RELATED: Destiny 2: Everything You Need To Know About Heroic Adventures

Beyond Light is the season of the Hunter. The stasis subclass has shifted the meta in terms of abilities to the Hunter class. Hunter mains will want to make sure they create a build that takes advantage of all the new stasis abilities and aspects. However, guardians should not limit their builds to one subclass, as the other three are still viable. Below are the two best Hunter PVE builds in Destiny 2.

Updated on March 18, 2022, by Anastasia Maillot: Hunters have often benefited the most from Void subclass in endgame PVE content, and Void 3.0 hasn’t significantly changed that. If anything, the new changes that bring Void on par with Stasis subclass customization have widened the possibilities for all classes but have especially made Hunters a must-have class in many endgame PVE activities. As a result, this has pushed the other subclasses far into the backburner, with Arc being barely viable in PVE and Solar being extremely situational. There are, however, some changes to Stasis that still make the Revenant Hunter go almost toe to toe with Nightstalker. Here are the best Hunter PVE builds per subclass following the release of The Witch Queen expansion.

Arc Hunters: Is It Viable In Season 16 PVE?

The short answer is: no. The long answer is: maybe if players are seasoned enough and enjoy experimenting.

Arc for Hunters is currently weak compared to the other subclasses, especially in PVE. That being said, Arc actually does decently well in Crucible, but even then, Void Hunters will see more use out of their new Invisibility and Suppression abilities. It’s likely that a proper Arc PVE build will only be viable by the time Bungie releases Arc 3.0, which should be coming shortly between 2022 and 2023.

Solar Hunter In PVE

Solar may be one of the more “true” Hunter experiences in the game, but it pales in comparison to some of the other subclasses Hunters have available. The subclass focuses mostly on precision and gunslinger abilities and has the ability to dish out quite a bit of damage. Depending on what the fireteam needs, players can go top tree to extend their Golden Gun with each kill to clear ads, or bottom tree to deal high precision damage in fewer shots.

Subclass

For PVE, the bottom tree, Way of the Sharpshooter, is really the only viable one, especially for more difficult PVE content. For mid-tier PVE content, top-tree can be justified if players feel comfortable enough.

RELATED: Destiny 2: How To Get The Glaive

Way of the Sharpshooter rewards precision damage, and players can activate powerful buffs like Practices Makes Perfect, which reduces Golden Gun’s cooldown. Line ‘Em Up allows Hunters to also deal precision damage with Golden Gun, which comes nicely into play when paired with a certain Exotic helmet. For dodges, the Gambler’s Dodge is nice for players who are confident doing precision knife throws. Marksman’s Dodge is better for PVP generally speaking.

Weapons

There are no rules for what weapons to use for the Way of the Sharshoopter, though weapons incapable of dealing precision damage shouldn’t be prioritized (such as SMGs, auto rifles, or pulse rifles). Players should pick something they feel completely comfortable with in terms of aiming, such as a hand cannon or scout rifle. The weapons below are good examples of options that work well for season 16, though it should be noted that Hung Jury is no longer in rotation, but can be replaced with the new trials scout rifle, Aisha’s Embrace.

Eyasluna hand cannon Palindrome hand cannon Hung Jury scout rifle Pointed Inquiry scout rifle

The benefit for these is also the fact that hand cannons can deal anti-Unstoppable damage in season 16, and scout rifles specialize in anti-Barrier damage. Don’t forget to equip the required mods for these as well.

Armor

There are a few Exotic armor pieces that will significantly improve the quality of the Sharpshooter subclass for Hunters, even towards end-game content. While it won’t hold a candle to Void’s supremacy in season 16, players who have yet to buy all Void fragments or who simply feel more comfortable on Solar can still count on the subclass provided these Exotics are used.

Celestial Nighthawk: Golden Gun fires one high damage shot, exploding any enemies affected and grants the player Super energy. Perfect for boss damage phases for massive damage. Star-Eater Scales: With the scales, each Orb of Power grants more super energy, and orbs picked up while the super is full heal the guardian. By collecting enough orbs while the super bar is full, Star-Eater Scales will generate an overshield. For a Hunter, these bonuses are completely ridiculous. Players will get their super faster and heal periodically by defeating enemies. As if that was not enough, guardians will be able to heal while their overshield is active.

RELATED: Destiny 2: What The Tractor Cannon Catalyst Does & How To Find It

If gamers wait to use their super until the overshield is up, they will receive max damage during the super and +60% weapon damage. Hit all three shots with the Golden Gun and the max damage that can be inflicted is somewhere around 350k. That is even more than a Celestial Nighthawk by some margin.

Stasis Revenant Build

Stasis has gone through a lot of changes at the end of season 15, at least in PVP. In PVE, players can expect largely the same experience as before, and Hunters continue to be one of the best classes to run Stasis builds on.

RELATED: Destiny 2: Pro-Tips To Help You Dominate PVP As A Hunter

So, why pick a Stasis Revenant build over a Void build? Stasis is absolutely brilliant even in end-game content due to its ability to freeze and stop enemies from advancing. This stun can be crucial to buy the team some time to clear more high-priority targets or even get a resurrection off. And that’s really what Revenant is all about: controlling waves of enemies and buying time.

Subclass

Players should make sure to unlock all required aspects and fragments before making a Revenant build. Here’s what to pick for the ideal package:

Super: Silence & Squall Grenade: Duskfield Grenade Aspects: Grim Harvest, Touch of Winter Fragments: Whisper of Fissures (greater damage and size of Stasis crystal explosion when shattered), Whisper of Fractures (faster melee recharge), Whisper of Hunger (gain melee recharge from destroying Stasis crystals), Whisper of Conduction (Stasis shards track to player’s location), Whisper of Shards (destroying Stasis crystals improves grenade recharge rate)

This build focuses on great melee recovery, which pairs well with season 16’s Melee Wellmaker artifact mod. Since Elemental Well mods reign supreme currently, it’s more important than ever before to invest in good grenade or melee energy recharge fragments and mods.

Touch of Winter will greatly enhance the Duskfield Grenade’s area of effect for slowing down enemies, and also creates a crystal at impact, which is what this build relies on. Grim Harvest is also a must-have based on the suggested fragments above, as they allow Hunters to regenerate more melee energy.

Weapons

There is no set rule on what weapon to run, but players wanting to go all out for a Stasis build should focus on getting a good Stasis primary weapon. The required perk is Headstone, which will spawn a Stasis crystal at the location where the target was killed. Great weapon options that include this perk are:

Eyasluna hand cannon Syncopation-53 pulse rifle Forensic Nightmare submachine gun Perses-D scout rifle

Armor

Hunters are a bit short on good Stasis-related Exotics right now, but there are two approaches that are viable generally speaking if players decide to go for a melee-focused Stasis Elemental Well build.

Renewal Grasps: Larger area of effect for Duskfield Grenades, and allies inside the grenade take less damage. Newly included in The Witch Queen expansion. Aeon Swift: Apply the Sect of Force mod for game modes with champions. Defeating them or any yellow-bar minibosses will provide better melee and grenade recharge rates for teammates. Precision hits also improve reload and changing weapons, making these gauntlets a jack of all trades.

Void 3.0 Nightstalker Build

Even before the Void 3.0 changes that were introduced with The Witch Queen expansion and season 16, Void was a go-to subclass for end-game Hunter gameplay, simply because of Invisibility and Heart of the Pack. Now that the latter has been done away with, Hunters will have to make do with other options.

The Void 3.0 Nightstalker build specializes in big damage and weakening enemies. The Hunter Super in particular will be vital in difficult boss fights where some type of damage boost is required for the enemy to take more damage.

Subclass

Players should head over to Ikora Rey and unlock everything for the Void subclass before attempting to complete this build. Here’s what to focus on for Nightstalker.

Super: Moebius Quiver Grenade: Vortex Grenade Aspects: Stylish Executioner, Vanishing Step Fragments: Echo of Expulsion (kills with Void abilities explode enemies), Echo of Remnants (increased duration for lingering grenade effects), Echo of Undermining (grenades weaken enemies), Echo of Resistance (increased duration for any Void buffs, like invisibility, devour and overshield).

These fragments will help Hunters clear a ton of ads and weaken tougher enemies. Moreover, Vanishing Step and Stylish Executioner provide invisibility and true sight, so Hunters are able to sustain themselves better.

Weapons

With Void subclasses, Void weapons usually work the best, especially if players plan on going with a build that takes advantage of Void Elemental Well mods and the Volatile Overflow artifact mod. In that case, a Void energy weapon is a must-have.

RELATED: Destiny 2: Void 3.0 Hunter Best Builds, Aspects, and Fragments

Players should go for a Funnelweb with Subsistence and Feeding Frenzy perks. For primary, players can use the Witherhoard grenade launcher for additional ad-clearing and weakening enemies. Blinding grenade launchers like Ignition Code also work fantastically. For the heavy slot, Gjallarhorn is the best pick if players have no other Exotic equipped or Palmyra-B with Explosive Light and Auto-Loading Holster perks.

Armor

Depending on what players want to achieve, they can go for the Aeon Swift gauntlets, which will work in almost any endgame situation, as they reward players for killing minibosses and champions by improving the recharge rate of grenade and melee abilities for allies.

However, the Orpheus Rig Exotic boots are one of the best options for Void Hunters right now as it allows one additional Moebius Quiver shot, and better ability regeneration depending on how many enemies are tethered.

In some very niche instances, the Omnioculus Exotic chest piece can still be useful, especially if players are engaged in a difficult three-man activity where survival is key and the fireteam plans to play stacked together. Otherwise, the Orpheus Rig is the best choice.

Destiny 2: The Witch Queen is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.

MORE: Destiny 2: Everything You Need To Know About Pinnacle Gear