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Best Hunter Arc 3.0 PvE builds - Destiny 2

Best Hunter builds for the Arc 3.0 subclass in Destiny 2, including an end-game build and fun PvE build to ride the Hunter lightning.

Rise of Bacon

September 2, 2022 3:00 PM

Bungie

3

We are now two weeks deep into Season of Plunder and the latest subclass rework in Destiny 2, Arc 3.0. Not all of the subclass' Fragments launched on day one, instead, they released following the completion of the reprised King's Fall raid. With the full arsenal now in our hands this has presented great new builds to bring the thunder with Arc 3.0 and establish fun playstyles and powerful builds.

Now that I’ve had time to get to grips with Arc 3.0, here are my personal two best Hunter builds so far. The fun build I have pieced together I have titled ‘Thunder Punch’ and the end-game build ‘Spectral Shock’ to show the difference between the two. These builds will include all mods and elemental armor used to re-create these yourself if you wish to give them a try. Both take advantage of the new and powerful Hunter Super Ability, Gathering Storm.

The builds listed below are predominately PvE builds that focus on that gameplay aspect with how they work and how to get the best results out of them.

Thunder Punch

This build revolves around punching and dodging. We’re the Titans now. The best part of this for me is the combination. Your melee gets stronger as you punch and defeat enemies, then you dodge to get the charge back and you keep going until Combination Blow hits a x3 stack. Before you know it you’re amplified, producing your own Orbs of Power and basically becoming nearly unstoppable.

Due to the up-close nature, I would recommend a Resilience stat of 100 for a 40 percent damage reduction while you get in your enemies’ faces. That applies to both ‘Thunder Punch’ and ‘Spectral Shock’ builds listed here. However, if you can’t hit that right away, there is an Arc 3.0 fragment that can help, which will be explained momentarily. Please note, if you haven’t done so already you must visit Ikora to unlock all Grenades and Fragments for the subclass as some pieces listed here are from Ikora rather than the base setup. This build also relies upon two of the Combat Mod types:

• Charged with Light mods
• Elemental Well mods

If you don't have Star-Eater Scales, visit our Legend/Master Lost Sector rotation guide to get them. For now, though, Bombardiers will work. With Arc, this Exotic blinds upon dodge which helps to keep you alive when surrounded by big mobs of enemies. Font of Might will be connected to Arc weapons so you can synergize this with your weapon loadout also for maximum damage. I used Salvager’s Salvo, Forbearance, Riskrunner, and Trinity Ghoul as notable Arc weapons to pair up with.

Now you have the tools, it’s time to show your talent. The premise around the build is that Combination Blow has as much up time after each kill as possible while every kill is contributing to Charged with Light and Elemental Wells, enhancing your Super Ability damage, Arc weapon damage, and restoring your dodge and abilities quickly. If it’s not your melee that’s buffed, your weapons are. You can also dodge when near an enemy and then use your Combination Blow melee to set off Lethal Current, which will chain to surrounding enemies as well as use your Combination Blow charge, starting you on the path of lightning destruction.

Your grenade choice can be preference, as Storm and Pulse grenades are very effective at what they do with their area damage. The same goes for your jump if you prefer something other than Triple Jump. The constants should be your Fragments, Aspects and Super Ability.

Every melee kill with your charged Combination Blow melee or with Lethal Current can produce Arc wells due to Melee Wellmaker x2. When collected, High-Energy Fire kicks in for a 20 percent weapon damage buff that only reduces for every kill. This does not include melee kills, so if you see a boss or chunky major, you can lay down some fire with the bonus. Don’t kill them with weapon damage because we are using Spark of Volts, which means if you use your Finisher on them, you will become Amplified for 15 seconds while keeping your Charged with Light stacks for further weapon damage. Font of Might, which stacks with High-Energy Fire, adds another 25 percent damage buff to Arc weapon damage. Once you have your Gathering Storm ready, Spark of Amplitude is now feeding Star-Eater Scales’ Feast of Light buff, which stacks up to x4 and will only be used if you use your Super Ability, get teleported to your fireteam, or die before you get the chance.

All these things connect and build to do solid damage in close quarters while also delivering strong damage output buffs for weapons, Gathering Storm, and the Combination Blow melee. Every charged melee kill can be a massive source of damage. Keep in mind Combination Blow stacks up to x3 and that’s when it’s at the height of its powers.

Some will suggest Liar’s Handshake as a good choice here, but it only shines paired with a Shotgun with the 1-2 Punch perk. I prefer the looseness in weapon combo here as you can use any Arc weapon to be effective. Consider the Seasonal Exotic, Delicate Tomb, as the Ionic Traces it produces can also help restore your abilities. Thunderlord is another solid choice for an Arc weapon to pair this build with.

Spectral Shock

A benefit of these builds is there is no mass changing of loadouts between each one. You can use the table from the first build to construct this one. The reason is that it’s only really the armor that needs to change. Specifically, the Helmet. We drop the Exotic Leg Armor for Assassin's Cowl, an Exotic Helmet which allows us to go invisible with melee kills. Many will have used a similar build with Void 3.0 and Solar 3.0, but Assassin's Cowl cannot be ignored for what it can bring to the table with Arc 3.0.

Keep all your Super Abilities, Fragments, and Aspects the same with this build. The key to this build is in the Exotic perk Vanishing Execution, which provides the following: “Powered melee final blows grant invisibility and restore a portion of health and shields. Finishers and final blows against more powerful targets increase the duration of invisibility and the amount of health and shields restored.”

Now pair this with the subclass and mod setup, and we have a build that can navigate sticky situations in end-game content effectively while also staying safe and keeping your health bar from being tested. In harder content, keeping your resilience stats over 100 are vital for your survivability.

The utility of it is much the same as Thunder Punch, only this time every time you take down an enemy, you’re not only beefing up Combination Blow and producing wells, you’re feeding your health and shields back while also going invisible to creep up to the next victim. Using your Arc weapon to reduce health down with the Font of Might boost, hit them with a finisher or continue to roll with Combination Blow x3 for big damage.

I still like the move to produce Orbs of Power here because in certain scenarios, having Gathering Storm ready can be a life saver, and the orbs will help you get your Super Ability back quickly. Dodging and then getting Lethal Current kills will also still cause you to go invisible. Always remember to dodge near enemies if you need to restore your charged Combination Blow.

These are my favourite builds to play with in Season of Plunder. I tinkered and tweaked but I keep coming back to these two specifically. The reason I split them is only because the utility of Assassins Cowl isn’t fully needed in lighter activities. I hope they find you well, Guardian, and be sure to let me know your thoughts, or even what builds you’ve been using so far this season. Be sure to check out the Shacknews Destiny 2 strategy guide for all our other Destiny 2 advice and guide articles for the new season and more.

Rise of Bacon

Contributing Editor

RiseOfBacon is a Redditor, vinyl collector, craft beer enthusiast, and lover of all things sports and gaming. Most frequently seen on r/DestinyTheGame either posting guides or in the comment section offering tips, advice, and sharing stories of Destiny triumphs and god roll chasing. Catch up with him on Reddit or Twitter using @RiseOfBacon to talk all things Destiny2.