If you want to survive for 50 waves in Destiny 2’s Onslaught defense game mode, you need the right build. Here are the best Onslaught builds for each class in Destiny 2.
Use this table of contents to jump right to your class’s best Onslaught build:
How to make an OP build for Onslaught in Destiny 2
The key to making an amazing Onslaught build in Destiny 2 is crowd control. While you’ll need something, albeit a Super, a Special weapon (like Succession or one of the 12 Brave Arsenal weapons), or a Power weapon to deal high single-target damage to the bosses you encounter, the best way to survive for a long time in Onslaught is to use a build with great crowd control. Keeping enemies away from the ADU is the name of the game, so the more AoE damage you can do, the better.
Best Warlock build for Onslaught in Destiny 2
The best Warlock build for Onslaught is the Threadling/Tangle Strand Warlock. This build excels in Onslaught because Threadlings are great for crowd control. And, as if your Threadling army isn’t enough, your Tangles, which will appear everywhere all the time, will Suspend your enemies which gives you another layer of crowd control.
If you don’t have Strand, an amazing alternative to this is the Sunbracers Solar Warlock. The Solar Warlock with Sunbracers allows you to throw Solar Grenades everywhere all the time. These last long and deal extremely good damage. While I prefer the Dawn Chorus Solar Warlock, the Sunbracers Solar Warlock will really shine in Onslaught.
- Abilities
- Super – Needlestorm
- Class Ability – Healing Rift
- Jump – Strafe Glide
- Melee – Arcane Needle
- Grenade – Threadling Grenade
- Aspects
- Weaver’s Call – Cast your Rift to weave three Threadlings and deploy any Threadlings you have perched.
- The Wanderer – Tangles you throw attach to targets and detonate into a Suspending burst. Tangles you destroy create a Suspending burst. Threadling final blows create a Tangle.
- Fragments
- Thread of Evolution – Threadlings travel farther and deal additional damage. +10 Intellect.
- Thread of Warding – Picking up an Orb of Power grants Woven Mail. -10 Resilience.
- Thread of Rebirth – Strand weapon final blows have a chance to create a Threadling.
- Thread of Generation – Dealing damage generates grenade energy. -10 Discipline.
- Stats
- 100 Resilience, 100 Recovery. High Discipline is a plus. Strength and Intellect don’t matter as much. Ignore Mobility.
- Exotic Armor
- Swarmers – Destroying a Tangle spawns a Threadling. Your Threadlings Unravel targets that they damage.
- Weapons
- Quicksilver Storm, Tusk of the Boar, Dragon’s Breath. Any Strand weapon that is used as your primary weapon and a single-target DPS Special and/or Power weapon for bosses.
- Armor Mods
- Helmet – One Special Ammo Finder, One Heavy Ammo Finder, One Harmonic Siphon.
- Arms – One Focusing Strike, one Bolstering Detonation, one Harmonic Loader.
- Chest – One Sniper Damage Resistance, one Concussive Dampener.
- Legs – One Insulation, one Recuperation, one Absolution.
- Class Item – One Bomber, one Outreach, one Reaper.
- Alternative
- Sunbracers Solar Warlock
The playstyle of this build is to spam your Threadling Grenade and Healing Rift to send Threadlings at enemies. When Threadlings hit enemies, they’ll create Tangles. Grab the Tangles and throw them at enemies or shoot them to Suspend everyone in the area and spawn more Threadlings. Keep getting kills with your Strand weapon to get Orbs of Power which grant you Woven Mail, and rinse and repeat.
Best Hunter build for Onslaught in Destiny 2
The best Hunter build for Onslaught is the Duskfield Stasis Hunter. You’ll use Renewal Grasps to make your Duskfield Grenades bigger while also making allies take less damage and enemies hit less hard while within the Duskfield. You also have the Silence and Squall Super which is one of the best crowd control tools in the game.
Hunters don’t excel at crowd control, so picking an alternative is harder. While Void and Solar are extremely good at add clear and single-target damage, the Arc Hunter build is best for keeping enemies at bay thanks to the Arc Staff Super and the Raidan Flux Exotic increasing its damage and duration.
- Abilities
- Super – Silence and Squall
- Class Ability – Marksman’s Dodge
- Jump – Triple Jump
- Melee – Withering Blade
- Grenade – Duskfield Grenade
- Aspects
- Touch of Winter – Your Glacier, Duskfield, and Coldsnap grenades have enhanced functionality. Glacier Grenade: Adds a Stasis crystal and changes formation. Duskfield Grenade: Increases slow-field size and forms a small Stasis crystal on impact. Coldsnap Grenade: Seeker makes a Stasis crystal on detonation and chains one additional time
- Grim Harvest – Defeating slowed or frozen combatants creates Stasis shards. These shards grant melee energy when picked up by you or your allies.
- Fragments
- Whisper of Hedrons – Increases weapon stability, aim assist, weapon airborne effectiveness, Mobility, resilience, and recovery after freezing a target with Stasis.
- Whisper of Chains – While you are near frozen targets or a friendly Stasis crystal, you take reduced damage from targets.
- Whisper of Shards – Shattering a Stasis crystal briefly boosts your grenade recharge rate. Shattering additional Stasis crystals increases the duration of this benefit.
- Whisper of Refraction – Defeating slowed, or frozen targets grants you class ability energy.
- Stats
- 100 Mobility, 100 Resilience. High Discipline is a plus. Recovery and Intelligence don’t matter as much. Ignore Strength.
- Exotic Armor
- Renewal Grasps – Duskfield grenades have a much larger effect radius. Allies inside the Duskfield take reduced damage, and targets inside the area deal reduced damage.
- Weapons
- Conditional Finality, Verglas Curve, Krait, Eyasluna, Salvation’s Grip. Any Stasis weapon for your primary and a strong close-range weapon like an SMG or Shotgun to stay in Duskfields and take out enemies.
- Armor Mods
- Helmet – One Heavy Ammo Finder, one Dynamo
- Arms – One Grenade Kickstart, one Bolstering Detonation
- Chest – One Arc Damage Resistance, one Solar Damage Resistance, and one Void Damage Resistance
- Legs – One Absolution, one Innervation
- Class Item – One Reaper, two Bomber
- Alternative
- Raidan Flux Arc Hunter
The playstyle of this Duskfield Stasis Hunter is to throw your Duskfield Grenade at a group of enemies. Get in the Duskfield and destroy everyone within it. When you can, use Silence and Squall at a choke point or on the area with the most enemies. Use your Dodge to stay alive and get your Duskfield Grenade back. Repeat the process. It’s a fairly simple playstyle but it’s very effective in Onslaught.
Best Titan build for Onslaught in Destiny 2
A great alternative if you don’t have Strand yet is the Heart of Inmost Light Void Titan. This Void Titan build makes all of your abilities stronger. Ward of Dawn and Towering Barricade with the Bastion Aspect allows you to lock down an area and establish an impassable barrier that enemies won’t be able to breach. Needless to say, it is really good in Onslaught.
If you have Strand and want to try an alternative, I recommend the Synthoceps Strand Titan. With the Banner of War and Into the Fray Aspects paired with Synthoceps, you’ll constantly grant healing and Woven Mail to yourself and nearby allies. This Strand Titan build is an aggressive build that provides good defense because of its ability to decimate everything, similar to the Arc Hunter.
- Abilities
- Super – Ward of Dawn
- Class Ability – Towering Barricade
- Jump – Strafe Lift
- Melee – Shield Bash
- Grenade – Vortex Grenade
- Aspects
- Bastion – Casting your Barricade grants Overshield to yourself and nearby allies and empowers it, enabling it to slowly regenerate the Overshield of allies bunkering behind it and extend their Overshield duration.
- Offensive Bulwark – While you have an Overshield or are inside Ward of Dawn, your grenade charges significantly faster, you have increased melee range and damage, and melee final blows extend the duration of your Overshield.
- Fragments
- Echo of Undermining – Your Void grenades weaken targets.
- Echo of Persistence – Void buffs applied to you (Invisibility, Overshield, and Devour) have increased duration.
- Echo of Starvation – Picking up a Void Breach or an Orb of Power grants Devour.
- Echo of Expulsion – Void ability final blows cause targets to explode
- Stats
- 100 Resilience, 100 Discipline. High Recovery and Strength are a plus. Mobility and Intelligence don’t matter as much.
- Exotic Armor
- Heart of Inmost Light – Using an ability empowers the other two abilities. Empowered means abilities have faster regen. Melees and grenades do more damage and Barricades have more hit points.
- Weapons
- Tractor Cannon, Funnelweb. Any Void weapon for your primary and a strong Special or Power weapon to deal with groups of enemies and bosses.
- Armor Mods
- Helmet – Two Kinetic Targeting.
- Arms – One Kinetic Reloader, one Kinetic Dexterity.
- Chest – Two Melee Damage Resistance.
- Legs – Two Stasis Holster, one Kinetic Weapon Surge.
- Class Item – One Reaper, one Distribution.
- Alternative
- Synthoceps Strand Titan
The playstyle of this Titan build is to use your Towering Barricade near a wall or on a choke point. While behind cover, you have a Void Overshield and your abilities recharge faster. Use your melee and grenade, both of which are enhanced thanks to Heart of Inmost Light, to control the flow of enemies. When multiple enemies are coming your way, use Ward of Dawn on or near the ADU.
Use your weapons and abilities to delete everything on screen and repeat the process. Set up barriers and tear down enemies. Though these builds are particularly best in Exotic Missions, you’ll likely want to know when we can play The Whisper and Zero Hour Exotic Missions.
