Destiny 2’s Episode Heresy brought a huge shakeup to the looter shooter’s sandbox via buffs and all-new mechanics, both of which have combined to birth one of Warlock’s strongest-ever builds.
Contrary to Void, Solar, and Prismatic, Arc has been a lesser-used subclass for Destiny 2’s resident space wizards for some time. Their last meta-viable build was neutered back in 2021’s Season of the Lost by way of substantial nerfs to Geomag Stabilizers.
Episode Heresy has restored glory to the Exotic with a reworked Intrinsic and added functionality that not only makes the subclasses’ Chaos Reach Super worth using once more but synergizes perfectly with a long-forgotten Exotic Fusion Rifle.
Geomag Stabilizers & Delicate Tomb – A match made in heaven
Before breaking down how the build works, here are the reworked perks for Geomags and Delicate Tomb as of Heresy.
- Close Enough: Damaging targets with Chaos Reach extends its duration. Collecting Ionic Traces grants you energy for Chaos Reach. Sprinting while near max Bolt Charge will grant stacks over time.
- Traitor’s Vessel: Fires a wide horizontal spread when shot from the hip. Final blows with this weapon have a chance to generate Ionic Traces. Powerful foes and opposing Guardians always generate Ionic Traces.
- Tempest Cascade: Collecting an Ionic Trace overcharges this weapon’s next shot, jolting targets on hit.
The gameplay loop here is simple. Delicate Tomb’s ability to mass produce Ionic Traces feeds directly into Geomag’s main benefit of granting Super energy – 7%, to be precise – each time one of the former is collected.
With Powerful foes guaranteed to grant a Trace – rank-and-file enemies still have a chance of generating them, too – Chaos Reach’s uptime will be massively improved but not yet infinite. You’ll need the right Aspects and Fragments to see you over the finish line.
Aspects & Fragments – S-Tier neutral game
In addition to making your Super charge even faster, equipping specific Fragments and Aspects will vastly expand the functionality of Ionic Traces, granting increased movement speed and damage reduction through Amplified.
Likewise, Geomags also build Bolt Charge – a new Arc-exclusive verb that delivers a burst of damage upon reaching max stacks, so using Ionic Sentry is highly recommended. Here’s everything you’ll want to have equipped:
Aspects
- Electrostatic Mind: Defeating targets with Arc abilities or defeating jolted or blinded targets creates an Ionic Trace. Collecting an Ionic Trace makes you amplified.
- Ionic Sentry: Defeat targets with Kinetic or Arc weapons or Arc abilities to charge up an Arc turret that periodically chains lightning between nearby targets, granting a stack of Bolt Charge with each hit.
Fragments
- Spark of Beacons: While you are amplified, your Arc Special or Heavy ammo weapon final blows create a blinding explosion.
- Spark of Shock: Your Arc grenades jolt targets.
- Spark of Discharge: Arc weapon final blows have a chance to create an Ionic Trace.
- Spark of Frequency: Melee hits increase your equipped weapon’s reload speed and stability for a short duration.
The Electrostatic Mind and Ionic Sentry Aspects are key components of the build.It’s worth noting that Fragments such as Spark of Beacons and Shock, aren’t necessary for this build to work, so feel free to swap these out based on preference.
Likewise, if you’re not a big fan of Delicate Tomb, Coldheart is a viable alternative as it’s also able to generate Ionic Traces. We didn’t test the Trace Rifle, however, so we can’t vouch for how it compares to Delicate Tomb.
Looking for more meta suggestions for Episode Heresy? Read all about Redrix’s Estoc and Joxer’s Longsword, two ultra-strong Pulse Rifles absolutely worth farming for.
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