Best Destiny 2 Warlock Strand Builds for PvE and PvP

by | Sep 11, 2023 | Armor

Are you a Warlock main and want to take your game to the next level? These are the best Warlock Strand builds in Destiny 2, including builds for endgame and Solo players. And by the way, as any top-tier Warlock build, these will guide you every step of the way, including essential Exotics, Mods, and more.

Top Strand Warlock builds

--NameClassAreaSubclassExcels inElementStatus
Warlock Subclass Mindspun SuspenderWarlockPvEVoid StrandEndgameStrandBest in Class
Cenotaph Mask Warlock ExoticMasked WeaverWarlockPvEVoid StrandEndgameStrand

Best Warlock Strand builds for PvE

Warlock Subclass

Mindspun Suspender

Excels In: Endgame (Dungeons, Raids, Legend content)

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

Mandatory Gear: There aren’t any clear Exotic armor choices for this build as it’s entirely contained in the subclass. Our favorite is Necrotic Grip, but any subclass-agnostic Exotic should work great. A primary weapon with Demolitionist also helps this build run smoother. Bonus points if it’s Strand!

ArmorClassTypeRequirementsSourceReleasedRequiresExotic Perk
Necrotic Grip Destiny 2 art

Necrotic Grip

WarlockArmsBeyond LightLost SectorsSeason 12Beyond Light Destiny 2 icon
Beyond Light
Exotic Perk: "Damaging combatants envenoms them with poison that deals increasing damage over time. Defeating a poisoned combatant spreads the condition to nearby targets."
  • Aspects: Mindspun Invocation and The Wanderer are our choices for Aspects.
  • Fragments:For Fragments, you’ll want to equip Thread of Mind, Generation, Continuity, 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:
    • Helmet: Harmonic Siphon
    • Arms: Grenade Kickstart, Impact Induction
    • Chest: Charged Up
    • Legs: Elemental Charge
    • Class Item: Bomber, Outreach

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.

Throwing that Tangle at another group of enemies will Suspend them, starting the process over again. All of these Suspend instances also last longer due to Thread of Continuity. 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.

 

Cenotaph Mask Warlock Exotic

Masked Weaver

Excels In: Endgame (Dungeons, Raids, Legend content)

Goal of the Build: Support allies on the battlefield by spreading Woven Mail, providing heavy ammo, and severing enemies.

Mandatory Gear: Cenotaph Mask and The Navigator are the two pieces of Exotic equipment we’ll be using.

ArmorClassTypeRequirementsSourceReleasedRequiresExotic Perk
Cenotaph Mask Warlock exotic

Cenotaph Mask

WarlockHelmLightfallLost SectorsSeason 21Lightfall Preorder icon
Lightfall
Exotic Perk: "Steadily reloads a portion of your equipped Trace Rifles's magazine from reserves. Damaging a vehicle, boss, or champion with a trace rifle marks them as the target. When an ally defeats the marked target, generate special ammo for yourself and heavy ammo for your allies."
  • Aspects: Weaver’s Call and Mindspun Invocation.
  • Fragments: Thread of Rebirth, Evolution, Continuity, and Generation.
  • Abilities: Threadling Grenade is our preference out of the three available; everything else is up to you.
  • Stats: Resilience and Recovery are the only stats to worry about here.
  • Mods:
    • Helmet: Harmonic Siphon, Special Ammo Finder
    • Arms: Focusing Strike, Impact Induction
    • Chest: Resist and reserve mods
    • Legs: Strand Scavenger, Strand Weapon Surge
    • Class Item: Outreach, Bomber

Gameplay Loop

Because it relies on weapon and armor perks instead of abilities, Masked Weaver doesn’t have a specific loop. Basic knowledge of both Exotics is all you’ll need to succeed here.

Shooting an ally with The Navigator grants you and them Woven Mail, equating to 60% damage resistance. If you hit an enemy instead, you’ll Sever them, reducing their outgoing damage by 33%. Damaging combatants will also regenerate your grenade ability, and Navigator kills have a chance to spawn a Threadling.

When you’re ready to use your abilities, start by swallowing your grenade. After doing so, casting your rift will send out eight Threadlings immediately, providing substantial burst damage.

Lastly, damaging a vehicle, boss, or champion with The Navigator will mark them. Marked enemies will drop heavy ammo for allies upon death, providing even more support to your fireteam.

This simple build relies on The Navigator’s and Cenotaph Mask’s base power. While it’s not flashy (and doesn’t excel at killing enemies directly), constant heavy ammo and Woven Mail for your allies isn’t something to pass up.

 

 

Crucible featured

Warlock Strand PvP build

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.

Generally speaking, the most potent PvP mods come in the form of stat, unflinching, targeting, and dexterity mods. These all provide passive buffs that are strong enough to notice in moment-to-moment gameplay.

Subclasses

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

Broodweaver

Warlock Subclass

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

Best PvP Warlock Exotics

General Exotics

ArmorClassTypeRequirementsSourceReleasedRequiresExotic Perk
Ophidian Aspect Warlock Exotic Destiny 2 art

Ophidian Aspect

WarlockArmsFree-to-PlayExotic EngramsSeason 2Free to Play Destiny 2 icon
Free-to-Play
Exotic Perk: "Weapons ready and reload very quickly. Provides a small benefit to the airborne effectiveness stat of all weapons."
Transversive Steps Warlock Exotic Destiny 2 art

Transversive Steps

WarlockLegsFree-to-PlayExotic EngramsSeason 1Free to Play Destiny 2 icon
Free-to-Play
Exotic Perk: "Sprint speed increased. After a short time sprinting, your currently equipped weapon is automatically reloaded."

Because of their ease of use and 24/7 activation, neutral exotics are the most common for general PVP. Ophidian Aspect has always been an S-Tier pick, passively boosting the snappiness of your weapons. Transversive Steps excels for a similar reason, providing quicker and more fluid movement (plus the ability to get a free reload).

Before you go…

You can find all the absolute best builds for Titans, Warlocks, and Hunters here.

About The Author

Andrew Sideris
Andrew Sideris
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. You can find Andrew on Twitter.
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