What is the best Destiny 2 Hunter build? Since the release of Destiny 2 Lightfall, the latest huge expansion, the Stasis, Arc, Solar, and Void subclasses are more flexible than ever. There’s even new possibilities in the form of Strand. Here’s where our Destiny 2 Hunter build guide comes in.
That said, while the meta is the meta for a reason, it’s not the only way to play, and nor is it often the most fun. Destiny 2 has a huge array of weapons, armour, skills, subclasses, and mods to play around with, and loads more have been added with, and since Lightfall. While it would take countless hours to assemble all the possible combinations, we’ll give you a few good jumping-off points to make the best use of everyone’s favourite stabby space ninjas, alongside the best Destiny 2 weapons to use.
Destiny 2 Hunter build for PvE
The best Destiny 2 Hunter build for PvE is:
- Subclass: Stasis Revenant
- Primary stat: Mobility
- Secondary stat: Resilience
- Grenade: Duskfield
- Class ability: Gambler’s Dodge
- Aspects: Touch of Winter, Grim Harvest
- Fragments: Whisper of Rime, Whisper of Shards, Whisper of Chains, Whisper of Torment, Whisper of Conduction or Fissures
- Exotic armour: Renewal Grasps, Frost-EE5
- Weapons: Verglas Curve
- Mods: Grenade Kickstart, Armor Charge
The purpose of this Frozen Harvest build is to always have your grenade up. Grim Harvest causes frozen or slowed enemies to leave behind Stasis crystals on death, and a Duskfield Grenade will impart that status on any enemy inside its dome. The really cool part is what the Fragments do. Whisper of Rime will grant a portion of Overshield for every crystal you collect; Whisper of Shards boosts your grenade recharge rate for each one; and Whisper of Chains reduces damage taken when you’re in the vicinity of Stasis crystals.
The reason we advise Touch of Winter over the excellent Shatterdive in PvE is that, in addition to the enhanced grenade effects, the extra Fragment slot means you can slot both Whisper of Torment (recharges grenade as you take damage) and either Whisper of Conduction (draws crystals to you) or Whisper of Fissures (increases the damage and blast radius of shattered crystals).
Not only that, but Whisper of Shards triggers Ability Regeneration when you shatter a Stasis Crystal. This is also where Verglas Curve comes in, because its intrinsic perk, Hailstorm Barrage, creates a wall of Stasis Crystals to shatter for almost constant regen. Without Charged with Light mods, you’re more reliant on Orbs of Power, so go for a mod like Firepower and back it up with Distribution or Bomber.
Destiny 2 Hunter build for PvP
The best Destiny 2 Hunter build for PvP is:
- Subclass: Void Nightstalker
- Primary Stat: Mobility
- Secondary Stat: Strength
- Grenade: Suppressor
- Class Ability: Marksman’s Dodge
- Aspects: Vanishing Step, Stylish Executioner
- Fragments: Echo of Leeching, Echo of Domineering, Echo of Expulsion, Echo of Exchange
- Exotic Armour: Graviton Forfeit, Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk
- Weapons: LeMonarque, The Immortal, No Time to Explain
- Mods: Distribution, Grenade Kickstart, Energy Reinforcement
In stark contrast to the PvE build, this Phantom Menace set-up is all about using the Hunter’s enhanced mobility, penchant for invisibility, and gift for suppression and confusion to get the upper hand. A skilled Nightstalker is an absolute menace in game modes like Control and even Trials of Osiris. Suppression Grenades are great for messing with other Guardians, and Echo of Domineering maximises their effectiveness by boosting Mobility and reloading your current weapon after suppressing a target.
Echo of Leeching triggers health regen after a melee kill, which is great if you find yourself in a close-quarters encounter. Echo of Expulsion adds an explosive effect to your Void final blows, while Echo of Exchange refills grenade energy with melee kills.
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Equipping Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk gives this build an extra kick thanks to the Volatile Rounds when exiting invisibility. Volatile Rounds are incredibly strong in PvE, but in PvP turn your grouped targets into mini explosives. Perfect for clearing out close-packed groups in game modes like Control.
As for the Aspects, Vanishing Step grants invisibility on Dodge, and Stylish Executioner grants invisibility and Truesight after killing a weakened, suppressed, or volatile target. Frankly, this build is lethal when paired with certain Exotics. Gwisin Vest, for example, causes you to vanish after each Spectral Blade kill; Graviton Forfeit improves invisibility, and Gemini Jester messes with the enemy’s radar. On the whole, this build is just great fun in the Crucible. It doesn’t even matter which weapon you choose, although you’ll want to make sure you have a Void weapon in the energy slot to maximise on the Volatile Rounds.
If you’re not a fan of the Hunter’s Void subclass, then the Strand subclass offers another great PvP build for Hunters, though it’s one of the more tricky ones to get to grips with. And remember, don’t enter the competitive arenas of Crucible without the best Destiny 2 PvP weapons by your side, otherwise having the strongest Hunter build means nothing.
Destiny 2 Hunter build for general activities
The best Destiny 2 Hunter builds for general activities is:
- Subclass: Gunslinger – Blade Barrage
- Primary stat: Mobility
- Secondary stat: Resilience
- Grenade: Any
- Class Ability: Gambler’s Dodge
- Melee Ability: Knife Trick
- Aspects: Knock ‘Em Down, Gunpowder Gamble
- Fragments: Ember of Singeing, Ember of Solace, Ember of Torches
- Exotic armour: Shards of Galanor, Caliban’s Hand, The Sixth Coyote
- Weapons: Any of the best weapons, in addition to Ticuu’s Divination, Burden of Kelgorath
- Mods: Distribution, Melee Kickstart
Solar 3.0 has allowed Hunters to become even more deadly, swiftly tearing around the battlefield and dishing out heavy DPS to mow down mobs and blind enemy Guardians with crazy pyrotechnic displays.
This particular build, Searing Blade, is based entirely around endless throwing knives, scorch, and radiant. Ember of Torches makes you radiant after getting powered melee kills, which in turn refund your melee ability thanks to Knock ‘Em Down. This Aspect also adds more projectiles to Blade Barrage, which refunds a massive amount of Super energy if you’re wearing Shards of Galanor Exotic arms.
Equip the Gunpowder Gamble Aspect to add a spicy zing by charging a high-powered grenade with every Solar kill. Once ready, you’ll toss a bundle of explosives that can be shot in mid-air to do huge damage and apply stacks of scorch. It also looks as awesome as it sounds.
The Knife Trick melee is the go-to in PvE for crowds, but you may want Weighted Knife in PvP for more precision. Ideally you’ll need to keep moving, hurling knives whenever you have a guaranteed kill, and keeping your abilities on recharge with grenade kills, Gambler’s Dodge, and Solar final blows.
So there you have it for our recommendations for the best Hunter build in Destiny 2. If you’re playing on more than one class, check out our guides on the best Destiny 2 Titan build and the best Destiny 2 Warlock build to see what you should run with them.
