The most important cosmetic for many players, shaders can dramatically change the looks of everything in the game, from your weapons to your ghost shell. Shaders can turn otherwise generic-looking cosmetics into customized beauties and allow you to create matching armor sets with unrelated pieces of gear.
We’ve covered the rarest shaders in Destiny 2 before, but which ones look the best? This guide will cover some of our favorites and tell you how to get them.
Best Shaders in Destiny 2 as of Season 19
Shaders can do more than change the color of your gear. As you’re about to see, some shaders can even change the texture of your armor or even change colors in real time!
10. Trials of the Nine Shaders
Every shader that came from Trials of the Nine was a keeper. And that includes the Gift of the Nine shader, featured above. They make all gear look extremely clean with white and a lovely light blue.
⛔ No longer obtainable… Because Trials of the Nine no longer exists, these shaders are unobtainable for now. However, Bungie has been reissuing old shaders recently, so there may be an acquisition method soon.
9. Bitterpearl
When Bungie announced that Vault of Glass would be coming to Destiny 2, many Guardians began to hope for the return of Chatterwhite, a fan-favorite shader from Destiny 1. And, while it now bears the name Bitterpearl, that wish did come true.
Bitterpearl makes almost every part of your gear pure white and has a subtle sparkle animation, too. While it’s a little basic, this shader looks extremely good on anything.
✅ Still Possible to obtain! To obtain Bitterpearl, you’ll need to complete the “Pearl of Glass” triumph by gathering 12 collectibles in the Vault of Glass raid. Here’s a Youtube video by Datto guiding you through all 12 locations.
8. Animated Black Armory Shaders
Black Armory didn’t just give us great weapons; it also came with some pretty sweet animated shaders.
From Bergusian Night’s deep blue and purple to Rasmussen Clan’s vibrant green, these shaders have bold colors that look great on most gear.
⛔ No longer obtainable… While New Age Black Armory is still obtainable, the rest don’t seem to be for the time being. To obtain New Age Black Armory, you’ll need to wait until Xur sells the Black Armory’s armor set. Then, you’ll have to purchase a piece of the set and dismantle it to get the shader.
7. Dreaming Spectrum
Also featured in our rarest shaders article, Dreaming Spectrum is absolutely stunning. It makes everything look like it’s from the Last Wish raid, the source of some of the best-looking gear in the entire game.
✅ Still Possible to obtain! To get Dreaming Spectrum, you’ll need to obtain a curated (Masterworked) roll of any Last Wish weapon. These weapons only drop from encounters, so you can’t just use the wish wall to get a secret chest. If you are lucky enough to get one of these to drop, dismantle it to unlock the shader in your Collections.
6. Skele-Ghaul
Coming out of nowhere from Festival of the Lost a couple of years ago, Skele-Ghaul quickly became a community favorite.
It’s hard to find a piece of gear that doesn’t look good with Skele-Ghaul on it. With its dark brown/black and fabulous orange-brown accents, this shader works on weapons and armor alike.
✅ Still Possible to obtain! Because it’s from Festival of the Lost, the shader is still technically obtainable. However, you’ll have to wait until the next Festival of the Lost event (in October) to obtain Skele-Ghaul, provided that the Eververse store has it on sale…
5. Raid Flawless Shaders
Since they removed the requirement to complete flawless runs to obtain titles, flawless raid runs have become significantly less popular. That said, the shaders that can only drop from a flawless run are some of the best in Destiny 2.
Ancient Defender, the flawless Garden of Salvation shader, is easily the community’s favorite; the colors are similar to Skele-Ghaul, but this one also has some purple.
The other shaders, like Sundered Flesh from King’s Fall and Corrective // Protective from Vault of Glass, aren’t anything to scoff at either. While they don’t look as good on armor as Ancient Defender, they’re great for weapons and cosmetics.
✅ Still Possible to obtain! To obtain these rare shaders, complete their respective raid with no deaths across the entire fireteam. It’s also important to note that you must start from the beginning of the activity, and deaths during jumping puzzles count.
4. Seven Sisters
Destiny 2 is all about fighting in outer space, but what if you wanted to become outer space? Well, the Seven Sisters shader is the closest you can get to that, making portions of your gear look like an animated starry night.
While its unique nature makes it hard to match with other shaders, Seven Sisters is an excellent choice for weapons and most cosmetic items.
✅ Still Possible to obtain! Being an old Eververse shader, Seven Sisters should drop randomly from Eververse engrams. While we couldn’t find any confirmation online about this being the case, it’s your best bet either way.
3. Iron Countershade
One of the most talked-about items from Season of the Seraph, Iron Countershade is Season 19’s Iron Banner shader.
What makes Iron Countershade worthy of a top 3 spot? Instead of being animated, this shader makes any cloth material on armor look like chainmail. The bad news is that since that chainmail effect is its only claim to fame, Iron Countershade looks average on gear other than armor.
✅ Still Possible to obtain! Bungie recently stated that they’re adding legacy cosmetics to match rewards for various activities in Season 20, including Iron Banner. This means that all you need to do to get Iron Countershade is play Iron Banner whenever it comes around.
2. Sinking Feeling
Do you have an Arc 3.0 build that needs some fashion upgrades? Look no further than Sinking Feeling, a Season 19 Eververse shader.
Arguably the coolest animated shader in the game, Sinking Feeling transforms portions of your gear into lightning storms. The effect is definitely more prominent on armor but can also be seen on many other pieces of equipment.
⛔ No longer obtainable… As far as we know, Sinking Feeling is unobtainable for now. However, it should enter the Eververse engram pool in Season 22.
1. Photo Finish
Destiny 2 allows you to dress up as whatever you want. A lightning storm with Sinking Feeling, a starry night with Seven Sisters, and now: a stereotypical gaming PC with Photo Finish.
Yes, you heard us right; this shader makes any glowing portions of your gear fade through the colors of the rainbow. It also makes everything else black, making you look like a piece of RGB gaming gear.
✅ Still Possible to obtain! Photo Finish comes from the Guardian Games spring event, meaning you’ll have to wait until then to obtain it. Once it comes around, the best (and perhaps only) way to get your hands on it is to pray that Bungie sells it on the Eververse storefront.
Before you go…
If you’re just starting out and simply want more shaders to play around with, Ada-1 sells different shaders every week.
If you’re looking for more ways to customize your Guardian and/or flex your skills, you can check out our Top 10 Rarest Emblems guide, or start with a Free emblem.
Did we fail to mention your favorite shader? Let us know! And while you’re at it, check out our article on the Rarest Shaders in Destiny 2!
