Destiny: The Taken King How to - Warlock Stormcaller Subclass Guide

Destiny has evolved yet again with the launch of The Taken King, Bungie’s foray into Year Two of their newest IP that has managed to hold onto the spotlight longer than anyone could have predicted. But it isn’t just the year that is new, the game is being transformed from its very core and outward, and its new subclasses have a lot to do with that.

The Titan’s Sunbreaker, the Hunter’s Nightstalker, and the Warlock’s Stormcaller bring an entirely new dynamic into the Destiny fold, but they also require a bit of learning to get all of you guardians back into fighting form. Luckily, you’ve stumbled into the right place and we will get you set up properly.

This guide will give you an overview of the Warlock’s Stormcaller so that you can not only dominate as a lone warrior pushing back the darkness, but as a valuable member to any fireteam as you endeavor to prepare for Destiny: The Taken King’s upcoming Raid and myriad of other challenges.

Suit up, and let’s get down to business.

Stormcaller

Before breaking down the Stormcaller, let’s give you a general overview of what it brings to the table in comparison to the other available subclasses (Voidwalker and Sunsinger). The Stormcaller is all about crowd elimination, and works best when paired with the new Titan Sunbreaker and Hunter Nightstalker. This class benefits greatly off of their buffs, allowing it to swiftly move in and out of the fray while spreading vicious Arc damage over a wide area.

The Stormcaller subclass is for those who don’t mind getting into a bit of danger and are comfortable relying on back-up, although you will have options that keep you safe if you are running solo in Destiny: The Taken King. So, if you aren’t confident in your movement and close combat abilities, you may want to hold back on this one for the time being.

Great weapon pairings for the Warlock Stormcaller are Shotguns and Fusion Rifles since those are absolutely deadly at close range (a location you’ll find yourself in often), so keep that in mind when choosing your loadout, especially if you want to use this latest subclass to its fullest potential.

Movement

For the most part, Destiny: The Taken King’s Stormcaller subclass moves just like the Sunsinger class from the base game. This means no blink ability on the base guardian. Instead, you’ll have your Glide with the usual modifiers. So you’ll be able to choose between speed, control, or a combination of both that doesn’t exactly reach the full effect of doing each individually, but helps a lot for those who need both.

This doesn’t mean Blink is completely out of the question, but it has been relegated to a modifier for Stormtrance (the Warlock’s new special ability). Using the Ionic Blink modifier on this special will grant you the ability to quickly teleport around the field to get out of (or into) danger, as long as your Stormtrance special is active.

Throwing in the Chaos Order modifier onto your Warlock will increase its focus on speed and agility if dancing around is more your thing. Seeing as how Warlocks already have a pretty solid recovery rate, investing in this is not such a bad idea, especially when relying on a varied fireteam that will keep the buffs incoming.

Combat Abilities

Combat abilities are broken up into two categories: Melee and Grenade. Each is on a cooldown with Strength affecting melee cooldown speed and Discipline affecting the grenade cooldown speed. There are pieces of exotic armor that can provide extra charges for either ability. For example, the Claws of Ahamkara provide a second Melee charge allowing you to use the ability twice in a row.

The Stormcaller’s melee ability is the Thunderstrike, which sends out an arc strike to close targets. Its modifiers are Chain Lightning, which allows the electricity to spread between nearby enemies (perfect for dealing with hordes of smaller enemies such as Fallen Dregs and Hive Thrall). Amplitude adds some much needed range to the melee ability to help with those who like to run and use cover. And Rising Storm speeds up your Super and Melee charge.

The grenades provide a bit of versatility to truly tailor your Stormcaller experience in Destiny: The Taken King. The three options are Pulse, Storm, and Arcbolt, and each provides enough variety to help with specific situations. Pulse locks down a relatively wide area with a pulsing explosion exactly like the Titan’s grenade of the same name. The Storm grenade calls down a storm in a specific location, perfect for blocking a flanking path or dealing with large stationary enemies. And the Arcbold is your go to for enemies who feel that hiding behind rocks is a viable defense against your Arc onslaught.

While the combat abilities are pretty impressive on their own, there are a few modifiers that can help to put these at the center of all your Warlock strategies in Destiny: The Taken King. The Stormcaller is built around its abilities, and with a few tweaks, you may find yourself relying on your weapons less and less as you dish out the sparks.

Perpetual Charge causes each of your abilities to charge the other. So grenade kills boost your melee and vice versa. When used along with an exotic like the aforementioned Claws of Ahamkara  a skilled player will be able to always maintain a charge to keep crowds at bay. There is also Feedback which will not only instantly charge your Thunderstrike when hit with a melee attack (take that, Thrall), it will increase its power, as well. Tie these to Rising Storm and you have one seriously impressive electronic magician with a bone to pick with Oryx.

Stormtrance

The Warlock’s newest Super is the Stormtrance. Unlike the Sunsinger’s Radiance, this won’t grant you the ability to revive yourself after you’ve played a bit recklessly, but that in no way means that it is to be trifled with. What Stormtrance does is allows the player to quickly float around while firing powerful streams of Arc lightning from both hands into crowds of enemies.

The modifiers are where this Super shines in Destiny: The Taken King. You have Landfall, Superconductor, and Ionic Blink (which was mentioned in the Movement section). Landfall is the modifier for those looking to take out large groups surrounding, weaker enemies. Think Fist of Havoc combined with the basic Stormtrance. Your Warlock will fire a powerful bolt of Arc lightning into the ground that will create a huge shockwave while also launching you into the air and out of harm’s way.

Superconductor, on the other hand, will increase Stormtrance’s ability to chain between enemies. This means your guardian will be able to cover an even larger area helping to control large groups of enemies. When combined with the Titan’s new Melting Point ability (greatly reduces enemy defense), your Stormcaller will be able to eat through enemies with ease.

Another modifier to consider equipping, if you really want to get a little reckless, is Transendance. When your grenade and melee abilities are fully charged, triggering Stormtrance not only fully heals you, but allows you to take even more damage as well, making you something akin to a baby Titan that can fly and crowd control.

If you’re really into team based play, make sure to invest in Electrostatic Mind, as well. Nearby allies will charge your Super faster, and enemies will take damage just for being nearby when in your new Stormtrance mode.

Once you understand that the Stormcaller is built for the frontlines in Destiny: The Taken King, building your strategy will become much easier. The Warlock has never really been for the faint of heart and does well when surrounded, even though it doesn’t have the best defense. The Warlock’s powerful offensive abilities are what keep it alive, so put them to good use and further your legend.

Safe travels, guardian.