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While some parts of the Warlock’s kit have been effectively gutted (such as bottom-tree Dawnblade), other parts have been expanded upon and changed. An immense focus has been put on mobility, with a whopping two out of three Warlock Solar aspects dealing with mobility. Here’s how Warlocks can build around Solar 3.0 in Destiny 2.
Solar Abilities, Aspects & Fragments
Much like Void and Stasis, players will now be able to tailor their Solar subclass to fit their wants and needs, whether it be PVE or PVP. At the time of writing this guide, Bungie has yet to allow access to a few extra fragments, but these missing parts most likely won’t significantly change the way Warlock builds will be made. Here’s what stands out in each new ability category.
Solar Class Abilities
Players can now access all class abilities regardless of Super, including the special bottom-tree Phoenix Dive, which can be interesting to pair up with a Well of Radiance build. Phoenix Dive also Cures nearby allies, and is Heat Rises is active, it scorches enemies, and Restores the player. The Rift abilities remain largely the same.
Solar Melees
In the melee department, players can choose between the classic Celestial Fire melee, a favorite of top-tree Dawnblade Warlocks, as well as a brand-new melee called the Incinerator Snap. In stylish fashion, Warlocks can snap their fingers and set targets on fire, scorching them. Celestial Fire still remains the more consistent melee out of the two, with better range, making it ideal for any Elemental Well builds that rely on Melee Wellmaker mods.
Solar Grenades
New in this category are Incendiary, Tripmine, Thermite, and Swarm Grenades. The Healing Grenade from middle-tree Dawnblade is also its own grenade now, making it the weakest choice as players will need to trade off their main offensive ability.
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The strongest choices remain the good old Solar Grenade and Fusion Grenade, especially when paired with the Touch of Flame aspect.
Solar Aspects
Warlocks can now choose from three different aspects: Touch of Flame, Heat Rises, and Icarus Dash. For PVP, players will want to prioritize Heat Rises and Icarus Dash, and for PVE Warlocks, Heat Rises and Touch of Flame are a must-have.
Touch of Flame: Grenades receive additional functionalities. For example, Solar Grenades now emit bursts of lava, and Fusion Grenades explode twice instead of once. Heat Rises: Allows Warlocks to consume their grenade to float in the air and remain airborne while using their abilities and weapons. Kills while airborne increase the duration and charge melee ability. Icarus Dash: Warlocks can dodge while in the air, and if Heat Rises is active, players receive two dodges.
Of these, Icarus Dash is by far the weakest with the least versatility.
Solar Fragments
Not all fragments are out quite yet, but there are a few that players should absolutely try as early as this in the season. These fragments have been showcased by Esoterickk in his solo Duality run, and are excellent for Warlocks looking to survive for a long time and deal with enemies at a close range.
Ember of Eruption: Solar ignitions have a larger eruption. Ember of Searing: Killing scorched targets charges grenade energy. Ember of Wonder: Rapid multikills with Solar ignitions drop Orbs of Power. Ember of Ashes: Players apply more scorch stacks to targets.
Another approach that players can try was showcased by gmeiners in his impressive Solar 3.0 Warlock build guide, which allows players to spam nearly infinite Solar Grenades. These are the fragments he recommends in his guide:
Ember of Searing: Killing scorched targets charges grenade energy. Ember of Torches: Powered melee hits apply the Radiant damage buff on the player and nearby allies. Ember of Blistering: Killing targets with Solar ignitions grants grenade energy. Ember of Ashes: Players apply more scorch stacks to targets.
Based on this, Searing and Ashes are two very powerful fragments. But there are also some honorable mentions, some of which are not yet available:
Ember of Eruption: Ignitions have an increased area of effect. Ember of Char: Ignitions spread scorch to enemies. Ember of Solace: Increased duration of restoration and Radiant buffs.
The Ember of Char is likely to be this season’s equivalent of Volatile, which will create some type of Solar explosion. It remains to be seen how well it pairs up once players can unlock it.
Solar Supers
Not much is new for Warlocks when it comes to Supers. There’s a choice between Daybreak and Well of Radiance, but keep in mind that certain features that existed for these Supers previously are now locked behind fragments.
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For example, Daybreak’s tracking has been nerfed and hits no longer extend its duration. Meanwhile, Well of Radiance no longer provides Overshield, but its overall damage negation has been increased.
Mods & Artifact Mods
Elemental Well mods continue to be quite powerful this season, and Solar does come with its own nice flavor, mostly focused on ability regeneration and healing. A few regular mods to keep an eye out for:
All Elemental Well Mods: Both general (Elemental Ordnance, Melee Wellmaker), and Solar (like Bountiful Wells, Well of Life, and Well of Ordnance). Some Orb Of Power Mods: Taking Charge, High Energy Fire, but also Innervation, Recuperation, and Orb-making mods like Harmonic Siphon.
The artifact for season 17 has some fairly interesting Solar mods, but most of them are locked in the final column, so it will take some time for players to farm them. Here are a few to look out for:
Withering Heat: Solar abilities weaken Champions. Great for PVE modes that have loads of Champions. Classy Restoration: Using Solar class abilities regenerates health. Radiant Orbs: Picking up Orbs of Power grants the Radiant damage buff. Rays Of Precision: Solar precision final blows ignite targets while the player has the Radiant damage buff. Solar Fulmination: Ignitions do more damage and have an improved radius.
Weapons & Gear
While it’s still early in the season and balance changes are looming on the horizon, there are a few early favorites in terms of weapons and Exotic gear that Warlocks should focus on getting to get the most out of Solar 3.0.
For Exotics, some must-haves are:
Sunbracers: The absolute go-to for any Solar grenade-spam build. Solar Grenades last longer, and Solar melee kills give unlimited grenade energy for a short time. Starfire Protocol: Fusion Grenades have another charge, and gain charge from empowered weapon damage. Kills with Fusion Grenades grant Rift energy. Rain Of Fire: New Exotic introduces in season 17, dodging while airborne reloads weapons and improves fusions and linear fusions. Final blows with these weapons grant the Radiant buff.
Other good (but not mind-blowing) Exotics that are staples in Solar builds are Exotics that pair well with Well of Radiance, such as Lunafaction Boots, Phoenix Protocol, and The Stag.
In terms of weapons, players should invest in a Solar Energy weapon that will significantly improve the effectiveness of any of their Solar Elemental Well builds. Those lucky enough to have the Vex Mythoclast can pair it quite nicely with some Solar builds, and in particular with the new Rain of Fire Warlock Exotic. There are also tons of great Legendary Solar Energy weapons, and Season of the Haunted even introduced a few good new ones. Here’s what to keep an eye on:
Ogma PR6 Pulse Rifle Stars In Shadow Pulse Rifle Vision of Confluence Scout Rifle Staccato-46 Scout Rifle CALUS Mini-Tool
For heavy weapons, the DPS meta is still somewhat open. Rockets are seeing less and less use, and so far, the Duality dungeon’s Stormchaser linear fusion rifle has emerged as a DPS king. However, players looking for Solar options, in particular, can focus on trying to get a Cataclysmic from the Vow of the Disciple raid, which also has decent damage, though not as good as the Stormchaser’s.
Destiny 2 is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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