Prismatic, the new subclass in The Final Shape, brings together everything the Guardian has learned over the years into, arguably, the most powerful subclass yet. The best Destiny 2 Prismatic Warlock build is battling it out against the Titan’s version to be the strongest, so Warlock mains haven’t drawn the short straw here.
Once you know how the Prismatic subclass works, you can use your newfound power to tear up the Destiny 2 The Final Shape missions. If you’ve got your hands on the new Destiny 2 The Final Shape Exotics, especially the unique Exotic class items that mush two Exotic armor pieces together, then you’re well on your way to mastering Light and Darkness.
Best Destiny 2 Prismatic Warlock Build
The best Destiny 2 Prismatic Warlock build in PvE is:
- Super - Winter’s Wrath
- Melee - Incinerator Snap
- Grenade - Coldsnap Grenade (consume for Bleak Watcher)
- Aspect 1 - Bleak Watcher
- Aspect 2 - Feed the Void
- Fragment 1 - Facet of Dawn
- Fragment 2 - Facet of Purpose
- Fragment 3 - Facet of Protection
- Fragment 4 - Facet of Balance
- Fragment 5 - Facet of Courage
- Exotic Armor - Solipsism (Spirit of Osmiomancy + Spirit of the Claw)
- Exotic Weapon - Monte Carlo
If you’ve ever wanted to be the crowd-controlling king, this Warlock Prismatic build lets you do just that. Thanks to Bleak Watcher, you can consume your grenade to spawn a turret that will freeze enemies in place, making them easy prey for your Incinerator Snap melee. Speaking off, Feed the Void will activate Devour on any ability kill while Facet of Dawn makes you radiant from melee ability kills. In other words, wiping out enemies with Incinerator Snap makes you a hard-hitting tank, especially as Facet of Courage causes Light abilities to deal increased damage to Darkness-debuffed enemies. Combine this with Facet of Purpose and a Heavy Handed armor mod and you’ll have much greater resistance than you might expect.
Warlock’s new Solipsism Exotic class item is the perfect pairing for this Prismatic build, as you can combine two Exotic armor perks into one. Spirit of Osmiomancy recharges your grenade energy faster while Spirit of the Claw gives you an extra melee ability charge. If you’re yet to unlock this Exotic though, the standard Osmiomancy will do the trick.
While just about any Exotic weapon will work well here, Monte Carlo is a great pick ever since it's buff. Although Solipsism’s Spirit of the Claw grants an additional melee charge, you can’t ever have too many fireball-finger-snaps. Not only does Monte Carlo reduce melee cooldowns, but the weapon also gains bonus damage from melee kills, making for a lethal combo. It’s also a Kinetic weapon, which charges both the Light and Darkness bars required to become Transcendent.
Destiny 2 Warlock Prismatic Subclass Overview
Like other subclasses, Prismatic gives you ample abilities, Aspects, and Fragments to choose from to suit your playstyle. Unlike other subclasses, however, Prismatic borrows abilities from other subclasses - both Light and Dark.
You’ll build two different ability bars by dealing damage with Light and Darkness abilities and weapons. Once both bars are fully charged, you will be able to activate Transcendence, which provides limited-time access to a unique new grenade and a handful of powerful buffs like increased ability regeneration.
The Warlock's Prismatic Transcendance grenade is Freezing Singularity:
- Throw a mass of Void energy and Stasis matter. On impact, it deploys a miniature black hole orbited by a halo of slowing ice. After a short duration, the black hole implodes, suppressing and dealing heavy damage to all nearby targets.
Here are all the Prismatic Warlock abilities in Destiny 2:
All Warlock Prismatic Melee Abilities
| Name | Description | Element |
|---|---|---|
| Incinerator Snap | Snap your fingers to create a fan of burning sparks that explode and scorch targets. | Solar |
| Pocket Singularity | Launch an unstable ball of Void energy that detonates when it nears a target, pushing them away from the blast and making them volatile. | Void |
| Chain Lightning | An extended range melee that jolts your target and chains lightning to nearby targets. While amplified, it creates an additional set of chains. | Arc |
| Arcane Needle | Sling a woven needle that will embed in your target, unraveling them. Activate your melee ability again to chain up to two additional attacks. | Strand |
| Penumbral Blast | Raise your Stasis staff against your foe. Send a blast of Stasis forward to freeze your targets. | Stasis |
All Warlock Prismatic Grenades
| Name | Description | Element |
|---|---|---|
| Healing Grenade | A grenade that cures allies on impact and creates an Orb of benevolent Solar Light, granting restoration to allies when picked up. | Solar |
| Vortex Grenade | A grenade that creates a Vortex that pulls targets inward and continually damages those trapped inside. | Void |
| Storm Grenade | A grenade that calls down a focused lightning storm. | Arc |
| Threadling Grenade | A woven projectile that reweaves itself into Threadlings while in flight. | Strand |
| Coldsnap Grenade | A grenade that freezes on impact and sends another seeker to find and freeze targets. | Stasis |
All Warlock Prismatic Aspects
| Name | Description | Fragment Slots |
|---|---|---|
| Feed the Void | Defeat a target with any ability to activate Devour. Your Devour effects are improved, restoring additional health and grenade energy. | 2 |
| Bleak Watcher | Hold to convert your grenade into a Stasis turret that fires slowing projectiles at nearby targets. | 3 |
| Hellion (New) | Activate your class ability to summon a Solar mortar that lobs flaming projectiles at distant targets. Targets damaged by the mortar are scorched. | 3 |
| Lightning Surge | While sliding, activate your charged melee ability to blink forward, calling down lightning strikes that jolt targets as you rematerialize. | 3 |
| Weaver's Call | Cast your Rift to weave three Threadlings and deploy any Threadlings you have perched. | 3 |
All Prismatic Fragments
| Name | Description | Additional Effects |
|---|---|---|
| Facet of Awakening | Rapidly defeating targets with Light or Darkness damage or Super final blows generates an elemental pickup of the matching damage type. | Plus 10 Resilience |
| Facet of Balance | Rapidly defeating targets with Light damage grants melee energy. Rapidly defeating targets with Darkness damage grants grenade energy. | N/A |
| Facet of Blessing | Melee final blows start health regeneration. While transcendent, melee final blows start health regeneration for you and nearby allies. | N/A |
| Facet of Bravery | Defeating targets with grenade final blows grants Volatile Rounds to your void weapons. Defeating targets with powered melee final blows grants Unraveling Rounds to your Strand weapons. | N/A |
| Facet of Command | Freezing or suppressing a target reloads your equipped weapons and increases weapon stability, aim assist, and airborne effectiveness. Defeating frozen or suppressed targets creates a Stasis Shard or Void Breach. | N/A |
| Facet of Courage | Your Arc, Solar, and Void abilities deal increased damage to targets afflicted with Darkness debuffs. | Plus 10 Discipline |
| Facet of Dawn | Powered melee hits against targets makes you radiant. Powered melee final blows make you and nearby allies radiant. | Minus 10 Strength |
| Facet of Defiance | Finishers create a detonation that either jolts, scorches, slows, severs, or makes targets volatile based on the damage type of your equipped Super. | Plus 10 Recovery |
| Facet of Devotion | Defeating targets afflicted with Stasis or Strand debuffs grant bonus Light Transcendence Energy. | Plus 10 Strength |
| Facet of Dominance | Your Void grenades weaken targets, and your Arc grenades jolt targets. | Minus 10 Discipline |
| Facet of Generosity | Defeating targets while Transcendent creates Orbs of Power for your allies. | N/A |
| Facet of Grace | Defeating targets with Kinetic weapons grants you bonus Transcendence energy. Defeating targets with your Super grants you and nearby allies bonus Transcendence energy. | Minus 10 Resilience |
| Facet of Honor | Collecting an elemental pickup or destroying a Tangle grants Transcendence energy of the same type. | Plus 10 Strength |
| Facet of Hope | While you have an elemental buff, your class ability regenerates more quickly. | N/A |
| Facet of Justice | While Transcendent, your ability final blows explode. | Plus 10 Intellect |
| Facet of Mending | Grenade final blows cure you. Transcendence grenade final blows increase the strength of the effect. | N/A |
| Facet of Protection | While surrounded by combatants, you are more resistant to incoming damage. While transcendent, the effect is increased. | Plus 10 Strength |
| Facet of Purpose | Picking up an Orb of Power grants either Amplified, Restoration, Frost Armor, Woven Mail, or Overshield based on the damage type of your equipped Super. | Minus 10 Recovery |
| Facet of Ruin | Increases the size and damage of the burst when you shatter a Stasis crystal or frozen target, and increases the area of effect on Solar ignitions. | Plus 10 Mobility |
| Facet of Sacrifice | While you have an Arc, Solar, or Void buff, ability final blows grant bonus Darkness Transcendence energy. | Plus 10 Discipline |
| Facet of Solitude | Landing rapid precision hits emit a severing blast from the target. While transcendent, the severing blast is bigger. | N/A |
That’s the best Destiny 2 Prismatic Warlock build you can make for PvE. Remember, there are lots of different abilities and items available to you, so mix and match to find what suits you the most. Nevertheless, this build is perfect for most PvE activities, including the new Destiny 2 Overthrow activity.