Destiny – Warlock Class Guide: How to Create the Best Voidwalker or Sunsinger

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Choosing a class of character to play as in Destiny is a big deal. It’s a decision that will help to shape the experience you have with the game for many hours. Choosing the wrong one can have consequences on how successful you are in-game and how much fun you have, so it’s best you do a bit of research before jumping in. That’s where we come in.

While we’ve already talked about the Hunter and Titan classes, today we’re going to break down the Warlock, going over all of its subclasses, Abilities, Passives and Grenades. If you’re not sure what class is for you, let us help you out.

Before we begin, here are the Warlocks that Bungie uses.

Warlock Class Overview

Warlocks are masters of their own mind, possessing forces so powerful that their manipulation of the Light borders on mystical. Where the Hunters were purely offensive and the Titans more defensive, the Warlocks are more about energy.

As with most characters classes, the Warlock comes with two subclasses. The first is Voidwalker and will be available by default, and the second is Sunsinger which unlocks once players progress their characters to level 15. Here’s how they break down.

Voidwalker Subclass

Choosing the Warlock as a character will force players to adopt the Voidwalker subclass by default. It’s here where they will spend their time until they reach level 15, and as with all subclasses, they have some important choices to make, the first of which begins with Grenades. Keep in mind that although there are three types of Grenades available in each subclass, you must unlock all three, but even then can only choose to run with one at a time. They are as follows

• Vortex – This grenade, as the name suggests, creates a vortex that will harm any enemies that are unlucky enough to find themselves inside.
• Scatter – This grenade splits into tiny pieces that will cover a large area with secondary explosions.
• Axion – Forms a bolt of Void Light that will split off into smaller bolts, seeking out and damaging enemies.

The bread and butter of any subclass are the Abilities that can be used and even enhanced. Each subclass comes with three, with one tying into Movement, one called a Super Ability and the third relating to Melee. Starting with movement, those who choose the path of the Voidwalker will be granted an Ability called Glide, allowing them to jump into the air, then press jump again to glide. This Ability also comes with three enhancements, allowing players to choose only one.

• Focused Control – This enhancement upgrades the Warlock’s Glide so that they have better control over direction.
• Focused Burst – This will upgrade Glide to provide an initial boost of speed.
• Blink – This is a short distance teleport that will replace a player’s Glide.

When it comes to the three Abilities, it’s the Super Ability that can really make or break the subclass. In the case of the Warlock, The Nova Bomb is a top notch choice, allowing players to hurl an explosive bolt of Void energy at their foes, destroying anything caught in the blast radius. Much the same as the Hunter’s Golden Gun, this has a cool down time of four minutes and 30 seconds. It also comes with the ability to choose one enhancement from the list below.

• Vortex – Creates a vortex that will continually damage enemies that are trapped within its zone of control.
• Shatter – Where the Vortex concentrates its strength on one area, Shatter will split the Nova Bomb into three projectiles that are good for large groups of enemies.
• Lance – This will make the Nova Bomb faster and allow it to travel farther. It’s ideal for precision attacks and can be useful against vehicles.

The final Ability that the Voidwalker subclass gets is related to Melee and is called the Energy Drain. It’s a powerful attack that will suck the energy out of your enemies and use it to reduce the cool down time of your Grenade. In addition, you can dress the Ability up with one of the following three enhancements.

• Surge – Causing damage to one of your foes will increase your movement speed for a short amount of time.
• Life Steal – When you kill an enemy with Energy Drain you’ll immediately restore a large portion of your health.
• Soul Rip – Killing an enemy combatant with your Energy Drain will reduce the cool down time of your Nova Bomb.

In addition to their Abilities, Warlocks, as well as the other two classes are given Passives that go with each subclass. These are aimed at enhancing the attributes that are found in the top left corner of your subclass menu and are broken down into two tiers. Players are able to choose one option from each tier, starting with Tier 1.

• Arcane Wisdom – Grants +2 Agility and +2 Recovery
• Arcane Spirit – Grants +2 Armor and +2 Agility
• Arcane Force – Grants +2 Armor and +2 Agility

Tier 2 will allow players to choose one of the following items.

• Ancestral Order – Grants +2 Armor, +2 Agility and +2 Recovery
• Chaos Order – Grants +5 Agility
• Devine order – Grants +4 Armor and +2 Recovery

The final two choices that players will have to make with regards to the Voidwalker subclass are what Destiny refers to as Ability Modifiers. These are separate from the enhancements that each Ability lets you choose from, and tend to be more general. They are also broke down into two tiers, and Tier 1 will have players choose one of the following three options.

• Annihilate – Will increase the size of the explosions caused by the Nova Bomb and Grenade. Grants +1 Agility.
• Angry Magic – Causes the Nova Bomb to track enemies and grants +1 Armor.
• The Hunger – Will increase the length of the Energy Drain melee attack.

Tier 2 is broken down as follows.

• Vortex Mastery – Increases the range of the Axion Bolt seekers, as well as the length of the Nova Bomb and Vortex Grenade.
• Bloom – Any enemies you kill with any of your Abilities will explode.
• Embrace the Void – Damaging enemies with a Nova Bomb or any grenade will trigger the Energy Drain effect.

Example Voidwalker Subclass Setup

• Vortex Grenade
• Glide (Focused Control)
• Nova Bomb (Shatter)
• Energy Drain (Soul Rip)
• Passive Tier 1 (Arcane Force)
• Passive Tier 2 (Chaos Order)
• Ability Modifier Tier 1 (Angry Magic)
• Ability Modifier Tier 2 (Bloom)

Sunsinger Subclass

Players who opt to go with the Warlock will have the option to try the Sunsinger subclass once they reach level 15. It’s setup the same way as the rest of the classes, forcing players to craft their Warlock by choosing enhancements, Grenades, Passives and Ability Modifiers. As always, we’ll start off with the first thing players unlock, the Grenade.

• Solar – Creates a flare of Solar Light that will damage any enemies unlucky enough to be trapped inside.
• Firebolt – This Grenade releases Solar Light in the form of bolts.
• Fusion – This is an explosive that will cause additional damage when players are able to direct impact their target with it.

The Abilities of each subclass are broken down into three categories. They are Movement, Super Ability and Melee. The first choice that players have to make is what to enhance their Movement with, and in the case of the Warlock that Ability is called Glide. While two of the enhancements are similar to the Voidwalker subclass, the third option is a bit different. They are as follows.

• Focused Control – This enhancement upgrades the Warlock’s Glide so that they have better control over direction.
• Focused Burst – This will upgrade Glide to provide an initial boost of speed.
• Balanced Glide – This upgrade will provide the Glide Ability by increasing its speed and the player’s ability to control it.

The second Ability is the Super Ability, and it’s the one that everyone is most interested in. In the case of the Sunsinger subclass, this Super Ability is called Radiance, and it allows a Warlock to fill itself with Solar Light, drastically increasing the effectiveness of all your abilities. It has a cool down time of four minutes and can be enhanced in one of three ways.

• Radiant Skin – This option will reduce incoming damage while the Radiance Super Ability is activated.
• Song of Flame – While the Radiance Super Ability is active this will lower the cool down time of all allies.
• Fireborn – Radiance can be activated after you die and will bring you back to life.

The final Ability that players need to choose an enhancement for is called Scorch, a powerful melee attack that will set enemies on fire, causing additional damage over time. It can be enhanced by having Warlocks choose one the following three options.

• Flame Shield – Killing an enemy with Scorch will reduce incoming damage for a short amount of time and grant +1 Armor.
• Solar Wind – When hitting a foe with Scorch it will knock them back, giving players a chance to retreat or pull out their weapons.
• Brimstone – Any enemy that you kill using the Scorch Ability will cause them to explode.

As is the case with all the subclasses, players must choose two Passives for their subclass, but they are exactly the same as the other subclass. For example, the Voidwalker and Sunsinger subclasses have exactly the same Passives which are broken down into a tiered system. Players can choose on option per tier, but may not want to use the same Passives as their other subclass. Tier 1 is broken down as follows.

• Arcane Wisdom – Grants +2 Agility and +2 Recovery
• Arcane Spirit – Grants +2 Armor and +2 Agility
• Arcane Force – Grants +2 Armor and +2 Agility

Tier 2 will allow players to choose one of the following items.

• Ancestral Order – Grants +2 Armor, +2 Agility and +2 Recovery
• Chaos Order – Grants +5 Agility
• Devine order – Grants +4 Armor and +2 Recovery

The last choice that players will have to make regarding their Sunsinger subclass is in a category called Ability Modifiers. These options work off of the same tiered system as Passives, and will grant players enhancements on their three Abilities. Tier 1 consists of the following options.

• Radiant Will – Increases the duration of the Radiance Super Ability.
• Sunburst – Killing an enemy has a chance to generate Orbs of Light. These are used to decrease the cool down time of the Warlock’s Super Ability, Radiance.
• Viking Funeral – Foes that are ignited will burn longer and take more damage in the process.

Tier 2 will have players choose one of the following.

• Touch of Flame – All types of grenades will ignite the Warlock’s enemies, causing damage over time.
• Gift of the Sun – Gives players an additional Grenade.
• Angel of Light – Aiming down sight while you’re in the air will hold you in place for a short amount of time.

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Example Voidwalker Subclass Setup

• Fusion
• Glide (Balanced Burst)
• Radiance (Song of Flame)
• Scorch (Brimstone)
• Passive Tier 1 (Arcane Force)
• Passive Tier 2 (Chaos Order)
• Ability Modifier Tier 1 (Viking Funeral)
• Ability Modifier Tier 2 (Angel of Light)

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