Destiny 2: Best Warlock Build
This best Warlock build in Destiny 2 has been designed with high-level, high-performance gameplay in mind. It has not been optimized for solo players - it performs far better in a Fireteam than it does on its own. That’s not to say that this Destiny 2 Warlock build can’t perform in solo content - it can, but it’s not designed for it.
Warlocks are the most versatile class in Destiny. All of its subclasses, minus Arc, can compete at a Grandmaster level. Void Warlock is one of the most powerful solo subclasses in all of Destiny 2, and Solar Warlocks are mandatory for every raid. You could put a build together for either of these subclasses and you could fairly categorize it as “the best.” However, this build takes a different approach by spec-ing into Stasis. With this best Warlock build, we’re going to have incredible AD-control that makes lower-level content a cakewalk, makes raids a breeze, and will serve you well even in the game’s hardest Grandmaster Nightfalls.
Destiny 2 - Best Warlock Build
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Subclass - Stasis
Aspects
- Iceflare Bolts - A lot of Stasis Warlocks like Glacial Harvest to create a Stasis Shard build. That’s fair, but if that’s your goal then you’re better off running a Hunter with Grim Harvest as it far outperforms Glacial Harvest. Instead, I’m picking up Iceflare Bolts to increase our freezing potential as any frozen target we kill will send out an Iceflare that will track and freeze other targets.
- Bleak Watcher - Bleak Watcher lets us charge our grenades to turn them into Stasis turrets that will target and freeze enemies it shoots at. This will be the core of our build and synergizes unbelievably well with Iceflare Bolts.
Fragments
- Whisper of Fissures - Whisper of Fissures naturally makes sense in this build. It increases the damage and range of the explosion when we kill frozen targets - which we’ll be doing a lot of.
- Whisper of Shards - We don’t generate too many Stasis Crystals, so you could opt to change Whisper of Shards for something else. Alternatively, you can run a weapon with Headstone. Either way, its grenade recharge buff for shattering Crystals is something to consider when altering this build yourself.
- Whisper of Bonds - Killing frozen targets gives us super energy - easy and effective.
- Whisper of Durance - Increases how long our slows last. Our goal is to slow and freeze everything in the room, so this is important.
Abilities
- Healing Rift - This build notably lacks healing - something Warlocks traditionally do well, so Healing Rift is mandatory.
- Burst Glide - Use whatever your Glide of choice is.
- Penumbral Blast - No choice on our melee (unfortunately).
- Coldsnap Grenade - Mandatory for our Exotic to work - powerful grenade in its own right, but we’ll mainly be using it for Stasis Turrets.
Destiny 2 - Best Warlock Build Gear
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Exotic Armor - Osmiomancy Gloves
Before Osmiomancy Gloves, we relied on Eye of Another World for 100% uptime on our Bleak Watcher. Now, with this Exotic, we have access to two grenades at any given time which makes that task much more manageable. This doesn’t work with Granade Kickstarter, but it does with Firepower - hence the importance of that mod.
There are a lot of Exotics that pair really well with this build, so don’t feel trapped into using Osmiomancy. It will be the most effective option of the bunch, though, when it comes to the goal of ultimate AD-control. If you’re aiming for something different with this build, you can swap it out as you see fit.
Mods
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Combat-Style Mods
- Firepower - We need to have 100% uptime on our Bleak Watchers - Firepower helps us to achieve that.
- Sustained Charge - I use this build with an Ager’s Scepter, but you can swap this out for your choice of Charge mod. Alternatively, scrap the pure Charged with Light build and spec into wells with Glacial Harvest and Elemental Shards instead of Iceflare Bolts.
- Supercharged - Fairly self-explanatory.
- Protective Light - Not nearly as powerful as it used to be, but still helpful in high-level content.
- High-Energy Fire - This is optional. The damage buff is nice, but if you’re finding yourself with no stacks left for Firepower, switch it for something else.
Non-Combat Style Mods
- Utility Kickstart - Healing Rifts are our only source of healing. This helps keep them active.
- Ammo mods of choice - If you’re using Ager’s as your primary, run all three trace rifle ammo mods. Otherwise, Ammo Finder and Scavenger for your heavy are fine.
That’s pretty much it for what we consider to be one of the best Warlock builds in Destiny 2. It’s impossible to call it the definitive best - Warlocks just have so many great options. It is one of the most versatile and powerful at all levels of content, though. Just remember that you can customize it as you see fit, no two Guardians play the same.
