Best Titan builds for Onslaught in Destiny 2

Fight forever, Titan!

Three guardians leap at a portal in Destiny 2's Onslaught activity.
Image via Bungie

Onslaught has taken over Destiny 2 with its introduction in Into the Light widely acclaimed by guardians both old and new. If you’re looking for a challenge, you can’t go past the Legend variant of the activity, but without the right build, you’re going to struggle to clear 50 waves.

Recommended Videos

We’re looking specifically at the Titan builds I’ve been rocking in Legend Onslaught to great success. You can tweak these to your preference but these subclass, fragment, aspect, and weapon choices make for both a fun and effective build for the activity. Here are the best Titan builds for Destiny 2‘s Onslaught horde mode.

What are the best Titan builds for Onslaught in Destiny 2?

Strand with Synthoceps

A Titan from Destiny 2 wielding Strand with certain armor and weapons selected.
Survival perfected. Screenshot by Dot Esports
  • Subclass: Strand – Berserker
  • Aspects: Banner of War, Into The Fray
  • Fragments: Thread of Generation, Thread of Warding, Thread of Fury, Thread of Mind
  • Mods: Heavy Handed (Gauntlets), Siphon for Orbs (Helmet), Lucent Blades (Chest), Absolution (Legs), Special Finisher (Mark)
  • Weapons: Sword (personal preference), Polaris Lance (Energy)

It’s no surprise we see the most popular subclass for Titans this season make a return for Onslaught. Strand Titan has stormed to the front partly due to the seasonal artifact mods, but mainly because of its survivability with Banner of War and Woven Mail.

Banner of War was nerfed some time ago but the aspect remains incredibly vital, and when combined with Woven Mail from Orbs of Power or Tangles, you’ll be able to boost both your survivability and that of your allies. Synthoceps is your Exotic armor of choice to one-hit most targets in Onslaught and continually refresh your Banner of War and Woven Mail uptime.

For weapons, I like using an add-clear sword like my Demolitionist and Chain Reaction Dragoncult Sickle, but you can also go for direct damage from a Bequest or the BRAVE variant of Falling Guillotine.

I couldn’t look past Polaris Lance for my Exotic weapon for ranged targets, especially given the Flint Striker mod this season grants you Radiant when landing rapid kills.

Solar with Pyrogale Gauntlets

A Solar Titan in full armor wielding a Monte Carlo Exotic in Destiny 2.
Screenshot by Dot Esports
  • Subclass: Solar – Sunbreaker (Burning Maul)
  • Melee: Hammer Strike
  • Aspects: Consecration, Sol Invictus
  • Fragments: Ember of Searing, Ember of Char, Ember of Torches, Ember of Ashes
  • Mods: Hands-On (Helmet), Siphon (Helmet), Heavy Handed (Gauntlets), Melee Damage Resistance (Chest), Weapon Surge (Legs), Outreach (Mark)
  • Weapons: Monte Carlo (Exotic, Primary)

If Strand Titan is the most popular build this season, then Solar Titan is right behind it. The introduction of the burst Pyrogale Gauntlets plus the seasonal artifact favoring Solar has meant many players have dived into the burst setup for Titans. For Onslaught, our focus is on uptime for Consecration.

Pyrogale’s effect transforms the Consecration melee ability into a high-damage Ignition-creating blast that leaves a flame cyclone in its wake. Defeating enemies with the blast or the cyclone creates Sunspots that allow you to regenerate health and damage large groups of adds at once. If you want to extend the Sol Invictus regeneration from Sunspots to allies, switch out Pyrogales for Phoenix Cradles.

Monte Carlo is the obvious pick for Exotic weapons here: Dealing damage with the auto rifle builds back your melee ability meaning you can spam Consecrations constantly. Bring along your favorite Legendary add-clear weapon like a Reservoir Burst or Incandescent fusion rifle and a damage-dealing Heavy and you’re set to go. Make sure to adjust your Surge mods on your legs to match the elements of your Energy and Power weapons.

Stasis with Hoarfrost-Z

A Stasis Titan in armor preparing to fight in Destiny 2.
Seriously, Ager’s Scepter is very powerful in this activity. Screenshot by Dot Esports
  • Subclass: Stasis – Behemoth
  • Aspects: Cryoclasm, Tectonic Harvest
  • Fragments: Whisper of Rime, Whisper of Chains, Whisper of Conduction, Whisper of Shards
  • Mods: Special Ammo Finder (Helmet), Harmonic Siphon (Helmet), Stasis Reserves (Chest), Innervation (Legs), Bomber (Mark), Special Finisher (Mark)
  • Weapons: Ager’s Scepter (Exotic)

Stasis Titan can’t keep up in terms of survivability when compared with fellow Darkness subclass Strand, but with the right fragments and a little-known Exotic in the form of Ager’s Scepter, this build is brilliant for an activity like Onslaught, especially on Midtown.

The Glacier Grenade and Hoarfrost-Z Exotic trait combine to create a wall of ice that just straight-up blocks enemies from the ADU while your team flanks behind and kills the enemies stuck at the wall. Follow up with a slide with Cyroclasm and a charged Ager’s Scepter to freeze and annihilate everything in your path. The Stasis Shards created from the ice will grant you an overshield, and as long as you keep your grenade and barricade up, you’ll have an almost permanent shield.

The stat boost from the fragments can create a quad-100-stat build if you’ve got the right armor, and if you’ve got the Ager’s Scepter catalyst, you’ll be able to convert your super into a superpowered beam of ice.

It takes a little focus regarding your grenade and barricade timing but this is one of my favorite builds for Onslaught, both in regular and Legend difficulty.

Author
Image of Nicholas Taifalos
Nicholas Taifalos
Weekend Editor
Weekend editor for Dot Esports. Nick, better known as Taffy, began his esports career in commentary, switching to journalism with a focus on Oceanic esports, particularly Counter-Strike and Dota. Email: nicholas@dotesports.com