Destiny 2: The Best Warlock Builds For PvP And PvE

Quick Links

• PvP: Firing Squad
• PvE: Vesper Of Shards
• PvP: Mantle Of Hunger
• PvE: Stormcaller's Ashes
• PvP: Umbral Shadebinder
• PvE: Bleak Flame
• PvP: Radiant Chaos
• PvE: Chaotic Hold
• PvP: Icarus Dawnblade
• PvE: Warmind's Grace

With Destiny 2: Beyond Light introducing new avenues to customize a Guardian's Subclass, players have been looking towards the current sandbox and creating new builds to farm the hardest content, both in PvE and the Crucible.

Related: Everything You Need To Know About Destiny 2 In 2021

Out of every class, Warlocks have some of the strongest options. Great Subclasses and Exotics allow for powerful build combinations that can be taken further with certain weapons or seasonal mods. Ranging from aggressive dashes to chaining grenades infinitely, here are ten Warlock builds that are sure to impress in either PvE or PvP.

Updated July 3rd, 2021, by Charles Burgar: With hard mode for Vault of Glass right around the corner, we figured it was time to showcase some powerful Warlock builds. We've completely overhauled the format of this guide to make it much easier to read which mods and items each build requires. Two builds were also replaced for stronger alternatives. Stormcaller fans and Bleak Watcher users will want to give these builds a look. Enjoy!

Foreword

Before we begin, each build guide is rather long and covers Combat Style mods—seasonal mods that offer powerful effects. If you aren't familiar with these mods, you'll want to read our guides on each Combat Style mechanic. We also have a guide on Armor 2.0 if you haven't played with Destiny 2's mod system yet. Each guide is linked below:

• A Complete Guide To Armor 2.0
• Combat Style Mods Explained
  • Charged With Light Explained
  • Warmind Cells Explained
  • Elemental Wells Explained

PvP: Firing Squad

Why Play This Build?

Are you tired of playing with teammates that can't aim? Say hello to No Time to Explain, an Exotic Pulse Rifle that creates a time portal that fires at enemies with incredible accuracy. With the Stormcaller Subclass, you can also summon an Arc Soul or "Arc Buddy" to team-shot every enemy that dares approach you. Who needs teammates when you can make a weapons platform at will?

Time to kill values are extremely low when your portal and Arc Soul are active, and you have access to a fantastic Super in the form of Chaos Reach. If you hate PvP but need to complete 6v6 weeklies, give this build a try.

Essentials

Subclass	Attunement of Control (Middle Tree Stormcaller)
Exotic	Getaway Artist
Weapon	No Time to Explain

Attunement of Chaos (Middle Tree Stormcaller) will be your subclass. This gives you access to the Chaos Reach Super, an excellent melee ability, and Ionic Traces that partially restore your grenade and Super after every kill.

Getaway Artist will be your Exotic armor piece, allowing you to consume your grenade in exchange for a Sentient Arc Soul for 20 seconds.

No Time to Explain will be your weapon of choice. Masterwork it to increase the lethality of your time portal. Good backup weapons include Shotguns, Grenade Launchers, and any Legendary with Demolitionist.

Armor Stats

Mobility	Preference
Resilience	50
Recovery	90+
Discipline	100
Intellect	40+
Strength	Dump

Discipline is your most important stat in this build, allowing you to recharge your grenade every 32 seconds with 100 Discipline. Combining this with Ionic Traces and Bomber, you can have a Sentient Arc Soul active for nearly every gunfight. Recovery is a good second stat to invest in.

Armor Mods (General)

Armor (Element)	Mod Slot 1	Mod Slot 2
Helmet (Any)	Pulse Rifle Targeting	Pulse Rifle Targeting
Gloves (Any)	Preference	Preference
Robes (Any)	Preference	Preference
Boots (Any)	Ammo Scavenger	Ammo Scavenger / Traction (Controller)
Bond (Solar)	Bomber	Bomber

Note: Sentient Arc Soul does not count as a grenade, meaning mods like Momentum Transfer don't work when it damages someone.

Armor Mods (Combat Style)

Note: The mods listed below can be placed in any armor you choose, so long as the elemental affinity matches.

Helmet	Radiant Light
Gloves	Stacks on Stacks
Robes	Powerful Friends
Boots	Charge Harvester
Bond	High-Energy Fire

Charge Harvester allows your Arc Soul and time portal a chance to give you two stacks of Charged with Light, giving you a 20% damage buff. Powerful Friends and Radiant Light are not required.

PvE: Vesper Of Shards

Why Play This Build?

Carve through waves of PvE enemies with nothing more than your Rift. No, you read that right, your Rift. As ridiculous as that sounds, the Shadebinder's Frostpulse Aspect can turn your Warlock's Rifts into group-clearing explosives when paired with Vesper of Radius, an Exotic chest piece that most Warlock mains have forgotten about.

To complement these explosive Rifts, this build also takes advantage of Elemental Wells and Charged with Light mods. If played properly, you can expect infinite abilities, constant Supers, and fantastic survivability. This build isn't viable for hard endgame content, but the sheer fun you can have with this build more than makes up for it.

Essentials

Subclass	Shadebinder (Stasis)
Exotic	Vesper of Radius
Weapon	Anything with Wellspring; Shotguns and Fusion Rifles

Shadebinder will be your subclass. We'll cover Aspects and Fragments in the next section.

Vesper of Radius is mandatory for this build, allowing you to detonate frozen enemies from your Rifts and other abilities. Your Rift also gains bonus recharge rate while surrounded, complimenting this aggressive playstyle perfectly.

Weapons with Wellspring are fantastic for this build, allowing you to spam Rifts and other abilities with ease. Shotguns, Fusions, SMGs, and Sidearms all benefit from the Heavy Handed mod. We recommend Shotguns and Fusions, but it's up to you.

Aspects And Fragments

Frostpulse is mandatory for this build, and Iceflare Bolts are massive for your survivability and Super generation.

Aspect	Description
Frostpulse	Casting your Rift generates a shockwave that freezes nearby combatants.
Iceflare Bolts	Shattering a frozen target spawns seekers that track and freeze other nearby targets.

You'll have four Fragment slots to play with. Refraction allows you to spawn more Rifts, Fissures makes your Rifts much more deadly, Bonds gives you Super energy for defeating enemies with this shatter-shock explosion, and Fractures gives you excellent melee uptime.

Fragment	Description	Stat Alterations
Refraction	Defeating slowed or frozen targets grants you class ability energy.	N/A
Fissures	Increases the damage and size of the burst of Stasis when you destroy a Stasis crystal or defeat a frozen target.	N/A
Bonds	Defeating frozen targets grants you Super energy.	-10 Intellect and Discipline
Fractures	Your melee energy recharges faster when you are near two or more targets.	-10 Discipline

Armor Stats

Mobility	Preference
Resilience	Dump
Recovery	100
Discipline	70+
Intellect	~40
Strength	Preference

Recovery is your most important stat. At 100 Recovery, expect your Rift to come back every 41 seconds. Past that, Discipline is a good secondary stat since your Stasis greandes can freeze enemies with ease.

Armor Mods (General)

Armor (Element)	Mod Slot 1	Mod Slot 2
Helmet (Void)	Dynamo	Dynamo
Gloves (Solar)	Impact Induction	Champion Mod
Robes (Any)	Concussive Dampener	Any Damage Resistance Mod
Boots (Any)	Absolution	Ammo Scavenger
Bond (Void)	Perpetuation	Perpetuation

With these mods, you'll be able to create Rifts more frequently and have each Rift charge your Super.

Armor Mods (Combat Style)

Note: The mods listed below can be placed in any armor you choose, so long as the elemental affinity matches.

Helmet	Protective Light
Gloves	Well of Life
Robes	Explosive Wellmaker
Boots	Elemental Charge
Bond	Stacks on Stacks

PvP: Mantle Of Hunger

Why Play This Build?

Using common Charged with Light mods and Voidwalker's Devour spec, this build turns you into an unstoppable killing machine in 6v6 Crucible, so long as you can win 1v1 fights. Fortunately, the Mantle of Battle Harmony makes this easy to pull off. Throw constant Supers or repeatedly two-tap Guardians with Hand Cannons with this simple to use, beginner-friendly PvP build. It won't hang in Trials, but this makes you nigh-killable in 6v6 Control and Iron Banner.

Essentials

Subclass	Attunement of Hunger (Bottom Tree Voidwalker)
Exotic	Mantle of Battle Harmony
Weapon	Any Void weapon

Attunement of Hunger (Bottom Tree Voidwalker) is the best spec for this, allowing you to consume your grenade to gain the Devour buff for 11 seconds. While active, all kills fully heal you and grant increased ability regeneration rates.

Related: Destiny 2: The Best Titan Builds For PvP And PvE

Mantle of Battle Harmony tops Nezarec's Sin for this build, granting massive Super energy gains and a whopping 20% bonus damage after killing a target while your Super is charged. A single kill can make Bottom Dollar two-tap or Fighting Lion one-shot enemies. Coupled with Devour, you become tough to kill.

Void weapons are mandatory for this build, as the Mantle of Battle Harmony's perk only works if you use damage types that match your subclass. Good options include Gnawing Hunger, Bottom Dollar, Shayura's Wrath, Fighting Lion, and Le Monarque.

Armor Stats

Mobility	Preference
Resilience	50
Recovery	90+
Discipline	~40
Intellect	100
Strength	Dump

Intellect is your most important stat, although Recovery is also useful if you have room. An Intellect stat of 100 will let you activate Battle Harmony's damage perk sooner in the game, letting you steamroll the competition sooner.

Armor Mods (General)

Armor (Element)	Mod Slot 1	Mod Slot 2
Helmet (Void)	Dynamo	Dynamo or Targeting Mod
Gloves (Any)	Preference	Preference
Robes (Any)	Preference	Preference
Boots (Any)	Ammo Scavenger	Ammo Scavenger/ Traction (Controller)
Bond (Void)	Perpetuation	Perpetuation

Most of the mods for this build are down to preference. Use whatever mods suit your playstyle.

Armor Mods (Combat Style)

Note: The mods listed below can be placed in any armor you choose, so long as the elemental affinity matches.

Helmet	Precision Charge/ Blast Radius
Gloves	High-Energy Fire
Robes	Stacks on Stacks
Boots	Taking Charge
Bond	Charge Harvester

Everyone has access to High-Energy Fire and Taking Charge. That's all you need for this setup to function. If you want even more power, use the rest of the mods listed.

PvE: Stormcaller's Ashes

Why Play This Build?

Become the storm with this ability-spamming take on the Warlock's Stormcaller subclass. By using Crown of Tempests and Combat Style mods, this build can throw non-stop grenades and melee abilities—all of which grant an absurd amount of Super energy. Cast Chaos Reach every 30 seconds or maintain Stormtrance for nearly a minute. If you love spamming abilities and aren't looking for a GM-viable build, this is the build for you.

Essentials

Subclass	Attunement of Conduction (Top Tree Stormcaller) OR Control (Middle Tree Stormcaller)
Exotic	Crown of Tempests
Weapon	Traveler's Chosen, Monte Carlo, or anything with Demolitionist

Attunement of Conduction (Top Tree Stormcaller) is best if you want to spam your abilities, as your grenades will proc Arc Web—an S-tier neutral game buff. Attunement of Control (Middle Tree Stormcaller) is better if you prefer spamming your Super.

Crown of Tempests is the real star of the show, granting the Conduction Tines buff for six seconds on an Arc ability kill. With Combat Style mods, this is fairly easy to maintain in enemy-rich environments.

Any weapon that boosts ability regeneration is worth using here. Some good options include Traveler's Chosen, Monte Carlo, and Vault of Glass' Corrective Measure with Demolitionist and Adrenaline Junkie.

Armor Stats

Mobility	Preference
Resilience	Dump
Recovery	100
Discipline	70+
Intellect	~40
Strength	50+

Get your Recovery and Discipline as high as possible. Don't invest too much in Intellect, as it has serious diminishing returns.

Armor Mods

Armor (Element)	Mod Slot 1	Mod Slot 2
Helmet (Solar)	Ashes to Assets	Ashes to Assets
Gloves (Any)	Impulse Recycler	Impulse/ Champion Mod
Robes (Arc)	Concussive Dampener	Arc Damage Resistance
Boots (Solar)	Recuperation	Ammo Scavenger
Bond (Any)	Preference	Preference

For your Bond, you can run anything. Bulwark Finisher (Void) and Bomber (Solar) are good options. Surge Detonators are great if you want to have your grenades counter Overload Champions.

Note: Ashes to Assets is currently a one-point, universal mod in this season's Artifact. Use this version to save up on precious mod space.

Armor Mods (Combat Style)

Note: The mods listed below can be placed in any armor you choose, so long as the elemental affinity matches.

Helmet	Firepower/ Heal Thyself
Gloves	Elemental Ordnance
Robes	Heavy Handed
Boots	Firepower/ Heal Thyself
Bond	Elemental Charge

Use Firepower if you are playing Attunement of Control or want to really spam grenades. Heal Thyself is fantastic on Attunement of Conduction, giving you a massive chunk of health after every grenade kill. Heavy Handed's secondary effect is also active, giving your Shotguns and Fusion Rifles ammo if you kill enemies with those weapons while surrounded.

PvP: Umbral Shadebinder

Why Play This Build?

Shadebinders are absurdly strong in PvP, capable of stopping opponents in their tracks using their grenades, melee ability, and Super. This build enhances ability uptime by using Claws of Ahamkara and numerous ability-enhancing armor mods. You'll have the ability to shutdown Supers, Shotgun rushers, and swing 1v1 gunfights in your favor with little issue.

Essentials

Subclass	Shadebinder (Stasis)
Exotic	Claws of Ahamkara
Weapon	Monte Carlo; anything with Wellspring

Shadebinder is what you'll be using. We'll cover the Aspects and Fragments in the next section.

Claws of Ahamkara give you two melee charges. Winning 1v1 engagements becomes much easier with this Exotic.

Monte Carlo is excellent here, giving you constant melee charges. 600 RPM Auto Rifles are still competitive in today's sandbox, so long as you can engage at medium distances. Beyond that, use weapons with Wellspring.

Aspects And Fragments

Iceflare Bolts and Glacial Harvest are fantastic, giving you great control over gunfights in PvP and the ability to make melee-generating Stasis shards.

Aspect	Description
Iceflare Bolts	Shattering a frozen target spawns seekers that track and freeze other nearby targets.
Glacial Harvest	Freezing targets creates [Stasis] Stasis shards around the frozen targets. Higher tier combatants create more shards.

Related: Destiny 2: The Best Hunter Builds For PvP And PvE

You'll have four Fragment slots. This setup maximizes the value of Stasis shards.

Fragment	Description	Stat Alterations
Rime	Collecting a Stasis shard grants a small amount of overshield, which falls off after 10 seconds. Collecting additional shards adds to the overshield and refreshes the timer.	N/A
Bonds	Defeating frozen targets grants you Super energy.	-10 Intellect and Discipline
Hunger	Increases the melee energy gained from picking up Stasis shards.	-10 Mobility and Recovery
Chains	While you are near frozen targets or a friendly Stasis crystal, you take reduced damage from targets.	+10 Recovery

Armor Stats

Mobility	Dump
Resilience	50
Recovery	90+
Discipline	~50
Intellect	40+
Strength	100

Strength will make Penumbral Blast recharge rather quickly. Recovery is the second stat you want to invest in.

Armor Mods (General)

Armor (Element)	Mod Slot 1	Mod Slot 2
Helmet (Any)	Preference	Preference
Gloves (Solar)	Impact Induction	Impact Induction
Robes (Any)	Preference	Preference
Boots (Any)	Ammo Scavenger	Ammo Scavenger/ Traction (Controller)
Bond (Arc)	Outreach	Outreach

These mods focus on generating your melee as fast as possible. Get in the habit of casting your Rift to get the most out of Outreach.

Armor Mods (Combat Style)

Note: The mods listed below can be placed in any armor you choose, so long as the elemental affinity matches.

Helmet	Sustained Charge
Gloves	Sustained Charge
Robes	Powerful Friends
Boots	High-Energy Fire
Bond	Radiant Light

This is a fairly basic Charged with Light setup, replacing Taking Charge and a utility effect with two Sustained Charges. This allows Monte Carlo, Auto Rifles, and Trace Rifles the ability to give you Charged with Light stacks. Powerful Friends and Radiant Light aren't required but extremely helpful.

PvE: Bleak Flame

Why Play This Build?

Raw firepower isn't always the answer. Sometimes, all you need is a little bit of crowd control to turn the tide. That's what this build delivers on. By using the Bleak Watcher Aspect, Shadebinders can turn their grenades into Stasis turrets that reliably freeze enemies. This build focuses on fast grenade cooldowns so you can spawn as many of these turrets as possible, making this an excellent build for Grandmaster Nightfalls, Master Lost Sectors, and raids.

Essentials

Subclass	Shadebinder (Stasis)
Exotic	Verity's Brow OR Eye of Another World
Weapon	Ticuu's Divination OR Le Monarque

Shadebiner is required to spawn Bleak Watcher turrets. We'll cover the Aspects and Fragments in the next section.

Verity's Brow is excellent for content where you aren't significantly underleveled. Killing enemies with your Energy weapon will significantly speed up your grenade cooldown. If you're attempting Grandmaster Nightfalls, consider using Eye of Another World instead. It lowers all ability cooldowns passively, making it a solid choice if you can't maintain Verity's Brow's perk.

Ticuu's Divination and Le Monarque both fulfill the same niche of dealing great AoE damage with minimum setup. When a target is frozen, either bow will force the target to shatter, synergizing nicely with Ticuu's explosions or Le Monarque's poison cloud.

Aspects And Fragments

These Aspects allow you to overcharge your grenade, creating Bleak Watcher turrets. Enemies frozen by the turrets will freeze nearby targets as well.

Aspect	Description
Bleak Watcher	Press and hold the grenade button to convert your grenade into a Stasis turret that fires slowing projectiles at nearby targets.
Iceflare Bolts	Shattering a frozen target spawns seekers that track and freeze other nearby targets.

You can use four Fragments. This build will use Fragments that enhance the effect of Stasis shatters, your ability cooldowns, and the duration of Bleak Watchers themselves thanks to Whisper of Durance.

Fragment	Description	Stat Alterations
Fissures	Increases the damage and size of the burst of Stasis when you destroy a Stasis crystal or defeat a frozen target.	N/A
Torment	You gain grenade energy each time you take damage from targets.	N/A
Refraction	Defeating slowed or frozen targets grants you class ability energy.	N/A
Durance	Slow from your abilities lasts longer. For those abilities that linger, their duration will also increase.	+10 Strength

Armor Stats

Mobility	Preference
Resilience	Dump
Recovery	90+
Discipline	100
Intellect	40+
Strength	Dump

Discipline should be as high as possible, preferably 100. Focus on Recovery next to have your Rifts up as often as possible.

Armor Mods (General)

Armor (Element)	Mod Slot 1	Mod Slot 2
Helmet (Any)	Ammo Finder	Ammo Finder
Gloves (Any)	Fastball/ Champion Mod	Champion Mod
Robes (Any)	Concussive Dampener	Any Damage Resistance Mod
Boots (Solar)	Innervation	Innervation/ Ammo Scavenger
Bond (Solar)	Bomber	Bomber/ Special Finisher

These mods focus on granting your grenade back as fast as possible. Casting your Rift grants grenade energy now, and so do Orbs of Power.

Armor Mods (Combat Style)

Note: The mods listed below can be placed in any armor you choose, so long as the elemental affinity matches.

Helmet	Taking Charge
Gloves	Firepower
Robes	Firepower
Boots	Firepower
Bond	Firepower

Firepower's effect stacks the more mods you have equipped. Four will grant 60% grenade energy upon throwing your grenade.

If you don't own Firepower, Elemental Well mods make for a solid substitute. Elemental Armaments with an Osmosis weapon will create Stasis wells that will reduce your grenade cooldown by 10% per well. Should you use Elemental Wells, the other three Firepower mods can be replaced with Elemental Well mods that suit your playstyle.

PvP: Radiant Chaos

Why Play This Build?

Middle Tree Stormcaller stands as a direct counter to Stasis, shutting down most Supers with a quick Chaos Reach. Ionic Traces give you excellent ability and Super charge times, pairing nicely with min-maxed gear and Combat Style mods. Every time you cast Chaos Reach, you'll also give your entire team Charged with Light—yourself included if a teammate is using Powerful Friends. If you want to go flawless in Trials or reach Legend in Competitive Crucible, this build will do the trick.

Essentials

Subclass	Attunement of Control (Middle Tree Stormcaller)
Exotic	Geomag Stabilizers
Weapon	Any weapon

Attunement of Control (Middle Tree Stormcaller) is what allows you to shut down Stasis so well. Chaos Reach will charge before every other Super and stay ahead of the curve for the rest of the game. If you kill enough enemies, you can get three to four Supers off in a single game.

Geomag Stabilizers will recharge the last 15% of your Super if you are sprinting. Not only does this work in PvP, but it also synergizes with this Super's ability to cancel itself at any time to conserve Super energy. Start a Trials round, pop your Super for a free kill, immediately end it, then take down the last two enemies while your Super comes back. This setup grants free kills if used properly.

Any weapon works here. Use whatever you're most comfortable with or what's meta.

Armor Stats

Mobility	Preference
Resilience	50
Recovery	90+
Discipline	Preference
Intellect	100
Strength	Dump

Intellect is mandatory. Reach 100 Intellect to get your Super before anyone else and start a snowball effect. Focus on Recovery afterward.

Armor Mods (General)

Armor (Element)	Mod Slot 1	Mod Slot 2
Helmet (Void)	Dynamo	Preference (3 Energy)
Gloves (Void)	Bolstering Detonation	Preference
Robes (Any)	Preference	Preference
Boots (Any)	Ammo Scavenger	Ammo Scavenger/ Traction (Controller)
Bond (Void)	Bomber	Bomber

These mods focus on giving your grenade and Super back as fast as possible. Bomber gives your grenade back, which will give Rift energy thanks to Bolstering Detonation. Dynamo makes it so casting your Rift near an enemy gives Super energy.

Armor Mods (Combat Style)

Note: The mods listed below can be placed in any armor you choose, so long as the elemental affinity matches.

Helmet	Charge Harvester
Gloves	High-Energy Fire
Robes	Powerful Friends
Boots	Radiant Light
Bon	Taking Charge

Powerful Friends and Radiant Light give everyone near you x1 Charged with Light—including yourself if an ally has Powerful Friends. High-Energy Fire gives a 20% damage buff while you're Charged with Light. Charge Harvester allows any kill or assist, even from abilities, the chance of giving you a Charged with Light stack.

PvE: Chaotic Hold

Why Play This Build?

Have you wondered what most top-tier players use to solo dungeons and other pinnacle content? It's this build. In essence, you'll be using Controverse Hold and Attunement of Chaos to throw constant supercharged Vortex Grenades, turning even the toughest of enemies into stardust. It's a low-risk, high-reward build that virtually every player can use.

If you have Combat Style mods, which aren't mandatory, you'll be able to tackle Destiny's hardest content without much issue. Thanks to Season of the Splicer's Artifact, your grenades can also spawn Warmind Cells through the use of Warmind's Decree.

Essentials

Subclass	Attunement of Chaos (Top Tree Voidwalker)
Exotic	Contraverse Hold
Weapon	Anything that can spawn Warmind Cells

Attunement of Chaos (Top Tree Voidwalker) allows you to overcharge your grenades, giving them increased duration and much more damage. Pair this subclass with Vortex Grenades for devastating results.

Contraverse Hold is mandatory. These gloves are what allow you to spam grenades, granting a random amount of grenade energy whenever your grenades damage someone. Since Vortex Grenades persist for multiple seconds, Contraverse Hold activates multiple times in one grenade.

Related: Destiny 2's Breach And Clear Mod Has Freed Me From Divinity Prison

Weapons are down to what content you're tackling. Common options include Xenophage and IKELOS weapons, although any Solar or Void AoE weapons will work. Thanks to the flexibility of this build, you can easily combine your deadly grenades with Warmind Cells to trivialize most content.

Armor Stats

Mobility	Preference
Resilience	Dump
Recovery	100
Discipline	70+
Intellect	40+
Strength	Dump

Discipline is recommended, allowing you to recharge your grenade quickly in case you miss a throw. Beyond that, spec for whatever suits your playstyle, Recovery being the main choice for most.

Armor Mods (General)

Armor (Element)	Mod Slot 1	Mod Slot 2
Helmet (Any)	Ammo Finder	Ammo Finder
Gloves (Any)	Fastball/ Champion Mod	Champion Mod
Robes (Any)	Concussive Dampener	Any Damage Resistance Mod
Boots (Any)	Ammo Scavenger	Ammo Scavenger
Bond (Solar)	Bomber/ Preference	Bomber/ Preference

This build's armor setup is quite flexible. Use whichever mods you're most comfortable with or can fit the correct Combat Style mods.

Armor Mods (Combat Style)

Note: The mods listed below can be placed in any armor you choose, so long as the elemental affinity matches.

Helmet	Global Reach
Gloves	Fireteam Medic/ Warmind's Protection
Robes	Rage of the Warmind
Boots	Warmind's Decree
Bond	Wrath of Rasputin

Virtually any Combat Style configuration will work for this build. We went with Warmind Cell mods for this build due to the existence of Warmind's Decree, an extremely powerful Artifact mod that gives Void AoE damage the ability to spawn Warmind Cells. This lets your grenades spawn Warmind Cells, which can then be detonated to clear entire rooms of enemies.

PvP: Icarus Dawnblade

Why Play This Build?

Movement separates good players from great players in Destiny's Crucible. Closing the gap and moving with confidence are critical to winning against more skilled teams, hence why virtually every Warlock in the Crucible plays top tree Dawnblade.

This build utilizes Charged with Light mods and popular Warlock Exotics to make you the fastest, deadliest killing machine you can be. If you want to focus more on countering enemies, use the Radiant Chaos build discussed earlier. If you want to become an all-out aggressive Guardian that can't be touched, this is the build for you.

Essentials

Subclass	Attunement of Sky (Top Tree Dawnblade)
Exotic	Transversive Steps OR Ophidian Aspects
Weapon	Any weapon

Attunement of Sky (Top Tree Dawnblade) grants mid-air dashes, perfect in-air accuracy with the Heat Rising buff, and you get a decent Super in the form of Daybreak. Celestial Fire is arguably the best melee ability for Warlocks as well, damaging targets around cover and from quite a distance.

Transversive Steps and Ophidian Aspects are the best neutral-game Exotics you can rock for this build. Most argue that Tranversive Steps are better due to their increased sprint speed and auto-reloading properties. Their handling and reload boost are hard to top. Karnstein Armlets are also an excellent choice if you're OK with sacrificing general buffs for survivability.

One more Exotic we want to mention is Starfire Protocol. This chest piece grants a second Fusion Grenade. Fusions aren't anything to write home about, but this allows you to activate Heat Rising two times in a row, allowing for excellent hang time with a Sniper Rifle or other long-range weapons. The outplay potential with this Exotic is too good not to mention.

Any weapon can work with this build, but there are a few that get a plethora of benefits as a Dawnblade. Specific examples include Dead Man's Tale, Sniper Rifles, Felwinter's Lie, and Hand Cannons. In essence, if it's meta, it's even better on this build due to Heat Rising.

Armor Stats

Mobility	Preference
Resilience	50
Recovery	90+
Discipline	50+
Intellect	70+
Strength	~50

Intellect is the most important stat in competitive PvP. The sooner you cast your Super, the sooner your teammates get theirs. Recovery and Discipline are also great stats to maximize. If you can get all three stats to 100, you'll be tough to kill.

Armor Mods (General)

Armor (Element)	Mod Slot 1	Mod Slot 2
Helmet (Any)	Targeting Mod	Preference
Gloves (Solar)	Impact Induction	Preference
Robes (Any)	Preference	Preference
Boots (Any)	Ammo Scavenger	Ammo Scavenger/ Traction (Controller)
Bond (Solar)	Bomber	Bomber

Armor Mods (Combat Style)

Note: The mods listed below can be placed in any armor you choose, so long as the elemental affinity matches.

Helmet	Charge Harvester
Gloves	High-Energy Fire
Robes	Powerful Friends
Boots	Radiant Light
Bond	Taking Charge

This is a standard Combat Style configuration for PvP. Charge Harvester and Taking Charge should make it easy to obtain High-Energy Fire's 20% damage buff. Powerful Friends and Radiant Light give two massive stat buffs and allow allies to become Charged with Light without any input.

PvE: Warmind's Grace

Why Play This Build?

Combining lethality with support, this build is the ultimate PvE Warlock build for all Destiny 2 content. Normal strikes? Clear entire arenas with little issue. Grandmaster Nightfalls? Keep your team alive with constant healing effects and a powerful Well of Radiance Super. Thanks to Warmind Cells, Warlocks can become aggressive healers that blend Destiny 2's core gameplay with the power fantasy of being a support player.

Essentials

Subclass	Attunement of Grace (Middle Tree Dawnblade)
Exotic	Boots of the Assembler OR Lunafaction Boots
Weapon	Anything that can spawn Warmind Cells

Attunement of Grace (Middle Tree Dawnblade) is the star of the show, granting constant abilities so long as you heal your allies. Well of Radiance is also an excellent Super for hunkering down or preparing for a raid boss DPS phase.

Lunafaction Boots, Phoenix Protocol, and Boots of the Assemblerare great support options if you're playing pinnacle content with a team. We recommend Boots of the Assembler for most content, as it heals or empowers your allies with little input from you while activating Benevolent Dawn.

IKELOS and Seventh Seraph weapons allow you to spawn Warmind Cells after a few kills. If you own Wrath of Rasputin, consider using Ticcu's Divination, Xenophage, or Sunshot.

Lumina also pairs nicely with this build, healing allies and granting everyone a massive 35% damage buff. This gun procs Benevolent Dawn, giving you incredible ability regeneration rates whenever you use Lumina to heal an ally.

Armor Stats

Mobility	Preference
Resilience	Dump
Recovery	100
Discipline	Preference
Intellect	40+
Strength	Preference

Recovery is the only stat you need to worry about. This setup heals allies so frequently that your abilities are up constantly.

Armor Mods (General)

Armor (Element)	Mod Slot 1	Mod Slot 2
Helmet (Solar)	Ashes to Assets	Ashes to Assets
Gloves (Any)	Preference	Preference
Robes (Any)	Concussive Dampener	Any Damage Resistance Mod
Boots (Any)	Ammo Scavenger	Preference
Bond (Any)	Preference	Preference

This loadout is very flexible. Ashes to Assets is our only major recommendation, as you can throw so many grenades that you'll be able to recharge your Super much faster than normal. Beyond that, use any mods that you enjoy or are meta for the given season.

Note: Ashes to Assets is a one-point, universal mod in this season's Artifact. Use it to save some space on your helmet.

Armor Mods (Combat Style)

Note: The mods listed below can be placed in any armor you choose, so long as the elemental affinity matches.

Helmet	Rage of the Warmind
Gloves	Fireteam Medic
Robes	Global Reach
Boots	Warmind's Protection
Bond	Wrath of Rasputin

With this setup, your Warmind Cells will spawn from Solar splash damage (including Warmind Cell explosions themselves), and every Warmind Cell will healallies. This procs Benevolent Dawn, giving you ability energy whenever you destroy a Warmind Cell.

Next: Destiny 2: Beyond Light Complete Guide And Walkthrough

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