Destiny 2: Arc 3.0 Warlock Build Guide

This article is part of a directory: Destiny 2 Season of Plunder: Complete Guide and Walkthrough

Table of contents

The last 3.0 update of the subclasses in Destiny 2 has arrived in season 18: Arc. This subclass was the one that undoubtedly needed the most work for Bungie, which is why it took so long for it to be released for the players to try out. The new update has brought about some major changes for Titans and Hunters, but Warlocks haven't gone through dramatic changes overall.

A few new effects have been introduced this season: Amplified, jolting and blinding. Amplified allows players to move faster and their weapon handling is improved. Jolting is a debuff applied to enemies, which causes them to chain lightning damage to other enemies nearby if they take more damage while jolted. Finally, blinding prevents enemies from firing their weapons, and in PVP, player screens will be whited out.

With the seasonal vocabulary in mind, here's what Arc Warlocks can do with Arc 3.0 in Destiny 2.

Arc Abilities, Aspects & Fragments

Arc is the last subclass to receive the 3.0-treatment, preceded by Void and Solar. Players can pick up the new grenades and fragments from Ikora at the Tower, in exchange for Glimmer. Players can now create various builds by tailoring the different fragments and aspects to their needs, whether they main PVE or PVP.

Not much is new for Arc Warlocks. That being said, for those who enjoy quick ability regeneration and being Amplified on cooldown, the new Arc 3.0 Warlock does hold some hidden gems.

Arc Class Abilities

In terms of class abilities, there's nothing new for Warlocks. Since Arc is mainly focused on speed and damage, and its effects don't really provide any health regeneration or healing, players might want to prioritize having a Healing Rift.

Moreover, Healing Rift will pair up nicely with the Arc Soul aspect and give it a damage flavor, so even players who would normally use Empowering Rift to get a ton of damage in can consider switching to a Healing Rift.

Arc Melees

The melee section is where things get slightly more interesting. Players have the choice between two melees, both of which work well in both PVE and PVP sandboxes.

Ball Lightning: Players will recognize this original Arc melee, with excellent range. It spawns a detonating Arc explosion at the target location. While Amplified, there are additional detonations.
Chain Lightning: A closer range melee but will jolt the target and create chain lightning to other nearby targets. While Amplified, the chain lightning's extent is increased.

Arc Grenades

Warlocks now have access to various other Arc grenades in the game, but a few favorites have already emerged. Out of the available grenades, these are the options that players should consider for Arclock:

Storm Grenade: Calls up a focused lightning storm at the target location.
Pulse Grenade: Deals pulsating Arc damage at the target location.
Flashbang Grenade: Deals damage and blinds any targets caught in it. This grenade is also perfect for PVP due to its low cooldown, and can be an annoyance for enemy players, as it removes their interface and whites out their screens.

Arc Aspects

Three Arc aspects are available for Warlocks, and each of them provides some interesting buffs. It's important to note that Arc Souls now have their own unique aspect, so if players wish to take advantage of them while using Rifts, equipping Getaway Artist Exotic gloves won't be enough anymore.

Arc Soul: Casting an Empowering or Healing Rift generates an Arc Soul, which is a small turret that fires for the player. Allies will also gain an Arc Soul if they step through the player's Rift, and nearby allies will boost Rift recharge rate for the player. When Amplified, the Arc Soul shoots faster.
Electrostatic Mind: In order to create Ionic Traces, this is the Aspect players will need. Ionic Traces give the player ability energy and Amplify them when picked up. This aspect creates Ionic Traces whenever players get Arc ability kills or defeat enemies who are blinded or jolted. This is by far one of the strongest aspects, and the core of most PVE builds.
Lightning Surge: This aspect modifies the Warlock melee ability. When players slide and press melee, they will teleport forward and jolt and damage targets as they reemerge. Fantastic yet niche ability, mostly a cornerstone for PVP builds.

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Arc Fragments

Fragments will further empower and modify Warlock builds. Some of the top fragments include:

Spark of Beacons: The Volatile Rounds of Arc, this fragment allows players to create blinding explosions with Arc special weapon final blows when Amplified.
Spark of Resistance: When surrounded by enemies, players have increased damage resistance. This is fantastic, given how Arc builds will often force players into melee range.
Spark of Shock: Arc grenades will gain the ability to jolt targets. Great for PVE where jolting is key on Arc.
Spark of Ions: Killing an enemy that is jolted will drop an Ionic Trace. This fragment is a must-have if players wish to play with Ionic Traces, but don't want to invest in the Electrostatic Mind aspect.
Spark of Discharge: Final blows with Arc weapons now have a chance to spawn Ionic Traces. Again, like Spark of Ions, this is a must-have if players want to use Ionic Traces but don't want to choose the Electrostatic Mind aspect.
Spark of Recharge: Gain increased recharge rate for melee and grenade abilities whenever critically wounded. This fragment is fantastic with Exotics like The Stag, and the Arc Soul aspect.
Spark of Magnitude: Lingering grenades such as Storm Grenades, Lightning Grenades, and Pulse Grenades have a longer duration. Great for PVE, where players will want the maximum benefit from their grenade abilities.

Arc Supers

Supers are the weakest part of Arc Warlocks. Both Chaos Reach and Stormtrance are rather weak when it comes to damage, and do poorly as damage Supers. Hence, Arc Supers for Warlocks are best used for clearing ads for an extra 'oomph' of mediocre damage. On the bright side, it doesn't really matter which Super is chosen, since ability gameplay is far more important for Arc Warlocks than farming their Supers.

For those who still insist on investing in Arc Supers, here's the breakdown. Chaos Reach pairs well with Geomag Stabilizers and can clear out an entire room of ads as the Super gets extended by each kill. Stormtrance, however, was buffed and is a much more mobile, roaming Super which lets players teleport and zap enemies in Emperor Palpatine style. This Super also pairs well with the Stormdancer's Brace, which buffs damage with each kill and also refunds Super energy at the end of the Super.

Mods & Artifact Mods

Elemental Well mods still reign supreme in season 18, and Arc 3.0 pairs perfectly with them. The Arc Elemental Well mods mostly deal with melee damage, so building around them will need players to build around melee abilities as well.

Well of Striking: Gain additional melee energy when picking up an Arc Elemental Well.
Well of Ions: Picking up an Arc Elemental Well enhances melee damage.
Overcharge Wellmaker: Using a finisher drops two Arc Elemental Wells.

Pair these up with other typical Elemental Well mods like Melee Wellmaker and Elemental Ordnance to make wells, and players will have a highly functional melee build. Font of Might is also fantastic for players using Arc weapons with their build, as it enhances their damage, and can be a deadly addition when paired with high DPS weapons like Stormchaser, The Hothead, or even Forbearance.

Destiny 2 Lightning Strikes Twice Artifact Mod

From the seasonal artifact, there are a few decent options.

The best one so far is without a doubt Lightning Strikes Twice, which boosts grenade recharge rate right after tossing an Arc grenade. Scoring Arc final blows will further extend this effect.
For players who want to improve their Arc Supers, Thunderous Retort is perfect, as it boosts Arc Super damage if the Super is cast at critical health or while Amplified.
Ionic Traces can be fun to play with, but players who prefer not to have Electrostatic Mind as their aspect can go for the Trace Evidence mod instead. Killing enemies that have been rebuffed by Arc will spawn an Ionic Trace.

Weapons & Gear

There aren't that many Exotic armor pieces for Warlocks to choose from, which makes buildcrafting somewhat simpler but also somewhat stale on Arc Warlocks. The choice of the Exotic will greatly influence just how much Warlocks will be able to get out of the class, so choose carefully. For enhancing Arc Supers, players can try the classic Geomag Stabilizers that extend Chaos Reach with each kill or Stormdancer's Brace for extra damage and additional Super energy.

Other good Arc-specific Exotics include:

Fallen Sunstar: A brand-new Exotic helmet that buffs the speed of Ionic Traces. They grant additional ability energy, and allies nearby will also benefit from this buff.
Crown of Tempests: Final blows with Arc abilities or jolting targets grant ability energy and also buff the duration of Stormtrance.
Getaway Artist: These Exotic gloves have been reworked now that Arc Souls are an aspect. The gloves allow players to charge their Arc grenade into an Arc Soul. Also grants Amplified.

For non-Arc-specific Exotics, players can also try:

The Stag: Falling to critical health will refund Rift energy. It pairs well with builds that rely on creating Arc Souls continuously.
Karnstein Armlets: Melee kills activate Vampire's Caress, which heals and regenerates health. Given how much Arc relies on melee abilities, this is a nice healing Exotic.

Elemental Well builds continue to be extremely powerful even with Arc 3.0, which means that matching weapon damage to that of the Arc subclass is key. A few great Arc weapons to pick up this season include: