Destiny 2 Hunter: The Best Builds and Subclasses for PvE and PvP

Hunters in Destiny 2 The Final Shape are agile, versatile, and powerful. Each subclass has unique strengths that shine in both PvE and PvP activities. With the right Aspects, Fragments, and Exotics, Hunters can excel on the battlefield, whether clearing waves of enemies in PvE or outmaneuvering opponents in PvP.

In this article, we’ll provide an overview and explain the best Hunter subclasses for PvE and PvP in Destiny 2: The Final Shape. After that, we’ll speculate about the best builds and offer our top-3 tier list for PvP and PvE.

The Best Hunter Subclasses for PvE in D2 TFS

Hunters in Destiny 2 have many powerful subclasses that fit different playstyles and situations. Whether you prefer high damage, crowd control, or stealth, there’s a Hunter subclass to help you succeed in both PvE and PvP.

Gunslinger (Solar 3.0)

• Ranking: S Best
• Why it’s great: Gunslinger is top-tier for PvE because of its high damage output. The Celestial Nighthawk Exotic makes the Golden Gun Super very powerful for boss damage. With abilities like infinite throwing knives and strong healing effects, Gunslinger can deal massive damage while staying alive.
• Preferred Exotic: Celestial Nighthawk for boss damage, Assassin’s Cowl for general play.
• Preferred Aspects and Fragments: Knock ‘Em Down, On Your Mark, Ember Of Torches, Ember Of Singeing, Ember Of Empyrean, Ember Of Ashes.
• Preferred Abilities and Stats: Blade Barrage or Marksman’S Dodge, Healing Grenade or Tripmine Grenade, Knife Trick or Proximity Explosive Knife, Gambler’S Dodge, 100 Mobility, and 100 Resilience.

Arcstrider (Arc 3.0)

• Ranking: S Best
• Why it’s great: Arcstrider excels in ad-clearing and damage-dealing. It works well with abilities like Combination Blow and Lethal Current. The subclass offers high survivability with Exotics like Assassin’s Cowl and Liar’s Handshake. Arcstrider is one of the tankiest Hunter subclasses.
• Preferred Exotic: Liar’s Handshake for more damage, Assassin’s Cowl for more survivability, Star-Eater Scales for DPS phases in Raids.
• Preferred Aspects and Fragments: Flow State, Lethal Current, Spark Of Resistance, Spark Of Shock, Spark Of Ions, Spark Of Feedback.
• Preferred Abilities and Stats: Gathering Storm Super, Pulse Grenade or Storm Grenade, Combination Blow, Gambler’s Dodge, 100 Resilience, and 100 Mobility.

Nightstalker (Void 3.0)

• Ranking: A Strong
• Why it’s great: Nightstalker is versatile, offering invisibility and battlefield control with smoke bombs and tethers. Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk and Omnioculus Exotics enhance its offense and defense. Nightstalker is useful in high-level PvE content where stealth and debuffs are important.
• Preferred Exotic: Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk for general play, Omnioculus for survivability.
• Preferred Aspects and Fragments: Vanishing Step, Stylish Executioner, Trapper’s Ambush, Echo Of Persistence, Echo Of Starvation, Echo Of Undermining, Echo Of Cessation/Obscurity.
• Preferred Abilities and Stats: Moebius Quiver Super for boss damage, Deadfall Super for ad clear/debuffing, Vortex Grenade, Gambler’s Dodge, 100 Mobility, 100 Resilience, high Discipline, and Recovery.

The Best Hunter PvE Builds

Shrouded Liar

• Excels in: Endgame (Dungeons, Raids, Legend content)
• Goal: Use Combination Blow with Gambler’s Dodge and Winter’s Shroud to go invisible and deal high damage.
• Mandatory Gear: Liar’s Handshake Exotic, Still Hunt Sniper.
  Abilities: Golden Gun, Duskfield Grenade, Combination Blow, Gambler’s Dodge.
• Gameplay Loop: The main focus of this build is to use Combination Blow for high melee damage and Gambler’s Dodge to reset it. Winter’s Shroud helps freeze enemies, increasing your survivability and damage output. You’ll want to chain your melee attacks and dodges to stay invisible and keep the damage flowing. The build thrives in endgame content by allowing you to deal substantial damage while staying out of sight.

Combination Gambler

• Excels in: Endgame (Dungeons, Raids, Legend content)
• Goal: Stack up Combination Blow and use Arc abilities while staying invisible.
• Mandatory Gear: Assassin’s Cowl, One-Two Punch shotgun.
• Abilities: Gathering Storm, Gambler’s Dodge, Combination Blow, Storm Grenades.
• Gameplay Loop: This build is all about the melee>dodge>melee cycle. Stacking Combination Blow to x3 allows you to deal massive damage with each melee hit. Assassin’s Cowl keeps you invisible and healthy, enabling you to take on more powerful enemies safely. Using Gambler’s Dodge near enemies resets your melee ability, ensuring you can maintain your damage output and invisibility throughout encounters.

Radiant Assassin

• Excels in: Solo Content
• Goal: Ensure survivability through invisibility and constant healing with unlimited throwing knives.
• Mandatory Gear: Assassin’s Cowl, Solar Primary, and close-range Special weapon.
• Abilities: Blade Barrage, Gambler’s Dodge, Knife Trick, Healing Grenade.
• Gameplay Loop: The key to this build is chaining Knife Trick kills to stay invisible and continuously heal. Assassin’s Cowl makes this possible by granting invisibility and health regeneration on melee final blows. If you miss a knife, Gambler’s Dodge is there to give you another chance. This build excels in solo content where maintaining high survivability and consistent damage is crucial. Prime enemies with your weapons and finish them with your knives to keep the cycle going.

The Best Hunter Subclasses for PvP

Threadrunner (Strand)

• Ranking: S Best
• Why it’s great: Threadrunner is a top choice for PvP because of its high mobility and crowd control abilities. The Threaded Specter Aspect creates decoys to confuse enemies, while Widow’s Silk allows for multiple Grapple Grenades. This subclass excels in creating chaos and outmaneuvering opponents.
• Preferred Exotic: St0Mp-Ee5 for enhanced movement.
  Preferred Aspects and Fragments: Threaded Specter, Widow’s Silk, Thread Of Evolution, Thread Of Generation, Thread Of Binding, Thread Of Ascent.
• Preferred Abilities and Stats: Threadling Grenade, Threaded Spike, Gambler’s Dodge, 100 Mobility, and 100 Recovery.

Gunslinger (Solar 3.0)

• Ranking: S Best
• Why it’s great: Gunslinger is strong in PvP with powerful abilities and smooth gameplay. Weighted Knife can get one-shot kills, and the combination of Healing Grenade and the On Your Mark Aspect enhances survivability. Exotics like Young Ahamkara’s Spine and Athrys’s Embrace make it even stronger.
• Preferred Exotic: Young Ahamkara’s Spine with Tripmine Grenades, Athrys’s Embrace with Weighted Knives, St0Mp-Ee5 for overall gameplay.
• Preferred Aspects and Fragments: Knock ‘Em Down, On Your Mark, Ember Of Torches, Ember Of Singeing, Ember Of Empyrean, Ember Of Ashes.
• Preferred Abilities and Stats: Deadshot Super, Healing Grenade/Tripmine Grenade/Solar Grenade, Weighted Knife/Proximity Explosive Knife, Gambler’s Dodge, 100 Mobility, and 100 Recovery.

Revenant (Stasis)

• Ranking: A Strong
• Why it’s great: Revenant is strong in PvP with its ability to control the battlefield using Duskfield Grenade. Exotics like Fr0St-Ee5 and Mask Of Bakris enhance its abilities, offering better mobility and damage. While its Super and melee are less impressive, its utility in slowing and freezing enemies makes it a solid choice.
• Preferred Exotic: Fr0St-Ee5 for increased ability regen, Mask Of Bakris for enhanced mobility.
• Preferred Aspects and Fragments: Touch Of Winter, Winter’s Shroud, Whisper Of Chains, Whisper Of Durance, Whisper Of Torment.
• Preferred Abilities and Stats: Duskfield Grenade, Withering Blade, Gambler’s Dodge, 100 Mobility, and 100 Recovery.

Best Hunter PvP Builds

Gunslinger

• Goal: Use a variety of melee options and abilities to stay agile and support the team.
• Pros: Versatile melee options, strong teamplay abilities, powerful Supers (Golden Gun and Blade Barrage).
• Cons: Limited viable aspects, lacks significant map control.
• Key Gear: St0Mp-Ee5 for mobility, Wormhusk Crown for healing on dodge.
• Gameplay Loop: Gunslinger can be customized in multiple ways to suit your playstyle. You can make allies Radiant with Acrobat’s Dodge, create explosions with Proximity Knives and Tripmine Grenade, or focus on survival with Healing Grenades. The build’s versatility allows you to adapt to different PvP situations, making it a solid choice for players who like to switch up their strategies.

Arcstrider

• Goal: Balance offense and defense with built-in damage resistance, blink, and blinding potential.
• Pros: Excellent Super, high Jolt potential, solid neutral game.
• Cons: Lacks game-changing qualities, Super can be countered by ranged attacks.
• Key Gear: Fr0St-Ee5 for ability regen while sprinting, increased dodge speed.
• Gameplay Loop: Arcstrider is an all-rounder, excelling in close-quarters combat with its melee-focused abilities. Disorienting Blow can jolt enemies, giving you an edge in fights. The Super, Arc Staff, is great for dueling other melee Supers. Fr0St-Ee5 enhances your mobility and ability uptime, making this build perfect for players who enjoy high-speed combat and frequent ability use.

Nightstalker

• Goal: Use invisibility and smoke bombs for map control and sneaky kills.
• Pros: Invisibility for surprise attacks, strong synergy with certain Exotics (Omnioculus, Wormhusk Crown).
• Cons: Weak Super choices, relies heavily on invisibility.
• Key Gear: Omnioculus for extra smoke bombs and damage resistance while invisible, Mask Of Bakris for enhanced mobility with Stasis dodge.
• Gameplay Loop: Nightstalker excels in stealth and misdirection. Use your Smoke Bombs to go invisible and reposition yourself to catch enemies off guard. The synergy with Omnioculus allows you to provide team support by making allies invisible and giving them damage resistance.

Conclusion

Hunters in Destiny 2 TFS are very flexible and strong, fitting many different playstyles. Each subclass has its own strengths, like the high damage of the Gunslinger, the great crowd control of the Arcstrider, and the stealthy tactics of the Nightstalker. In PvP, the Threadrunner is excellent for its speed and crowd control, while the Revenant is great for controlling the battlefield with Duskfield Grenade. Choosing the right Aspects, Fragments, and Exotics can help Hunters succeed in both PvE and PvP. These builds let you customize your Hunter to be powerful in any situation, making the most of what D2 The Final Shape offers.