Alright, let’s talk about this little experiment I ran. I kept hearing folks talk about hunter exotics, the good, the bad, the ugly. Got me thinking, what’s really at the bottom of the barrel? So, I decided to dedicate some time to figuring out what felt like the absolute worst hunter exotic, at least for me.
Digging in the Vault
First thing I did was pop open my vault. Had a look through the collection, skipping past the usual suspects like Star-Eater Scales or Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk. Nah, I wanted something that just… sits there. My eyes landed on Blight Ranger. Yeah, that one. The helmet that’s supposed to make Arc Staff’s Whirlwind Guard better at reflecting stuff and generating orbs.
I remembered getting it, thinking “Huh, neat idea,” and then promptly throwing it in the vault. This felt like the perfect candidate for my little test.
The Setup and First Runs
So, I pulled it out, dusted it off, and slapped it on my hunter. Equipped the Arcstrider subclass, specifically the Whirlwind Guard super. My thinking was, okay, maybe in something with lots of projectiles? Maybe a strike boss or a public event with tons of enemies shooting at once?
I loaded into a few playlist strikes. Standard stuff. Ran around, did my usual thing. Then, the moment came. Big group of Fallen ahead, couple of captains, lots of Vandals sniping. “Perfect,” I thought. Popped my super, held the block button.
Well, I blocked. It definitely reflected the shots, looked kinda cool actually. But the orb generation? I think I made… maybe three orbs? After blocking a whole barrage? And the super energy just drained away like normal while blocking. Didn’t feel like I was getting much bang for my buck.
Trying to Force It
Okay, maybe regular strikes weren’t chaotic enough. I thought, “What about something tougher? More incoming fire?”
- Took it into a Legend Lost Sector. More champions, more bullets flying. Found a spot with an Overload Captain and some buddies. Popped super, blocked its shots. Reflected them, sure. Stunned the champion eventually with the reflects, which was something, I guess. But again, the orb payout felt tiny for the amount of super energy I spent just holding block. Felt like I could’ve just used my regular weapons and abilities more effectively.
- Tried Gambit. Maybe blocking fire from multiple Guardians? Nope. Got melted instantly or they just stopped shooting me. Didn’t work out.
- Even tried messing with mods. Orb generation mods on my arms, stuff to get my super back faster. It helped me get the super more often, but didn’t make the super itself feel any better when I used Blight Ranger’s perk.
The core issue just kept staring me in the face: you spend your entire super… blocking. And the reward for that is… a few orbs and some reflected damage that rarely felt impactful. In most situations, actually using the Arc Staff to attack cleared enemies faster and often safer than trying to stand there and block.
The Conclusion I Reached
After spending a solid evening really trying to make Blight Ranger work, trying different activities, focusing on its specific perk, I just couldn’t find a place for it. It’s not that it does nothing. It does exactly what it says it does. It reflects projectiles with Whirlwind Guard and makes orbs.
But the payoff is just so minimal compared to the cost – your entire super duration. And it’s so situational. You need lots of enemies shooting lots of projectiles directly at you for it to even start feeling like it’s doing something. Most of the time, you’re better off just dodging or using the super to attack.
Compared to other exotics? It’s not even close. Something like Raiden Flux extends your super for attacking. Assassin’s Cowl gives invisibility. Liar’s Handshake makes melee awesome. Even something simple like Knucklehead Radar gives you radar while aiming. They provide consistent, useful benefits in lots of situations.
So, yeah. Based on my hands-on time trying to make it shine, Blight Ranger sits firmly at the bottom for me. It’s just collecting dust again, and honestly, I don’t see myself pulling it back out anytime soon. Maybe someone else has a secret build, but I couldn’t find it.
