The dust has settled after the release of Lightfall, the latest expansion for Destiny 2. With some time passed, it’s now possible to examine the revamped mod system and assemble the most powerful Meta builds. But what makes a build truly exceptional? Well, that depends on your preferences. PvE players may prioritize burst damage and survivability, while PvP enthusiasts might value quick recovery and agile movement. In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the best PvE and PvP builds for Arc Warlocks in Destiny 2.
Best Arc Warlock PvE Build: Mjölnir’s Envy
This build is all about channeling electricity in everything you do. It allows you to light up the night sky with jolting power, leaving your enemies in charred remains. The key to this build is to swiftly move and harness the power of Ionic Traces and the Light 3.0 verbs. If you’re unfamiliar with Jolt and Blind, take some time to familiarize yourself because they are about to become your new best friends.
Required Gear
- Exotic Armor: Fallen Sunstar (helmet)
Fallen Sunstar significantly increases the speed of the Ionic Traces you generate and provides additional ability energy. Moreover, collecting Ionic Traces also grants ability energy to your nearby allies.
Class Setup
- Super: Stormtrance
- Grenade: Flashbang Grenade
- Class Ability: Healing Rift
- Melee: Chain Lightning
- Jump: Burst Glide
Aspects
- Lightning Surge: Sliding and activating your melee ability will teleport you forward, calling down a storm of lightning strikes to jolt targets.
- Electrostatic Mind: Defeating Jolted or Blinded targets, or using an Arc ability, creates an Ionic Trace that amplifies your abilities.
Here’s the essence of this build: you’ll generate an abundance of Ionic Traces, which will enable rapid ability usage. This playstyle is reminiscent of last year’s Heart of Inmost Light Titan build, notorious for its relentless ability spam.
Fragments
- Spark of Shock: Causes your Arc grenades to jolt enemies.
- Spark of Ions: Generates an Ionic Trace when you defeat a Jolted target.
- Spark of Amplitude: Creates an Orb of Power when you rapidly defeat targets.
- Spark of Brilliance: Produces a blinding explosion when you defeat a Blinded target with precision damage.
Armor Mods
Apart from Stat Mods, focus on maximizing ability uptime, boosting grenade, melee, defense, and damage output.
- Head Mods: I recommend Harmonic Syphon x2 and Heavy Ammo Finder for more orbs and heavy ammo.
- Arm Mods: I recommend Grenade Kickstart and Font of Focus for increased grenade energy, allowing you to keep those blinding grenades rolling.
- Chest Mods: Select any damage reduction mods that suit your playstyle, focusing on additional survivability.
- Leg Mods: Equip weapon surge mods that synergize with your chosen weapons. Arc Surge mods are highly recommended.
- Bond Mods: I recommend Time Dilation, Outreach, and Bomber for more melee and grenade energy, along with extended Armor Charges.
The goal is to keep your abilities constantly regenerating. Having no abilities available when you encounter a Champion that requires your stunning abilities can be frustrating.
Weapons
- Kinetic Slot: Choose your favorite weapon. However, I recommend reserving this slot for either Witherhoard or Arbalest, depending on the Champions you’ll be facing. Ideally, your energy slot should contain a Primary weapon that synergizes with Arc damage.
- Energy Slot: Any Arc weapon will work well here. I personally recommend the Ikelos SMG with Voltshot. If you don’t have it, Nation of Beasts or Insidious, or any other Arc weapon will suffice. Voltshot is particularly effective in this build.
- Heavy Slot: Almost any Arc heavy weapon will be thrilling to use. Personally, I have a soft spot for Adept Hothead, but if you don’t have an exotic of your choice, Thunderlord is a formidable choice.
Stat Distribution
When it comes to stats, prioritize Resilience and Recovery to maximize survivability and Rift uptime. Next, focus on Discipline to reduce your grenade refresh time. You can largely ignore Mobility because Amplify will provide a significant boost to your mobility. Strength should be at least 30 for a decent amount of melee regeneration, but with the high ability uptime, its impact will be minimal.
Conclusion
This build has proven invaluable in conquering challenges like Legend Lost Sectors and Master Nightfalls. If you’re eager to run around like an electric God, go ahead and unleash this build during your next Root of Nightmares raid run!
Best Strand Warlock PvP Build: Conduction Connoisseur
This PvP build is all about speed. Even in PvP, your Amplify buff works in synergy with the Transversive Steps, propelling you across the map like a Thundercrash Titan on steroids.
Required Gear
- Exotic Armor: Transversive Steps (boots)
With Transversive Steps, you’ll experience unmatched speed, sliding farther, sprinting faster, and becoming an unstoppable force.
Class Setup
- Super: Chaos Reach
- Grenade: Flashbang Grenade
- Class Ability: Healing Rift
- Melee: Ball Lightning
- Jump: Burst Glide
Aspects
- Lightning Surge: Same as the previous build.
- Electrostatic Mind: Alternatively, you can opt for Arc Soul instead of Electrostatic Mind. Please note that Ionic Trace generation will be slightly lower in PvP compared to PvE. However, Arc Soul provides effective suppression fire, especially when your teammates also benefit from it. This build thrives in Trials or Control.
Lightning Surge makes this build incredibly fun. Sprint, slide, shotgun, and utilize your melee ability for unstoppable kills.
Fragments
In contrast to most Warlock PvP builds, the Fragments we’ll utilize here are genuinely useful, providing additional support when closing in on your enemies in any Crucible setting.
- Spark of Shock: Makes your Arc grenades jolt enemies.
- Spark of Haste: Grants increased Resilience, Recovery, and Mobility while sprinting.
- Spark of Resistance: Enhances your resistance to incoming damage when surrounded by combatants.
- Spark of Instinct: When critically wounded, taking damage emits a burst of Arc energy that jolts targets.
Armor Mods
Prioritize weapon steadiness and handling, in addition to bonus weapon stats and ability recovery.
- Head Mods: I recommend Kinetic or Energy Targeting (and a siphon mod for some extra fun!).
- Arm Mods: Select your preferred Reloaders.
- Chest Mods: Opt for Unflinching mods of your choice.
- Leg Mods: Equip Innervation x3 for increased grenade regeneration.
- Bond Mods: Choose Outreach x3 for enhanced melee regeneration.
Weapons
- Kinetic Slot: This slot should be reserved for Shotguns or Snipers. The choice ultimately depends on the map, but this build is perfect for aggressive playstyles.
- Energy Slot: Here, choose an Arc weapon that balances well with your special weapon. If you opt for a sniper, try pairing it with an SMG. However, if you’re using a shotgun, you can never go wrong with a pulse rifle.
- Heavy Slot: The choice is entirely up to you. Personally, I find Rockets to be reliable in PvP due to their wide blast radius, making it difficult to miss opponents. However, Thunderlord is also a great choice if you want to wield a Heavy Machine Gun.
Since this build doesn’t require any specific exotic gear, feel free to swap out any weapon with your favorite exotic.
Stat Distribution
Focus on high Resilience and Recovery for survivability and Rift uptime. Discipline is essential for maintaining your grenade refresh time. Remember, you’ll be using Blinding Grenades, so maintaining their uptime is crucial for defending against opponents.
Conclusion
I’ve had a blast using this build in both Competitive and Trials of Osiris. Most players are taken by surprise by this playstyle and might try to adapt accordingly. However, you should respond accordingly and make them regret getting too close to you.
These are currently the best Arc Warlock builds for PvE and PvP. Make sure to save them in your new Loadout slots before moving on to your next build!
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