- Berserk: Minions of the Darkness won’t flinch, even after massive damage.
- Juggler: No ammo drops for your equipped weapon.
- Super Kill Bonus: Super kills are worth double points.
You can largely ignore these modifiers, especially if you combine and switch between some of the weapons below. Just focus on tagging for Assists, making Orbs, and Super Kills.
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Bounties
Complete this on all subclasses to maximize reputation. Or, pick two classes and do a 45k run with each, and save the remaining bounty for next week.
- Shadow Boxer: Use Void abilities to kill enemies in Level 41 Prison of Elders or Challenge of the Elders.
- Fire Fighter: Use Solar abilities to kill enemies in Level 41 Prison of Elders or Challenge of the Elders.
- Shock Trooper: Use Arc abilities to kill enemies in Level 41 Prison of Elders or Challenge of the Elders.
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Armor Recommendations
The following suggestions are equally valid for all Guardians, no matter what subclass you’re going to use.
On your helmets this week, look for perks that grant Super Energy:
- Inverse Shadow (Super on any kill, lowest amount)
- Hands On (Super on Melee kills)
- Ashes to Assets (Super on Grenade kills)
- Second Thoughts (Super on Special kills; especially good with Telesto)
- Heavy Lifting (Super on Heavy kills; especially good with Dark-Drinker or Raze-Lighter)
- Angel of Mercy (Super energy from reviving Teammates – better than nothing!)
If you’re collecting Orbs from Melee or Grenade kills, you might also have Invigoration (Melee energy on Orb pickup) or Innervation (Grenade energy on Orb pickup) on your helmet or Exotic arms as well, so make note of that.
Artifacts are the next most important choice – do your best to match your artifact up to your chosen Element and abilities (or to Killing Taken for the last round) to land a few extra Orbs and keep the Super train going. Finally, as you can probably guess, do your best to match up your body Armor to your Element as well as your weapon types. Rank 5 Intellect is just as important than any Armor-ability this week, though, so make it happen!
Finally, anyone looking for a high score should also be prepping Assists and trying to avoid kills until a super is ready to go. I know that can be easier said than done, especially with Taken Phalanxes and Psions.
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Weapon Recommendations
Remember to match up your choices here to your Helmet Super Charge perks!
Super Recharge
- Zhalo Super Cell – charges super on double kills, risk of chaining too much
- Bad Juju – charges super on kills
- Raze-Lighter – charges super on kills
Orb Generation
- Telesto – guaranteed Orb on double kills (low super energy per Orb according to reports)
- Bolt-Caster – chance for Orb on every kill (50/50)
Pea Shooters (Assists)
- Low Impact Scout Rifles – very low body shot damage, highly accurate
- Mid Impact Auto Rifles – technically the lowest body shot damage among weapons on this list, great for spraying groups of un-shielded adds while on the move. Monte Carlo is a notable example
- Mid Impact Scout Rifles – low body shot damage, highly accurate
- High Impact Scout Rifles – medium body shot damage, highly accurate but more difficult to use in close quarters
- Low Impact Hand Cannons – medium body shot damage,very easy to use in close quarters
- Low Impact Pulse Rifles – medium body shot damage, accurate but risks landing Crits on the second/third rounds due to recoil
- Any Sidearm – medium body shot damage, easy to use up close, the burns help drop shields
Low Impact Scouts and mid Impact Auto Rifles in particular tend to have a ton of ammo and are probably your best bets for low damage. Sidearms are also great thanks to their infinite ammo and low single-shot damage.
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Titans
| #1 – Defender | |||
| Super | Blessing of Light | ||
| Perks | Gift of Light, Gift of the Void, Untouchable / Iron Harvest | ||
| Exotics | Crest of Alpha Lupi, Ruin Wings | ||
| Stats | Int 5 | Dis 1 | Str 5 |
It’s raining orbs! Despite being possibly the worst class for getting super kills, this is far and away the BEST support class for this week’s challenge. Although you’ll spend a lot of time gathering Assists, Gift of the Void and CoAL is how you do your real work – pop that bubble within easy sight of the Boss and your allies will watch the Orbs pile up!
As an alternative, you might also consider Ruin Wings (More Heavy Ammo Drops) + Bolt Caster (50/50 to generate Orbs on Kills) + Iron Harvest (chance for Orbs on Heavy Kills), a build that might aptly be termed the Orbsploder.
Friendly Reminder: If there are two defenders in the party, chain your bubbles one after the other, not at the same time!
| #2 Sunbreaker | |||
| Super | Suncharge, Scorched Earth | ||
| Perks | Stoke the Forge, Explosive Pyre / Fleetfire, Cauterize / Fire Keeper | ||
| Exotics | Crest of Alpha Lupi, Ruin Wings | ||
| Stats | Int 5 | Dis 1 | Str 5 |
Suncharge is a powerhouse ability, stacking Melee bonus points onto your super kills and smashing through Majors and groups effortlessly. It does eat more Super energy per use, but the extra points are worth it if you use it well. Add in Cauterize to heal as you go, and Fleetfire to maximize your mobility – do note that Explosive Pyre is actually redundant here, as Suncharge already causes enemies to explode and chain!
Your other stand-out Super option is Scorched Earth – as it turns out your Sunspots do grant Super kills, so this has amazing potential for racking up points! Just drop a Sunspot on each group of enemies, and watch them burn, then jump into a Sunspot yourself for an Overshield and longer Super duration thanks to Fire Keeper (Yes, this means giving up Cauterize – the choice is yours).
Finally, Stoke the Forge combos nicely with a Hands On Helmet plus an Artifact that grants RNG Orbs on Solar Melee kills, which can be a good way to make up for the Orbs your Super didn’t generate – and yeah, that Artifact sure can make Orbs when you Suncharge, too!
| #3 – Striker | |||
| Super | Aftermath, Shockwave | ||
| Perks | Flashbang, Amplify, Aftershocks, Juggernaut | ||
| Exotics | Crest of Alpha Lupi, Ruin Wings | ||
| Stats | Int 5 | Dis 5 | Str 1 |
Fist of Havoc is probably not your best choice, point-wise. Defender generates fat piles of Orbs, and Sunbreaker piles on the Super Kills like no other. But Striker? Striker kills a single group of enemies, and leaves you particularly vulnerable to the Pilot Servitor and Noru’usk if you let the enemies pile up in the middle on those rounds.
If you do go this route, CoAL at least gets you one extra Orb, and Aftermath / Aftershocks might net you a few more kills as unwitting enemies walk into your killzone. Also, Flashbangs are wonderful for stunning Wizards, Knights, and other annoying adds, and collecting assists if well-placed.
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Warlock
| #1 – Stormcaller | |||
| Super | Superconductor | ||
| Perks | Rising Storm, Transcendance | ||
| Exotics | The Impossible Machines | ||
| Stats | Int 5 | Dis 1 | Str 5 |
Seriously, the number of super kills you can grab on every Stormcaller use is utterly sick. Superconductor is a clear choice, doubling your chaining to wipe groups of enemies that much faster. Plus, it’s even more important now that we have to be more careful about using the super when there are no targets in range. The Impossible Machines let you really pile on the kills too, granting Landfall so that you can wipe the first stack of adds just by activating your super – take advantage!
Transcendance grants a slow drain on super energy and gives even more time to collect kills.
We were reminded that Electrostatic Mind is bugged right now, so you should probably avoid it while charging your Super, although it’s fine to use during a Stormtrance for the extra damage to nearby enemies.
Otherwise, Transcendance is the way to go, granting you instant healing and a much slower drain on your Super energy during use. But wait, there’s more! That’s right, Rising Storm means that every Melee hit (not kill!) also charges your Super up faster, as well as recharging Thunderstrike itself so you can do it again!
| #2 – Voidwalker | |||
| Super | Vortex | ||
| Perks | Soul Rip, Annihilate, Vortex Mastery | ||
| Exotics | Obsidian Mind | ||
| Stats | Int 1 | Dis 1 | Str 5 |
Voidwalker with Obsidian Mind is a disgusting tool for wiping groups of adds, and makes an especially great choice against Noru’usk’s piles of adds, while still being strong against the other two. Also, remember that Soul Rip adds Super Energy on hits, not kills, so apply liberally! There’s no particular downside here, and this was really a close call for number 1.
| #3 – Sunsinger | |||
| Super | Song of Flame / Radiant Skin | ||
| Perks | Radiant Will, Brimstone, Sunburst | ||
| Exotics | Light Beyond Nemesis,
Heart of the Praxic Fire |
||
| Stats | Int 5 | Dis 1 | Str 5 |
Song of Flame is an amazing ability, and pretty handy if your allies have any useful Assist-gathering, Orb-generating, or enemy-dampening neutral abilities (Flashbang, Smoke). Otherwise, you might as well be selfish this week and just roll with Radiant Skin. Radiant Will is also an obvious call and makes your super last that much longer. Something hopefully everyone is aware of is that weapon kills in Radiance generate Orbs (well, any kills really). So if you’re running, say, Telesto, the answer is yes, it sure as heck will be raining light for your Allies! Another great combo for this subclass is Brimstone and Sunburst. This precludes using Radiant Will to extend your super duration, but also allows your to generate 1-2 Orbs against groups of unshielded red enemies.
Exotic-wise, I think the extra Orb from Light Beyond Nemesis is your best bet point-wise, and also supports the Super chain your fireteam needs to keep rolling.
The main downside here is, well… nobody knows how you’re supposed to get any Super kills with this class in CoE, since nothing counts toward it. Orb creation aside, that’s a major problem resulting in lots of subpar scoring and is why this subclass is #3 without question.
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Hunter
| #1 – Gunslinger | |||
| Super | Combustion | ||
| Perks | Circle of Life, Keyhole, Gambler’s Dagger | ||
| Exotics | Achlyophage Symbiote | ||
| Stats | Int 5 | Dis 1 | Str 5 |
The change to Circle of Life, plus the 80% PVE damage buff, makes Gunslinger a real go-to choice this week. The Symbiote, Combustion and Keyhole will pile on the Super death, while Gambler’s Dagger and Circle of Life quickly restore huge chunks of Super Energy on Precision Throwing Knife kills. Gunslinger’s back, baby!
| #2 – Bladedancer | |||
| Super | Razor’s Edge, Showstopper | ||
| Perks | Escape Artist, Fleet Footed, Encore | ||
| Exotics | ATS/8 Tarantella / Mask of the Third Man | ||
| Stats | Int 5 | Dis 1 | Str 5 |
Bladedancers also benefit from significant damage boosts after Update 2.3, gaining a base Arc Blade buff as well as the huge bonus from using Encore. Escape Artist is handy for bugging out after a super use if there are any enemies left alive, and Fleet Footed’s extra mobility is the most useful option in its slot, helping you chase down enemies now that you can’t just jump and swing around the map (Remember that new Super energy penalty for missed Strikes!).
Exotic-wise, I recommend using Tarantella to shave 30 seconds off of your Super charge time, and then swapping to Mask for your actual super use to get the most out of it.
| #3 – Nightstalker | |||
| Super | Black Hole | ||
| Perks | Light of the Pack, Predator | ||
| Exotics | Crest of Alpha Lupi, Skyburner’s Annex | ||
| Stats | Int 5 | Dis 1 | Str 5 |
Nightstalkers make excellent team players, and you should always put them to work by tethering a nice group of adds for someone else to Super, thus generating huge piles of Orbs to keep the Super Train rolling. I recommend Black Hole over Blood Bound, as BB does not count for Super Kills.
Finally, if you really need to make some Orbs, throw on Skyburner’s Annex (chance for Orbs on Heavy Kills) and Bolt-Caster, tether a group, and go in swinging – it’ll be raining Light!