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Best Destiny 2 Warlock Strand Builds for PvE and PvP

by | Mar 3, 2023

Are you a Warlock main and want to take your game to the next level? These are the best Warlock Strand builds we’ve discovered so far. And by the way, as any top-tier Warlock build, these builds will guide you every step of the way, including essential Exotics, Mods, and more.

Top Warlock Strand builds

--NameClassAreaSubclassExcels inElementStatus
Warlock SubclassMindspun SuspenderWarlockPvEVoid StrandMid to Endgame PvE contentStrandBest in Class
Swarmers Warlock ExoticSorcerer of SwarmsWarlockPvEVoid StrandCasual PvE ContentStrand
Warlock Subclass BroodweaverWarlockPvPVoid StrandStrong crowd control and movement abilitiesStrand

Best Warlock Strand PvE builds

Warlock Subclass

Mindspun Suspender

Excels In: Mid to Endgame PvE content (Dungeons, Raids, Grandmaster Nightfalls)

Goal of the Build: Dominate the battleground with both Suspend and Threadlings, immobilizing and damaging combatants with little effort.

Mandatory Gear: Swarmers are the clear choice for armor here, and a primary Demolitionist weapon makes ability rotations smoother. Bonus points if it’s Strand!

ArmorClassTypeRequirementsSourceReleasedRequiresExotic Perk
Swarmers Warlock exotic

Swarmers

WarlockLegsLightfallLost SectorsSeason 20Lightfall Preorder icon
Lightfall
Exotic Perk: "Destroying a Tangle spawns a Threadling. Your Threadlings unravel targets that they damage."
  • Aspects: Weaver’s Call and Mindspun Invocation are our choices for Aspects.
  • Fragments: You’ll want to equip Thread of Mind, Generation, Evolution, and Warding.
  • Abilities & Stats: Shackle Grenade is the top pick here because of its uses with Mindspun Invocation.
  • Stats: Discipline is easily the most crucial stat to build into, with Resilience and Recovery being extremely useful as well.
  • Mods: An Elemental Siphon mod that matches your primary weapon’s element will be your main source of Orbs of Power and Armor Charge. The Untangler, Threaded Blast, and Allied Unraveling Artifact Perks also work perfectly if you’re playing during Season of Defiance. Also:
ArtMod NameSlotCostRequirementsEffectsType
Grenade Kickstart modGrenade KickstartArms3Rank 7When your grenade energy is fully expended, you gain grenade energy. Additionally, your Armor Charge is consumed and you gain additional grenade energy for each stack.Active
Stacks on Stacks modStacks on StacksLegs4Rank 7Picking up an Orb of Power grants you 1 additional stack of Armor Charge.Generator
Bomber mod Destiny 2 artBomberClass Item1Rank 5Reduces grenade cooldown when using your class ability.
General

Gameplay Loop

Consuming your Shackle Grenade with Mindspun Invocation grants you 25 seconds of Weaver’s Trace, making all final blows create an explosion of Suspend. Killing these Suspended targets will create a Tangle and grant class ability energy; destroying that same Tangle will create Threadlings.

Because of Swarmers, Threadlings will Unravel targets they hit. You can generate additional Threadlings by casting your rift, which also grants you grenade energy to start the process over again. To top it all off, collecting Orbs of Power from your Siphon mod will give you Woven Mail and grenade energy indirectly via Grenade Kickstart.

Best Warlock PvP builds

PvP Essentials

Because of its competitive nature, stats are significantly more critical in the Crucible than in PVE. For Warlocks, high Recovery is a must as it is tied to your health and rift regeneration speeds. Additionally, because of Destiny’s ability-focused nature, high Discipline is irreplaceable too. Lastly, while it’s more important on Titan, mid-high Resilience can also be helpful. Some things (such as two-shot kills with Thorn) depend on the enemy’s Resilience stat, so having around Tier 6 or 7 is always useful.

Regarding mods, Warmind Cell and Elemental Well mods don’t activate in the Crucible. And while Charged with Light mods do work, they’re significantly more challenging to trigger than in PVE. Because of this, the two most important types of mods for PVP are extremely general: stat mods and weapon mods (such as targeting). These are always active and can provide you with noticeable benefits.

Subclasses

While there is usually a meta subclass or general setup to run for the Crucible, every element has unique strengths and weaknesses, including the newly added Strand subclass.

 

Warlock Subclass

Broodweaver

Broodweaver functions as a mix between Stormcaller, Dawnblade and Shadebinder, providing strong crowd control in combination with useful movement abilities.

Each grenade does something unique but powerful: Grapple can either close the gap or give you space, Shackle can stop opponents in their tracks, and Threadling can seek down low health enemies to kill.

Pros:

  • Has a nice variety of abilities and uses
  • Area control, shutdown, and movement abilities
  • Powerful subclass verbs (Suspend, Woven Mail, etc.)

Cons:

  • Few options for Super, Melee, and Aspects
  • Little access to subclass verbs compared to other Strand classes
  • Acts as a jack of all trades, master of none

Before you go…

If you’re looking for a killer Hunter Strand build or Titan Strand build, we’ve got you covered too! Don’t miss our up-to-date Hunter and Titan builds!

About The Author

Andrew Sideris
Andrew Sideris
When my brother introduced me to the Destiny franchise in 2015, I immediately knew that it would take up a lot of my free time for years to come. With my over seven years of game knowledge, six months of writing experience for Blueberries.gg, and hundreds of Blueberries already guided through endgame content, I hope to allow newcomers to have the same great introduction I had all those years ago.
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