What is the best Destiny 2 Hunter build? Since the release of Destiny 2 Lightfall, the latest huge expansion, the Stasis, Arc, Solar, and Void subclasses are more flexible than ever. There’s even new possibilities in the form of Strand. This makes coming up with the best build in PvE and PvP quite the hurdle. Here’s where our Destiny 2 Hunter build guide comes in, to guide you in the right direction to have the strongest rogue in the galaxy.
That said, while the meta is the meta for a reason, it’s not the only way to play, and nor is it often the most fun. Destiny 2 has a huge array of weapons, armor, skills, subclasses, and mods to play around with, and loads more have been added with, and since Lightfall. While it would take countless hours to assemble all the possible combinations, we’ll give you a few good jumping-off points to make the best use of everyone’s favourite stabby space ninjas, alongside the best Destiny 2 weapons to use. With the Destiny 2 The Final Shape Supers on the way, there will be even more build options, particularly for Arc Hunters.
Destiny 2 Hunter build for PvE
The best Destiny 2 Hunter build for PvE is:
- Subclass: Nightstalker – Shadowshot Deadfall
- Primary stat: Mobility
- Secondary stat: Resilience, Discipline
- Grenade: Vortex Grenade
- Melee ability: Snarebomb
- Class ability: Gambler’s Dodge
- Aspects: Stylish Executioner, Vanishing Step
- Fragments: Echo of Instability, Echo of Reprisal, Echo of Cessation, Echo of Starvation
- Exotic armor: Orpheus Rig
- Weapons: Le Monarque, Funnelweb, Doom of Chelchis, Commemoration, any Void weapon with Destabilizing Rounds
- Mods: Void Siphon, Ashes to Assets, Firepower, Grenade Kickstart, Insulation, Innervation, Absolution, Reaper, Bomber
Hunters are often known for their sprightly nature: what they lack in survivability is made up for with mobility and deception. Well, this Void D2 Hunter build has the best of both worlds, with frequent invisibility, near endless crowd control, damage boosts, and even healing. Finding all this in a single Hunter build is a rarity, so you’re going to want to pay attention. Even better though is that this build will work wonders no matter the Season, although Seasons with Void damage mods will amp it up to 110%. We’ve been able to take on endgame content like Legend and Master Lost Sectors solo, Grandmaster Nightfalls, and even raid content using this build.
You’ll begin by casting your Super into a group of enemies to tether them together, debuffing them, and then throwing your grenade into them. This will not only trigger all your buffs, but also significantly recharge your Super already. But how is this possible? Clever gear choices and subclass upgrades – that’s how.
First up are the Aspects that will dictate the overall playstyle. Stylish Executioner makes it so defeating a weakened, suppressed, or volatile target grants invisibility and Truesight. After using Truesight to perform a Stylish Execution, your next melee while invisible will weaken targets. Not only is this Aspect largely self-sufficient, but it pairs perfectly with the rest of the build which frequently debuffs enemies, particularly with volatile. As such, you’ll be gaining the benefits of this Aspect nearly all of the time.
On the other side, Vanishing Step simply makes you invisible. It might sounds simple on the surface, but several of the Hunter’s strengths can be triggered by being invisible. In fact, you’ll need to be invisible to trigger the second effect provided by Stylish Executioner. Besides that, being invisible is a great way to catch your breath, even in endgame content.
Next come the Fragments, which build upon these Aspects. Echo of Instability is the perfect starting point, granting your Void weapons Volatile Rounds after defeating enemies with your grenades, while also granting +10 Strength. This buff is incredibly strong while also being easy to activate, and ties in nicely with the Stylish Executioner Aspect.
Echo of Reprisal, which offers Super energy after final blows when surrounded, is similarly easy to activate despite how strong the effect is.
Echo of Cessation makes it so finishers create a burst of Void damage that causes nearby enemies to become volatile. Most importantly though, it also adds an effect whereby defeating a volatile target creates a Void Breach. This is superb for getting your abilities back off cooldown to continue the carnage.
Lastly, Echo of Starvation grants an effect which triggers Devour when picking up a Void Breach of Orb of Light. In other words, Devour will have a near 100% up-time even in endgame content, letting you stay alive against all odds when combined with invisibility and smart plays.
Combined, these Aspects and Fragments go a long way in increasing overall damage by providing several buffs to yourself and debuffs on the enemy, while also causing abilities to recharge faster – including your Super. You’re able to keep the ball rolling even in endgame content where enemies are significantly more tanky. And this is only improved when taking gear into account.
By far the best Exotic armor for this Void Hunter build in PvE is the Orpheus Rig leg armor. With this Exotic, you’ll gain ability energy for each target tethered by Deadfall anchors (or gain an additional shot if using Moebius Quiver). This is great for kick starting a fight since kills with abilities like grenades trigger all the buffs and debuffs that kick everything into overdrive. Continuing the cycle, kills with abilities will recharge your Super, creating an ability loop that’s too fun and chaotic to turn down.
However, there are several alternatives that can also work if you don’t have the Orpheus Rig, including Graviton Forfeit, The Sixth Coyote, Omnioculus, and Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk.
As for weapons, we recommend Le Monarque, Funnelweb, Doom of Chelchis, Commemoration, or any Void weapon with Destabilizing Rounds. Given how valuable the Volatile Rounds effect is, you’ll want to make sure you’re using a Void weapon, and these are undoubtedly some of the best Void weapons in the game.
When it comes to mods, you can’t go wrong with Void Siphon, Ashes to Assets, Firepower, Grenade Kickstart, Insulation, Innervation, Absolution, Reaper, and Bomber. These are perfect for improving ability regeneration even further, so you’ll never be without an ability to save you in a pinch.
Destiny 2 Hunter build for PvP
The best Destiny 2 Hunter build for PvP is:
- Subclass: Nightstalker – Shadowshot Deadfall
- Primary stat: Mobility
- Secondary stat: Strength
- Grenade: Suppressor
- Melee ability: Snarebomb
- Class ability: Marksman’s Dodge
- Aspects: Vanishing Step, Stylish Executioner
- Fragments: Echo of Leeching, Echo of Domineering, Echo of Expulsion, Echo of Exchange
- Exotic armor: Graviton Forfeit, Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk
- Weapons: Le Monarque, The Immortal, No Time to Explain
- Mods: Distribution, Grenade Kickstart, Energy Reinforcement
While in other classes the best builds for PvE and PvP are radically different, the best Hunter PvP build in Destiny 2 is oddly similar to our top PvE setup, at least in terms of main abilities. It turns out getting stopped in your tracks by a tether or duked by an invisible Hunter is just as annoying to players as it must be to the many aliens in PvE.
A skilled Nightstalker is an absolute menace in game modes like Control and even Trials of Osiris, where your Shadowshot Super can be used to deactivate enemy Supers nearly instantly. Suppression Grenades are great for messing with other Guardians, and Echo of Domineering maximises their effectiveness by boosting Mobility and reloading your current weapon after suppressing a target.
Beginning with the Stylish Executioner and Vanishing Step Aspects once again, this PvP D2 Hunter build is able to swiftly outmanoeuvre enemies while also offering useful buffs and debuffs that can turn the fight in your favor. You won’t get quite the same up-time as you would in PvE, simply due to kills being few and far between compared to endgame PvE content, but they’re just as powerful.
Echo of Leeching triggers health regen after a melee kill, which is great if you find yourself in a close-quarters encounter, which will happen frequently with such a sneaky and aggressive build.
Echo of Exchange refills grenade energy with melee kills, building off of Leeching to keep the ball rolling if you can get up close.
Echo of Expulsion adds an explosive effect to your Void final blows, which is great in endgame PvP like Trials of Osiris where enemies will often be grouped together, rendering them vulnerable to these Void explosions.
Last but by no means least, Echo of Domineering is superb for keeping your enemies on the backfoot. With this Fragment, after suppressing a target, which you’ll likely do through the Suppression Grenade, will increase your mobility and reload your weapon. If you’ve got the skill to back it up, this Fragment alone is enough to take on groups of enemies in PvP.
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As for gear, equipping Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk gives this build an extra kick thanks to the Volatile Rounds when exiting invisibility. Volatile Rounds are incredibly strong in PvP, turning your grouped targets into mini explosives. Perfect for clearing out close-packed groups in game modes like Control.
Weapons are largely up to personal preference, though we recommend having the best Destiny 2 PvP weapons by your side. Void weapons are similarly beneficial to the PvP build due to Volatile Rounds, though it’s not worth using a Void weapon for the bonus effects after a kill if you’re struggling to get a kill in the first place, so start there. If you’re not using a Void weapon like Le Monarque or Funnelweb, then we suggest swapping Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk to something like Omnioculus.
On the whole, this build is just great fun in the Crucible and we’ve had great success in even endgame PvP activities thanks to the mobility and crowd control capabilities on offer. However, if you’re not a fan of the Hunter’s Void subclass, then the Strand subclass offers another great PvP build for Hunters. Check out our Destiny 2 Lightfall review to find out whether the expansion and Strand is worth picking up.
Destiny 2 Hunter build alternatives
Outside of these two best Destiny 2 Hunter build setups designed for PvE and PvP, there’s also several other great builds using other subclasses, including Strand and Solar. These are great general use builds that will work well in most activities.
The best Strand Destiny 2 Hunter build for general activities is:
- Subclass: Threadrunner – Silkstrike
- Primary stat: Mobility
- Secondary stat: Resilience
- Grenade: Grapple Grenade
- Melee ability: Threaded Spike
- Class ability: Marksman’s Dodge
- Aspects: Widow’s Silk, Whirling Maelstrom
- Fragments: Thread of Ascent, Thread of Generation, Thread of Fury, Thread of Transmutation
- Exotic armor: Cyrtarachne’s Facade
- Weapons: Quicksilver Storm, any of the best weapons, particularly Strand
- Mods: Strand Siphon, Dynamo, Heavy Handed, Impact Induction, Focusing Strike, Recuperation, Strand Surge, Reaper, Powerful Attraction, Bomber, Heavy Ammo Finder, Resistance mods, Resilience, Discipline, and Mobility stat mods
The Hunter’s Strand subclass offers up some of the most fun and engaging builds in the entire game, and this Grapple build is certainly among them. It’s not often that Grapple works so well in even endgame activities, but this Strand D2 Hunter build really is amazing. We love how fast and frenetic this setup is without sacrificing survivability or damage.
The general idea is to Grapple into foes to do a Grapple melee hit to generate Tangles that then fuel the rest of the build. As a sneaky trick that you might not know, we’ve found that if you break your Grapple early, such as by immediately pressing the aim button or reactivating the ability, and then melee, you’ll only consume half of your grenade energy. This trick is surprisingly valuable when paired with the Cyrtarachne’s Facade Exotic helmet that grands Woven Mail when activating your Grapple. This makes a massive difference to your overall survivability – a 55% damage resistance buff, in fact.
Moving onto our first Aspect in this Strand D2 Hunter build, we recommend Widow’s Silk. This grants an additional grenade charge (Grapple, in this case), while also making Grapple create a Grapple Tangle, better known as a Grapple Point. This is perfect for keeping Woven Mail buff active, especially since grappling to a Grapple Tangle won’t consume any grenade energy.
Our second Aspect, Whirling Maelstrom, is great for adding damage to this D2 Hunter build. With this, destroying a Tangle creates a deadly Strand mass that seeks out and damages targets. When enemies are killed by this effect, the Unraveling effect will be applied to nearby enemies, causing them to take additional damage. So, create as many Tangles as you can and then destroy them to unleash the Whirling Maelstrom.
As for Fragments, Thread of Ascent is one of the most important, automatically reloading your weapon and boosting handling after activating your grenade ability (Grapple), while also providing a hearty +10 Mobility stat. When paired with the Marksman’s Dodge class ability which also reloads your weapon, you’re able to alternate between these skills to almost never need to reload – perfect for boss DPS phases.
Next, we had Thread of Generation and Thread of Fury, which generate grenade energy when dealing damage and melee energy when damaging targets with a Tangle respectively. In other words, we’ll constantly be getting bonus ability energy, letting us keep the cycle going. These do, however, result in a -10 Discipline and -10 Strength stat respectively.
Last but not least is Thread of Transmutation, which brings everything together. With this, weapon final blows create a Tangle when Woven Mail is active, while also offering +10 Strength. In action, we’ve found this to be perfect in starting the ability spam in earnest as it activates almost every buffs we’ve mentioned so far.
Once you’ve got this D2 Hunter build setup up with the right armor mod, listed above, you’ll have a deadly and incredibly mobile Strand Hunter. We recommend running this with Quicksilver Storm as well for additional Strand synergy, especially thanks to Tangles and any Seasonal mods active.
The best Solar Destiny 2 Hunter build for general activities is:
- Subclass: Gunslinger – Blade Barrage
- Primary stat: Mobility
- Secondary stat: Resilience
- Grenade: Tripmine Grenade
- Melee ability: Knife Trick
- Class ability: Gambler’s Dodge
- Aspects: Knock ‘Em Down, Gunpowder Gamble
- Fragments: Ember of Singeing, Ember of Solace, Ember of Torches
- Exotic armor: Shards of Galanor, Caliban’s Hand, The Sixth Coyote
- Weapons: Any of the best weapons, in addition to Ticuu’s Divination, Burden of Kelgorath
- Mods: Distribution, Melee Kickstart, Grenade Kickstart, Armor Charge, Stacks on Stacks, Time Dilation, Bomber
Solar 3.0 has allowed Hunters to become even more deadly, swiftly tearing around the battlefield and dishing out heavy DPS to mow down mobs and blind enemy Guardians with crazy pyrotechnic displays.
This particular build, Searing Blade, is based entirely around endless throwing knives, scorch, and radiant. Ember of Torches makes you radiant after getting powered melee kills, which in turn refund your melee ability thanks to Knock ‘Em Down. This Aspect also adds more projectiles to Blade Barrage, which refunds a massive amount of Super energy if you’re wearing Shards of Galanor Exotic arms.
Equip the Gunpowder Gamble Aspect to add a spicy zing by charging a high-powered grenade with every Solar kill. Once ready, you’ll toss a bundle of explosives that can be shot in mid-air to do huge damage and apply stacks of scorch. It also looks as awesome as it sounds.
The Knife Trick melee is the go-to in PvE for crowds, but you may want Weighted Knife in PvP for more precision. Ideally you’ll need to keep moving, hurling knives whenever you have a guaranteed kill, and keeping your abilities on recharge with grenade kills, Gambler’s Dodge, and Solar final blows.
As for weapons, your best bet with be to equip powerful Solar Exotic weapons, such as Sunshot or Jotunn. Legendaries with the Incandescent perk to apply Scorch to enemies are also a great option, while leaving your Exotic slot for something else. In our opinion, you can’t beat the Calus Mini-Tool SMG with Incandescent, which leaves your Exotic slot free for an Exotic weapon like Witherhoard.
What makes a strong Destiny 2 Hunter build?
If you want to make your own Destiny 2 Hunter build, either for PvE or PvP, there’s a handful of elements we recommend keeping in mind:
- Playstyle – This should be your first consideration when making a D2 Hunter build, as this class has arguably the most diverse options. You could go a stealthy Invisibility build using Void, an agile Strand assassin, or even a team support using Void, as we suggest for the best PvE setup.
- Survivability – In both PvE and PvP, Hunters typically rely on their mobility to stay alive. However, there’s several other important ways to stay alive, such as dodging, triggering Devour with Void, or Woven Mail with Strand. These are vital to staying alive, especially in endgame activities.
- Abilities – The Hunter generally emphasises mobility in all regards. However, it’s able to dominate the battlefield with great crowd control and single-target damage as well, though you’ll need to go all-in to make the most of these setups.
- Mods – Due to these powerful abilities, you’ll want Mods that let you chain abilities, particularly in PvE where crowd control is paramount. Remember, these more often than not require you to use weapons of the same element as your subclass.
- Exotics – Consider which Exotic weapon and armor pieces synergize well with your overall build. For Shadowstalkers looking to fill a supportive role, Orpheus Rig is the obvious choice. Likewise, something like Shards of Galanor is designed with Solar in mind.
So there you have it for our recommendations for the best Hunter build in Destiny 2. If you’re playing on more than one class, check out our guides on the best Destiny 2 Titan build and the best Destiny 2 Warlock build to see what you should run with them.