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Best Destiny 2 Classes and Subclasses right now [Season 19]

by | Jan 18, 2023

As you start to get serious with the game and you decide that it’s time to tackle more difficult content, one of the first questions you’ll have is: What is the best Class in Destiny 2 right now?

This is a difficult question to tackle, and the answer will vary depending on whether you’re talking about PvE, PvP, endgame, casual content, etc. Still,

Still, with the combined experience of the entire team, we go over the best classes and subclasses for PvE and PvP as of Season 19.

Best Class in Destiny 2 for PvE

We recently reviewed and ranked all the Subclasses for Hunters, Titans, and Warlocks. When combining all the different reviews, these are, according to the entire BlueberriesGG team, the best classes/subclasses for PvE ahead of Lightfall:

--SubclassElementTierTrendAreaRank
PvE Dawnblade Solar Warlock DawnbladeSolar Solar
Best

S

-PvES › Best
PvE Nightstalker Void Hunter buildNightstalkerVoid Void
Best

S

-PvES › Best
PvE Striker Titan Arc 3.0 featuredStrikerArc Arc
Strong

A

-PvEA › Strong

 

Warlock Solar 3.0 featured

1. Warlock Dawnblade (Solar 3.0)

A subclass primarily used for support, Dawnblade fills its lack of ad clear and boss damage with some of the most powerful buffs in the game. Radiant provides a whopping 25% increase to damage, and Restoration provides continuous health regeneration even through damage.

Well of Radiance and Lunafaction Boots or Boots of the Assembler open some unique support opportunities. Still, most of this subclass’ popularity comes from Starfire Protocol and its unique infinite Fusion Grenade potential.

While Dawnblade isn’t necessarily as versatile as Voidwalker, it is still excellent at what it does and has some unique synergies in Starfire Protocol and Incandescent.

Preferred Exotic: Starfire Protocol is inarguably the best exotic for Dawnblade right now. However, depending on your build, Boots of the Assembler or Lunafaction Boots can be utilized too.

ArmorClassTypeRequirementsSourceReleasedRequiresExotic Perk
Starfire Protocol Warlock Exotic Destiny 2 art

Starfire Protocol

WarlockChestFree-to-PlayExotic EngramsSeason 1Free to Play Destiny 2 icon
Free-to-Play
Exotic Perk: "Fusion Grenades have an additional charge and recharge from empowered weapon damage. Fusion Grenade kills grant Rift energy."

Preferred Aspects and Fragments:

  • Aspects: All three Dawnblade Aspects have heavy pros and cons that come with them. However, Touch of Flame and Heat Rises are generally the most useful.
  • Fragments: Ember of Empyrean, Ember of Solace, Ember of Ashes, Ember of Torches.

Preferred Abilities and Stats:

  • Stats: Recovery, Resilience, Discipline.
  • Abilities: Well of Radiance is arguably the strongest Super in the entire game, so running it is a no-brainer. Fusion Grenades, Solar Grenades, and Celestial Fire are generally the best picks beyond the Super.

 

Titan Arc 3.0 featured

2. Titan Striker (Arc 3.0)

After the addition of Arc 3.0, Striker titan has become one of the most dominant subclasses throughout the various parts of the game. The combination of powerful aspects and fragments makes the Striker titan one of the best ad-clearing subclasses in the game that is still able to do high single-target damage.

Preferred Exotic: Heart of Inmost Light is the best Titan exotic here due to the insane amount of ability regen it provides. An Insurmountable Skullfort and Armamentarium are also viable options.

ArmorClassTypeRequirementsSourceReleasedRequiresExotic Perk
Heart of Inmost Light Titan Destiny 2

Heart of Inmost Light

TitanChestForsaken PackExotic EngramsSeason 4Forsaken Destiny 2 icon
Forsaken Pack
Exotic Perk: "Using an ability (grenade, melee, or Barricade) empowers the other two abilities. Empowered means abilities have faster regen, melees and grenades do more damage, and Barricades have more hit points."
An Insurmountable Skullfort Titan Destiny 2

An Insurmountable Skullfort

TitanHelmFree-to-PlayExotic EngramsSeason 1Free to Play Destiny 2 icon
Free-to-Play
Exotic Perk: "Kills with Arc melee abilities trigger health regeneration and restore melee energy."

Preferred Aspects and Fragments:

  • Aspects: Touch of Thunder and Knockout are the two best. Juggernaut can be used in certain situations, but the benefits of Knockout and Touch of Thunder outweigh their own.
  • Fragments: Spark of Magnitude, Spark of Resistance, Spark of Shock, Spark of Ions

Preferred Abilities and Stats:

  • Stats: Resilience, Discipline, Recovery.
  • Abilities: Thundercrash is the best option over Striker. Ad-clear is already well covered by the rest of the subclass, so Striker has little value. Storm Grenades are arguably the strongest grenades in the current sandbox. However, Touch of Thunder makes Pulse, Flashbang, and Lightning Grenades viable options. All three melees are strong, with Thunderclap being the best for quick bursts of high damage.

 

Void Hunter build

3. Hunter Nightstalker (Void 3.0)

Nightstalker has it all. Potent invisibility, powerful aspects, and synergistic fragments, as well as some of the best exotics in the entire game. Options like Omnioculus and Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk are some of the best Hunter exotics around and can really increase Nightstalker’s potential as a subclass. Gyrfalcons can turn you it into an aggressive DPS monster with chained Smoke Bombs, while Omnioculus can turn you into the perfect defensive support with damage resistance and practically permanent invisibility. This is one of the best ‘carry’ subclasses in the game right now for high-level content.

Ignoring exotics, Nightstalker still has a very strong kit. Invisibility is always a powerful tool, and with Smoke Bombs and Supers like Moebius Quiver and Deadfall, you can have high debuff uptime on a target.

Preferred Exotic: Omnioculus is generally the best option; Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk is good for DPS situations.

ArmorClassTypeRequirementsSourceReleasedRequiresExotic Perk
Gyrfalcon's Hauberk Hunter Exotic

Gyrfalcon's Hauberk

HunterChestThe Witch QueenLost SectorsSeason 18The Witch Queen Destiny 2 icon
The Witch Queen
Exotic Perk: "Your weapons gain a bonus to damage briefly after you emerge from being invisible. When you are invisible and defeat a combatant using a finisher, you and your nearby allies gain a reserve overshield and improved class ability regen. These reserve overshields can be deployed by using a class ability."
Omnioculus Destiny 2 art

Omnioculus

HunterChestBeyond LightLost SectorsSeason 13Beyond Light Destiny 2 icon
Beyond Light
Exotic Perk: "You gain a second Smoke Bomb charge and have damage resistance while invisible. When you make an ally invisible, they gain damage resistance while invisible and you gain melee energy."

Preferred Aspects and Fragments:

  • Aspects: Vanishing Step is by far the best aspect. Stylish Executioner and Trapper’s Ambush can be swapped depending on your needs/playstyle.
  • Fragments: Echo of Persistence, Echo of Starvation, Echo of Undermining, and Echo of Instability/Obscurity.

Preferred Abilities and Stats:

  • Stats: 100 Mobility and 100 Resilience are highly recommended. High Discipline and Recovery are also good.
  • Abilities: Moebius Quiver Super for boss damage, Deadfall Super for ad clear/debuffing, Vortex Grenade, and Gambler’s Dodge.

 

Destiny 2 Classes

What is the best Class in Destiny 2?

Best Class in Destiny 2 for PvP

After performing the same exercise for PvP, these are the strongest Subclasses in the game right now:

--SubclassElementTierTrendAreaRank
PvP Dawnblade Solar WarlockDawnbladeSolar Solar
Best

S

-PvPS › Best
PvP Nightstalker Void Hunter buildNightstalkerVoid Void
Average

B

Trend downPvPB › Average
PvP Striker Titan Arc 3.0 featuredStrikerArc Arc
Best

S

Trend upPvPS › Best

 

Titan Arc 3.0 featured

1. Titan Striker (Arc 3.0)

After Arc 3.0, it is rare to not come across a Striker inside PvP. There is a good reason for this. Striker excels in casual and competitive modes due to its strong neutral game and fast-charging Supers. It has access to the best grenades and can empower them to make them even stronger. The new class ability, Thruster, also allows Striker to take on a more aggressive and fast-paced playstyle.

Preferred Exotic: There are a few Arc-based exotics that work well with Striker in PvP, but the best exotics are ones that enhance the already powerful neutral game that Striker offers. These include Dunemarchers, Synthoceps, and One-Eyed Mask.

ArmorClassTypeRequirementsSourceReleasedRequiresExotic Perk
One-Eyed Mask Titan Destiny 2

One-Eyed Mask

TitanHelmForsaken PackExotic EngramsSeason 4Forsaken Destiny 2 icon
Forsaken Pack
Exotic Perk: "Highlights the enemy who dares to damage you. Track down and destroy your enemy for an overshield."
Dunemarchers Titan Destiny 2

Dunemarchers

TitanLegsFree-to-PlayExotic EngramsSeason 1Free to Play Destiny 2 icon
Free-to-Play
Exotic Perk: "Increases sprint speed. Sprinting builds up a static charge. After melee-attacking an enemy, that charge will chain damage to nearby enemies."
Synthoceps Titan Destiny 2

Synthoceps

TitanArmsFree-to-PlayExotic EngramsSeason 1Free to Play Destiny 2 icon
Free-to-Play
Exotic Perk: "Increased melee lunge range. Improved melee and Super damage when you're surrounded."

Preferred Aspects and Fragments:

  • Aspects: Knockout is incredibly strong with the increased melee range and damage combined with the health regeneration. Touch of Thunder makes the already strong grenades even more deadly.
  • Fragments: Spark of Magnitude, Spark of Feedback, Spark of Recharge, Spark of Momentum.

Preferred Abilities and Stats:

  • Stats: Recovery, Discipline, Resilience.
  • Abilities: Seismic Strike is the best overall melee. It provides extra movement and is great for shotgun clean-ups. Ballistic Slam can also be great for engaging when paired with exotics like Dunemarchers or Synthoceps, but it is riskier. Storm Grenades and Lightning Grenades are the two best options, especially because they benefit from Touch of Thunder greatly. Towering Barricade is the best option for 3v3 competitive modes due to the safe utility it provides. Thruster is better for faster-paced game modes like 6v6. Thundercrash is the most used Super due to the combination of its short charge time and effectiveness.

 

Void Hunter build

1. Hunter Nightstalker (Void3.0)

Nightstalker in PvP is an absolute menace. Invisibility, smoke grenades, and exotics like Omnioculus, Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk, and even Khepri’s Sting can be insane under the right conditions.

The ability to disappear off the radar (and become ridiculously hard to spot in certain lighting) is remarkable. This, combined with the ability to deceive players with Smoke Bombs, as smokes appear on the enemy’s radar, make Nightstalker the go-to class for many top players. In fact, according to trials.report, almost half of the players with above a 90% win rate in Trials use Nightstalker. Simply put, Nightstalker is potent, and you should take advantage of it if you want to win.

Exotics like Khepri’s Sting, when combined with a 1-shot long-range special weapon like Arbalest, make for easy, cheesy kills due to the free wallhacks that Khepri’s provide. Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk brings a free damage buff upon exiting invisibility which makes for some blatantly overpowered builds with the likes of Rat King and a Wave Frame Grenade Launcher, and Omnioculus is always a strong option.

Preferred Exotic: Omnioculus or Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk for general gameplay. Khepri’s Sting for setups with Snipers/Linear Fusion Rifles.

ArmorClassTypeRequirementsSourceReleasedRequiresExotic Perk
Gyrfalcon's Hauberk Hunter Exotic

Gyrfalcon's Hauberk

HunterChestThe Witch QueenLost SectorsSeason 18The Witch Queen Destiny 2 icon
The Witch Queen
Exotic Perk: "Your weapons gain a bonus to damage briefly after you emerge from being invisible. When you are invisible and defeat a combatant using a finisher, you and your nearby allies gain a reserve overshield and improved class ability regen. These reserve overshields can be deployed by using a class ability."
Khepri's Sting Hunter Exotic Destiny 2 art

Khepri's Sting

HunterArmsForsaken PackExotic EngramsSeason 7Forsaken Destiny 2 icon
Forsaken Pack
Exotic Perk: "Punching someone with full melee energy will instantly cast Smoke Bomb. Gain Truesight while in your own Smoke Bomb effect. Your smoke bombs deal increased damage."

Preferred Aspects and Fragments:

  • Aspects: Vanishing Step and Trapper’s Ambush are the best here.
  • Fragments: Echo of Persistence, Echo of Leeching, Echo of Remnants.

Preferred Abilities and Stats:

  • Stats: 100 Mobility is key. A mix of high Recovery, high Resilience, and high Discipline is recommended.
  • Abilities: The Super is up to personal preference; however, we recommend Spectral Blades,  Vortex or Voidwall Grenade, and Gambler’s Dodge.

 

Warlock Solar 3.0 featured

3. Warlock Dawnblade (Solar 3.0)

A subclass primarily used for support, Dawnblade fills its lack of ad clear and boss damage with some of the most powerful buffs in the game. Radiant provides a whopping 25% increase to damage, and Restoration provides continuous health regeneration even through damage.

Well of Radiance and Lunafaction Boots or Boots of the Assembler open some unique support opportunities. Still, most of this subclass’ popularity comes from Starfire Protocol and its unique infinite Fusion Grenade potential.

While Dawnblade isn’t necessarily as versatile as Voidwalker, it is still excellent at what it does and has some unique synergies in Starfire Protocol and Incandescent.

Preferred Exotic: Starfire Protocol is inarguably the best exotic for Dawnblade right now. However, depending on your build, Boots of the Assembler or Lunafaction Boots can be utilized too.

ArmorClassTypeRequirementsSourceReleasedRequiresExotic Perk
Starfire Protocol Warlock Exotic Destiny 2 art

Starfire Protocol

WarlockChestFree-to-PlayExotic EngramsSeason 1Free to Play Destiny 2 icon
Free-to-Play
Exotic Perk: "Fusion Grenades have an additional charge and recharge from empowered weapon damage. Fusion Grenade kills grant Rift energy."

Preferred Aspects and Fragments:

  • Aspects: All three Dawnblade Aspects have heavy pros and cons that come with them. However, Touch of Flame and Heat Rises are generally the most useful.
  • Fragments: Ember of Empyrean, Ember of Solace, Ember of Ashes, Ember of Torches.

Preferred Abilities and Stats:

  • Stats: Recovery, Resilience, Discipline.
  • Abilities: Well of Radiance is arguably the strongest Super in the entire game, so running it is a no-brainer. Fusion Grenades, Solar Grenades, and Celestial Fire are generally the best picks beyond the Super.

Before you go…

Keep in mind that choosing at Class and Subclass is only the first step. If you truly want to take your game to the next level, you need to also find the right combination of weapons and armor to create an exceptional build:

About The Author

Ric Molina
Ric Molina
I've been covering gaming since 2012, and some of my work has been featured by large brands, including MSN.com, Forbes, Rock Paper Shotgun, and more. I've been obsessed with Destiny 2 for years now, and I hope to provide new and returning players with the guides and resources I wish I had when I first started.
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