With the new Deep Stone Crypt raid and Master Empire Hunts, Destiny 2: Beyond Light has given Guardians more ways to combat the Fallen. The introduction of the new Stasis subclass elevates crowd control to another level, giving players the opportunity to freeze foes to make their lives easier. To tackle Destiny 2’s newest PvE content, there are a few builds for Hunters that can make them one of the most useful assets in a raid group, high-level Empire Hunt, or Master Nightfall.
One of these builds revolves around boss damage while the other two are more for add killing and control. While there are other Hunter builds that are viable, these three have proven to make a Hunter’s life easier in most PvE situations. From raiding to farming Wrathborn kills with the Cryptolith Lure, Hunters looking to tackle Beyond Light’s newest content cannot go wrong with the following builds.
Destiny 2: Boss Killer – Intellect Build
- Subclass: Solar, Way of the Sharpshooter
- Abilities: Gambler’s Dodge, Triple Jump, Incendiary Grenade
- Kinetic Weapon: Any (Dire Promise, Night Watch, Heritage, or Ace of Spades recommended)
- Secondary Weapon: Any (Cloudstrike and First In, Last Out are viable candidates)
- Heavy Weapon: Xenophage, Lament, Falling Guillotine, Eyes of Tomorrow
- Exotic Armor: Celestial Nighthawk
- Armor Mods: Intellect +10 (x4), Intellect +5 (x1), Firepower (x1), Innervation (x1), Absolution (x1) Taking Charge (x1), Distribution (x1), Energy Converter (x1)
A build centered around massive boss damage, this is for Hunters who want to pop a Golden Gun precision hit on the boss and then get their super back in relatively short order. When fighting Taniks in Deep Stone Crypt, this build allows the Hunter to send a nasty hit into the boss’s face and get their super back well before the next damage face without having to rely on picking up orbs generated by other Guardians.
Any primary weapon will suffice for this build if it is “Masterworked” and can generate orbs with multiple kills. The primary mods that make this build work are Firepower, Innervation, Absolution, Taking Charge, Distribution, and Energy Converter. Grenades are the bread and butter of this heavy-hitter, with Guardians able to build super energy by throwing grenades due to the Energy Converter mod, which converts Charged With Light (CWL) stacks into super energy, up to 50%.
To get those CWL stacks, Guardians slot a Taking Charge mod into their armor and pick up Orbs of Power, which they can generate with multikills from a Masterworked weapon or by other Guardians. Moreover, the Firepower mod restores a chunk of grenade ability energy upon use, and the Distribution mod restores all abilities’ energy when dodging.
Combined, these mods mean grenades have a negligible cooldown and that Golden Gun super can be regained in less than 45 seconds. Plenty of time to use two or three times on Taniks if he is not defeated in less than three phases. Naturally, the build is not worth using without Celestial Nighthawk for that massive precision hit, but once acquired, it is devastating in boss fights.
Destiny 2: Add Decimator – Grenade Build
- Subclass: Solar, Way of a Thousand Cuts
- Abilities: Gambler’s Dodge, Triple Jump, Incendiary Grenade
- Kinetic Weapon: Ace of Spades, Dire Promise, Thorn
- Secondary Weapon: Prometheus Lens (not for high DPS)
- Heavy Weapon: Xenophage, Lament, Falling Guillotine, Eyes of Tomorrow
- Exotic Armor: Shards of Galanor
- Armor Mods: Mobility +10 (x2), Intellect +10 (x1), Intellect +5 (x1), Taking Charge (x1), Precision Charge (x1), Energy Converter (x1), Supercharged (x1), Charged Up (x1), Dynamo (x2)
This Destiny 2: Beyond Light PvE Hunter build focuses on clearing adds quickly and frequently. The Shards of Galanor will refund up to 50% of a Guardian’s super energy depending on how many enemies they hit with the Blade Barrage’s knives. From there, players rely on effectively building CWL stacks and consuming those stacks with grenades to fill the remainder of their super meter.
Supercharged and Charged Up together make the maximum amount of CWL stacks five instead of two. At five stacks of CWL, grenades can restore up to 50% of super energy (each stack provides 10%). CWL stacks are built by picking up orbs of power thanks to the Taking Charge mod and by achieving precision kills with hand cannons, bows, or scout rifles due to the Precision Charge mod.
If Guardians find they need just a little bit more super energy to cap themselves, throwing some Dynamo mods into their armor and dodging near enemies can get them over the top, as can using Prometheus Lens to cause burn damage – which restores ability and super energy.
While Prometheus Lens is not critical to this build, and certainly will not provide a tremendous amount of DPS when fighting bosses, it does help keep Blade Barrage ready to clear adds, which is the entire point of this build.
Destiny 2: Add Control – All the Melee
- Subclass: Stasis, The Revenant
- Abilities: Gambler’s Dodge, Triple Jump, Duskfield Grenade
- Aspects: Shatterdive, Winter’s Shroud
- Fragments: Whisper of Shards, Whisper of Durance
- Kinetic Weapon: Any (Monte Carlo recommended)
- Secondary Weapon: Any
- Heavy Weapon: Any (Falling Guillotine or Lament recommended)
- Exotic Armor: The Sixth Coyote (Mask of Bakris if unavailable)
- Armor Mods: Mobility +10 (x5), Distribution (x2), Absolution (x2)
A build for Hunters who want to control the battlefield, or their section of it, by slowing and freezing enemies they – or their fireteam – can then shatter, this melee-focused build gives Guardians near-limitless Withering Blades to toss at enemies. The constant ability to slow and freeze targets makes the lives of the Hunter and their allies much easier.
This build revolves primarily around abusing the Hunter’s dodge ability, particularly with Gambler’s Dodge selected to recharge Withering Blade when dodging near enemies. The two Distribution mods ensure ability cooldowns are reduced, including supers, when dodging near enemies. Moreover, the Absolution mods make grenades recharge all abilities, including supers.
Couple these mods with The Sixth Coyote and stacking Mobility and Hunters will almost never have an unavailable dodge or a Withering Blade cooldown, and grenades recharge swiftly due to abusing the dodge ability. This creates a relatively safe environment when adds can otherwise get out of hand in Deep Stone Crypt, or high-level Empire Hunts and Nightfalls. Weapon choice is less pivotal with this build, and being Charged With Light is also unnecessary, though, it can help in some sticky situations.
Destiny 2: Beyond Light is available on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.