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The Destiny 2 PvE Class Tier List compiles the best and worst build rankings for Destiny 2: Lightfall, Season of Defiance Endgame.
Note: This guide was written as of the Season of Defiance. The Meta will make a huge shift come May 23rd with the Season of the Deep; therefore, the guide will be updated after that update.
This guide will not take into account Seasonal mod unlocks as those shift from season to season. The guide will take into account current meta trends and balancing.
With Lightfall, Destiny 2 dropped huge changes to its mod system, simultaneously making things simpler and more complex at the same time. Gone are the days of Elemental Wells and Charged with Light, but now orbs of power collected grant your armor individual charges granting various effects depending on equipped mods. Paired with the Light class changes made during the Witch Queen expansion and the Darkness subclasses introduced in Lightfall and Beyond Light, this has completely changed how abilities synergize and work off of each other. While each subclass may excel at one thing or another, the build diversity is absolutely miles above what it was way back in Destiny 2 Season 1 or even Shadowkeep.
What’s the Best PvE Subclass in Destiny 2? – PvE Tier List Overview
The best PvE Endgame class and subclass on our Destiny 2 Tier List is the Dawnblade, Solar Warlock. With near unlimited survivability, insane damage potential, and incredible ease of use, it is simply the best and easiest way to play for both new and end-game players. Its ability synergies allow for insane damage and incredible uptime, all while simultaneously keeping the player alive. The Well of Radiance Super is essentially the best support super in the game when playing solo or with a group, granting a nice damage buff and insane healing. Top end players all know you want a Dawnblade on your team, or maybe two or even six. You simply cannot go wrong with this class.
S Tier Classes
| Class | Ranking |
|---|---|
| Dawnblade, Solar Warlock | S+ |
| Nightstalker, Void Hunter | S |
A Tier Classes
| Class | Ranking |
|---|---|
| Sunbreaker, Solar Titan | A+ |
| Berserker, Strand Titan | A+ |
| Gunslinger, Solar Hunter | A |
| Striker, Arc Titan | A- |
B Tier Classes
| Class | Ranking |
|---|---|
| Voidwalker, Void Warlock | B+ |
| Arcstrider, Arc Hunter | B |
| Sentinel, Void Titan | B |
| Threadrunner, Strand Hunter | B- |
C Tier Classes
| Class | Ranking |
|---|---|
| Shadebinder, Stasis Warlock | C+ |
| Revenant, Stasis Hunter | C |
| Broodweaver, Strand Warlock | C |
D Tier Classes
| Class | Ranking |
|---|---|
| Stormcaller, Arc Warlock | D+ |
| Behemoth, Stasis Titan | D- |
Destiny 2 PvE Tier List
#15 Behemoth, Stasis Titan | D- Tier
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Generates lots of stasis shards | Few survivability options |
| Amazing in low end content | Ineffective in high end content |
| Good crowd control | Strand does everything it does better |
The worst subclass currently in Destiny 2, the Behemoth, comes in at D- Tier at our Destiny 2 PvE Endgame Class Tier List. It really only does one thing well, and that is crowd control. However, therein lies the major issue with Stasis Titan; it does it well, but straight damage builds on the Light subclasses can be even more effective at it. This leaves Behemoth Titans in a bad place as its class identity is overshadowed by better, more powerful options. This doesn’t mean it isn’t fun, but in the end-game, efficacy is much more important than the fun factor (and it could even be argued that the other classes are just as fun, if not more so.)
There are currently only a few exotic armor pieces that synergize with Stasis Titan builds. Hoarfrost-Z allows for more Stasis Shard generation. Heart of Inmost Light works well with any subclass. The Cadmus Ridge Lancecap can be fun with the Diamond Lance generation. And that’s really it. Sure, there are some other neutral exotics that CAN be used, but they don’t add anything special to the classes abilities. As far as weapons go, Ager’s Scepter, Verglas Curve, or a legendary with Headstone or Chill Clip are good options.
Stasis as a whole (not just Behemoths) lacks a lot of survivability options. Whisper of Rime grants a small overshield, and Whisper of Chains helps with damage mitigation, but these options are so much weaker than the other subclass options, such as Woven Mail from Strand or Sunspots from Solar. Overall the Stasis Titan is just weaker than every other option on Titan by a large margin.
#14 Stormcaller, Arc Warlock | D+ Tier
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Excellent Neutral Game | Lacks any kind of burst or DPS option |
| Excellent mob clearing capabilities | Ineffective in high end content |
| Good Class Identity | Dependent on Exotics |
The worst of the Warlock subclasses, Stormcaller, comes in at D+ Tier. This subclass is actually god tier at clearing minor combatants and has a really good neutral game. Arc Souls and the ability to Jolt targets very easily make clearing out large swaths of combatants an absolute breeze. It’s fun, and it makes players feel powerful… until a larger health bar is encountered. Arc Warlocks are notoriously bad at single target damage, the worst in the game. It’s simply not something any fireteam wants to have on their team, which honestly is a shame because Arc Warlock’s power fantasy is ridiculously fun.
By far, one of the best exotics to use with Stormcaller is the Crown of Tempest, feeding directly into its class identity and power fantasy of the class. Fallen Sunstar is also a great option, and if someone really likes Arc Souls, there is the Getaway Artist. The problem with all of these exotics is that they don’t help mitigate the issue with Arc Warlock, which is its single target damage. Weapons that have Voltshot work really well here but, again don’t help with the main issue with the class.
Arc Warlock is just one of those subclasses that are really, really fun to use. But that’s where it ends. Without any sort of single target ability and other warlock subclasses able to do multiple things, it just suffers from being a one trick pony. If its supers get a damage buff (looking at Chaos Reach especially), this subclass could get quite a significant bump up.
#13 Broodweaver, Strand Warlock | C Tier
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Huge Burst Damage Potential | Locked into a specific playstyles |
| Insane Threadling generation | |
| Excellent Class Identity |
The first on our Destiny 2 PvE Endgame Tier List’s classes and subclasses that are “just okay” is the Broodweaver which comes in at C Tier. Broodweavers know what they want to do. They want to create a bunch of Threadlings and do a lot of burst damage, and they do both of those things well. The problem with this specific playstyle is in order for it to be effective you must only rotate around these strengths. It allows very little room for different playstyles or build variety which can hinder both gameplay and fun. However, Strand is still new, and will probably see many more playstyles become unlocked as time goes on.
Currently, Strand Warlocks only have one exotic armor piece that works well with their playstyle and that is the Swarmers exotic legs. It basically makes Threadlings better, which considering that is the Strand Warlocks only gimmick, it makes sense to build into it. Quicksilver Storm and Legendary weapons with Hatchling work really well with Strand Warlock, as is to be expected. There is a really strong Osteo Striga build that allows crazy suspensions as well, but requires playing against the class identity to make it work.
In our C Tier ranks, the subclasses are no longer bad. They just aren’t what would be considered good either. They are either just okay at everything or just only really good at one thing that is effective at the high end. Broodweavers fall into the latter camp. Having an army of Threadlings can be fun and even effective, but there are just better options for most content.
#12 Revenant, Stasis Hunter | C Tier
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Decent Boss Damage Potential | Requires certain exotics to shine |
| Decent crowd control | Poor Class Identity |
| Super is effective for damage over time | Strand does everything it does better |
Revenants in PvE are probably the class with one of the weakest class identities in the game and that lands them at C Tier. They are okay at everything, but don’t do anything particularly well. And the worst thing of all, they just aren’t fun to build into or play. Can they do what they need to do, yeah absolutely, but only just barely and its not gonna be enjoyable.
Stasis Hunters are typically going to be using either the Mask of Bakris exotic helm or the Renewal Grasp exotic arms. Basically choosing between either offensive capabilities or defensive ones. The problem here is that neither of these exotics make the class that much better. Its still the same play loop of slow your enemies, do as much damage as possible, run away until you get your abilities back. Its a very slow playstyle and what’s worse is that you can do the same thing on Strand Hunter and do it better.
Revenants suffer from a poor class identity. They know what they want to be, but they don’t do it well and that hurts them. There is no real gimmick with them, they just exist and work out okay. They lack the mobility of Arc or Strand Hunters, and don’t have nearly the utility of Void Hunters. Like all Stasis Subclasses, they lack any real defensive capabilities. If this tier list was based solely on how fun a class was to play, they would probably be at the bottom of the list, but their ability to be effective in certain content pushed them up.
#11 Shadebinder, Stasis Warlock | C+ Tier
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Good champion control | Poor Damage Potential |
| The best of the Stasis Builds | Requires certain exotic to work effectively |
| Few survivability options |
Another class that can be effective in certain situations, but is otherwise ineffective is the Stasis Warlock. At C+ Tier, the Shadebinder tops out both the tier level and stasis subclasses in general. This subclass sees some decent usage for its ability to freeze targets easily without much effort in high end content. The problem with that now is that Strand now exist, and does everything Stasis Warlock does better. While Strand Warlock is rated below Stasis Warlock, that is more of an issue of playing against identity and not overall effectiveness.
Shadebinders in endgame content are almost exclusively going to be using the Osmiomancy Gloves exotic paired with the Bleak Watcher Stasis Aspect. The extra grenade charge allows for near infinite uptime of the Stasis Turrets, allowing enemies to be frozen with zero effort from the player. And that’s pretty much the Shadebinder playstyle in its entirety.
Shadebinder damage output is terrible. Its only strength comes from being able to immobilize most targets with ease, which is a problem now. Strand can also do this and with Suspensions you can still easily damage your target. This class does see some use in the endgame, but its becoming less and less common.
#10 Threadrunner, Strand Hunter | B- Tier
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Extremely Mobile | Best playstyle fights against its identity |
| Great Suspension Capabilities | Requires melee range to be effective |
| Excellent Burst Damage |
Now comes the part of the tier list where the subclasses are no longer just okay, but actually effective at the endgame. Threadrunner starts off the list at B- tier. It has a very powerful super that is not only mobile but can put out some crazy damage numbers and, when playing into its identity, can be a very mobile subclass. The only problem is that like its Warlock contemporary, its best playstyle really goes against that identity, instead opting for being able to almost infinitely suspend targets.
The Strand exotic for Hunters that came out with Lightfall, Cyrtarachne’s Façade, is middling at best. Most of the neutral game exotics that buff super damage (such as Star-Eater’s Scales) or dodge abilities (such as Sixth Coyote or Wormhusk Crown) are the better options for Strand Hunter. Like most of our Strand subclasses, Quicksilver Storm is a great option to pair with any build.
Strand Hunter is a great choice to take into endgame, but its edged out by most of the Light Subclasses in effectiveness in one way or another. Its super does great damage but has limited range which can be a problem in certain encounters. Don’t shy away from its ability to Suspend targets, but if that’s a playstyle you are interested in, there is a better option further down the list.
#9 Sentinel, Void Titan | B Tier
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Amazing Support Capabilites | Relegated to support role |
| Great Survivability | No huge damage options |
| Excellent Class Identity | Solar Warlock does it better |
Void Titan Class sits on our Destiny 2 PvE Endgame list at B Tier, tying with Arc Hunter. Sentinels are a very powerful support class with some great offensive options. Both of its supers buff its allies damage, with each one providing both offensive and defensive benefits. Its class identity is strong basically being a bastion of support for anyone else in the fireteam. In fact, it could be said there is only one thing stopping Void Titan from shining as a top-tier option: Dawnblade’s exist and do almost everything a Sentinel can do and do it much better.
Sentinel’s actually have quite a few exotics that synergize well with it depending on the playstyle that is chosen. Helm of Saint-14 is a nice support exotic if the Void Titan is running the Ward of Dawn super. Ursa Furiosa is great for a more mobile defensive playstyle. To build more into offense, Doom Fang Pauldrons are an absolute powerhouse of void damage and volatility. Sentinel Titan is one of the more unique classes in that it has several options that all fit well into its class identity. Void weapons pair really well with almost any playstyle as well with its ability to make most enemies volatile with ease.
While it may be at the bottom of the Void classes, that doesn’t make Sentinel a bad choice. Just the opposite in fact. There are several powerful builds on Void Titan; however, since most of those builds are support focused and don’t stack with the support abilities of Dawnblade, its just not as useful to run in most endgame activities where a Solar Warlock is most certainly going to be around.
#8 Arcstrider, Arc Hunter | B Tier
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Decent Burst Damage | Requires specific playstyles to be effective |
| Great at mob clear | Melee focused |
| Very ability dependent |
While writing this list, it was very hard to choose which was better, Sentinel or Arcstrider. Eventually, it was decided that they would be tied, thereby putting Arcstrider at B tier with its Void Titan counterpart. And it makes sense to tie with a Titan subclass, as Arc Hunter is absolutely a class that loves to get up in melee range and punch its enemies to death. With the right build, Arcstriders can put up some great damage numbers. It does have one major flaw that keeps it from being top-tier. It requires the player to be in the thick of it, with very few survivability options.
The most common Arc Hunter build pairs the Liar’s Handshake exotic with a One-Two Punch shotgun. This basically creates a loop of buffing damage from the shotgun with the melee, which then buffs the shotgun, and so on. It does cap out, but the numbers are still very high. The other build sees Hunter’s basically spamming Skip Grenades with Shinobu’s Vow. It’s less effective but much safer.
Based on what was written above, you can see the main issue with Arcstrider. It is locked into a very dangerous playstyle to be effective. Paired with another subclass to support its survivability, such as a Void Titan or Solar Warlock, it can be extremely powerful.
#7 Voidwalker, Void Warlock | B+ Tier
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Decent Burst Damage | Moderately complex |
| Insane survivability | Poor melee ability |
| Powerful Neutral Game |
Voidwalkers are coming into the list at B+ Tier. These warlocks probably have one of the most powerful nuetral games in all of Destiny. While it does take a while to master, once it able to be done Void Warlocks basically become nigh unkillable with powerful damage buffs to boot. It all revolves around Devour and keeping it active at all times.
Keeping a Void Warlock’s abilities up and Devour active at all times is extremely important, which makes Nezerac’s Sin a very powerful exotic to pair with it, buffing its already crazy ability regen. While difficult to get because it requires Vow of Disciple completions and a little bit of luck, the weapon Collective Obligation is a for sure boon to have on this subclass.
The only thing keeping Voidwalker from A Tier is its lack of sustained damage output on single targets and its somewhat complicated playstyle. Basically, if there are no enemies to kill to keep up Devour, then it loses what makes it powerful, making it a poor choice for boss encounters with long DPS phases. It can still put in work, it just gets outshined by one specific warlock subclass.
#6 Striker, Arc Titan | A- Tier
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Extremely high burst damage | To be most effective requires an exotic swap mid encounter |
| Abilities can have nearly infinite uptime | Moderately complicated to master |
| Decent Neutral game | Requires certain exotics to reach its potential |
On our Destiny 2 PvE Endgame Tier list, the first of the classes and subclasses that are absolutely some of the best in the game, the Striker comes in A- Tier. Formerly an easy S Tier class, nerfs to certain exotics have brought it down a notch, but its still absolutely performs. It can get insane ability uptime, all while doing some crazy burst damage. Its neutral game, if handled properly, can absolutely keep the player alive while simultaneously destroying every combatant around it.
Of all the subclasses that benefit from using Heart of Inmost Light, Arc Titan probably gets the most out of it because of the Amplification buff. While it is no longer as effortless to keep the Heart buff going, its still completely doable with practice. A common thing to do on boss encounters is to “hot-swap” Heart of Inmost Light to Cuirass of the Fallen Star right before a damage phase to do crazy burst damage, then swap back afterwards to get the ability buffs back.
Overall, Strikers are a great subclass to use in almost all content. While no longer in their glory days, they are still one of the best subclasses to choose to do endgame content. They just take a bit of practice to use at their ultimate potential. With the nerf to ability uptime, changes in mods and exotic nerf, the Arc Titan isn’t the juggernaut it previously was. That’s not to say its bad, just outclassed by the utility of Strand and survivability of Solar
#5 Gunslinger, Solar Hunter | A Tier
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Excellent Burst Damage | Less survivable than other Solar Classes |
| Jack of All Trades, but Master of None | Mod Dependent |
| Requires certain exotics to reach its potential |
Solar 3.0 made the fire based Light subclasses some of the best in the game, and coming in at A Tier we have the Gunslinger. Solar Hunters can put out some crazy damage numbers and have some great neutral game being able to scorch and ignite targets with ease. That being said it is one of least survivable of the Solar classes, but its still no slouch at staying alive either.
Solar Hunter is great when paired with an Exotic that enhances its super. Blade Barrage with Star-Eaters Scales can put out some crazy numbers with some preparation. Celestial Nighthawk requires less prep time with Marksman Golden Gun, but does less damage. To cast Blade Barrage more often, players can opt to use Shards of Galanor. Truly the Gunslingers strength lies in its versatility, but that comes with a pretty big caveat of not being the best at anything.
A truly great subclass, the Solar Hunter can be a welcome addition to any fireteam. Its versatile and fun to play, but it definitely has to be built into to be effective. With mind numbing burst damage but weaker survivability and complete gear dependence, the Solar Hunter isn’t the top of our list. What holds it back is the need for a very specific loadout that isn’t flexible or easy to obtain before you can unlock it’s full potential.
#4 Berserker, Strand Titan | A+ Tier
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| High Damage Output | Super requires Melee Range |
| Infinite Suspension | Fragments have to be unlocked |
| Strong Class Identity |
Everyone thought Strand Titan was going to be a meme when it released with Lightfall, so when it came out being one of the absolute best subclasses to use in endgame content, it was a very pleasant surprise. Berserks are easily one of the best classes to play in most content, putting them in A+ Tier. The can easily loop their abilities to have Suspend effects going at practically all times, thereby putting most enemies out of the fight and helpless as they are mowed down by gunfire. This paired with some decent damage output sees them as the premier Strand subclass.
Currently the best exotic to pair with Berserkers is the Abeyant Leap exotic boots. This makes there already powerful suspension abilities much more potent both offensively and defensively. All Titan subclasses can benefit from using Heart of Inmost Light as well. As with most Stand subclasses using Quicksilver Storm is a very powerful option.
Its honestly difficult to come up with any real issues with this subclass. Its an absolute monster at endgame, really only being a less than optimal choice during pure boss Damage phases, which it can still perform in. Cannot recommend unlocking this class enough.
#3 Sunbreaker, Solar Titan | A+ Tier
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Ridiculous Survivability | Damage output is only moderate |
| Not Exotic Dependent | Have to choose between damage or healing |
| Can constantly generate orbs |
Even though they not nearly as powerful as they used to be, Sunbreaker Titans are absolutely still one of the better classes for end game, coming in Tied with Strand Titans at A+ Tier. With some the best survivability in the game, they are nigh impossible to kill. What makes it better is their survivability options are activated by offensive abilities. Sunspots generated by killing enemies with Solar abilites can heal Solar Titans through most things.
The obvious synergy comes from using Loreley Spendor exotic, making surviving even easier. Other options include Synthocepts, which can turn the throwing hammer into a death dealing machine (that can also heal you.) Running weapons that have the Incandescent perk can also be a huge boon, allowing Solar Titans to proc Solar effects even with weapon kills.
Sunbreakers in a few words are masters of surviving. And they can do it all while still being an offensive power house. They are go to choice for solo content, and work great in group compositions as well when survival is a must. That being said, there is a way to make them do even more damage, but that requires sacrificing some healing ability. This isn’t a terrible option though, as certain content simply does not require that amount of healing.
#2 Nightstalker, Void Hunter | S Tier
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Great Burst Damage | Melee ability is weak |
| Excellent support abilities | |
| Invisibility |
The first of the two S Tier PvE classes currently in Destiny 2 Endgame and on our list, the Nightstalker is hands down one of the single best options to use in endgame content. They can easily debuff their targets while doing some crazy damage to boot, but what makes this class shine above the rest comes down to one ability: invisibility. This neutral game ability has more utility than any other in the game. Need to revive a teammate that is in the middle of a group of enemies, go invisible. Need to get out of a hairy fight quickly, go invisible. Want to bypass a group of mobs or powerful enemy, go invisibile.
Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk is easily one of the better exotics in the game. Granting volatile rounds simply for going invisible, something that will be done normally, is absolutely god-tier. And this is only one of the things this exotic can do. Omnioculus can work wonders in content where going invisible is needed quickly and often. Orpheus Rigs can make one of the better support supers even greater. Pair any void weapon with a void hunter and you have a powerhouse of subclass.
Like the A+ Tier classes, its hard to find any downside to using this class. Its melee is weak offensively, but can make the hunter invisible making it still an absolute game changing ability. Honestly, its biggest weakness may be depending too much on the invisibility, making players overconfident and putting themselves in situations they shouldn’t. Even then its still just a god tier class.
#1 Dawnblade, Solar Warlock | S+ Tier
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Highest Damage Potential in the Game | Requires certain exotics to be top tier |
| Best support abilities in the Game | |
| Exotics make it the best, but aren’t required to be effective |
Finally, we get to the best class in Destiny 2, the Dawnblade, our only S+ Tier subclass. Solar warlocks have it all. Awesome neutral game with crazy survivability, insane support abilities, and the potential to hit the highest sustained DPS in the game. It’s everything in one package, and what makes them even better, nothing has to be sacrificed in order to do all of these things. In summary, they can do it all! What is even better, they are relatively easy to play for beginners as well.
For the highest damage in the game, simply put on Starfire Protocol, Witherhoard, and a Rocket Launcher with the Demolitionist trait. Need to be more support oriented, Lunafaction Boots is a top tier option. Even when the inevitable nerf to Starfire Protocol is considered, which will probably dethrone Dawnblade as the highest sustained damage in the game, they still will be among the best subclasses if not the best.
In conclusion, there is little doubt when talking about what is the best class in the game. Dawnblades with Well of Radiance have been a staple in end game content since the Forsaken expansion, and Solar 3.0 has seen them rocket into even higher prominence. They are sought after for all endgame content: Raids, GM Nightfalls, and Dungeons. A fitting end to our Destiny 2 PvE Tier List for sure.
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