Destiny: The Best Subclasses for Wrath of the Machine
By Weston Albert 13 October 2016
In order to conquer the challenges of Destiny‘s new raid, here are the most effective subclass builds for each of Wrath of the Machine’s boss encounters.
Destiny‘s new raid, Wrath of the Machine, offers a ton of flexibility when it comes to team composition and subclass choice, possibly more than any other raid. But there are still some subclasses that excel better than others.
Destiny YouTuber Datto offers a comprehensive look at which subclasses and perk selection players should choose to be most effective against each boss in the raid.
Raid Team Composition
To start off, pretty much any combination of classes works for Wrath of the Machine. In fact, some runs have been completing using only one class like this no-weapons Aksis run using a team of six Sunsinger Warlocks.
However, variety on a raid team will help tremendously for Wrath of the Machine. Datto recommends a pair of each subclass as an ideal setup: two Warlocks, two Titans, and two Gunslingers. The Taken King’s King’s Fall raid was a lot more discriminatory when it came to ideal team composition, with the best being three Hunters, two Titans, and one Warlock. And in fact, that setup would work well for Wrath of the Machine also.
However, it is more important that players feel comfortable with their class more than anything given the flexibility of choice in a fireteam for Wrath of the Machine. The bottom line is, most teams will not require specific setups. That said, here are the best subclasses to use for each boss.
Vosik
Warlocks have two solid options in the Stormcaller and the Voidwalker. The Stormcaller’s main focus and use of talents will be in quickly taking out the Captain that spawns during each “SIVA Charge Throwing” phase of the fight. The Voidwalker may offer even more options because its Nova Bomb can also take out a Captain or be used for boss damage. The Voidwalker’s Scatter Grenades paired with Nothing Manacles can be an effective crowd control option as well.
The best choice for Hunters is Nightstalker, especially if there are two Hunters on the team, who can use Shadowshot back to back during a damage phase. Smoke Grenades are also highly effective against those Captains. If there are already two Nightstalkers on the team, or for those wanting to run something different, Gunslinger with Celestial Nighthawk is a great option for doing massive amounts of damage on Vosik.
As for Titans, one or two Defender Titans with Weapons of Light active will be a huge help in allowing the entire team to deal extra damage to Vosik. Ward of Dawn lasts longer than the damage phase, so one Defender might be enough. However, Vosik can one shot a bubble with his cannon, meaning a second Ward of Dawn placed somewhere away from the first as a backup could come in handy. Striker Titans can be useful to Fist of Havoc the Captains and the subclass’s Flashbang grenades can help control and defend against adds.
Siege Engine
The best option for Warlocks on the Siege Engine fight is Stormcaller. In the first phase of the fight, Stormcallers should pop their super to move around and kill the huge amount of adds rushing toward the team. The subclass is perfect for this fight, and can also help clear adds while the parts are being moved to the Siege Engine in the next phase of this encounter. Voidwalker remains an option, but Stormcaller is better.
In the same way, Hunters will want to choose Nightstalker, as a well-placed Shadowshot can tether that large group of adds while players target the cannons and core of the Siege Engine during the first phase. Bladedancer is not quite as good of a pick, but could be highly useful in clearing adds during the fight.
Titans can run anything and contribute. Defenders can boost damage against the Siege Engine and combine Ward of Dawn with Helm of Saint-14 to blind adds. Sunbreaker Titan’s roaming super can do very well in clearing adds as well, but the best option is Striker. With The Armamentarium equipped, double Flashbang grenades will be a big help against adds and Fist of Havoc should be used to instantly smash Captains.
Aksis
The first phase of Aksis is pretty much a non-issue when it comes to subclass choice; choose whichever subclass you will use in the second phase as not to lose super, grenade, and melee charges between phases.
Warlocks can choose Voidwalker if they are confident that they will hit their Nova Bombs on Captains and Aksis. For those not quite as comfortable with Voidwalker, Stormcaller is the best choice. While their super is not really that great for Aksis, it can be used very well to take down a Captain and then keep roaming to take out another Captain or the surrounding adds.
Titans should definitely go with Defender because a Ward of Dawn with Weapons of Light will be necessary to increase boss DPS during every damage phase. Datto also proposes a Sunbreaker build with double melee and Melting Point paired with the Dark-Drinker sword strategy that could potentially lay down some serious damage.
Nightstalkers are once again a great choice for Hunters, with the ability to tether Aksis during the damage phase. But if there are already Nightstalkers on the team, Gunslinger with Celestial Nighthawk can be a great choice. Especially if players develop a strategy of dunking the empowerment to instantly charge supers, Gunslingers can empty a mega Golden Gun into Aksis for massive damage.
What is your favorite subclass to run for Wrath of the Machine? Let us know in the comments.
Destiny: Rise of Iron is available now on PS4 and Xbox One.
Source: Datto
