Unlimited barricades?!
With the launch of Destiny 2: Lightfall came a new Darkness subclass, Strand. Whilst the initial fan reception to Strand was pretty underwhelming, as time has gone on the more dedicated players have had time to dig deep into the new subclass and come up with some powerful new builds. We’ve already covered Warlocks and Hunters, with armies of Threadlings and infinite enemy suspension all possible. This time we’re going to take a look at the space shooter’s brutes, the Titans.
We’re looking to create a build that will give unlimited barricades to protect against incoming enemy fire as well as turn you into a suspending machine. We’re obviously going to be using the Strand subclass, and some important aspects, fragments, and armor mods to help achieve that.
Aspects and fragments
We’ll first be using the aspect Drengr’s Lash. This creates a ripple that travels forward along the ground, suspending and damaging any targets it hits when you use your class ability. This means whenever you use your barricade, it will also be suspending and damaging any enemies in its path. We’re also going to use the aspect Into the Fray. This grants woven mail for you and your nearby allies when you destroy a Tangle or cast your Super. When you do have woven mail, your melee regeneration rate is also increased.
The fragments we will use here are Thread of Mind, which grants class ability energy when defeating suspended targets, and Thread of Warding which grants woven mail when picking up orbs of power. The woven mail provides a valuable 60% over-shield to protect against incoming damage. The next fragment we’ll use is Thread of Wisdom which gives orbs of power when defeating suspended targets with precision final blows. This will be valuable to create the orbs of power to collect in order to transform into woven mail. Finally, we’ll be using Thread of Generation which generates grenade energy when dealing any kind of damage.
We’ll be using the shackle grenade which suspends enemies it hits.
Exotics, gear, and armor
This build will synergize with the lesser-used Khepri’s Horn exotic helmet. This means that Solar damage kills will recharge our barricade which then also unleashes a blast of Solar energy when it’s summoned. This might not seem like the best choice at first glance, but it will really work with this build as not only will we be activating the Solar blast but also the suspension due to the Strand aspect.
As we need a Strand weapon in this build we’ll be using the Synchronic Roulette Strand submachine gun in the kinetic slot. We’ve managed to roll one with Target Lock which increases the damage the longer you hold down fire. Remember that the Exotic relies on Solar damage kills to activate its Exotic perk, so we’ve chosen to use the Solar grenade launcher Explosive Personality. This will recharge our barricade and give it that Solar blast to cause devastation to foes.
Finally, we’ve also chosen the Solar sword, The Lament, for the heavy weapon. When Strand targets are suspended, Titans can launch themselves into the fray and mow down all of them. This will give health back when revving the sword’s charge too.
Artifact mods
On the artifact, there are three Strand build mods for this Titan that we’ll want to ensure we have unlocked. Untangler means that destroying a Tangle with a Strand weapon will suspend targets damaged by its explosion. Allied Unraveling means that any rapid final blows using a Strand weapon will grant that weapon Unraveling Rounds, which lasts longer when near allies. Unraveling rounds will cause enemies to literally unravel before your eyes into a pile of Strand matter which then explodes, causing damage to all nearby foes. Finally, Threaded Blast means that destroying a Tangle with a Strand weapon will create a larger and more damaging explosion.
Armor mods
The armor mods will really bring this build into its own. On the helmet, we’re going to use Strand and Solar siphons to get as many orbs of power as possible. On the gauntlets, we’re going to use Heavy Handed which creates orbs of power on powered melee final blows as well as Momentum Transfer which reduces the melee cooldown when you cause damage with a grenade. Finally, we’re going to use Harmonic Loader to increase the reload speed of Strand weapons.
On the chest armor, we’ll use Lucent Blades to synergize with The Lament. This will increase the energy recharge rate of equipped swords. We’ll also use Melee Damage Resistance which reduces incoming damage from point-blank enemies.
On the boots, we’ll use Recuperation which replenishes health when picking up orbs of power, and a Solar Weapon Surge which gives Armor Charge as well as a small bonus to Solar weapon damage. Finally, we’ll use Orbs of Restoration which regenerates ability energy when picking up orbs of power.
On the class item, the mark, we’ll use Utility Kickstart which means that when our class ability is fully expended, we gain more. As well as this, we’ll add Time Dilation so that when we’re not using a barricade, we can make Lament stronger. We’ll also use Bomber which reduces grenade cooldown when we use our barricade, the class ability.
With all this in mind, you’ve got a strong Titan with long uptime on woven mail over-shields that can almost infinitely suspend and damage targets with a Solar blast, which creates devastating explosions when destroying those enemies with Tangles too. This is one of the strongest Titan builds possible right now, and worth considering for the upcoming World’s First raid race which begins March 10 for the new raid, The Root of Nightmares. Good luck, Guardians.
Destiny 2: Lightfall is out now for Xbox, PlayStation, and PC.
