Are you a Hunter main and want to take your game to the next level? These are the best Hunter Solar builds in Destiny 2, including builds for endgame and Solo players. And by the way, as any top-tier Hunter build, these will guide you every step of the way, including essential Exotics, Mods, and more.
Top Solar Hunter builds
| -- | Name | Class | Area | Subclass | Excels in | Element | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Radiant Assassin | Hunter | PvE |  Solar | Solo Content | Solar | Best in Class |
 | Igniting Knifeslinger | Hunter | PvE | Solar | Endgame | Solar | |
 | Tricky Tripminer | Hunter | PvE | Solar | Endgame | Solar |
Best Hunter Solar builds for PvE
Igniting Knifeslinger
Excels in: Endgame (Dungeons, Raids, Legend content)
Goal of the Build: Chain Proximity Knives back to back with constant Radiant while causing Ignitions to clear waves of enemies.
Mandatory Gear: No specific weapons are required. However, guns that roll with Swashbuckler can synergize well with the constant melee kills you will be getting. For the Exotic, you'll definitely need Caliban’s Hand:
| Armor | Class | Type | Requirements | Source | Released | Requires | Exotic Perk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Caliban's Hand | Hunter | Arms | The Witch Queen | Lost Sectors | Season 17 |  The Witch Queen | Exotic Perk: "Your Proximity Knife scorches targets it damages with its explosions, or ignites targets on a direct hit. After throwing a Proximity Knife, you gain increased melee regeneration until the knife explodes." |
- Aspects: Knock ‘em Down is necessary. The second aspect is up to you. Gunpowder Gamble can provide solid add clear, while On Your Mark grants another Fragment slot.
- Fragments: Ember of Torches is required, and Ember of Empyrean is excellent. The other Fragments are up to personal preference, but Ember of Eruption is good.
- Abilities: Proximity Knife is required. Healing Grenade is best for constant Restoration through Ember of Empyrean.
- Stats: Maximum Mobility and Resilience are recommended, and high Discipline is also helpful.
- Mods:
- Helmet: Hands-On, Heavy Ammo Finder, Heavy Ammo Scout.
- Arms: Heavy Handed, Impact Induction, and Focusing Strike.
- Chest: Concussive Dampener and resistance mods matching your enemy’s damage.
- Legs: Surge Mods matching your weapons.
- Class Item: Time Dilation and x2 Outreach.
Gameplay Loop
The gameplay loop for this build is very simple. The only condition that you must always meet to keep the engine running is a kill with your Proximity Knife. That is it. The build is entirely dependent on your knives, which is why you are going to want to have your Gambler’s Dodge always ready as a backup option.
With your Fragment choices, you will be able to create constant orbs through Ember of Wonder, and with Ember of Blistering, you can have high uptime on your Grenades, allowing for either more survivability with Healing Grenade or even more burning with Solar Grenade.
Getting the final blow with the knife is key. The additional Scorch damage from the Proximity Knife does not count as a knife kill, thus not causing the Ignition.
Tricky Tripminer
Excels in: Endgame (Dungeons, Raids, Legend content)
Goal of the Build: Combo your abilities to keep your Tripmine Grenade uptime as high as possible.
Mandatory Gear: Weapons with Incandescent can enhance the build. Typical meta options work well too. For the Exotic, you'll definitely need Young Ahamkara's Spine:
| Armor | Class | Type | Requirements | Source | Released | Requires | Exotic Perk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Young Ahamkara's Spine | Hunter | Arms | Free-to-Play | Exotic Engrams | Season 1 |  Free-to-Play | Exotic Perk: "Increases Tripmine Grenade duration and blast radius. Ability damage grants Tripmine Grenade energy." |
- Aspects: Knock ‘em Down is a must. However, you can choose between Gunpowder Gamble and On Your Mark.
- Fragments: Optimal Fragments are Ember of Solace, Ember of Singeing, and Ember of Torches. Other decent options include Ember of Eruption and Ember of Char.
- Abilities: Blade Barrage, Tripmine Grenade, Knife Trick, and Gambler’s Dodge.
- Stats: High Mobility and Discipline should be specced into. Resilience is a good option too.
- Mods:
- Helmet: Harmonic Siphon, Ashes to Assets, and Heavy Ammo Finder.
- Arms: x2 Firepower and Impact Induction.
- Chest: Resistance Mods.
- Legs: Surge Mods.
- Class Item: Time Dilation, Distribution, and Bomber.
Gameplay Loop
The gameplay loop for this build is relatively simple: Tripmine>Knife Trick>Repeat. Throwing your Tripmine Grenade into a cluster of enemies or a beefier target is best for your grenade uptime. Once you have used your Tripmine, getting kills with infinite throwing knives is the way to go. Chaining Throwing Knife kills, and Tripmine explosions allows you to clear out waves of enemies without even firing a bullet.
If done correctly, you can have up to at least 4 Tripmines to use by just cycling your Grenade, Melee and Dodges correctly. Every bit of ability damage (including Ignitions) will grant Grenade energy, so keep track of your rotation, and you will be able to throw grenades constantly.
Radiant Assassin
Excels in: Solo Content
Goal of the Build: Have infinite survivability through invisibility and a constant source of healing by having access to unlimited throwing knives.
Mandatory Gear:A Solar primary such as the Calus Mini-Tool and a good close-range Special weapon like Heritage are recommended.
| Art | Weapon | Type | Archetype | Rarity | Ammo | Element | Requirements | In loot pool? | Ammo? | Element? | Tier | Excels | Source | Craftable? | Requires | Released | Slot | Can be Crafted? | Best of? | Top Perk? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | CALUS Mini-Tool | Submachine Gun | MIDA Synergy | Legendary | Primary | Solar | Beyond Light | Yes |  Primary | Solar | Best ❘ S | PvE | Presage |  |  Beyond Light | Season 17 | Energy | Craftable | Top-tier | Incandescent |
 | Heritage | Shotgun | Pinpoint Slug | Legendary | Special | Kinetic | Beyond Light | Yes |  Special |  Kinetic | Best ❘ S | PvE + PvP | Deep Stone Crypt Raid | | Beyond Light | Season 12 | Kinetic | Craftable | Top-tier | Reconstruction |
For the Exotic, you'll definitely need Assassin's Cowl:
| Armor | Class | Type | Requirements | Source | Released | Requires | Exotic Perk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Assassin's Cowl | Hunter | Helm | Shadowkeep | Exotic Engrams | Season 8 |  Shadowkeep | Exotic Perk: "Powered melee final blows grant invisibility and restore a portion of health and shields. Finishers and final blows against more powerful targets increase the duration of the invisibility and the amount of health and shields." |
- Aspects: Knock ‘em Down is necessary. The other Aspect is up to you. However, we do recommend On Your Mark for the ability to equip 5 Fragments.
- Fragments: Ember of Torches is mandatory too. For the rest, Ember of Mercy, Ember of Torches, Ember of Empyrean, Ember of Singeing, and Ember of Searing are all suitable.
- Abilities: Gambler’s Dodge, Blade Barrage, Healing Grenade, and Knife Trick.
- Stats: High Mobility and Resilience are recommended for optimal uptime on your Gambler’s Dodge and heightened levels of damage resistance.
- Mods:
- Helmet: Hands-On, Harmonic Siphon, and Powerful Friends
- Arms: x2 Heavy Handed and Focusing Strike
- Chest: Concussive Dampener and Resist mods depending on enemy damage
- Legs: Surge mods matching your weapons
- Class Item: Time Dilation and x2 Outreach
Gameplay Loop
The gameplay loop is quite simple with Assassin’s Cowl. The goal is to chain Knife Trick kills together to ensure maximum uptime on your invisibility and to have as much healing as possible. If you miss, Gambler’s Dodge is there to pick up the slack and provide you with another melee. Gambler’s Dodge and your melee will also recharge faster by scorching enemies with your Knife Trick.
You also have options like Healing Grenade if you find yourself out of a dodge and a melee ability. This can help fill in the gaps where you may miss your abilities on a target and need some survivability.
You always want to land the final blow with your knives, so if you can’t outright one-shot an enemy, prime them first with your weapon and finish them with the knife. Constantly getting kills with your knives will spam Orbs of Power for yourself and for your team.
Best Hunter PvP builds
PvP Essentials
Step one to playing Hunter in PvP is understanding that your Dodge is the strongest ability in your kit. Because of this, maximizing Mobility is a very standard choice for the shortest cooldown on your Dodge. Making sure that you have maximum Recovery is also recommended.
Hunters come with the benefit of being able to completely ignore the Strength stat, as using Gambler’s Dodge allows you to completely refund your melee ability when dodging near an enemy. This lets you dump the rest of your stat points into Discipline and Resilience. Personally, I choose to run 100 Mobility, Recovery, and Discipline; however, feel free to adapt some stats to your own preference.
Hunter Subclasses: Ranked
There will always be a ‘meta’ option for PvP, but every Hunter subclass is viable in its own way, with its own set of pros and cons.
Gunslinger
Gunslinger can be set up in numerous ways. You can focus on making your allies Radiant with Acrobat’s Dodge, you can go for maximum explosions with Proximity Knives and Tripmine Grenades, or you can play more passively and utilize your agility to survive combined with Healing Grenades. The choice is entirely yours.
Pros:
- Wide variety of melee options
- Has excellent teamplay with On Your Mark and Acrobat’s Dodge
- Powerful Supers in Golden Gun and Blade Barrage
Cons:
- Only has two truly viable aspects. Gunpowder Gamble is too niche for consistent use.
- Aspects don’t overly alter gameplay in an incredibly potent manner compared to Invisibility on Nightstalker.
- Lack of map control/area control capabilities that Smoke Bomb and Stasis both bring.
Best PvP Hunter Exotics
General Exotics
| Armor | Class | Type | Requirements | Source | Released | Requires | Exotic Perk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Fr0st-EE5 | Hunter | Legs | Free-to-Play | Exotic Engrams | Season 3 | Free-to-Play | Exotic Perk: "Increased grenade, melee, and dodge regeneration while sprinting. Dodging increases your sprint speed." |
 St0mp-EE5 | Hunter | Legs | Free-to-Play | Exotic Engrams | Season 1 | Free-to-Play | Exotic Perk: "Increases sprint speed and slide distance while your dodge energy is full and improves High Jump, Strafe Jump, and Triple Jump." |
 Wormhusk Crown | Hunter | Helm | Free-to-Play | Exotic Engrams | Season 3 | Free-to-Play | Exotic Perk: "We strive to know infinity, and sharpen our minds on the whetstone of the impossible." |
Due to a lack of prerequisites, neutral and more passive Exotics are often favored in PvP. Therefore, Stompees, Wormhusk, and Frostees always find a place in the meta for Hunters as they provide benefits while requiring nothing/very little to receive benefits from.
Stompees are still one of the most enjoyable Hunter exotics for PvP. The nerfs it received have affected viability quite a lot; however, they are still my pick if I’m playing PvP as they are just so fun to use.
Wormhusk Crown has been in the meta since it was released back in the Warmind DLC. Wormhusk provides unmatched instant value as it gives around a third of your health back for simply dodging. This allows you to take riskier engagements and get out with ease. Dodging is already a ‘get out of jail free card’, and Wormhusk takes this to another level.
Frostees are the pick for players who want high-ability uptime but don’t want to commit to a full-on build. By merely sprinting, you can increase your ability recharge rate by 100% and increase your Sprint Speed by 6.25% by simply dodging. Frostees will always serve players well when they want to maybe switch it up from the Stompees, but want to retain some movement speed and have high ability uptime.
Subclass-specific Exotics
| Armor | Class | Type | Requirements | Source | Released | Requires | Exotic Perk |
Subclass-specific Exotics normally see less use overall as they have more requirements to satisfy to reach their full potential. However, their raw strength often makes up for it.
Young Ahamkara’s Spine is very simple on paper. However, this simplicity shouldn’t be seen as a weakness. Ahamkara’s Spine increases Tripmine Grenade damage massively to the point where it will leave your opponent at death’s door, requiring a single shot from any weapon in the game to finish them off. Furthermore, Ahamkara’s Spine also grants Tripmine energy on Ability damage, allowing you to further abuse your explosive power.
Before you go…
You can find all the best builds in Destiny 2 here.
I was wondering about Fr0st-EE5s and St0mp-EE5. So many people give me a hard time for rolling with St0mp-EE5, but I’ve found them to be huge in 1v1 and even 1v2.
Interested in trying an Ahamkara’s Spine build which led me here (again). A lot of great info, thank you.