Class identity is a major aspect of the Destiny game series; choosing your class is the very first thing you do in Destiny 1 and Destiny 2, and is quite possibly the most important decision you will make in the game (at least until you make more characters). There are 3 different classes to choose from: Warlocks, Hunters, and Titans, and each class has four customizable subclasses that you can tweak to your liking. Today, we’ll be taking a look at each Warlock subclass and how they stack up to each other. Which Warlock subclass is the best in Destiny 2 for Crucible? Which Warlock subclass is best for PvE content? Well, stick around and I’ll tell you everything you need to know about how these Warlock subclasses stack up against each other!
4. Stormcaller (Arc)
Stormcaller is traditionally the most underused Warlock subclass in all of Destiny 2, at least until the Vault of Glass reopened and made every single Warlock (except one on Well) switch to Chaos Reach for the final boss, Atheon. The only times that I’ve seen anyone run Stormcaller outside of the Atheon boss fight in Vault of Glass is in Mayhem Crucible, or when the Strike elemental burn is Arc and they need to complete 3 strikes while using a subclass that matches the element of the burn. That’s about it. Now, Stormcaller does have its place in the game, it’s perfect for ad-clear and cosplaying Emperor Palpatine, but it isn’t very effective in too many situations without a bunch of enemies.
3. Shadebinder (Stasis)
The new Stasis subclasses that were added in Beyond Light were extremely powerful and potent when Beyond Light first released. These have since been nerfed quite a bit by Bungie in an attempt to bring them in line with the Light subclasses in PvP. Unfortunately, these PvP nerfs have bled into PvE and made these Stasis subclasses significantly weaker. However, I still think that there is a ton of utility with Shadebinder. For instance, in the Gatekeepers encounter in the Vault of Glass raid, you can relieve some unnecessary pressure and grant your fireteam some breathing room by being able to freeze the Minotaurs that spawn in each portal. While it’s not absolutely necessary, it is certainly a nice way to manage everything around you when you can literally stop everything from moving. Stasis was a pretty major problem in Crucible, but now that the recent Stasis nerf has been released, it seems to be a much smaller problem.
2. Dawnblade (Solar)
Middle-tree Dawnblade gives Warlocks one of the best support abilities to ever grace Destiny 2 with Well of Radiance. Well of Radiance essentially takes the place of a Titan bubble by projecting a powerful aura that heals and empowers allies that are standing within the Well of Radiance. The damage buff that Well gives is actually more than that of a Titan’s Weapons of Light, and while it doesn’t protect from all incoming damage, it certainly negates quite a bit of it. In almost every endgame activity, it is essential to have a Well of Radiance Warlock (“Well-lock”) on your fireteam, especially one with Lunafaction Boots (to quickly reload all weapons) or Phoenix Protocol (to regain Well of Radiance as quickly as possible). The grenade ability for middle-tree Dawnblade is also an incredibly useful tool as you can convert your grenade into a Blessing that heals ally targets and drops overshields that you and your allies can pick up; this also allows you to hover in midair if you activate this grenade while Gliding. Top-tree Dawnblade is also incredibly useful for mobility; if you’re looking to speed around the map, then you’ll want to be Icarus Dashing everywhere.
1. Voidwalker (Void)
Top and bottom-tree Voidwalker are some of the best options for Warlock subclasses in Destiny 2. Top-tree Voidwalker allows you to hold your grenade to overcharge it, making it much deadlier and more effective. It also comes with “Entropic Pull” that lets you drain your enemy’s life force and use it to recharge your grenade when you hit an enemy with this melee ability. With top-tree Voidwalker, your Nova Bomb travels slowly and seeks enemies and detonates when it comes into contact with anything, these detonations shatter into smaller seeking projectiles, and you can fire your weapon at the Nova Bomb, allowing you to detonate it early. For endgame content, you’ll more than likely be running bottom-tree Voidwalker that gives you “Devour” which allows you to fully regenerate your health by getting kills with this melee ability, and synergizes with “Feed The Void.” Feed The Void allows you to “eat” your grenade that will regenerate your health and grant the Devour effect, and with “Insatiable,” killing enemies with Devour active will extend Devour’s effect and recharge your grenade. Your Nova Bomb on bottom-tree Voidwalker will create a singularity which continually damages enemies trapped inside, and kills with Nova Bomb will grant the Devour effect.
So, yes, I do think that Voidwalker is overwhelmingly the most powerful Warlock subclass – especially when Oppressive Darkness is available – but that doesn’t mean that the rest of these subclasses don’t have their place in the game. There’s plenty of ways to play a Warlock in Destiny, I prefer to dive headfirst and do as much damage as I can, so I love playing Voidwalker. Here’s hoping that Bungie adds yet another subclass with The Witch Queen, but I guess we’ll just have to see for ourselves when Bungie decides to reveal more information about the upcoming expansion!
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