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Edited by Drunk_Dingo:
2/7/2026 3:38:57 PM
5
Viable Warlock builds outside of Solar subclasses for Raids/Dungeons Encounters featuring Bosses?
[b] [u]Firstly; to clarify:[/u][/b]
No, I do not hate WoR or SoF, but after being told I have to use them for practically every encounter for Raids & Dungeon, it just gets boring playing the same subclass over and over considering how much of the Warlock there is. I'm also well aware of the "Don't fix what isn't broke" saying, but I still want to ask...
[b]When it comes to Raids & Dungeons, what other Warlock builds - outside of Well of Radiance & Song of Flame - are perfectly viable?[/b] I understand that with some encounters, a Well is practically mandatory, but most I believe could very easily go without one; just that is not one shared among my team. For them: "It's Well or Nothing."
I'm aware of Void & Arc builds (Such as Vortex Nova & Chaos Reach builds) that I have tried to use but immediately told to stop & go back to WoR/SoF (Not because I failed to use them, but because it wasn't part of the group's meta).
I mostly ask because I personally feel WoR is depended on [i]WAY[/i] too much, and having to use it over & over for the same activity just feels repetitive & boring - meanwhile I get to see the rest of my team change between every subclass almost each new run that is done; so a touch of envy is involved in my reasoning.
Again; I do not hate WoR, and I'm wanting to avoid the whole debate/argument over "WeLl dOeSN't fIT iNtO thE gAmE" controversary. I'm simply wanting to know from other Warlocks if there are other builds I can use that may also convince my Team that there are viable options outside of just "Well/Song or nothing".
If it provides help; I'm not a hardcore "I play Destiny everyday" player - I consider myself more casual (Despite the 2400 hours in game), so I won't have all the best Masterworked Tier 5 Legendary weapons or every exotic (Am still missing some of the Raid/Dungeon Exotic's because I am very unlucky). Regardless, I am still interested in seeing what others have to share.
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Do warlocks need to build? You can just hold down whatever key you have mapped to grenade and everything dies.
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Stormdancer’s Brace can output surprisingly good damage and is incredibly easy to use. Could be difficult against certain bosses though. Sunbracers, whilst still Solar, is incredibly underrated. If you’re willing to loadout swap before DPS, it’s worth considering. If swapping isn’t your thing, it’s not mandatory, but at that point Starfire Protocol might be a better pick. Void Warlock with something like Controverse Holds or Nothing Manacles won’t put out the best DPS, but has very nice neutral game and ad clear, and with the right weapons can put out respectable damage. An exotic to keep in mind is Sanguine Alchemy. Great DPS exotic and one of the best for Warlocks as a whole. It’s also quite versatile. BnS is the meta, so make sure to be using those weapons if DPS is your focus. Unfortunately, Stasis and Strand don’t have much to offer in terms of DPS and are better suited to high-difficulty, ad-dense content. Prismatic has a lot of things to offer however, and is very versatile. In my opinion, however, it’s very sweaty and uncomfortable to play. It often relies on niche auto loading interactions and Elemental Honing. Definitely would require some research into meta rotations that would suit you. Sneakybeaver and Aegis are two people who come to mind that could have some information on that kind of stuff, if you’re interested. Hope this helps! With the right weapons, you should be just fine on any subclass.
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I'm a sherpa with 2300 raid carries. I primarily use warlock and exclusively use well when on it. I do not use anything else on warlock. The simple answer is it depends. If you are the ONLY warlock in your raid team you are expected to be on well for most bosses. This is the way it goes. Radiant + orbs + healing. There are a few bosses a well isn't needed(DSC, LW). Likewise most bosses titans are expected to be thundercrash and hunters on golden gun. Nobody really gets much choice. If you are not the well on the team an important note is nova bomb. Nova bomb CANNOT be shot through. I will repeat that again, people cannot shoot through your nova bomb. If you throw your nova during a DPS phase where people are expecting precision damage it will eat everyone's golden guns. For example, both bosses in garden of salvation if you use nova bomb you are actually sabotaging your team. If you do use nova bomb in other raids just wait until people's supers have fired off. Otherwise if there's already a well and we aren't depending heavily on precision then use whatever within reason. A well + sanguine + solar weapon will out-DPS your other supers but the game really isn't that serious.
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All subclasses on warlock are great with a good build personally I like my void lock with brior or controvese. I will just say no if I don't wanna run well someone else can switch if they really want it. In the end you likely can get away with healing rift and Dr to survive in most normal content it just means not getting a 1 phase. Really hate how well and song became so dominate for warlocks it's become a problem for the game.
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Come see my arc warlock build, centred around cranking out orbs and ionic traces for armour charge and good super regen
