Top 10 rarest Shaders in Destiny 2 (April 2025)

It’s no secret that Shaders have a lot of appeal in Destiny 2, with the rarest Shaders being considered the most prestigious cosmetics you can unlock.

They might be from limited-time events, have unimaginably steep requirements, or even require you to complete brutally difficult triumphs. Regardless of what’s involved, owning a rare Shader is sure to get people’s attention, hence why they are so desirable in the first place.

However, there’s a big difference between a rare Shader and the rarest of all, with the ten we’ve listed below being the ultimate flex items for Guardians wanting to show off and stand out from everyone else.

Banner’s Bearer is the newest Shader on this list, replacing previous tenth place, Vicious Alloy. Getting your hands on this earthy color scheme introduced in Episode Heresy is surprisingly quite straightforward.

To get Banner’s Bearer, you’ll need to complete Iron Banner matches whenever the PvP event is active and earn rank-up packages by visiting Lord Saladin in the Tower. It’s worth noting that while the process is simple, Banner’s Bearer is an RNG drop from Saladin, so if you count yourself one of the more unlucky Guardians, it might take you longer than others to unlock this Shader.

The good news is that it doesn’t appear to be particularly rare, with 24,888 players and counting having unlocked the cosmetic since it was added in Heresy. For more information on the limited-time event, see the schedule for when Iron Banner is next scheduled to return.

9. Shed Carapace

Dexerto / Misleading

To kickstart our list, Shed Carapace is a rare Shader that only 21,384 Guardians own. It is available as a reward for completing a flawless run of Crota’s End, requiring your entire raid team to stay alive throughout the whole run.

Visually, this is a throwback to the default armor from the original raid in Destiny 1. Although prestigious, this Shader isn’t actually that popular, with a vocal section of the community when Crota’s End was reprised asking for Glowhoo to return instead. Regardless, its rarity can’t be denied, and owning this proves you can conquer even the hardest PvE content.

8. Offset

Dexerto / Krypz

Offset is only owned by 19,801 Guardians, and that number won’t be growing anytime soon as it isn’t available anymore. To get this Shader, you needed to donate $25 during the Game2Give 2025 charity event that ended on February 9, 2025.

Interestingly, Game2Give shared that the ‘Caped Cruiser Sparrow + Offset Shader’ bundle had been purchased 21,898 times. This means that there are over 2,000 codes for this rare Shader that remain unclaimed. Given the unique cell-shaded art style and obvious rarity, we can’t even begin to imagine how much those codes will be sold for in the future.

7. Terrachroma

Dexerto / Light.gg

In what has to be one of Destiny 2’s strangest distribution events, Terrachroma was a reward for claiming a code from an issue of Weekly Famitsu back in December 2022. Being both limited time and from an unusual source, it’s no surprise that only 6,009 Guardians own this Shader.

Famitsu is a famous Japanese video game magazine that has been running since 1986. Since then, there have been over 1,800 issues, with this particular Shader being available from #1733. Although you could purchase a digital issue rather than having to rely on a physical copy from Japan, this is still very rare and largely exclusive to the most devout collectors.

6. Diametric Crush

Dexerto / [kayde]

Diametric Crush is the rarest Shader that can be earned in-game rather than through a promotional event, with 5,542 Guardians having unlocked it. To get this, you need to complete a flawless run of Salvation’s Edge, meaning your fireteam can’t die even once from beginning to end.

Owning this Shader can be considered the pinnacle in gameplay achievements. This raid is not only difficult but also very unforgiving. It has several mechanics that can instantly end your run, and you need to find an entire team that has mastered all of them. It’s a really big ask, hence why so few people have managed to do so.

5. Kilted Out

Dexerto

Moving back to non-gameplay Shaders, Kilted Out is owned by 4,081 Guardians and was available to anyone who donated $10 to the Kilt For Kids charity campaign in April 2024. This event only ran for a short period and wasn’t overly well known, hence why this Shader is so rare.

While Kilted Out is unlikely to return as a reward, Bungie has teamed up with Kilt For Kids a few times, so another comparable Shader could be released in the future. Alternatively, it’s worth checking if you own Highlander, a different Shader that was given out through Prime Gaming that looks very similar.

4. Small Luminance

Dexerto / Krypz

Small Luminance is the first of four extremely rare Shaders that are all from the Light Keepers Guild charity event. This event challenges users to raise large amounts for charity to earn special shaders, with Small Luminance requiring $10,000. This feat was achieved by just 173 Guardians, meaning this is 24 times rarer than Kilted Out.

As you can imagine, raising this much money for charity is well out of the means of most people. As such, both this Shader and the three that follow are typically owned by content creators and large communities dedicated to fundraising. While it’s sad that the average person will never own these, they were at least a catalyst for a good cause.

3. Principled Porphyry

Dexerto / Krypz

The next tier up from Small Luminance is Principled Porphyry, another Shader from the Light Keepers Guild charity event that requires players to raise $25,000. This steep increase also coincides with a steep decrease in ownership, with only 59 Guardians having access to this Shader.

At this point, the remaining Shaders become so rare that it’s difficult to even find out what they look like. Bungie never shared them publicly, and there are only a handful of videos out there showcasing them. The likelihood of encountering Principled Porphyry in-game is extremely low, so consider yourself lucky if you get the chance.

2. Hearts of Gold

Dexerto / Krypz

Hearts of Gold is the second rarest Shader, having been claimed by a mere 32 Guardians. Much like, Principled Porphyry, this is another reward from the Light Keepers Guild charity event and was rewarded if you fundraised at least $50,000.

Funnily enough, the Shader itself isn’t anything too special, with it giving a blue and gold look comparable to others that are much more common, like Calus’s Treasured and Dreamtide Daybreak. Regardless, Hearts of Gold is extremely prestigious, and the few that own it can be proud of the charity work they’ve done.

1. Argent Champion

Dexerto

Argent Champion is by far the rarest Shader in Destiny 2, with only 10 Guardians owning it. This is the top reward for the Light Keepers Guild charity event, with players having to fundraise a staggering $100,000 to earn it.

This is so much money that not only does your regular player have no chance, but even large content creators struggle to get Argent Champion. For example, Krypz has 113,000 subscribers and has raised over $57,000. That’s incredibly impressive yet still leaves him well short of what’s needed to get Argent Champion, showing just how incredibly difficult it really is.

Those are the 10 rarest Shaders as of March 2025, but we’ll be sure to update this list to keep you informed on any newcomers. In the meantime, you can check out the Best PvE Weapons and Best PvP Weapons to put yourself in the prime position to dominate the entire sandbox.