Spread ignitions with the new Crackshot Aspect for Hunters
With the final major content update of Destiny 2 comes new abilities for Guardians to take advantage of while facing off against the foes of humanity. One of these is the Crackshot Aspect for the Gunslinger Hunter subclass that fires three scorching shots when performing a dodge, dealing damage to enemies and healing players if all three shots land. This new ability is a fun addition to the Gunslinger kit, and powerful when used correctly. This Crackshot Hunter build guide aims to take full advantage of this with dodge ability uptime, chaining ignitions, and lots of sustained damage.
Solar Hunter At A Glance:
- Exotic Weapon: Dragon’s Breath
- Exotic Armor: Speedloader Slacks
- Key Aspect: Crackshot
- Gameplay Loop: Use sustained damage to build class ability energy with Speedloader Slacks, then use Crackshot to heal and ignite enemies.
Best Weapons
The best exotic weapon to use is Dragon’s Breath, a rocket launcher that embeds rockets into enemies and continuously scorches them. This scorch builds along with scorch from abilities to deal heavy single-target damage in the form of continuous ignitions. This sustained damage refunds class ability energy thanks to the Speedloader Slacks Exotic Legs. Players who do not have this weapon can acquire it from the Seasonal Archive in the Tower.
As for other weapons, this build thrives when using Area Denial Frame Grenade Launchers. Equipping one in the kinetic slot allows for a lot of sustained damage against groups of small energies or one large enemy, which speeds up class ability regeneration with Speedloader Slacks. Some good options to keep in mind are Festival Flight from the Tenet of Bravery in the tower and Ouster Engine from Pinnacle Ops activities.
In the energy slot, players should equip a Solar weapon with the Incandescent or Burning Ambition perks to help with spreading scorch and causing ignitions. Using a primary weapon or a second special weapon in this spot are both available options, and are up to player preference. Some good options to search for are Luna’s Howl from Onslaught activities and Yeartide Apex from the Tenet of Bravery.
Best Armor
The Speedloader Slacks are key to unlocking the full potential of Crackshot. The main benefit this armor piece provides is that sustained damage restores class ability energy. Area Denial Frame Grenade Launchers and Dragon’s Breath both deal sustained damage without continuously firing them, which fully restores the class ability in a matter of seconds. Dodging also reloads all weapons and increases handling and reload speed for nearby players. This allows the build to repeatedly rotate between damage with Crackshot and sustained weapon damage quickly. For groups of enemies, fire the grenade launcher to build up class ability energy, dodge to reload it and use Crackshot, and repeat. For bosses, add firing Dragon’s Breath into the rotation to deal more damage with ignitions.
The best armor set to use is the Seventh Seraph set, which is the Destination armor set from the Cosmodrome. With two pieces of this armor equipped, kills with Crackshot, other Solar abilities, and ignitions grant Warmind Charges that increase players’ Weapons and Grenade stats. With four pieces of Seventh Seraph armor, defeating powerful combatants and constructs deals Solar damage to nearby enemies and heals nearby players, helping with survivability. These armor set bonuses benefit the player wearing the armor as well as nearby allies, so it works well in PvE content with multiple fireteam members.
The most important armor stats to focus are Class first, then Weapons, and finally Melee. When the Class stat is above 100, it grants a small overshield when dodging and increases Crackshot’s damage. The Weapons stat allows weapons to deal more damage, and increasing this stat past 100 grants an increasing chance of ammo bricks containing extra rounds, granting more ammo to the build’s grenade launcher and Dragon’s Breath. The Melee stat determines how much energy is refunded by the Gambler’s Dodge class ability, so it needs to be as high as possible.
For armor mods, each armor piece should be masterworked in order to reach 11 armor mod energy. Each piece should equip a three-cost stat mod of whatever stats need the increase the most, except for the Chest Armor, which will run a one-cost stat mod. All other mods will be listed below:
- Head: Dynamo, Powerful Friends, Solar Siphon
These mods produce Super energy when dodging, and providing Orbs of Power from Solar weapon kills. Picking up an Orb of Power will grant nearby allies Armor Charge. - Arm: Heavy Handed, Focusing Strike, Melee Font
Melee ability final blows create Orbs of Power and restore class ability energy. Melee Font will increase the Melee stat with Armor Charge. - Chest: Charged Up, Sniper Damage Resistance, Concussive Dampener
These mods increase the maximum stats of Armor Charge available, while resisting damage from enemy explosive damage and sniper damage. - Leg: Insulation, Better Already, Stacks on Stacks
Collecting Orbs of Power grant class ability energy and start health restoration while giving an extra stack of Armor Charge. - Class: Class Font, Powerful Attraction, Reaper
Dodging will cause the next enemy defeated to drop an Orb of Power while picking up all nearby Orbs of Power. Class Font will increase the Class stat when Armor Charge is active.
Best Subclass Loadout
This build uses the Gunslinger Hunter Subclass. The Super of choice is Blade Barrage for its high single-target burst damage and ability to scorch. The Gambler’s Dodge class ability and Knife Trick melee ability to repeatedly throw scorching knives at enemies The grenade is up to player preference, as it is not integral to the build. Some good options are Healing Grenade for emergency healing or Solar Grenade for sustained damage.
The Aspects utilized are Crackshot and On Your Mark. Crackshot is the center of this build, and fires three scorching shots at marked enemies. Speedloader Slacks allows this to be done repeatedly within a short period of time, clearing out large groups of small enemies or building up lots of scorch on larger enemies. To get the most out of each use of Crackshot, wait to use it unless three smaller enemies are marked, or one larger enemy who will survive all three shots. On Your Mark provides a buff to nearby Guardians’ reload speed and Weapons stat when the class ability is used. It stacks up to 10 times, and at 10 stacks, final blows cure the player, healing them.
Uses the following Fragments for better ability uptime, spreading buffs to allies, and spreading scorch:
- Ember of Torches: Powered melee attacks provide radiant, which increases damage.
- Ember of Singeing: Scorching targets recharges the class ability faster.
- Ember of Char: Ignitions spread scorch to affected targets.
- Ember of Empyrean: Solar weapon and ability final blows extend radiant and restoration buffs applied to the player.
- Ember of Benevolence: Applying solar buffs to allies grants increased ability regeneration for a short duration.
Torches grants the radiant buff to all nearby players. Empyrean extends it while Benevolence increases ability recharge for applying it to allies. Singeing helps with class ability uptime, and Char spreads scorch passively when enemies ignite.
Best Artifact and Loadout
Queensfoil Censer is the best fit for the artifact, focusing on its Solar and rocket launcher synergies.
Solar Synergies:
- Heart of the Flame: Casting a Solar Super grants radiant and increased Super damage to the player and nearby allies
Kindling Trigger: Radiant causes Solar weapons to apply scorch to combatants without scorch. - Fever and Chill: Rapid Solar weapon precision hits grant radiant.
- Revitalizing Blast: Stunning a Champion causes it to ignite and clears the player’s stun shield.
- Rays of Precision: While radiant, Solar precision final blows cause combatants to ignite.
Rocket Launcher Synergies:
- Wished Into Being: While the player’s Super is close to fully charged, ability final blows spawn multiple Orbs of Power.
- Argent Ordinance: Firing a rocket launcher consumes a stack of Armor Charge, giving it increased damage and reload speed until it is reloaded or stowed.
For players who want to try the Destiny 2: Monument of Triumph Solar Hunter Build, there is a lot to go and check out in game. Quickly regain class ability energy to spread scorch and ignite enemies with Crackshot. The Cull’s Shadow Exotic quest guide shows how to get the final Exotic weapon added to Destiny 2 in a new secret mission. Players getting back into the game who are looking to increase their power level quickly should check out the Edge of Fate power leveling guide.