Destiny 2 Voltshot: Weapons and Perk guide

With the massive Subclass 3.0 revamp, powerful new perks that synergize with subclasses started to appear—Headstone, Repulsor Brace, Incandescent, and Voltshot. While all four elevate their respective subclasses to a new level, Voltshot is the most popular due to its absurd base strength and ease of use.

Now a staple in most Guardian’s Arc 3.0 builds, knowing what Voltshot does, how to use it, and how it synergizes with Arc subclasses is more critical than ever. We’ll cover all of that information and more down below.

Updated as of Season of the Wish (S23).

Voltshot weapons in Destiny 2

Voltshot can only roll on a few select Arc weapons, meaning it’s relatively exclusive for the time being. Here is a list of all of the Arc weapons available that can roll with Voltshot:

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?
	Posterity	Hand Cannon	Precision	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Beyond Light	Yes	Primary	Arc	Average ❘ B	PvE	Deep Stone Crypt Raid	Yes	Beyond Light	Season 12	Energy	Craftable		Voltshot,Reconstruction
	Waking Vigil	Hand Cannon	Adaptive	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Average ❘ B	PvP	Shattered Throne Dungeon	No	Free-to-Play	Season 13	Energy	No		Voltshot
	Nation of Beasts	Hand Cannon	Adaptive	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Forsaken Pack	Yes	Primary	Arc	Strong ❘ A	PvE	Last Wish Raid	Yes	Forsaken Pack	Season 4	Energy	Craftable	Top-tier	Voltshot
	IKELOS_SMG_v1.0.3	Submachine Gun	Aggressive	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvE + PvP	Operation: Seraph's Shield	Yes	Free-to-Play	Season 19	Energy	Craftable	Top-tier	Voltshot
	The Wizened Rebuke	Fusion Rifle	High-Impact	Legendary	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Special	Arc	Average ❘ B	PvP	Iron Banner	No	Free-to-Play	Season 17	Energy	No		Voltshot
	Brigand's Law	Sidearm	Rapid-Fire	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvE	Xûr	Yes	Free-to-Play	Season 18	Energy	Craftable	Top-tier	Voltshot
	Tarnished Mettle	Scout Rifle	Lightweight	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvE	Xûr	Yes	Free-to-Play	Season 18	Energy	Craftable	Top-tier	Voltshot
	Mechabre	Sniper Rifle	Aggressive	Legendary	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Special	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvP	Event: Festival of the Lost	No	Free-to-Play	Season 18	Energy	No	Top-tier	Voltshot
	Dark Decider	Auto Rifle	Rapid-Fire	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Average ❘ B	PvE	Iron Banner	No	Free-to-Play	Season 19	Energy	No		Voltshot
	Gunnora's Axe	Shotgun	Pinpoint Slug	Legendary	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Special	Arc	Average ❘ B	PvE + PvP	Iron Banner	No	Free-to-Play	Season 19	Energy	No		Voltshot
	Iterative Loop	Fusion Rifle	Rapid-Fire	Legendary	Special	Arc	Lightfall	Yes	Special	Arc	Strong ❘ A	PvE + PvP	Neomuna	Yes	Lightfall	Season 20	Energy	Craftable	Top-tier	Voltshot
	Prodigal Return	Grenade Launcher	Lightweight	Legendary	Special	Arc	Season 20	Yes	Special	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvE	Seasonal activity	Yes	Season 20	Season 20	Energy	Craftable	Top-tier	Voltshot
	Phyllotactic Spiral	Pulse Rifle	High-Impact	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Lightfall	Yes	Primary	Arc	Strong ❘ A	PvE + PvP	Neomuna	Yes	Lightfall	Season 20	Energy	Craftable	Top-tier	Voltshot
	Combined Action	Hand Cannon	Aggressive	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Average ❘ B	PvP	Lost Sector	No	Free-to-Play	Season 21	Energy	No		Voltshot
	Unexpected Resurgence	Glaive	Adaptive	Legendary	Special	Arc	Lightfall	Yes	Special	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvE + PvP	Trials of Osiris	No	Lightfall	Season 21	Energy	No	Top-tier	Voltshot
	Sole Survivor	Sniper Rifle	Adaptive	Legendary	Special	Arc	Season 21	Yes	Special	Arc	Average ❘ B	PvE	Fishing	No	Season 21	Season 21	Energy	No		Voltshot
	Oversoul Edict	Pulse Rifle	Rapid-Fire	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Primary	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvE + PvP	Crota's End Raid	Yes	Free-to-Play	Season 22	Energy	Craftable	Top-tier	Voltshot,Sword Logic
	Undercurrent	Grenade Launcher	Wave	Legendary	Special	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Special	Arc	Average ❘ B	PvE	Nightfall: The Ordeals	No	Free-to-Play	Season 23	Energy	No		Voltshot,Bait and Switch
	Subjunctive	Submachine Gun	Lightweight	Legendary	Primary	Arc	Season 23	Yes	Primary	Arc	Strong ❘ A	PvE	Undying	Yes	Season 23	Season 23	Energy	Craftable	Top-tier	Voltshot
	Sailspy Pitchglass	Linear Fusion Rifle	Precision	Legendary	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Heavy	Arc	Weak ❘ C	-	Xûr	Yes	Free-to-Play	Season 18	Heavy	Craftable		Voltshot
	Path of Least Resistance	Trace Rifle	Adaptive	Legendary	Special	Arc	The Witch Queen	Yes	Special	Arc	Best ❘ S	PvE	Operation: Seraph's Shield	Yes	Witch Queen	Season 19	Heavy	Craftable	Top-tier	Voltshot
	Terminus Horizon	Machine Gun	High-Impact	Legendary	Heavy	Arc	Deluxe Edition	Yes	Heavy	Arc	Average ❘ B	-	Spire of the Watcher Dungeon	No	Deluxe Edition	Season 19	Heavy	No		Voltshot
	Song of Ir Yût	Machine Gun	Adaptive	Legendary	Heavy	Arc	Free-to-Play	Yes	Heavy	Arc	Strong ❘ A	PvE	Crota's End Raid	Yes	Free-to-Play	Season 22	Heavy	Craftable	Top-tier	Voltshot,Sword Logic,Reconstruction,Bait and Switch

Voltshot weapons examples, Destiny 2

This list effectively covers all the weapons that can currently apply jolt to a target as of this season.

What does Voltshot do: Hard Figures

Voltshot’s description in-game, albeit vague, does provide some insight as to how the perk works:

Reloading this weapon after defeating a target overcharges this weapon for a short period of time, causing it to jolt on its next hit.

-	Weapon Perk	PvE Damage increase	PvP Damage increase	Duration	Activation | Effects	Type	Weapons	Released
	Voltshot	Jolts targets		7s	Reloading after a Kill applies Jolt on the next hit. Chain lightning will release to enemies near it.	Specific	Various	Season 17

More specifically, Voltshot provides the following:

• After getting a kill, reloading within about 3.5 seconds will proc the perk.
• The next weapon hit within seven seconds Jolts the target.

The enhanced version of Voltshot, available via the weapon crafting system, does the following:

• Extends Voltshot’s duration from seven to eight seconds.

These precise numbers come from The Destiny Data Compendium.

But what is Jolt in Destiny 2?

Jolt is an Arc 3.0 debuff available via numerous Arc fragments, supers, aspects, and weapons.

Once an enemy becomes Jolted through Voltshot or other means, chain lightning will release to enemies near it after taking a certain amount of damage. This effect lasts 10 seconds in PvE and 5 seconds in PvP.

With that in mind, Voltshot can be described as a combination of Kill Clip and Chain Reaction. After killing a combatant and reloading, hitting an enemy applies Jolt, causing powerful chain lightning to nearby combatants after damage.

How do you trigger Voltshot, and what synergizes with it?

Triggering Voltshot is simple—just reload your weapon shortly after getting a kill and then damage a target with it. Because this perk utilizes an Arc 3.0 debuff, there are numerous ways to make Voltshot even stronger.

Enhanced Voltshot

Enhanced Voltshot is available by crafting a weapon that can roll with the Voltshot perk. Once you level it up enough to unlock the enhanced version of this trait, the time you have to hit an enemy after reloading increases from seven to eight seconds.

Sure, it’s not the most potent enhanced trait upgrade, but there’s no reason not to get it if you plan on utilizing Voltshot frequently.

Voltshot with an Arc 3.0 build, Destiny 2

Arc 3.0 fragments

If you’re using an Arc subclass in conjunction with Voltshot, fragments such as Spark of Discharge or Spark of Ions can create synergies between the two. Spark of Discharge generates an Ionic Trace every 1-3 Arc weapon kills, while Spark of Ions generates an Ionic Trace after killing a Jolted target (with a cooldown of 10 seconds).

Ionic Traces grant you ability energy, allowing you to follow weapon kills with powerful grenade and melee abilities.

Seasonal Artifact Mods

Seasonal artifact mods such as Season of the Seraph’s Monochromatic Maestro can elevate Voltshot and the builds surrounding it. While these mods change each season, Bungie has recently released artifact mods that enhance builds utilizing new Light 3.0 options. There’s no guarantee every season will have one that pairs with Voltshot perfectly but keep an eye out for ones that may enhance your Arc builds.

Before you go…

New ways to increase Voltshot’s potency and synergy with Arc builds are always coming. As always, we encourage you to take this perk a step further and make it your own! And just as Voltshot is a top-tier Arc perk, definitely check out Incandescent, its Solar counterpart.