Episode: Revenant is the Stasis season Destiny 2 players have been waiting for. Now, players can put together their most biting builds and shatter foes with frosty wrath. It’s not that Guardians are deciding to start using Stasis just for the fun of it, but Bungie put a focus on the Subclass in Episode: Revenant through the Artifact Mods available and updates to the Exotic armor repertoire.
Players haven’t really ever had a season to enjoy Stasis, as the Subclass wasn’t super attractive following its launch in the Beyond Light expansion. Bungie has been steadily improving Stasis since then, and the Class and ability updates preceding Episode: Revenant were some of the biggest yet. These came alongside the aforementioned Artifact Mods and Exotic changes to position Stasis in the best place it’s ever been.
Episode: Revenant Artifact
Episode: Revenant has an Artifact with great options to support a Stasis build. While each build and Class may focus on different things, the Stasis-focused Artifact Perks are general enough to work well with most Stasis builds. As such, players should enable One With Frost, Wind Chill, Crystalline Converter, Armor of Eramis, Hail the Storm, Brain Freeze, and Served Cold. Of note, Served Cold allows Stasis Shards to provide Class ability energy on top of melee energy, and Wind Chill grants Frost Armor with rapid Stasis weapon precision hits.
Warlock
It is time to put away those Osmiomancy Gloves. In Episode: Revenant, Warlocks can grant themselves and any nearby allies full stacks of Frost Armor whenever they cast their Healing Rift. The Rift will create a Stasis Freezing blast, generate Super energy for each ally buffed, and regen Class ability energy if used close to enemies. All that extra Super energy will allow Guardians to use Winter’s Wrath frequently, which will, in turn, provide more Frost Armor, buff Shatter damage on foes, and increase Stasis weapon damage.
Subclass
Before jumping into the gear, Warlocks will want to make sure they have their Stasis Subclass set up in a way that makes the most of the entire build. While the melee ability is static, and the grenade choice can vary based on other loadout choices, a Healing Rift will provide an accessible health source and play into additional features once we add the Frostpulse Aspect. Frostpulse creates a Stasis shockwave that Freezes enemies after casting a Rift. Iceflare Bolts is the other Aspect of choice, spawning homing and Freezing projectiles after Shattering a Frozen target.
For Fragments, Warlocks will want to stick with Whisper of Rime, Whisper of Chains, and Whisper of Refraction. The trio offers increased Frost Armor effectiveness, Stasis Shard generation while Frost Armor is active, and Class ability energy on defeated Frozen/Slowed enemies. The other Fragment is a little more fluid depending on playstyle, with Whisper of Fissures being a fun choice for AOE mayhem or Whisper of Chill for even more Stasis Shards.
Gear
The build comes to life with the Exotic gauntlets Ballidorse Wrathweavers. It now provides Frost Armor to Guardians in range of the Winter’s Wrath Super shockwave. Frost Armor is also granted via a Frostpulse Rift, which rewards max stacks to any allies in range. As if that wasn’t nice enough, Super energy is rewarded whenever Warlocks provide Frost Armor to allies.
All of those features function well together, but Ballidorse Wrathweavers also provide increased Stasis weapon damage to anyone buffed by it and increased Shatter damage for anyone doing enough damage to enemies Frozen by the Warlock’s Winter’s Wrath Super.
Weapons aren’t as crucial to the build as a proper mod and subclass setup. Still, an Exotic Stasis primary weapon like Wicked Implement will take advantage of the Stasis weapon damage buff and reward extra Super energy.
Stats and armor mods
Outside of the Ballidorse Wrathweavers, players will want to ensure the mods equipped on their armor support Class ability regen as much as possible without skimping on Resilience or Discipline. With that in mind, Guardians want 100 Resilience and then as much Recovery as possible. From there, any extra stats can go into Discipline for grenades.
- Head: Harmonic Siphon and Dynamo
- Arms: Momentum Transfer and Bolstering Detonation
- Chest: Damage resistance
- Legs: Recuperation, Absolution, and Insulation
- Class item: Reaper and Distribution
Titan
Titans finally have some Stasis skills to show off, following massive changes to both standard Class features and the Stasis Subclass specifically. Now, Titans can become the focus of the whole room, capturing enemy attention before Shattering them like an unstoppable bowling ball, knocking down pins of Stasis Crystals. Titans will be nigh unkillable with constant Frost Armor and lots of devastation at close quarters.
Subclass
Guardians will want Rally Barricade, Shiver Strike, and Duskfield Grenade for the Stasis Subclass. Shiver Strike is the only melee option, but it’s been reworked to be reasonably solid. Rally Barricade offers the fastest Class ability cooldown, and Duskfield Grenade can Slow enemies on a whim, both of which can help the overall build function.
For Aspects, Diamond Lance is a no-brainer, offering ranged Freeze and Frost Armor with a slam. The other Aspect to take is Tectonic Harvest for easy Stasis Shard generation, which will grant Frost Armor, melee energy, and heal Titans when collected.
With the two Aspects chosen, Titans will get five Fragments to play with. Whisper of Rime, Whisper of Reversal, Whisper of Refraction, Whisper of Durance, and Whisper of Fissures all work together well. The Fragment combination puts an enhanced slow effect on enemies whenever they deal or receive melee damage and defeated slowed enemies grant Class ability energy. Frost Armor is also improved alongside Shatter damage, as Titans will make lots of Stasis Crystals.
Gear
For gear, players can choose between two playstyles. The safer option in high-end PvE content is the Icefall Mantle Exotic. Icefall Mantle grants Frost Armor from rapid Stasis kills and heals the Titan with each stack or refresh of Frost Armor.
The Exotic also replaces Rally Barricade with a unique Class ability that creates an AOE Freeze effect and grants the user full stacks of Frost Armor. Alternatively, players can take the Cadmus Ridge Lancecap for a spin to wholly lean into Diamond Lances. The Exotic lets Diamond Lances create Stasis Crystals, and rapid precision damage or precision kills spawn Diamond Lances.Â
Titans can get a lot of use out of the reworked Salvation’s Grip Exotic grenade launcher. It can charge a shot to create several Stasis Crystals, and regular fire deals increased damage to Frozen enemies and Stasis Crystals. The weapon can also reload itself by destroying multiple Stasis Crystals. Otherwise, players will want a primary Stasis weapon with the Headstone Perk to ensure Stasis Crystals are plentiful.
Stats and armor mods
Titans using this setup will get a little extra stat boost from the selected Fragments, but stat priorities should still seem familiar. 100 Resilience is the priority, followed by Strength and then Discipline.
- Head: Harmonic Siphon and Heavy Ammo Finder
- Arms: Impact Induction and Focusing Strike X2
- Chest: Damage resistance
- Legs: Stasis Weapon Surge, Absolution, and Recuperation
- Class item: Reaper and Distribution
Hunter
While Hunters benefit from the more significant Stasis changes abound, they’ll likely want to fall back on an old favorite build centering around the Duskfield grenade. Hunters will litter the battlefield with Duskfield grenades, providing Frost Armor to allies within its enhanced range and debuffing enemies caught within. Stasis Shards and Orbs of Power will also track to Hunters, decreasing all ability cooldowns.
Subclass
Players will want Gambler’s Dodge, Withering Blade, and Duskfield grenade for the Stasis Subclass setup. Gambler’s Dodge can be used to refund a Withering Blade whenever needed, and the melee ability provides another source of Slow. Duskfield grenade has greater importance to the build, working with the Touch of Winter Aspect and the Exotic armor piece of choice to greatly improve its effects. The other Aspect for this build is Grim Harvest, creating Stasis Shards whenever Slowed or Frozen enemies are defeated.
For Fragments, players will want Whisper of Rime and Whisper of Chains to make the most of Frost Armor whenever it’s available. Whisper of Durance makes Slow effects and Duskfield grenade last longer, creating more Stasis Shards, which will be automatically collected thanks to Whisper of Conduction. Finally, Whisper of Shards allows Hunters to shatter the Stasis Crystal formed after using a Duskfield grenade to boost grenade recharge rate.
Gear
If it isn’t clear by now, Hunters will use the Renewal Grasps Exotic for this build. The gauntlets increase the size of the Duskfield grenade’s effect and reduce damage from enemies inside. The Duskfield effect also grants Frost Armor to the Hunter and allies within its radius.
As for weapons, Hunters will ideally want something that can create Stasis Crystals, so they are not wholly dependent on the small Crystal created from Duskfield grenades. Verglas Curve can work well for this purpose, and the extra Super energy from kills is lovely, too. That said, it may feel less effective in more challenging content. In that event, Wicked Implement is a less flashy but reliable alternative.
Stats and armor mods
Like all Classes, Hunters will want to reach 100 Resilience first. From there, the focus should shift to Discipline and then to Mobility. Thankfully, some of the Fragments provide some stat boosts, so players will have a little help reaching their goals.
- Head: Harmonic Siphon, Dynamo, and Heavy Ammo Finder
- Arms: Bolstering Detonation X2 and Momentum Transfer
- Chest: Damage resistance
- Legs: Invigoration, Absolution, and Recuperation
- Class item: Reaper and Bomber X2
Published: Nov 6, 2024 01:46 pm