When it comes to crowd control, the Arc Hunter is the best to ever do it in Destiny 2. With Supers that can decimate crowds, to melee attacks that can cause lightning to Arc across different enemies. It’s a versatile class and this guide will give you a solid Arc Hunter build for PvE and PvP to work with in Destiny 2.
Best PvE Arc Hunter build in Destiny 2
Like other Arc builds in Destiny 2, the Arc Hunter will need to rely on their powerful melee attacks and dodge to create a loop that increases your damage. This means you’ll constantly be in the thick of danger, but the rewards definitely outweigh the danger you’ll find yourself in.
This build is perfect for players who love to get right up to an enemy’s face and introduce them to your fist. You’ll also be helping out your strike team by generating a ton of orbs of light pretty quickly.
Best PvE Arc Hunter Aspects and Fragments
Aspects:
- Flow State – Defeating a jolted target makes you amplified.
- Lethal Current – After dodging, your next melee attack has increased lunge range, jolts the target, and creates a damaging aftershock.
Fragments:
- Spark of Shock – Your Arc grenades jolt targets. -10 Discipline
- Spark of Resistance – While surrounded by combatants, you are more resistant to incoming damage. +10 Strength.
- Spark of Amplitude – Rapidly defeating targets while you are amplified creates an Orb of Power.
- Spark of Feedback – Taking melee damage briefly increases your outgoing melee damage. +10 Resilience.
So the idea with this setup is that you’ll be focusing on using melee attacks to clear enemies. You can then use your dodge ability every now and then to further buff your melee and jolt targets. You’ll then be amplified which increases your movement speed and weapon handling. It all feeds back into itself to make you a very powerful melee attacker.
Since you’ll be so close to enemies I highly recommend increasing your Resilience with armor mods, as well as Discipline to reduce the cooldown of your abilities.
Best PvE Arc Hunter Abilities
- Super – Arc Staff
- Class Ability – Gambler’s Dodge
- Movement Ability – Personal choice
- Arc Melee – Combination Blow
- Grenade – Pulse Grenade or Arcbolt Grenade
The most important ability here is Combination Blow since it buffs your melee every time you defeat an enemy with melee attacks up to three times. This also refills your Class Ability and gives you a little bit of health each time. Again it’s all about feeding into that loop of using your melee to buff your attacks while using your dodge and creating Orbs of Light for allies.
Best PvE Arc Hunter weapons and armor
Exotic Armor:
- Raiden Flux – Successive attacks with Arc Staff increase its damage output and duration.
or
- Assassin’s Cowl – Powered melee final blows grant invisibility and restore a portion of health and shields.
Weapons:
- Any Shotgun you want will work well, but it’d best to get a semi-automatic to have a quick fire rate.
- Auto Rifles, Submachine Guns, and Hand Cannons will work well too.
- Sword for larger crowds and bosses when needed.
Mods:
- Helmet – Special Ammo Finder, Hands-On
- Arms – Focusing Strike, Momentum Transfer
- Chest – Melee Damage Resistance, Any reserves mod that lines up with your Shotgun choice
- Legs – Orbs of Restoration, Any holster mod that lines up with your Shotgun choice
- Class Item – Distribution, Outreach, Proximity Ward
Let’s talk about this PvE loadout. For the Exotic armor, you’ve got two main choices. Raiden Flux is brilliant if you intend to pop your Super a lot and want to make the most of it when you do have it. But Assassin’s Cowl is best for those who want to make the core gameplay loop of the build even better.
For weapons, shotguns are a must since you’ll constantly be at very close range against your enemies. You’ll need something to take bosses out very quickly just in case things become a little dicey. For the other weapon, you want something that works best at mid to close range. So an Auto Rifle, Sub Machine Gun, or a solid Hand Cannon will work best. My go-to in these scenarios is always the Ace of Spades but you can use whichever gun you like the best here.
The Armor mods chosen here focus on aiding the regeneration of your cooldowns, and finding special ammo for your shotgun, and Proximity Ward is brilliant for giving you a little breathing room by giving you an overshield during finishers. Outreach is also vital for making sure your dodge ability reduces your melee cooldown.
Best PvP Arc Hunter build in Destiny 2
While in Destiny 2 PvE the Arc Hunter build is an extremely melee-oriented class, that won’t work for PvP. In fact, while melee is still important, its focus will be far less when going up against other guardians. We instead want to focus on the Hunter’s class ability to get out of danger quickly. Plus we can leverage the Amplified state to gain a big buff in speed and weapon handling.
Best PvP Arc Hunter Aspects and Fragments
Aspects:
- Flow State – Defeating a jolted target makes you amplified.
- Lethal Current – After dodging, your next melee attack has increased lunge range, jolts the target, and creates a damaging aftershock.
Fragments:
- Spark of Haste – You have greatly increased resilience, recovery, and mobility while sprinting.
- Spark of Instinct – While critically wounded, taking damage emits a burst of damaging Arc energy that jolts targets.
- Spark of Focus – After sprinting for a short time, your class ability regeneration is increased. -10 Mobility.
- Spark of Shock – Your Arc grenades jolt targets. -10 Discipline.
So for PvP we’re focusing on the Hunter’s ability to get in and out of danger quickly. We’re also looking at ways to apply jolt to other guardians to make ourselves Amplified. Spark of Instinct and Shock will be the two Fragments making this possible, but we’re really focusing on the grenade to apply jolt here. Luckily we don’t need to rely on just this ability to apply jolt to targets.
Best PvP Arc Hunter abilities
- Super – Gathering Storm
- Class Ability – Gambler’s Dodge
- Movement Ability – Personal choice
- Arc Melee – Disorienting Blow
- Grenade – Pulse Grenade or Flashbang Grenade
There are three major differences here to take note of. First up is the Super and the reason we’re using Gathering Storm is because it can apply jolt to targets, making you Amplified in the process. And since using a Super usually makes you a massive target in PvP, having a movement speed buff to get away from danger is very useful.
Then there’s Disorienting Blow, which blinds targets when you strike them this also Amplifies you. This is complemented well by Flashbang Grenade which also blinds targets or Pulse Grenades which periodically damage targets in its range. These abilities all come together to make you a much harder target to hit. And they also give you plenty of ways to become Amplified, which can make you the fastest player in the lobby.
Related: Best Destiny 2 Void Hunter build: PvP and PvE
Best PvP Arc Hunter weapons and armor
Exotic Armor:
- Wormhusk Crown – Dodging gives a small health and shield bump.
or
- The Sixth Coyote – Gain a second dodge charge.
Weapons:
- Any Arc Auto Rifle, Pulse Rifle or Scout Rifle with Voltshot to control mid to long-range
- Sniper Rifle for large maps or a Shotgun for smaller maps
- Any power weapon you’d like as long as it’s Arc
Mods:
- Helmet – Harmonic Targeting, Hands-On
- Arms – Bolstering Detonation, Momentum Transfer
- Chest – Sniper Damage Resistance, Unflinching Harmonic Aim
- Legs – Insulation, Harmonic Holster
- Class Item – Distribution, Outreach, Bomber
The Exotic armor you choose for PvP will depend on your playstyle. Wormhusk Crown is great for getting you out of immediate danger and giving you a leg up in a near-death situation. The Sixth Coyote gives you a second dodge charge to use so you can be a little more strategic in what you do. Either option here is solid and it all comes down to personal preference.
For PvP you’ll need to pack an Arc weapon with the Voltshot perk. This perk makes it so that reloading a weapon after defeating a target will cause it to jolt the next target it hits. And doing this will let you become Amplified. So you’ll get yet another method to score the movement speed buff. There are about 14 weapons in Destiny 2 that can come with Voltshot, but among the best are the IKELOS_SMG_v.1.0.3, the Dark Decider, and the Prodigal Return.
As for mods in this Arc Hunter PvP build, we’re going for ones that will aid your Arc weaponry. Harmonic Holster will reload your Arc weapons when they’re stowed, while Unflinching Harmonic Aim will reduce your flinching when being shot at while aiming. I’ve also gone for mods like Insulation, Distribution, and Bomber which all reduce various cooldowns.
In Destiny 2 PvP, this Arc Hunter build has one job and it’s to avoid being hit. Whether that’s by moving too quickly for other players to dial their shots in time, or by blinding them and making them unable to see anything going on around them. It requires careful strategy, but it’s so fun once you get it down.
