The Hierarchy of Needs Exotic bow lures you with a catalyst that reshapes how you play Destiny 2-a quest chain that demands clever choices, precise timing, and a pulse-pounding payoff.
In this guide we’ll help you improve your chances for the Hierarchy of Needs, tell you what it does, and how you can get its Catalyst.
How to improve your chances for the Hierarchy of Needs
Raising your odds of earning the Hierarchy of Needs bow means being prepared and consistent in the seasonal activity that drops it. Equip gear tuned for high damage and mobility, keep your artifact mods updated, and play with a coordinated fireteam to clear encounters faster. Completing triumphs, focusing activity engrams, and checking for weekly weapon rotations can also boost your chances. Persistence across multiple runs will go a long way toward adding this Exotic to your collection.
Unlike raids, you’ll be able to get loot every time you run the Spire of the Watcher dungeon. So if you really want that Dead Man’s Tale-esque scout rifle or the super cool cowboy hat helmet, you can play the dungeon over and over again in a single week until you get it.
However, the one exception to this rule is the Hierarchy of Needs bow. Characters can only get the bow from Persys (the final boss) the first time they kill it each week, so you’ll have three total shots each reset – assuming you have three characters.
With only a limited amount of runs between now and Lightfall, you might be stressed about getting the Hierarchy of Needs Bow before heading to Neomuna. But don’t worry; you can up your chances at the bow by completing these Triumphs:
- Devil in the Details – Find and listen to all six Devilish Recordings hidden in the Spire of the Watcher
- Resident Vexpert – Complete the Spire of the Watcher on Master difficulty mode
- The Magnificent One – Complete all the encounters in the Spire of the Watcher solo
- Mind the Vexplosion – Complete all the encounters in the Spire of the Watcher without dying
- Untarnished Grit – Complete all the encounters in the Spire of the Watcher solo and without dying
Four of these Triumphs might be a little tough for the average player, but one of them is extremely easy. The next time you go through the dungeon, use our Devilish Recordings guide to help you pick up the Devil in the Details Triumph (which you’ll also need for the dungeon Seal and Title). Just make sure to claim the Triumph in your inventory before fighting the final boss so you can up your chances for the bow.
The other four Triumphs take a lot more skill, but will definitely make getting the Hierarchy of Needs easier. And with the new Solo Operative seasonal mod, which ups your damage if you’re alone in your party, Season of the Seraph is the perfect time to get some of those tough Triumphs done before Lightfall.
Nobody outside of Bungie is sure what the actual drop rate for Hierarchy of Needs is, or how substantial the Triumph improvements are. However, when Bungie first did this “increase Exotic drop rate with Triumph completions” system in the Duality dungeon earlier this year, many of our own Destiny pals quickly picked up the Heartshadow Exotic sword after completing three of the five Triumphs.
It’s worth stating that you can get Hierarchy of Needs without doing any of these Triumphs and just completing the dungeon.
How to get the Hierarchy of Needs Catalyst
Complete the Master version of the Spire of the Watcher dungeon on Mars to obtain the Hierarchy of Needs Catalyst. It drops reliably upon finishing that difficulty, often from the final boss encounter. Insert the Catalyst into the bow and complete kills to fully upgrade it, granting Protocol: Emergency Scramble for faster draw and reload speeds after using the Guidance Ring.
Once you have the Hierarchy of Needs, all you need to do to get the Catalyst is complete the Master version of the dungeon. The dungeon is still young – so players aren’t 100% certain – but it appears that the Hierarchy of Needs Catalyst is a guaranteed drop from a Master completion.
What does Hierarchy of Needs and its Catalyst do?
The Hierarchy of Needs Exotic bow builds a Guidance Ring charge through precision hits and final blows, with Guardian kills adding extra energy; hip-firing at full charge deploys the ring, and arrows passing through it spawn tracking projectiles that deal more damage over greater distances. Its catalyst, Protocol: Emergency Scramble, cuts draw time and boosts reload speed for a short period after deploying the ring or landing a seeking projectile hit. This turns the bow into a crowd-control Solar weapon that shines against clustered foes.
Hierarchy of Needs is one of the more interesting Exotics we’ve seen in Destiny 2 over the past few years.
Its main Exotic perk is Guidance Ring, which causes your precision hits and normal kills to build Guidance Ring energy. Once you have six stacks of Guidance Ring, you can hip-fire the bow to create a Guidance Ring mid-air. The bow’s secondary perk is Apollonic Tangent, which causes any arrows you fire through the Guidance Ring to release seeking projectiles and deal more damage based on how far they travel.
We were lucky enough to get Hierarchy of Needs on our first run and it seems extremely potent – especially in activities where targets tend to live longer. It’s not as easy to use as the Ticuu’s Divination bow from last year, but it seems like it’ll be even more useful in Grandmaster Nightfalls.
The Catalyst for the Hierarchy of Needs just makes it better, as it helps lower the draw time. The perk is called Protocol: Emergency Scramble. Deploying the Guidance Ring or striking targets with Apollonic Tangent arrows improves both draw time and reload speed for a “moderate” duration.
Destiny 2 Hierarchy of Needs bow guide
Hierarchy of Needs is a Solar Exotic combat bow from Destiny 2’s Spire of the Watcher dungeon, excelling in add clear and sustained damage through its unique Guidance Ring mechanic.
Acquisition Steps
Run Spire of the Watcher on normal difficulty; it drops randomly from the final boss, Persys, once per character per week, with chances boosted by triumphs like Devil in the Details or flawless completions.
Complete Master difficulty for the catalyst, then farm 500 kills to unlock it-use spots like Shuro Chi for efficiency.
It’s craftable? No, but Rite of the Nine quests sometimes offer it easily.
Core Mechanics
Precision hits and kills build Guidance Ring energy (e.g., headshot = 2 points, headshot kill = 4 points; full at 5).
Hip-fire at full energy to spawn the ring; arrows through it spawn seeking projectiles with damage scaling by travel distance via Apollonian Tangent.
Catalyst (Emergency Scramble) boosts draw/reload speed for ~5s after ring deployment or seeking hits.
Builds and Playstyle
Pair with radiant-focused Hunter setups (e.g., Gunslinger with Healing Grenade) for constant uptime, using fire sprite siphons for super regen and restoration.
Works in GMs/Nightfalls for ad clear; ring now rotates/follows you post-buffs, and synergizes with other bows via shared seeking procs.
PvP: Decent for cleanup but catalyst-dependent for viability; prioritize body-head combos for quick charges.
God Roll Perks
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Exotic Perk: Guidance Ring + Apollonian Tangent (fixed).
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Masterwork/Catalyst: Emergency Scramble.
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Mods: Aim assist or boss spec for PvE; counterattack for PvP.
| Stat | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Impact | Standard bow feel | |
| Draw Time | 684 (base) | Faster with catalyst |
| Reload | Improved post-kills | |
| Range | Excels at distance |
Best Hierarchy of Needs builds for PvE
Hierarchy of Needs excels in PvE add clear and sustained damage via its Guidance Ring, which generates tracking projectiles from arrows passed through it, amplified by recent buffs like ring rotation and synergy with other bows.
Hunter Builds
Gunslinger setups shine for constant Radiant uptime, boosting weapon damage by 25-35% while spamming Knife Trick melee and Golden Gun supers via Celestial Nighthawk.
Key aspects include Gambler’s or Acrobact dodge for Radiant/ability regen, Knife Trick melee with Torchbearer for team Radiant, and fragments like Ember of Imperion (extends Radiant/Restoration on kills), Ember of Solace (timer boosts), and Ember of Mercy (Restoration from orbs).
Mods prioritize Impact Induction/Heavy Handed on gauntlets for grenade/class regen, Harmonic Siphon on helmet for orbs, and Reaper on class item; pair with solar subclass for Restoration loops in ad-heavy content like GMs.
Warlock Builds
Solar Well of Radiance combos lock in team buffs while standing in your rift, using Hierarchy for precision kills to maintain the ring and generate orbs.
Incinerator Snap or Helion with Secant Filaments grants Devour for survivability and rift damage amps; fragments like Ember of Ashes (extra Scorch) enable ignitions, with Euphony or similar bows for volcanic synergy.
Phoenix Protocol exotic recycles Well energy on kills; focus 100 Discipline/Strength for grenade/melee spam to fuel ring energy.
Titan Builds
Prismatic Striker leverages Volcanic arrows from Euphony (stasis bow with Chill Clip) to ignite via Scorch, with Hierarchy handling cleanup through the ring.
Exotics like Stoicism or Peregrine Greaves amp melee damage; fragments include Ember of Ashes and Helion for 400%+ scorch bursts, plus Subsuming for Well of Radiance support.
Strong in Nightfalls/GMs for peeking corners safely, as the ring follows you post-buff.
Stat Priorities
| Stat | Priority | Target | Benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discipline | High | Grenade uptime for kills | |
| Strength | High | 80+ | Melee for Radiant/Scorch |
| Recovery | Medium | 60+ | Sustain in ads |
| Range | Low | 50+ | Ring damage scaling |
These builds thrive in ad-dense activities; swap heavies like Dreadful Finisher for ammo in endgame.
