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Arc - Arcstrider
Solar - Gunslinger
Stasis - Revenant
Void - Nightstalker
Destiny 2 season 18 has brought us Arc 3.0, the final rework to the game's core subclasses. And that makes this a great time to look at all the best Crucible builds for each Class.
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Related: Destiny 2 Weapon Crafting Tutorial Quest Guide
In this guide we're going to take you through the best PVP builds for each Hunter Subclass, along with the best weapons and exotics to give you the competitive edge.
Arc - Arcstrider
Arc 3.0 brought back a once-iconic Nightstalker ability, Blink, as an Arcstrider ability, and with this subclass' focus on aggressive play in melee range, this build will use Blink to let you get up in your opponent's face.
Key Stats to build for: Mobility, Recovery, Strength
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For your super run Arcstaff is a great roaming super. Use Marksman's Dodge because it has a lower cooldown, which helps your neutral play. As mentioned, this build uses Blink as its jump. If you are not used to running Blink it can feel incredibly strange and clunky. I would highly recommend spending some time in PVE patrol zones to get used to it. A key use of it in this build is to Blink behind or above opponents, so this is something you can focus on in practice. For Melee, Combination Blow is your best option because its low cooldown and on-kill health restore can save your life very frequently. For grenades, your best option is Flux Grenade. Aspects: Lethal Current and Flow Stats. Fragments: Beacons, Resistance, Recharge, and Feedback all give strong stat boosts and make you into a melee-range God.
Some kind of Shotgun is almost mandatory for this build, as you have so many ways to outmaneuver and kill your opponents in close quarters. The Chaperone is a fantastic exotic Slug shotty, or Wastelander, Riiswalker, or Without Remorse for Legendary options. You can pair this with an SMG or Hand Cannon of your choice.
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Gemini Jesters are a powerful Exotic option for this build, as dodging will disorient and remove Radar from nearby foes (actually the range on this effect is probably bigger than you think), meaning you will have even more of an advantage up close. Wormhusk Crown is another strong option, its healing often gives you the edge to win 1-on-1 duels. Stompees will enhance your all round neutral game but do not synergize with this build directly.
Solar - Gunslinger
Gunslinger has one of the best roaming supers among Hunter subclasses, and its other abilities support a variety of playstyles. In this build, we're going to focus on the extremely powerful Tripmine grenades.
Key Stats to build for: Mobility, Recovery, Discipline
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For your super, select Golden Gun: Deadshot, which is a fantastic roaming super that we'll be increasing the duration of with our Aspects. Marksman's Dodge is our best option for its all-round neutral game benefits. For Melee, you can use either Weighted Throwing Knife, which can OHKO on criticals, or Proximity Explosive Knife, which is like another Tripmine. Your Grenade must be Tripmine Grenade. This is the cornerstone of the build and there are multiple uses for them, from blocking zones and corridors to punishing shotgun rushers. Aspects: Knock 'Em Down and On Your Mark. Fragments: Beams, Combustion, Eruption, Searing, Singeing. These fragments will power up your key stats while giving you Class and Melee Energy from your Scorch effects.
Weapon choice can be down to you, but any weapons carrying the Demolitionist perk will directly synergize with the build. You can also run Bomber mods on your armor to give you more grenade energy. The key Exotic for this build is Young Ahamkara's Spine. This enhances the damage and damage radius of your Tripmines. It also refunds 33% grenade energy every time you deal damage with an ability. If you are clever with your grenade placement you can be throwing out and exploding Tripmines very frequently.
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Related: Destiny 2 Witch Queen: How To Complete Reshaping the Enigma Quest
Stasis - Revenant
Revenant may have lost some of its insane power from its early days, but this build still gives a huge amount of map control and damage potential by using its powerful Duskfield grenades.
Key Stats to build for: Mobility, Recovery, Discipline
Use Marksman's Dodge for this build. Your Grenade should be Duskfield Grenade. These have a large radius Slow effect that also gives you a Stasis Crystal improving your resilience, and that can be broken for Grenade Energy. Your Fragments will further enhance all of these effects, giving you powerful map control and making you very hard to kill. Aspects: Shatterdive, Touch of Winter. Shatterdive is not quite the dominant ability it used to be, but it still does great damage and gives you powerful close mobility.
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Fragments: Whisper of Chains, Shards, Durance. Refraction or Rime are also good options. All your fragments are designed to synergize with your slowing abilities and the stasis crystals you spawn.
This build mostly plays at mid to close range, so Sidearms like Forerunner and Peacebond, SMGs, and Hand Cannons are great weapons to use.
Mask of Bakris has excellent synergy with this build for its mobility boost and to do 10% increased damage to opponents you have slowed with your grenades and abilities.
Void - Nightstalker
Arguably the best current Hunter subclass in top-level Crucible, Nightstalker has a number of incredible tools at its disposal, with Invisibility the standout. Whether it's Trials or 6's, Invis continues to give Hunters a huge edge in PVP, where getting the jump on enemies is often enough to secure a kill. This build is a Trials favorite maximizing the value of your Smoke Bomb.
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Key Stats to build for: Mobility, Recovery, Strength
We start with Shadowshot: Deadfall as our Super. This has a low enough cooldown that you can reliably get it in longer matches, and its ability to Suppress and Tether can be absolutely critical to secure point captures or teamkills. Dodge for this build can be either Marksman's or Gambler's. The first is better for neutral play and more frequent personal Invisibility, the second will let you more frequently apply Invis to teammates. The melee for this build must be Snare Bomb. Aspects: Select Trapper's Ambush and Vanishing Step. This will let you use your smoke bomb to Invis teammates and let you go Invisible on Dodge. Fragments: Echo of Persistence will give you increased duration on your Invis effects. You can offset the mobility penalty with other fragments like Dilation. Echoes of Leeching, Domineering, and Instability are also useful.
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Weapons for this build can be quite flexible. You can rush down enemies with a shotgun or use your invisibility to get favorable long-range kills with Snipers or weapons like Lorentz Driver. Khepri's Sting is one of the most popular Exotic Armor options. This will give you Truesight (wall hacks) when you cast your Smoke Bomb on yourself to give you and your teammates invisibility. It also insta-casts Smoke Bomb when you hit an opponent in melee, letting you finish off a disoriented opponent or run to safety. Gryfalcon's Hauberk is a new exotic that has immediately become one of the best Nightstalker options, as it provides a 15% damage buff when you go invisible.
Next: Destiny 2 Season of Plunder: How To Find Ruffians