Warlocks were under the spotlight when the April Update dropped. After Titans got the focus of Winter 2015, it was time to take a look at Sunsingers, Stormcallers, and Voidwalkers.
Now of course, Sunsingers were all the rage, and most of the attention has been on them since the update. But one thing to really consider in your PvP loadout is the Voidwalker – but not the Voidwalker you once knew.
If you’ve been a fan of Crucible Radio for awhile, you know that I’ve always been a Voidwalker at heart. I’m really excited about this change, so check out this Energy Drain build and give it a shot in the Crucible yourself. The idea of this build is to be a constant source of pressure to the other team, with constant recharging of your abilities.
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Grenades
Two Void grenades are quite viable for this build: the Axion Bolt, or the Scatter Grenade. One does rely on a piece of exotic armor; the Nothing Manacles turn Scatter grenades into mini Nova Bombs as long as your toss is accurate to begin with. Axion Bolts are extremely effective when it comes to map control, because many players will find themselves running for their lives and giving up map control in the process. Even if you don’t get a kill, you’re putting them out of position and giving your team the advantage.
Oh and Vortex grenades? Yeah. Still not worth it, don’t bother.
Jumps
This is the sole Warlock subclass that offers any sort of variety when it comes to jumps. If you’re a Sunsinger or a Stormcaller, the only thing you should be using in the Crucible is the Focused Burst. Voidwalkers do have Blink, and many players still prefer it. If you find that Blink suits your playstyle and you plan on using the Voidwalker with an aggressive playstyle, feel free. Otherwise stick with Focused Burst for the speed boost and consistency across all subclasses.
Super
This one’s up to the user. The Energy Drain build is designed to get your super charged faster and more often, but isn’t affected by what type of Nova Bomb you use. I usually run the Vortex in Crucible, but use whatever you enjoy.
Melee
Here’s where things get interesting. The Voidwalker melee is called the Energy Drain, which starts off the key component of this build. Using the perk Soul Rip, melee kills will reduce the cooldown of Nova Bomb. This ties in to our goal of reducing all cooldowns and getting more grenades and more supers during the game.
Bonus Build: If you equip the exotic helmet, The Ram, you’ll be awarded the Life Steal melee perk as well. It ties in beautifully with the Energy Drain build – you’ll see why in a second.
Passive Perks
These complete the Energy Drain build: The Hunger, and Embrace the Void. The Hunger increases the duration of the ED effect. This mean the decreased cooldown on your grenade will last longer, and you’ll be throwing another grenade in less than 10 seconds. Coupled with Embrace the Void, kills with the Nova Bomb or any grenade triggers Energy Drain and restores your health.
Let’s add it all up: contact on an enemy with the melee reduces the cooldown of Nova Bomb and triggers Energy Drain, which speeds up your next grenade. Any grenade kill or Nova Bomb kill triggers ED (grenades charging faster) and restores your health. Using these perks to constantly recharge both supers and melee allows Voidwalkers to use their space magic far more often than other classes. Equipping either the Nothing Manacles or The Ram compliments the ED build immensely, offering either more grenades or more opportunities to regain your health in the heat of battle.
Using the Energy Drain build makes Voidwalkers a serious threat, especially if used aggressively. Stormcallers may still possess an incredible melee and super; Sunsingers may still leave enemies burning for days; but the Voidwalker is back in business and will certainly derail your game if you’re not careful.