My first impression of Arc 3.0 as a Warlock main in Destiny 2 was a little underwhelming. There doesn’t seem to be as much build complexity as Void or Solar gave us, but Arc still has some fun new options to play around with. Here’s an Arc 3.0 Warlock build that’s all about using charged melee attacks and finishers to clear out enemies in PVE. I’ll give you the basic build, then run down the logic.
- Exotic Armor: Felwinter’s Helm
- Weapons: Delicate Tomb, Coldheart, or Monte Carlo
- Combat Mods: Melee Wellmaker, Elemental Charge, Overcharge Wellmaker, Well of Ions, Reactive Pulse
- Other Mods: Hands-On (x2), Special Finisher (optional)
- Artifact Mods: Amped Up
- Fragments: Spark of Volts, Spark of Beacons, Spark of Resistance, Spark of Feedback (once it’s unlocked)
- Aspects: Electrostatic Mind and either of the other two
Yes, we’re not using an Arc Exotic for this Arc 3.0 Warlock build. There are some good ones, including the new Fallen Sunstar helm. But to maximize the potential of our finishers and melee attacks, we’re rolling Felwinter’s Helm. This Exotic makes our powered melee attacks and finishers create a weakening burst that makes surrounding enemies more susceptible to damage.
The combination of mods here is designed to improve our finishers and powered melee abilities, while also keeping the latter available as much as possible. I’d totally forgotten that Overcharge Wellmaker existed, but it generates two Elemental Wells on a finisher. We’ve also got Melee Wellmaker to generate wells on melee kills. Collecting an Elemental Well will also net you Charged With Light, which we’re using to get Reactive Pulse, mainly for its secondary benefit — giving us an overshield while activating our finisher. Well of Ions gives you a 30% damage buff to your melee, but it only works on Chain Lightning, so we’ll be using that.
For weapons, you could really use anything with Swashbuckler and/or the new perk Pugilist, but two great options for an energy weapon are Coldheart or the new Delicate Tomb fusion rifle. Both of these generate Ion Traces, which will help recharge our melee. Both of those weapons also work with Spark of Beacons, which helps with crowd control while you’re Amplified.
Electrostatic Mind is, pardon the pun, a no-brainer for this build. As for the other Aspect, it’s kind of a toss-up. Lightning Surge would seem to make more sense, but I haven’t really figured out the feel of it yet, and Arc Souls are always great.
When this build is all set up, executing a finisher will create a pulse of weakening energy, trigger Amplified, create two Elemental Wells, and give you special ammo if you have Special Finisher equipped. Collecting an Elemental Well gives you Charged With Light, increases the damage of your next melee attack, and deploys an overshield on your next finisher.
Is this a practical build? Probably not for high-level content, where getting up in the face of your foes is typically a recipe for death. But it’s fun to play around with in general PVE, and I could see it being useful for add clear in Raids and Dungeons as well. Let me know what you think and what kinds of Arc 3.0 Warlock builds you’ve been creating so far in the comments below.
