Buildcrafting — The Ability Loop, Wired Up

00 · Read This First

A build is a loop, not a stat sheet

Stop thinking "what's my highest stat." Start thinking "what do I spend, and how does it come back." A good build is an engine that refuels itself — and your stats, mods, fragments and exotic are just the parts that close the circuit.

What a build actually is

Five jobs, all pointing the same direction:

A spend — the ability you fire constantly (a grenade, a melee, a class ability, a super).
A refund — the fragment, mod or exotic that gives that ability back when you do something else (kill, pick up an orb, take damage).
A payoff — the buff or damage the loop produces (Radiant, an overshield, an ignition, a DPS window).
Stats & set bonuses that bias the math toward your spend.
Champion coverage so the loop survives endgame.

If those five don't point one way, you have a costume, not a build.

What changed in 9.7.0

Several old buildcrafting habits are dead. Treat pre-9.7.0 guides as suspect:

The active ability cooldown bonus from stats is capped at 125% (was 190%), so dumping everything into one stat is punished.
Bosses now return roughly −60% super energy from damage dealt — you can't refund your super mid-phase anymore.
Armor set bonuses (2-pc / 4-pc) are part of the loop again.
Anti-champion now lives on weapon frames, not the artifact.

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. The sandbox is settled and the loops below are Monument-era fundamentals, not a rotating seasonal tier list. Only claims on Bungie's active Known Issues list are flagged inline. This page teaches the wiring; the parts catalogs live elsewhere — element verbs/aspects/fragments in the subclass guides, the full stat math in Armor 3.0, and champion frames in the weapon system guide.

01 · The Loop

The nine links of the chain

Every build is the same chain of decisions, each one feeding the next. Pick from the top; if a link doesn't serve the link above it, cut it. The detail for each link lives on its own page — this is the order you assemble them in.

1

Super → the win condition

Start here. Your super decides whether the build is add-clear, boss DPS, or support — everything downstream serves it. Full super lists are in the element / subclass guides.

2

Aspects → the engine + slots

Your two aspects define the core loop behavior and how many fragment slots you get. They're the biggest single lever. Catalog: subclass guides.

3

Fragments → the refunds & riders

Fragments are where the refund usually lives (kill → energy, orb → buff) — and many carry a stat rider, so picking fragments is also picking stats. See the per-element fragment pools in the subclass guides.

4

Exotic → the cheat

One armor exotic that breaks a rule in your favor — infinite grenades, a free overshield, a doubled super. Build the loop around the exotic, not the reverse.

5

Armor & combat mods → the glue

Siphon/orb-gen, Surge/damage, Font/stat-while-charged, ability-regen and resist mods. This is where a lot of the refund quietly lives — set mods before tuning stats. Detailed below in section 03.

6

Stats → the bias

Now bias the cooldown math toward your spend: ~100 in your main ability stat, then spread. The full six-stat math and archetypes are in Armor 3.0. Summarized below in section 02.

7

Set bonuses → the free perk

2-piece and 4-piece armor set bonuses are back. Run them to solve a gap the rest of the loop left open, not to define the whole build. Set mechanics live in Armor 3.0.

8

Artifact → the accelerant

Pick the one of seven artifacts that accelerates your element: Arc/Amplified → NPA Repulsion Regulator, Void/Weaken → Tablet of Ruin, Solar/rockets → Queensfoil Censer, Prismatic/snipers → Hunter's Journal, Stasis/Frost Armor → Apothecary Satchel, Strand/Tangles → Implement of Curiosity, swords/kinetic → Encrypted Data Disk. Economy and damage, never a gate — and disabled in Competitive/Trials.

9

Champion-frame coverage → the endgame check

Last: make sure your guns' intrinsic frames cover the Barrier / Overload / Unstoppable champions present — anti-champion is no longer an artifact mod. Frames are mapped in the weapon system guide.

The build loopSuper → Aspects → Fragments → Exotic → Mods → Stats → Sets → Artifact → Frames

Subclass parts Gear & tuning Central spend / refund engine

Where the chain breaks: if a loop feels sluggish, you're usually missing a refund (no fragment/mod gives the ability back) or a trigger (the refund needs orbs/kills you aren't generating). Fix the source before you raise a stat.

02 · Reading The Stats

Six stats, read for uptime

You don't need the full stat math here — that's Armor 3.0. You need to know what each stat buys for your loop, and the one rule that governs the rest. Each stat goes to a 200 cap; the first 100 scales the base effect, 101–200 unlocks a second damage-or-defense bonus.

Weaponswas Mobility

Handling/reload, then boss damage past 100. The DPS-window stat — push it on a damage set, dump it on an ability loop.

Healthwas Resilience

Orb healing + flinch resist, then raw effective-HP past 100. The survivability floor that lets the loop keep running.

Classwas Recovery

Class-ability cooldown — Rift/Dodge/Barricade — then an overshield on cast past 100. Never zero this if your loop spends class energy.

Grenadewas Discipline

Grenade cooldown (energy scalars behave near ~70), then up to +65% grenade damage at 200.

Superwas Intellect

Super energy, then up to +45% super damage at 200. Note the −60% super-from-boss change — bring it as one big hit.

Meleewas Strength

Melee cooldown + melee energy scalars, then melee damage past 100 (not Swords — those scale Weapons).

The one rule for 9.7.0: because the active ability cooldown bonus from stats now caps at 125% (was 190%), a single 200-stat no longer buys what it used to. The current meta is ~100 in your main ability stat, then spread the rest across Health and your secondary abilities. Damage stats (Weapons, Grenade) can still climb past 100 for their damage bonus — just don't zero everything else to do it. Full archetype/tier/set-bonus detail: Armor 3.0.

03 · Mods

The mod families that glue it

Mods are where a lot of the refund quietly lives — set them before you tune stats. Each armor piece has one general stat-mod socket and three slot-specific sockets; the question is not "what looks strong," it's what job this slot is doing for the loop.

Siphon / orb-gen

Helmet Siphon mods make rapid matching-element weapon kills drop Orbs of Power. Orbs are the currency the rest of the build runs on — if nothing here generates them, half your other mods do nothing. The first family to slot.

Surge / damage

Leg <Element> Weapon Surge mods add weapon damage of a matching element — biggest on the weekly featured surge. Stack them for a real DPS bump in a damage window. Pure payoff, no refund.

Font / stat while Armor Charged

Font mods grant a temporary stat boost while you have Armor Charge: Super lives on head, Grenade/Melee on arms, Health on chest, Weapons on legs, and Class on the class item. Orb pickup grants the Armor Charge that powers them, so they become on-demand stat spikes — but Armor Charge decays unless you extend it.

Ability-regen mods

The Bomber / Outreach / Distribution / Innervation family: ability energy returned on class-ability use, on orb pickup, or through ability damage. This is the refund layer that complements your fragments — layered small refunds beat one tall stat.

Resist mods

Chest resist mods (Concussive Dampener, elemental resists) cut incoming damage so the loop survives endgame; the same slot also carries ammo-generation and unflinching mods. Note: anti-champion is not a mod family anymore — it moved onto weapon frames (see weapon system), so don't budget armor mod slots for it. The artifact can discount or add passive mods — active in PvE and standard Crucible, but disabled in competitive Crucible modes (Competitive and Trials) per the 9.7.0 notes.

Any Piece

Baseline stat tuning. Every armor piece can take one general stat mod.

Weapons, Health, Class, Grenade, Super, and Melee mods; minor versions are cheaper. Use these after the slot-specific jobs are set.

Head

Orb and Super economy. This is usually the first slot you lock.

Siphons, Ammo Finder, Targeting, Ashes to Assets, Hands-On, Dynamo, Power Preservation, Super Font.

Arms

Ability spend and weapon handling. Pick the spend your build is actually making.

Firepower, Heavy Handed, Grenade/Melee Kickstart, Grenade/Melee Font, Impact Induction, Momentum Transfer, Bolstering Detonation, Focusing Strike, Loader, Dexterity, Fastball, Shield Break Charge.

Chest

Survival and ammo flow. This is the Grandmaster sanity check.

Concussive Dampener, elemental/Harmonic resist, melee/sniper resist, ammo generation, unflinching aim, Charged Up, Emergency Reinforcement, Health Font, Lucent Blades.

Legs

Orb pickup payoff. This turns the orbs you made into damage, healing, and energy.

Weapon Surges, Scavengers, Holsters, Recuperation, Better Already, Innervation, Invigoration, Insulation, Absolution, Orbs of Restoration, Elemental Charge, Stacks on Stacks, Weapons Font.

Class Item

Class-ability loop and finishers. The slot that makes Dodge/Rift/Barricade feed the rest.

Bomber, Outreach, Distribution, Utility Kickstart, Reaper, Powerful Attraction, Time Dilation, Empowered Finish, Special Finisher, and ability/heal/ward finisher variants.

Order of operations: Head makes orbs → arms/class item add refund triggers → chest keeps you alive and stocked → legs cash out orbs into healing, ability energy and Surge damage → general stat mods fill the gaps.

04 · A Build From Scratch

Worked example: the grenade engine

Watch the nine links assemble into one gameplay loop. This is a teaching example, not a tier-list verdict — the shape is the lesson, the specific picks just illustrate it. Build it by following the chain top to bottom.

Worked example · grenade-loop archetype

The Grenade Engine · teaching build

Teaching examplePvE

SuperA roaming add-clear superWhy: the win condition is "clear the room," so everything below feeds grenade uptime, not a single boss hit.

AspectsA grenade-empowering aspect + an orb/refund aspectWhy: one supercharges the spend, the other (plus its fragment slots) closes the loop.

Fragments"Kill → grenade energy" + "orb → buff" + a Grenade-stat rider + a survivability riderWhy: the refund. Kills you already get hand the grenade back; the stat and survival riders quietly prop up the loop.

ExoticA "free grenades after a trigger" armor exoticWhy: the cheat — it breaks the cooldown rule, turning one grenade into a burst of several. The build is shaped around it.

ModsHead: Siphon/Finder · Arms: Firepower + Grenade Kickstart · Chest: resists/ammo gen · Legs: Weapon Surge + Recuperation/Innervation · Class: Bomber/ReaperWhy: each armor slot has a job — make orbs, refund the grenade, survive, cash out damage/healing, then use class ability to restart.

Stats~100 Grenade, then Health + ClassWhy: the 125% cap rule — main ability stat to ~100, spread the rest so you survive and keep class energy.

Set bonusA 2-pc that boosts grenade or orb generationWhy: the free perk — it solves the one gap (more uptime) instead of redefining the build.

ArtifactThe artifact perk that accelerates your element's economy and damageWhy: the accelerant — extra grenade economy and surge damage on top of the loop, never a gate (and disabled in Competitive/Trials).

WeaponsFrames covering the champions present + an orb-generating primaryWhy: the endgame check — anti-champion rides the frames now, and the primary feeds Siphon.

How it plays: throw a grenade → it kills → Firepower drops orbs (weapon kills feed Siphon between throws) → orb pickup heals you, feeds armor charge, and refunds ability energy → Bomber/Reaper turn the next class ability into more grenade fuel and another orb trigger → Surge cashes out during the damage window. Every slot serves the spend above it. Archetype: a Grenade-primary armor archetype (e.g. Grenadier / Demolitionist) · ~100 Grenade then spread.

The transferable lesson: swap "grenade" for "melee," "class ability" or "super" and the same nine links rebuild around the new spend. A melee build wants a melee exotic, Heavy Handed mods and ~100 Melee; a super-DPS build wants a super exotic, Surge mods and a damage window. The loop is the constant; the spend is the variable. Concrete per-element examples live in the subclass guides — Solar, Arc, Void, Stasis and Strand (or start at the subclass hub).

05 · Bring Your Own Exotic

The loop lives in your armor, not your gun

Here's the freeing consequence of "the loop is the constant, the spend is the variable": your exotic weapon slot is also a variable. A neutral PvE engine is powered by your exotic armor + subclass + mods — so you can rotate whatever exotic weapon you're chasing a catalyst on through it without breaking a thing. The build doesn't care which gun sits in the slot; it cares that the loop keeps closing.

Why the weapon is a free slot

In a neutral build the exotic armor is the cheat that bends the cooldown rule; the exotic weapon is just damage. Pull the weapon out and the loop still runs:

The refund comes from fragments, mods and the armor exotic — not from a specific gun's perk.
Orbs and Siphon ride your element and head mods, so any matching-element primary feeds them.
So you can run a "weapon of the week" — level its catalyst, then move to the next — and the build is unchanged.

If pulling your exotic weapon breaks the loop, the loop was secretly built on the gun — fix that first.

Slotting a rotating exotic — four rules

Match the surge. Keep your leg Weapon Surge mods and the exotic's element pointed at your subclass (or the weekly surge) so the damage isn't wasted.
Protect the ammo economy. If the loop needs a special for Orbs/Breaches, drop the rotating exotic into the slot the loop doesn't lean on — usually Heavy or Primary.
Keep champion coverage. Anti-champion rides weapon frames now, so check your other two weapons still stun the week's champions after the swap.
Don't build on the gun. The loop should come from armor + subclass; a weapon perk is a bonus, never the engine.

The exception — commit for the hard stuff. This freedom is for general play. In raids, dungeons, Pantheon and other min-max windows the optimal answer often is a specific weapon (an Izanagi swap, a Still Hunt, a Bait-and-Switch heavy), so there you lock the loadout instead of rotating. Each class guide tags its weapon-agnostic "bring your own exotic" picks as such: Warlock · Hunter · Titan.

06 · PvP & Tools

When the loop meets Crucible

Everything above is PvE-first. In the Crucible the same chain holds, but the priorities flip — and the heavy lifting of optimizing real rolls is done by external tools, not by hand.

How the loop shifts in PvP

In Crucible the same chain holds, but the priorities flip: survive first, then win range, then time abilities. Fights end in seconds, so you build for the first spend, not the tenth — and Health stops being optional.

The full duel-first model — co-equal Weapons and Health, the 12 archetypes sorted by job, Crucible mods, and a starter kit per class — lives in its own guide. This page stays PvE-first.

One mode rule: the Artifact is disabled in Competitive and Trials, so a Comp/Trials loop can't lean on artifact perks for anti-Champion or economy — only the standard sandbox carries. Build those modes from intrinsic frames and gear alone.

→ PvP Buildcrafting guide · Crucible hub

Don't wire it by hand

Once you know the shape of the loop, let a build tool find the exact armor rolls and stat splits. Pull a real roll, check it against a live database, then farm with intent. Links open in a new tab — no embeds, no tracking.

Read the loop here; optimize the numbers there.

DIM

Destiny Item Manager — inventory, loadout saving, and the Loadout Optimizer for real stat rolls.

D2ArmorPicker

Brute-forces your vault for the stat split you want across a set — the fastest way to hit a target spread.

light.gg

Weapon/perk database and god-roll voting — confirm frames and perks before you commit to a farm.

Monument baseline — buildcrafting watchlist: the loops here are PvE-first and built on the settled Monument sandbox. Active Bungie Known Issues that can affect builds: Kinetic Rupture does not reliably stun Unstoppable Champions, Lumina can override Radiant for Golden Gun Hunters, Hunter Prismatic grenades can be dislodged by Area Denial frames, and Tractor Cannon does not fire through Sentinel Banner Shield. Treat these as exception notes; the core loop fundamentals are stable.