Exotic Weapon Catalysts

Example: Tractor Cannon Catalyst

What are catalysts?

Catalysts are special modifiers for exotic weapons, introduced in the Warmind expansion for Destiny 2. They upgrade exotic weapons within the game by either improving stats, giving bonus perks, or increasing the magazine size.

Each exotic weapon has its own catalyst, with specific objectives to find them. Catalysts function exactly like masterworks, and generate Orbs of Light on multi kills. The drop rate for catalysts is currently unknown, but they are considered a rare find. Once you find a catalyst for a weapon, you will be required to engage in specific objectives with that specific weapon, such as precision hits or simply eliminating X number of enemies, in order to unlock the upgrade represented by the catalyst.

Alphabetical sample listing
(Highlighting exotic weapons that host catalysts)

Click the weapon name to view complete details in the Light.gg database.

Borealis — Void Energy / Sniper Rifle
Catalyst unlocked with 150 Solar kills, 150 Void kills, and 150 Arc kills, which will make the gun reload faster. Note that the kills must be done with the Borealis weapon, not your Super/Grenades/Mêlée.

Coldheart — Arc Energy / Trace Rifle
Catalyst unlocked with 300 kills, which will make the gun more stable and reload faster.

Colony, The — Void Power / Grenade Launcher
Catalyst unlocked with 500 kills. This will increase the gun's magazine size and ammo reserves.

Crimson — Kinetic / Hand Cannon
Catalyst unlocked with 300 precision kills, which will increase the gun's range.

D.A.R.C.I. — Arc Power / Sniper Rifle
Catalyst unlocked with 300 precision kills, which will upgrade the gun's stability.

Fighting Lion — Void Energy / Grenade Launcher
Catalyst unlocked by killing 1,000 enemies and turning in 100 bounties. Weekly Festival bounties increase progression faster. Grants the Chimera perk, which increases kinetic and power weapon handling, and accuracy after firing.

Graviton Lance — Void Energy / Pulse Rifle
Catalyst grants higher range and the Hidden Hand perk.

Huckleberry, The — Kinetic / Submachine Gun
Catalyst unlocked with 500 kills, and grants the Ambitious Assassin perk.

Jade Rabbit, The — Kinetic / Scout Rifle
Catalyst unlocked with 250 PvP kills. This will increase the gun's stability.

Legend of Acrius — Arc Power / Shotgun
After acquiring catalyst, you need 500 kills with the weapon. Grants an increased reload speed and the Deeper Pockets perk (magazine size increases from 2 to 6).

Merciless — Solar Energy / Fusion Rifle
Catalyst unlocked with 500 kills. This will increase the gun's range and stability.

MIDA Multi-Tool — Kinetic / Scout Rifle
The catalyst will grant the Outlaw perk.

Polaris Lance — Solar Energy / Scout Rifle
Catalyst unlocked with 500 kills, and 50 kills with the exotic perk (enemies need to be eliminated by the burn damage). This gives the gun the Dragonfly perk.

Riskrunner — Arc Energy / Submachine Gun
Catalyst unlocked with 600 kills; 300 normal kills and 300 Arc Conductor kills. This will increase the gun's range.

Skyburner's Oath — Solar Energy / Scout Rifle
Catalyst unlocked with 1,000 Cabal kills, which increases the gun's range.

Sleeper Simulant — Solar Power / Linear Fusion Rifle
After finding the catalyst, the first step requires 1,000 kills with the IKELOS Shotgun and IKELOS Sniper Rifle, and 2,000 kills with the IKELOS SMG (killing enemies with another weapon will count towards progress, as long as an IKELOS weapon is equipped). Next, you will need to loot the oracle chest from the Whisper of the Worm quest. The last step requires 500 kills with the Sleeper Simulant to fully complete the upgrade. This gives the gun deeper reserves and a faster charge rate.

Sturm — Kinetic / Hand Cannon
Catalyst unlocked by getting 500 kills with both Sturm and Drang. This increases Sturm's range and handling.

Sunshot — Solar Energy / Hand Cannon
Catalyst grants more range and better stability.

Sweet Business — Kinetic / Auto Rifle
Catalyst grants a perk that reduces flinch when firing the gun.

Telesto — Void Energy / Fusion Rifle
After acquiring the catalyst, you need to complete all of the Lost Prophecies from Brother Vance. After that he will give you the catalyst, which increases the gun's magazine size from 4 to 7.

Tractor Cannon — Void Power / Shotgun
Catalyst unlocked with 300 kills, which will increase the magazine's size from 4 to 7, and increase the gun's ammo reserves.

Vigilance Wing — Kinetic / Pulse Rifle
Catalyst unlocked with 250 PvP kills. This will make the gun fully automatic.

Wardcliff Coil, The — Arc Power / Rocket Launcher
Catalyst unlocked with 500 kills, which will give a perk that makes the rockets track targets.

Whisper of the Worm — Solar Power / Sniper Rifle
Catalyst unlocked by obtaining Blighted Essence in chests throughout / and by completing the mission. Grants Whispered Breathing perk, which increases precision damage after aiming down the weapon's scope for three seconds, and a faster reload speed.

Worldline Zero — Arc Power / Sword
Catalyst is unlocked by hitting all five Level-7 bosses in the Escalation Protocol event (Mars). It makes the Tesseract perk activate quicker.

Sources: Destinypedia.com, Light.gg