Destiny 2 · Subclass Guide · Monument of Triumph

Solar

The burn element. Solar stacks Scorch until things Ignite, then keeps you standing with Radiant and Restoration while the fire spreads. One element, all three classes — this page is the cross-class map; per-class full builds live in the class guides. Built on the Monument baseline, Destiny 2's final content sandbox; these are settled recommendations, not a rotating tier list.

Element

SolarLight · burn / sustain

Classes

3Dawnblade · Sunbreaker · Gunslinger

Verbs

Scorch → IgniteRadiant · Restoration · Cure

DPS supers

Golden Gun+ Well of Radiance buff

Patch

9.7.0.3Last gameplay patch

00 · Read This First

What Solar actually is

Solar is burn-stacking damage that ignites the room and keeps you alive — apply Scorch until a target detonates, and use Radiant and Restoration to never stop shooting.

What wins fights

Three jobs, run in a loop:

Apply Scorch — grenades, melees and Solar weapons stack it; 100 stacks triggers an Ignition.
Stay buffed — Radiant raises your weapon damage, Restoration heals you continuously, Cure patches you in a burst.
Feed the engine — Firesprite pickups refund grenade energy so the cycle restarts.

What old guides get wrong

Several pre-9.7.0 assumptions are dead. Treat anything older as suspect:

Titan's Towering Barricade behavior changed — the new Shieldburst Solar aspect upgrades both Towering and Rally Barricade.
Solar kits carry a 4th Aspect per class — Hunter's lineup includes the Crackshot Gunslinger Aspect.
Ability cooldown cap moved 190 → 125, and bosses now give -60% super energy from damage dealt.

Burn

Scorch is a stacking damage-over-time. You don't aim for kills directly — you aim to pile stacks until the room ignites. Grenades, melees and Solar (Incandescent) weapons all add stacks.

Sustain

Solar is the self-healing element. Restoration and Cure mean you rarely retreat to regenerate — you hold ground and keep applying burn while the fire patches you back up.

Buff

Radiant turns survival into offense. On-demand weapon-damage uptime is why Solar is strong even when the room is empty — the neutral game carries between detonations.

Monument baseline: last gameplay patch Update 9.7.0.3 (2026-07-07). Update 9.7.0.4 (2026-07-28) shipped without notes; Update 9.7.0.5 (2026-10-07) is an anti-cheat back-end fix only. Checked 2026-10-08. Only claims on Bungie's active Known Issues list are flagged inline. Full per-class builds live in the Warlock, Titan and Hunter class guides; the Light+Dark blend is in Prismatic; stats live in Armor 3.0; the build loop is wired up in Buildcrafting.

01 · Verb Glossary

The Solar keywords

Every Solar build is a sentence built from these words. Learn the verbs and the fragment/aspect text reads itself.

Scorch → IgnitionBurn DoT · detonate

Stacking burn. At 100 Scorch a target Ignites — a big AoE blast that also stuns Unstoppable Champions. The core Solar damage verb.

RadiantDamage buff

A timed weapon-damage boost. Against Champions it no longer stuns Barrier — it now adds +10% weapon damage instead, so treat it as a damage buff, not a counter. Usually applied by powered melees or specific fragments.

RestorationContinuous heal

Heals you over time — and unlike normal regeneration, the healing keeps ticking while you take damage. It out-heals moderate fire but can still be outpaced by heavy damage.

CureBurst heal

An instant chunk of health, not a heal-over-time. The fast top-up when Restoration isn't already running — often tied to Firesprite pickups or Phoenix Dive.

FirespritePickup → energy

A small flame pickup spawned by Solar kills/scorch. Grab it for grenade energy (and, with the right fragments, Cure or Restoration). The fuel that closes the loop.

Stun: UnstoppableIgnition utility

Not a buff but worth flagging: an Ignition stuns Unstoppable Champions, so a scorch loop doubles as anti-Champion tech in Nightfalls without an Unstoppable mod.

02 · The Three Classes

Solar, per class

Same element, three identities. Each leans on a different verb. The names below are the shape; your two Aspects decide how many fragment slots you get.

Solar · Warlock

DawnbladeClass ability · Rift

Supers: Well of Radiance · Daybreak
Leans on: Radiant / Restoration

The healer / Radiant engine. Well of Radiance plants a healing-and-empowering pool the whole team stands in; Daybreak is the roaming sword super. Signature aspects: Touch of Flame (supercharged Solar grenades) and Heat Rises (aerial play, feeds the loop while airborne).

Identity is the Rift — most Dawnblade builds spend and refund class-ability energy to keep Restoration and Radiant blanketing the fireteam. The reliable support pick.

Solar · Titan

SunbreakerClass ability · Barricade

Supers: Hammer of Sol · Burning Maul
Leans on: Scorch → Ignition

The slam-and-burn bruiser. Hammer of Sol throws tracking hammers; Burning Maul is a heavy ground-slam super. Signature aspects: Consecration (slide → slam that scorches and ignites) and Roaring Flames (Solar ability kills stack escalating damage).

The Shieldburst aspect (Titan) upgrades Towering and Rally Barricade and lets you detonate them. The bread-and-butter playstyle is the Consecration slam loop: melee, slide, slam, ignite, repeat.

Solar · Hunter

GunslingerClass ability · Dodge

Supers: Golden Gun · Blade Barrage
Leans on: Radiant (precision)

The precision DPS class. Golden Gun is the iconic single-target nuke; Blade Barrage throws a fan of explosive knives. Signature aspects: Knock 'Em Down (enhances your Solar Supers: longer Marksman Golden Gun, tougher Deadshot, more Blade Barrage knives) and the Crackshot 4th Aspect.

The DPS hook is Celestial Nighthawk (Golden Gun becomes one massive shot) and the Still Hunt exotic Sniper that grants a Golden-Gun-style burst — together a premier boss-damage package. Leans hard on Radiant.

03 · Fragments

The "Ember of …" pool

Solar fragments are all Embers. Your two equipped Aspects set how many fragment slots you get, and many Embers carry a stat bonus or penalty — so picking fragments is also picking stats. Below are the staples.

Ember of Ashes

Apply more Scorch stacks per hit — the single best "reach Ignition faster" fragment.

Ember of Searing

Solar / scorched kills grant melee energy and spawn a Firesprite.

Ember of Torches

Powered melee hits make you Radiant — the easy on-demand damage buff.

Ember of Singeing

Scorching targets recharges your class ability faster — feeds Rift / Dodge / Barricade.

Ember of Benevolence

Buffing or healing an ally massively boosts ability regen — the team-support engine.

Ember of Empyrean

Solar kills extend Restoration and Radiant timers — keeps both buffs rolling.

Ember of Char

Ignitions spread Scorch to nearby targets — chains detonations through a pack.

Ember of Mercy

Reviving an ally — or taking a Firesprite — grants Restoration; a survivability staple.

Ember of Wonder

Rapidly defeating multiple targets with Ignitions spawns an Orb of Power — bridges Solar into the mod economy.

Ember of Solace

Radiant and Restoration applied to you last longer — stretches both buff timers further.

Ember of Combustion

Final blows with your Super cause Ignitions — turns super damage into chain detonations.

Ember of Beams

Gives your Solar Super projectiles stronger target acquisition (they bend toward enemies) and +10 Super — an accuracy aid for projectile Supers like Daybreak and Blade Barrage, not a damage buff. (No benefit to hitscan Golden Gun.)

How to read slots: Solar gives a fixed fragment pool, but how many you can slot is decided by your two Aspects — some Aspects grant more fragment sockets than others. Stack the stat riders deliberately (e.g. an Ember that adds Health if you want survivability). Prismatic does not use Embers — it has its own Facet pool, covered in the Prismatic guide.

03b · Wiring It Up

Stats, mods & the loop

A Solar build is never carried by the exotic alone — the loop only closes when stats, mods and fragments push the same way. The full stat math lives in Armor 3.0 and the wiring walkthrough in Buildcrafting; here's the Solar-specific shape.

The mod layer

Set armor mods before tuning stats — a lot of the loop lives here:

Siphon (helmet) — Solar weapon kills make Orbs of Power; pairs with Ember of Wonder.
Firepower / Heavy Handed (arms) — Orbs on grenade / melee kills, which your scorch loop produces constantly.
Bomber / Outreach / Distribution (class item) — ability energy on class-ability use, for Rift / Dodge / Barricade cadence.
Solar Surge (legs) — bonus weapon damage on the weeks Solar is the featured surge.

Stats by build shape

Translate the loop into the 9.7.0 stat system:

Grenade / scorch builds (Sunbracers, Consecration) → grenade-leaning archetype for faster nade uptime.
Sustain / solo (Loreley, Well) → Health so Restoration survival stays topped.
Boss DPS (Nighthawk, Still Hunt) → push Weapons toward 200 before the damage phase, swap back after.
Don't dump Class — every Solar class spends class-ability energy to keep buffs alive.

Cooldown reality check: with the cap moved 190 → 125 and bosses giving -60% super energy from damage, you can no longer brute-force a single mega-stat — layered ability regen (Singeing, Benevolence, Bomber mods) beats one tall spike.

04 · Builds

One build per class

A starter Solar build for each class — super → aspects → fragments → exotic → armor archetype → weapons. Full versions live in each class guide.

Warlock · Dawnblade

Radiant Well Engine · Speaker's Sight

Best supportPvE

SuperWell of Radiance

ExoticSpeaker's Sight (helmet)

AspectsTouch of Flame · Heat Rises

ClassHealing / Empowering Rift

FragmentsBenevolence · Empyrean · Torches · Singeing

WeaponsSolar primary w/ Incandescent

How it plays: Throw the Healing-Grenade turret (Speaker's Sight) at the team, which feeds Benevolence regen; powered melees keep you Radiant via Torches; Well of Radiance covers the damage phase. You are the heal-and-buff anchor. Armor: Restoration/Health-leaning archetype · push Class for Rift cadence.

Titan · Sunbreaker

Consecration Loop · Pyrogale Gauntlets

Add clearPvE

SuperBurning Maul (or Hammer of Sol)

ExoticPyrogale Gauntlets

AspectsConsecration · Roaring Flames

ClassTowering Barricade (Shieldburst is an aspect: swap it in for Roaring Flames to detonate)

FragmentsAshes · Searing · Char · Empyrean

WeaponsSolar weapon w/ Incandescent for scorch

How it plays: Slide into a Consecration slam to scorch and ignite a pack; Roaring Flames stacks make each slam hit harder; Searing refunds melee on scorched kills (its Firesprites feed the grenade) so you slam again. Char spreads Scorch so Ignitions chain. Pyrogale turns Burning Maul into a single huge slam. Armor: melee/Super-leaning archetype · build for ability uptime.

Hunter · Gunslinger

Nighthawk DPS · Celestial Nighthawk

Best boss DPSPvE

SuperGolden Gun: Marksman

ExoticCelestial Nighthawk (helmet)

AspectsKnock 'Em Down · Crackshot (new 4th)

ClassGambler's / Marksman's Dodge

FragmentsAshes · Torches · Singeing · Empyrean

WeaponsStill Hunt + Solar special

How it plays: Be Radiant (Torches, or Lightweight Knife precision hits), then dump a Celestial Nighthawk Golden Gun for a single huge crit; Still Hunt gives a second Golden-Gun-style shot between supers. Knock 'Em Down extends Marksman Golden Gun's duration. Premier single-target burst. Armor: Weapon/Super-leaning archetype · ~200 Weapons before a boss phase.

PvE vs PvP: In PvE the verdicts above hold — Solar is a top sustain/DPS element and the Nighthawk and Well builds are reference-tier. In PvP Solar's job is sustain and peek pressure: Restoration and Cure let you out-last a peek war, on-demand Radiant is a duel-winning damage buff, Golden Gun and Hammer of Sol are clutch revenge supers, and scorch grenades are area pressure, not an ignition combo. The "best" tags above are PvE-first; with the sandbox settled on the Monument baseline, those values are stable. → PvP: Crucible hub · PvP builds

Other Solar exotics worth knowing

The builds above are starters, not the only answers. A few class exotics define their own Solar loops — pick by what the activity needs.

Warlock options

Sunbracers — a Solar melee kill grants several seconds of free, rapid grenades; the classic nade-spam engine. Phoenix Protocol for Well uptime; Rain of Fire for fusion-rifle Radiant play. Pick Speaker's Sight when the team needs healing, Sunbracers when you want to be the damage.

Titan options

Loreley Splendor — casting your Barricade, or going critically wounded with full class energy, drops a Sunspot (needs a Solar Super) that pumps Restoration; a near-unkillable solo helmet. Synthoceps for melee-slam damage; Hazardous Propulsion for rocket burst. Pyrogale leans Super, Loreley leans survival.

Hunter options

Star-Eater Scales — feed orbs to overcharge your Super for a bigger Golden Gun / Blade Barrage. Gunpowder Gamble synergy via aspects. Nighthawk for one-shot burst, Star-Eaters for raw super ceiling.

Take it to a full build → these are starters; the complete Monument-era builds live on the class pages — Warlock Solar (Speaker's Sight support · Sunbracers nade-spam) · Titan Solar (Consecration / Pyrogale) · Hunter Solar (Nighthawk + Still Hunt DPS · Crackshot).

05 · The Loop

How the engine cycles

Every Solar build, stripped to its skeleton, is the same four-beat cycle. Apply burn, detonate, harvest the fuel, stay buffed, repeat. The diagram is the whole element on one page.

Solar ability loopScorch → Ignition → Firesprite → Buff

Damage step Fuel step Detonation

Where it breaks: if the loop stalls, you're usually missing fuel (no Firesprite source) or burn rate (not enough Scorch-per-hit — slot Ember of Ashes). Wire the full version in the Buildcrafting guide.

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