Howdy! It’s Librarian Husky and there’s a lot of builds in Destiny, but I find myself coming back to the same handful over and over again. Some builds are fun to play around with for a while, while others are so fun and strong that I can’t help but return to them time and time again. Today I’ll be talking about one of my favorite Warlock Builds, one that has gotten even better since the launch of Final Shape and one that I just can’t peel myself away from.

Introduction to the Build

Let’s not waste any time and just jump right in. The Exotic being used here is Dawn Chorus, an exotic helmet that increases damage dealt from Scorch, gives melee energy every time Scorch ticks, and boosts the damage and burning ability of Daybreak. Three really strong effects wrapped up into one killer exotic.

Increased Scorch Damage

The first part of this exotic, the increased Scorch Damage, is my favorite part. Item manager here says that it increases Scorch Damage by 200%. Important to note the wording here: increased by 200%, meaning that your Scorch Damage is tripled. It sounds like a lot, and it is a lot. It’s also important to note that this has no effect on ignitions. To get the most out of this exotic, you’ll want to leave enemies burning.

Melee Energy Gain

This will also give melee energy. It’s not a lot per instance of Scorch, but spread the Scorch to a handful of enemies, and your melee will be back in no time.

Daybreak Damage Increase

Now, before we got Song of Flame, I was actually in love with the final part of this exotic, the increase to Daybreak damage. It’s nearly double damage, plus the Scorch and ignitions it creates.

Song of Flame and Its Strength

It’s really, really strong and it shouldn’t be slept on. That being said, Song of Flame is still the better choice, I think. It just has so many applications and often times I’ll use Song of Flame just to get the damage resist it gives.

Switching Back to Daybreak

If we see any changes to Song of Flame or I get tired of using it, I’ll definitely go back to Daybreak with this build. But as it stands, Song of Flame feels like the right choice.

Subclass and Aspects

So, onto the subclass. I used to run Heat Rises and Icarus Dash, but with the new aspect Helion, it’s just too good with this build. So Helion and Heat Rises it is. Icarus Dash will be missed, but also not really.

Fragments

The main fragments are Singing, Searing, Ashes, and the last one you can kind of just pick whatever you want. I really like Benevolence and Torches, but I’ve tried a lot of different fragments and they’re all good. Right now I have on Mercy for the extra resilience and restoration, but you do you.

Abilities

Of course, we spoke of Song of Flame earlier, so I have that on along with Phoenix Dive, Snap, and a Healing Grenade. I really just prefer the instant heal from Phoenix Dive over the rift. The Snap is just amazing; I mean, come on, this thing is seriously one of the most satisfying abilities in the game. Then the Healing Grenade is just handy to have. I don’t really find myself in need of a damage grenade with this setup.

Extra Healing and Weapon Choice

The extra healing to myself and teammates is helpful enough. Another reason why Benevolence is really good is that it’s just a matter of picking your favorite solar weapon with Incandescent. The mods don’t really make a huge difference. Loader, Siphon, Special Finisher, that’s all there is to it, really.

Play Style

So you’ve got that all set up, so what’s the play style? Well, this build is honestly one of the best builds in the game, in my opinion. The object is to apply Scorch, which there are numerous ways to do. Helion is the newest part of this build, and this thing, which I’ve named Chuck, will chuck molten lava balls at the enemy, which Scorch on impact. Absolutely perfect, love it.

Chuck’s Effectiveness

Chuck takes three shots to ignite, which, yeah, you may not always want to do. The bonus damage to Scorch is really insane. Apply a bunch of Scorch to something and then just let it burn. You obviously don’t have to ignore the enemy specifically to let it burn, but if you’re dealing with smaller enemies, just Scorch them and move on. You’ll be surprised with how many kills you’ll get from the Scorch Damage.

Heat Rises and Melee Energy

The other fragment, Heat Rises, will allow you to fire while you’re in the air as well as gaining melee energy from each takedown while you’re airborne. This is really where everything comes together. Scorch is giving melee energy, one of the fragments is giving melee energy, and Scorch is giving class ability with this build.