Buildcrafting has become a core part of Destiny 2 in recent years. With the overhaul of all Light subclasses and the release of Prismatic, understanding how to buildcraft has never been more important. While you can beat most activities in Destiny 2 without needing a fine-tuned build, creating a build that suits your playstyle will make the game much easier.
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While we can't cover every single aspect of buildcrafting in a single article, this guide will give you a crash course of buildcrafting basics and give you some resources to make the process much less daunting. Let's go over how to start creating a build, all aspects tied to a Destiny build, and give some tips on how to min-max your armor stats and benchmark your loadouts.
Why Create A Build?
A build is all about creating a loadout that's greater than the sum of its parts, taking advantage of certain synergies to maximize your damage, survivability, or ability uptime. Destiny 2's hardest content becomes much easier with a good build. Grandmaster Nightfalls, Raids, and even most PvP activities are balanced around strong build synergies.
For example, most endgame PvE activities feature Champions, strong combatant variants that can only be countered with certain anti-Champion properties. Artifact perks might allow your weapons to counter these foes, but a far more consistent method is to use certain subclass keywords like Radiant and Blind. Create the right build, and Champions won't pose any threat to you. Go into the activity unprepared, however, and you'll find it virtually impossible.
How To Start Making A Build
The best place to start is by asking yourself what type of build you want to make. You can boil this down by asking yourself a couple of questions:
- Is there a playstyle I want to enable?
- Is there a problem I need to solve?
Playstyle builds are all about fulfilling a particular power fantasy. These can range from ability spam builds to more general setups that empower your favorite weapons. If you want to throw dozens of grenades or spam your melee ability, the build should focus on maximizing the uptime and potency of those powers. The playstyle becomes the guiding star. Every build decision should be made with the playstyle in mind, not its endgame viability.
Problem-solving builds should strictly focus on solving the issue you're currently facing. If you want to complete a tough GM Nightfall or clear a solo flawless dungeon, then the build should focus on minimizing the difficulty of that task as much as possible. The problem becomes the guiding star. Every build decision should address the problem.
Both lines of thinking aren't mutually exclusive either. A build tailored toward solo flawless dungeons might be fantastic in seasonal content, just as a grenade build might work well in a GM Nightfall. The main point of this exercise is to quickly determine the purpose of your build. If you don't have a particular goal for your build, the end result will be lackluster.
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Setting The Foundation
Once you have a goal in mind, it's time to create the build itself. The core foundation of each build can be broken down into three parts:
- Subclass.
- Aspects and Fragments.
- Exotics.
It's typically easiest to select your Exotics first. For example, if you wanted to create a build that spams grenades, you'd look for an Exotic that greatly reduces your grenade cooldowns. Warlocks have access to 
Sunbracers and Osmiomancy Gloves, both of which force you to use a particular subclass element and grenade type. A problem-solving build might instead look for a DPS-boosting Exotic to make a particular raid boss easier to kill.
Subclass usually comes next, and many Exotics will make this decision for you. If not, then you'll want to pick a subclass that best aligns with your main goal. If you're looking to make a fun melee build for your Hunter, then you'll likely want to use Arcstrider or Gunslinger since they have strong melee abilities. Or if you wanted to increase your Titan's survivability in PvP, you'd most likely pick Sentinel since it has on-demand Void Overshields.
Learning the ins and outs of each subclass comes with time. Generally speaking, if you can't decide, pick whichever subclass you enjoy playing the most. You can always adjust later.
Aspects and Fragments should typically be done last after you select your subclass and Exotic. Aspects should enable something about your build, while your Fragments enhance the build. For instance, Arcstrider is considered a powerful melee subclass because of Lethal Current, an Aspect that infuses your melee ability with Jolt lightning. You can then use a Fragment to spawn Ionic Traces from Jolt kills, granting bonus ability energy.
That's the essence of buildcrafting. You're not making every decision all at once. It's a cascading series of decisions that culminate into something stronger than the sum of its parts. Set a goal, pick your Exotics, choose a subclass, and figure out what your build needs to succeed. Any pain points can usually be addressed through Fragments, armor mods, and stats.
Armor Stats And Mods
Many players get intimidated by the armor system in Destiny 2, yet it's paradoxically the simplest part of the entire process. If you're a newer player, the only stat that matters is Resilience. This substantially increases your damage resistance in PvE content. Crucible players should focus on Recovery instead, but the same principle applies. Until you can reliably farm high-stat armor, don't even worry about your stats.
The same is true with armor mods. Until you have enough resources to fully Masterwork your armor, you should focus on installing damage resistance mods on your chest above all else. PvE mods aren't particularly important until you have a full set of Masterworked gear. Crucible players stick with weapon-enhancing effects like targeting, unflinching, and dexterity mods.
Calculating The Best Armor Stats
By far, the simplest way to min-max your stats is by loading up D2ArmorPicker. This community website allows you to insert parameters that will automatically calculate the most optimal armor pieces for your build. Using the website is quite straightforward.
You should start by selecting your Exotic armor piece. This will force the website to create builds with that Exotic armor piece you've selected. If you own multiple copies of that Exotic, it'll take all copies into consideration. Afterward, select the stats you wish to have for your build by clicking the stat boxes near the top of the website. Stat tiers that are grayed out are impossible with your current gear.
Ideal Armor Stats
PvE players ideally want 100 Resilience and 100 Discipline. All leftover points should be allocated towards your class ability stat—Mobility for Hunters, Resilience for Titans, and Recovery for Warlocks. Melee builds should swap 100 Discipline for 100 Strength.
PvP players want 100 Recovery with as much Discipline and Resilience as possible. Intellect is only important if you're using a fast-charging Super in a 3v3 environment like Trials of Osiris.
For more information on armor stats, check out our Armor 2.0 guide.
If you want to fine-tune your results, you can scroll down the website and select your subclass Fragments. Any stat modifiers on these Fragments will be accounted for when calculating your ideal armor set. Finally, you can also use the armor limitations section to restrict the types of mods and armor pieces that D2ArmorPicker will use. You can safely ignore this.
Once you input your Exotic, Fragments, and your ideal stat distribution, you'll be presented with a series of usable armor sets. Select the dropdown menu for any armor set that looks good to you, then click "Copy DIM query to clipboard." If you boot up Destiny Item Manager, you may now paste that code into the search bar. This will highlight the ideal armor set from D2ArmorPicker. Equip the armor, Masterwork it, and then save the loadout somewhere for future use.
Selecting Armor Mods
Armor mods allow you to touch up some of the weak points of your build. Each armor mod drains a certain amount of energy, with your energy capacity being dictated by your armor's upgrades. Masterworked items have a cap of ten energy capacity which cannot be exceeded.
The type of armor you're modifying will determine what mods you can install, as shown below.
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Slot |
Mod Options |
Armor Charge Mods |
|---|---|---|
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Helmet |
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Arms |
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Chest |
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Legs |
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Class Item |
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We cover the effects of every mod in our Armor Charge and mod guide, but if you want a general overview of what's good, here's what we recommend:
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Helmet: Ammo Finders and a Siphon mod that matches your Primary.
- PvP: replace finders with targeting mods.
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Arms: A loader mod for your primary. The other slots are down to preference.
- Ability spam builds might want to run triple orb mods (Firepower or Heavy Handed).
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Chest: Concussive Dampener and two DR mods.
- PvP: use unflinching mods instead.
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Legs: Run two surge mods and an ammo scavenger.
- PvP: replace ammo scavenger with Recuperation.
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Class Item: Equip Bomber and Time Dilation.
- If you aren't using Armor Charge, replace Time Dilation with Distribution.
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What Makes A Good Build?
Now that we've covered the basics of buildcrafting, it's time to focus on the elements of a good build. In general, a good build has good survivability, excellent add clear or single-target DPS, and is easy to play. The more criteria you fit, the better the build is. To put it another way, go through this short checklist:
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Focus: Is this build for PvE or PvP?
- This will set expectations for the other criteria.
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Combat: How does this build handle add clear and single-target DPS in PvE?
- For PvP, how strong is its neutral game?
- Survivability: Does this build have at least one source of damage resistance and HP recovery?
- Fun: Is this build fun to play? If not, what is getting in the way of making the build enjoyable?
PvE and PvP builds are clearly different from one another, so the first goal should be figuring out which game type you're making the build for. Afterward, see if your build is aimed toward weapon use or ability spam. PvE tends to lean towards abilities, while PvP focuses more on weapons.
Combat is somewhat flexible, but you want to check how effective your build is in endgame content. For PvE, weapon builds want access to Radiant and leg surge mods, as this greatly improves their overall DPS. Ability builds want short cooldowns and ample orb generation. If your cooldowns are too long, the build might not work.
This section can then be subdivided into two categories: add clear and boss DPS. A strong add clear build should be able to eliminate a group of Master-tier enemies in a couple of seconds. Single-target DPS is easier to measure but a little trickier to build for. If you can remove 35-50% of a dungeon boss' HP in one DPS phase, you have excellent DPS. The first boss of Grasp of Avarice is a good benchmark. Anything beyond that verges on S-tier territory.
Survivability is a little easier to measure. Generally, you want at least 100 Resilience and one source of DR from a keyword, such as Woven Mail or Overshields. If you have constant uptime of a single DR keyword, you'll survive most endgame content. Throw in some form of healing—such as Devour, Heal Clip, or the Recuperation mod—to ensure your survival in GM Nightfalls and tough PvP playlists.
Fun is a serious category here. If a build isn't enjoyable to play, you won't perform as well. What's fun is entirely subjective, although you should try to focus on any pain points you're experiencing and aim to rectify them. For example, if an ability build feels like it deals too little damage, look into ways of increasing that build's damage. For a double Special loadout, look into sources of ammo generation, et cetera.
Testing Your Build
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There are three great places you can test your build:
- PvE: Master Lost Sectors.
- PvE: Grasp of Avarice.
- PvP: Rumble.
Master Lost Sectors are a solid starting place. You are at -20 Power, the same as a Master raid or similar endgame content. Plenty of Champions are present, adds have a solid amount of HP, and survivability is needed since you're limited on revives. If you can crush Master Lost Sectors with your current build, you'll excel in most PvE content.
Grasp of Avarice is the premiere spot for single-target DPS testing, tied with the Templar encounter in Vault of Glass. But unlike Templar, you can run Grasp of Avarice by yourself. Reach the first encounter and test your build. Your add clear potential and single-target DPS are easy to test here. If your build can remove a third of the Ogre's HP in one DPS phase, your damage is in a great spot.
Crucible players should jump into the Rumble playlist to test out their builds. You have no teammates to rely on, and the playlist doesn't have any major combat modifiers. It's you and your build versus an entire lobby. This will let you dial in your stats and mods in a couple of games. If you need an even tougher environment, boot up Competitive PvP or Trials of Osiris.
Buildcrafting Tips And Resources
- D2ArmorPicker: A community website that optimizes armor stats for you. Select your desired Exotic and stat package, then choose from a list of optimized armor sets.
- D2Foundry: A community website that lets you experiment with weapon perk pools.
- Light.gg: An API website that lets you search for virtually everything about Destiny 2, including quest steps, title Triumphs, weapon rolls, and community reviews for new gear.
- Destiny Data Compendium: Destiny community scientists frequently update this spreadsheet to include exact stat values for perks, subclass keywords, and Exotic gear.
- Destiny Science Apps & Docs: A collection of all notable spreadsheets and websites created by the Destiny science community.
- Our Guides: We have tons of resources for creating builds if you prefer our formatting.
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