop these mini-bosses in their tracks and make them vulnerable to your attacks can take some of the most troublesome enemy types in the game and make them almost trivial. Trust us though, when facing Champions in endgame content you’ll want every advantage you can get.
Mods that allow you to defeat these champions are earned by leveling up your seasonal artifact. These mods will change each season as well. For Season 16, the mods for each champion type will be as follows:
| Art | Mod Name | Slot | Affinity | Cost | Effects | Type | Element | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Anti-Barrier Pulse Rifle | Arms | Any | 1 | Pulse Rifles you are wielding fire shield-piercing rounds and stun Barrier Champions (also deal bonus damage to Barrier Champions). | Seasonal | Any | Season 17 |
 | Piercing Sidearms | Arms | Any | 1 | Sidearms gain shield-piercing rounds, which bypass combatant defenses. Strong against Barrier Champions. | Seasonal | Any | Season 17 |
 | Molten Overload Grenades | Class Item | Any | 2 | Solar grenades cause disruption, delaying ability regeneration and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against Overload Champions. | Seasonal | Any | Season 17 |
 | Overload Auto Rifle & SMG | Arms | Any | 1 | Uninterrupted fire from Auto Rifles and Submachine Guns grants bullets that stun combatants, delaying ability energy regeneration and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against Overload Champions. | Seasonal | Any | Season 17 |
 | Unstoppable Glaive | Arms | Any | 1 | Glaives you wield fire a powerful explosive payload that stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against Unstoppable Champions. | Seasonal | Any | Season 17 |
 | Unstoppable Scout Rifle | Arms | Any | 1 | Aiming down sights for a short time causes Scout Rifles you wield to fire a powerful explosive payload that stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against Unstoppable Champions. | Seasonal | Any | Season 17 |
 | Withering Heat | Class Item | Any | 6 | Causing damage with a Solar ability weakens Champions for a short duration. | Seasonal | Any | Season 17 |
 | Unstoppable Hand Cannon | Arms | Any | 1 | Aiming down sights with any Hand Cannon you are wielding loads a powerful explosive payload that stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against Unstoppable Champions. | Champions | Any |
And on top of those Seasonal mods, some Exotic weapons can also deal with Champions:
| Name | Weapons | Type | Archetype | Ammo | Element | Requirements | Available? | Rank | Source | Obtainable? | Tier rank | Source ❘ DLC | Final Verdict | Released | Perks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arbalest |  Arbalest | Linear Fusion Rifle | Exotic | Special | Kinetic | Free-to-Play | Yes | S › Best | Exotic Engram |  | Best ❘ S Excels in: | Exotic Engram Free-to-Play | Slot: See Also 200+ Best High DA Directory Submission Sites in July 2022200+ Best High DA Directory Submission Sites in July 2022 (2023)Top 10 Splunk Competitors & AlternativesTop 5 Carding ForumsExotic Perk: "Fires slugs that cause massive damage to enemy shields. Strong against  Barrier Champions. Breaking an enemy's shield with this weapon makes them more vulnerable to Kinetic damage."► Able to deal with Anti-barrier champions and shielded enemies with ease (regardless of their elemental affinities), Arbalest is one of the best weapons for endgame content right now. It is so good, expect every Fireteam to have at least one Arbalest equipped. | Season 6 | Slot: Exotic Perk: "Fires slugs that cause massive damage to enemy shields. Strong against Barrier Champions. Breaking an enemy's shield with this weapon makes them more vulnerable to Kinetic damage." |
| The Lament |  The Lament | Sword | Exotic | Heavy | Solar | Beyond Light | Yes | S › Best | Exotic Quest | | Best ❘ S Excels in: | Exotic Quest Beyond Light | Slot: Exotic Perk: "Revving the blade increases damage, shield bypass, and adds shield piercing to all attacks. You also gain stacks when dealing damage with revved attacks. Additional stacks increase the damage and damage resistance of heavy attacks."► Despite some of its targeting issues, the Lament remains arguably the best sword (and one of the best weapons) in the game. Its Lifesteal perk is a powerful tool, and its ability to shred through high health targets or Barrier Champions makes it a fun and powerful weapon. | Season 12 | Slot: Exotic Perk: "Revving the blade increases damage, shield bypass, and adds shield piercing to all attacks. You also gain stacks when dealing damage with revved attacks. Additional stacks increase the damage and damage resistance of heavy attacks." |
| Divinity |  Divinity | Trace Rifle | Exotic | Special | Arc | Shadowkeep | Yes | A › Strong | Exotic Quest | | Strong ❘ A Excels in: | Exotic Quest Shadowkeep | Slot: Exotic Perk: "Sustained damage with this weapon envelops the target in a field that weakens and  disrupts them."► Able to deal with Overload Champions and easily apply a huge debuff on everything, Divinity is excellent for endgame PVE activities. It may relegate its user to a "support" role, but it remains extremely valuable, especially against enemies that have hard-to-hit crit spots. | Season 8 | Slot: Exotic Perk: "Sustained damage with this weapon envelops the target in a field that weakens and disrupts them." |
| Eriana's Vow |  Eriana's Vow | Hand Cannon | Exotic | Special | Solar | Shadowkeep | Yes | A › Strong | Exotic Kiosk | | Strong ❘ A Excels in: | Exotic Kiosk Shadowkeep | Slot: Exotic Perk: "Fires special shield-piercing ammunition. Bonus damage when aiming down sights on the opening shot of an attack."► Previously a no-brainer in activities with Barrier Champions, Eriana's Vow now sits in the shadow of its main competitor: Arbalest. While still an extremely fun and unique gun that's worth using once in a while, this weapon just hasn't been able to keep up with the meta. | Season 8 | Slot: Exotic Perk: "Fires special shield-piercing ammunition. Bonus damage when aiming down sights on the opening shot of an attack." |
| Devil's Ruin |  Devil's Ruin | Sidearm | Exotic | Primary | Solar | Shadowkeep | Yes | A › Strong | Exotic Kiosk | | Strong ❘ A | Exotic Kiosk Shadowkeep | Slot: Exotic Perk: "Variable trigger. Press and release to fire individual shots. Hold to charge up a high-powered,  staggering laser."► Able to deal with Unstoppable Champions, this is a fun weapon that does decent damage and melts shotgun apes in PVP when in laser mode. You will rarely see it in the wild, but this weapon deserves more attention, especially now that primary ammo is unlimited. | Season 9 | Slot: Exotic Perk: "Variable trigger. Press and release to fire individual shots. Hold to charge up a high-powered, staggering laser." |
| Leviathan's Breath |  Leviathan's Breath | Combat Bow | Exotic | Heavy | Void | Shadowkeep | Yes | B › Average | Exotic Kiosk | | Average ❘ B | Exotic Kiosk Shadowkeep | Slot: Exotic Perk: "Fires a massive heavy bolt that staggers unshielded combatants. When fully drawn, the bolt knocks combatants back."►Due to an extremely long draw time and limited magazine size, Leviathan simply cannot compete against several other Heavy weapons. To be fair, other weapons may be more efficient, but Leviathan's Breath is still unique and fun to use. | Season 8 | Slot: Exotic Perk: "Fires a massive heavy bolt that staggers unshielded combatants. When fully drawn, the bolt knocks combatants back." |
| Bastion |  Bastion | Fusion Rifle | Exotic | Special | Kinetic | Shadowkeep | Yes | D › Worst | Exotic Kiosk | | Worst ❘ D | Exotic Kiosk Shadowkeep | Slot: Exotic Perk: "Charge to fire 3 spreads of Kinetic slugs. This weapon fires staggering projectiles. Strong against Unstoppable Champions."► What happened to Bastion was criminal. This was an extremely unique, fun, and deadly weapon to bring to the Crucible. But after dominating for too long, it was nerfed to the ground a few seasons ago. It can now stagger Unstoppable Champions in PVE, yet Bastion is still not worth that Exotic slot, or a Kinetic slot for that matter. | Season 9 | Slot: Exotic Perk: "Charge to fire 3 spreads of Kinetic slugs. This weapon fires staggering projectiles. Strong against Unstoppable Champions." |
Kinetic | Ammo: 
Special | Archetype: Exotic
Solar | Ammo: 
Heavy | Archetype: Exotic
Arc | Ammo: 
Primary | Archetype: Exotic
Void | Ammo: Destiny 2 Anti-Barrier Champions
Anti-Barrier Mods for use against Barrier Champions are Scout Rifles and Bows. It’s worth noting here that Anti-Barrier mods work against non-champion barriers as well. So you could use a weapon empowered on one of these mods to shoot through a Hive Knight Shield, for example.
For Barrier Champions, after they receive about a third to half of their health in damage they will pop a barrier and begin to heal. To stun them, break their barrier with your anti-barrier weapon. If successful, they will stop healing and become stunned/more vulnerable to damage.
Best weapons to deal with Barrier Champions
Given the current state of the Meta, the best weapons to deal with Barrier Champions are:
- Arbalest – Exotic Linear Fusion Rifle
- Under Your Skin (with mod) – Precision Bow
- Dead Man’s Tale (with mod) – Exotic Scout Rifle
Destiny 2 Overload Champions
Overload Mods for use against Overload champions are Auto Rifles and Submachine Guns in Season 16. For Overload Champions, uninterrupted fire from either your SMG or Auto Rifle will eventually stun these Champions. Laying a steady stream of rapid-fire on your target with the empowered weapon will accomplish this fairly easily. Once stunned, they too will become more vulnerable to your attacks.
The Class Item Mod this season is Void Grenade. Use Void Grenade abilities to stun Overload Champions when this mod is equipped.
Best weapons to deal with Overload Champions
The best weapons to deal with Overload Champions this season are:
- Divinity – Exotic Trace Rifle
- Osteo Striga (with mod) – Exotic SMG
- Huckleberry (with mod) – Exotic SMG
Destiny 2 Unstoppable Champions
Unstoppable mods for use against Unstoppable Champions are Hand Cannons, Glaives, and Pulse Rifles. For Unstoppable Champions, Guardians will need to aim down sights their Unstoppable modded weapons for a few moments to trigger the effects of the mod, shown as giving the weapon a glowing red barrel.
Once active, shoot the Unstoppable Champion using that weapon to stun them. For the new Glaive weapon, your projectiles become a powerful explosive that stuns unshielded combatants and Unstoppable Champions. The Class Item Mod this season for Unstoppable Champions is Solar Melee. Use Solar Abilities to stun Unstoppable Champions when this mod is equipped.
Best weapons to deal with Unstoppable Champions
The best weapons to deal with Unstoppable Champions this season are:
- Outbreak Perfected (with mod) – Exotic Pulse Rifle
- Malfeasance (with mod) – Exotic Hand Cannon
- Graviton Lance (with mod) – Exotic Pulse Rifle
Where to farm Champions
Champions can be farmed in a few ways. Often, you might find yourself with a quest or challenge that involves stunning or landing final blows against Champions. This can be challenging in regular content matchmaking when you can’t necessarily communicate with your fellow blueberries easily. That is where farming comes in handy. Activities each Season will have opportunities to farm Champions to varying degrees of success. However, there are some methods that are evergreen.
One popular way to farm Champions is to solo Legend Lost Sectors. These Lost Sectors rotate daily so be sure to check your Director and planetary maps to see where they are each day.
Another tried and true method is to load up a Nightfall at ranks Hero, Legend, or Master solo or on a fireteam. Each ascending rank will spawn more Champions per run. Champions also appear in Grandmaster Nightfalls at the highest density, but for farming purposes, it would be faster to make multiple runs at a lower difficulty.
Your turn
Since Season of the Undying (S8) Champions have continued to find their way into more and more PVE content in Destiny 2. Now that you know what you’re up against you can apply these skills to all levels of content as you grow.
See what you’re up against, equip your build, and get ready to become Legend.
