Best classes and subclasses for each playstyle in Destiny 2

Destiny 2 allows you to play solo but multiplayer is generally preferred. To better determine your playstyle, the game offers you the option of playing as one of a few different classes. Every class has its own way of playing from Arc Titans to Solar Warlocks and can offer very different benefits in a team fight setup as well.

Related: The best PvE weapons in Destiny 2 in 2023

To learn more about these classes and how to pick the best one for your playstyle, read on below.

Destiny 2 classes

There are three different classes in Destiny 2, each of them suitable for different playstyles depending on your strengths. These classes can then be further specialized into subclasses.

• Hunter
• Titan
• Warlock

Each of these classes plays a certain way and we will explain how to make the most of them by highlighting their strengths and how to cover up their weaknesses.

Hunter

The Hunter class is your typical lone wolf class in RPGs, the ones who tend to stay away from the group and rely on themselves for the most part. These classes are generally rogues or snipers in other games. But in the world of Destiny, they are so much more than that.

Hunters in Destiny 2 are master tacticians that rely on their sleek movement and stealth buffs. This evasiveness is what keeps them alive in battle and allows them to reliably deal damage without worrying about getting hit too often. Mastering this class requires more mechanical skills than the other two classes in the game, but the payoff is worth it.

While they are not as great in a team composition due to their nature of handling most challenges solo, sometimes they can provide that boost of DPS your team needs to take down a pesky boss or to complete limited-time raid events. Its class ability can either be Gambler’s Dodge or Marksman’s Dodge, replenishing your melee or reloading your currently equipped weapon, respectively.

The place where Hunters truly thrive is in a PvP environment. With the complexity of this class, it is very satisfying when you get kills in a manner that less experienced players would not be able to comprehend. This class is best suited for serious players who enjoy well-thought-out plans and mechanics that are challenging to master.

Titan

The tanks of Destiny 2, Titans are beefy front liners that don’t hit as fast as Hunters, but they can take more than twice the damage that Hunters can. That’s not to say you can’t build a Titan for speed: the Arc 3.0 update in Aug. 2022 is one such addition to the game that has totally changed the way players are approaching the Titan class.

Generally, their tankiness more than makes up for the lack of speed because they can act as a wall between the enemy and their teammates. A good Titan makes sure his team makes it out of every conflict healthy.

When it comes to the main class abilities, Titans can choose between Towering Barricade and Rally Barricade. Towering Barricade is a tall wall that protects all Guardians behind it while Rally Barricade won’t provide the same level of coverage, but will buff allies’ weapon reload speed, stability, and range. These abilities make it so that Titans always thrive in a team setup better than playing solo.

If you’re a player who enjoys huddling together with their team and enabling them to do what they do best, Titans might be the class for you. They are the best choice to stand in front of a menacing boss and take what the boss can throw at them while the rest of the team sets up at favorable positions around the arena.

Titans are not bad at solo gaming either because of how tanky they are. You can power through most of the content in the game without so much as a scratch with the right build and weapons.

Warlock

The final of the three classes in Destiny 2 is the Warlock class. This class is the mage class of the game and it specializes in both dealing heavy damage and healing. As offensively powerful as this class is, the defensive and healing capabilities are just as strong, making it the most balanced of the three classes and the best starter class in the game.

The class abilities are either Healing Rift or Empowering Rift. Healing Rift slowly heals every teammate standing in the Rift while Empowering Rift buffs all allies with more damage while they are standing in the Rift. These abilities further emphasize the balanced capabilities of the Warlock and you can choose whatever your team needs at the time. Never underestimate the buffs of Warlocks.

Their ultimate offensive capabilities stem from their Super ability that changes depending on their subclass, which will be explained next. No matter the subclass, the elemental damage cast cannot be underestimated. Best for players with a more team-based mindset, the Warlock is a perfect fit for any lineup.

While each of these classes is unique to play, they can be further specialized in terms of subclasses. These subclasses add more focus to certain aspects of the class and boost them even further. Choosing a subclass effectively shows what your playstyle would be best at and here are all of them.

Destiny 2 subclasses

Each class in Destiny 2 has five different subclasses. Each of the subclasses is based on one of the five elements in the game.

• Arc: This element emphasizes the power of lightning, dealing shock damage with every ability cast and jolting enemies.
• Solar: This element generates heat and deals damage with the power of fire. In turn, solar energy can be used to heal and cure wounds.
• Void: This element destroys your enemies with the power of darkness. Manipulating gravity magic is also a part of this element.
• Stasis: This element unleashes the power of cold on its enemies. The chill slows enemies down to a crawl while dealing minor damage (Beyond Light expansion only).
• Strand: This element allows for the manipulation of the very strands that exist between dimensions, giving you the power to weave and tangle your enemies. (Lightfall expansion only.)

Related: Destiny 2 Strand subclass, in detail: Aspects, Fragments, Supers, and more.

You begin with a single subclass, but as you progress you’ll unlock different Aspects and Fragments that can drastically change the way each subclass plays. As mentioned before, each class can choose to focus on one of the elements, but with the introduction of load-outs in the Lightfall expansion, switching between elements is as easy as a click of a button—making you a master of Light and Darkness.

We will list out all of these subclasses and divide them by class and element, highlighting their abilities.

Hunter subclasses

Arc – Arcstrider

The Arcstrider is the wielder of the Arc Staff, a weapon made of pure arc energy that has unique melee combos in battle. It can be a little complicated for newer players since its effectiveness depends on a player’s ability to successfully land combos while managing to stay mobile at all times. Ideal for enemies within melee range.

Solar – Gunslinger

The Gunslinger can be played in two different ways. You can either rely on the Golden Gun abilities to destroy enemies in a short span of time by igniting them with deadly precision shots or use Blade Barrage to fire volleys of explosive knives that decimate a horde of enemies.

Void – Nightstalker

With an uncanny focus on stealth and invisibility, the Nightstalker can be the most fun of the five subclasses to play. Players can go in and out of invisibility through various abilities while weakening enemies simultaneously. They can also grant invisibility to teammates, ensuring their survivability in sticky situations. 

Stasis – Revenant

Firing off blasts of deadly cold, the Revenant subclass is generally considered to be the most overpowered of the four Hunter subclasses. You can fire blades that freeze enemies and ricochet to others while being granted abilities to instakill enemies by shattering them after they have been frozen.

Strand – Threadrunner

The Threadrunner is all about speed, best utilizing the Grapple ability that came about with the Lightfall update to maneuver between enemies. Using their Threaded Needle melee ability and the Silkstrike rope dart, Threadrunners can Sever their foes and can switch up between single-target damage and a wide arcing area-of-effect swipe.

Titan subclasses

Arc – Striker

The way of the fist. The Striker balances offensive and defensive power in huge bursts of arc energy, with a focus on up close and personal combat and astonishing amounts of damage via Seismic Strike. The Striker’s second super, Thundercrash, converts the guardian into a living, breathing missile, capable of truly thunderous damage.

Solar – Sunbreaker

The Sunbreaker is quite possibly the most balanced of the four subclasses in both PvE and PvP, and arguably the tankiest with the ability to constantly reapply healing and cure via the Throwing Hammer. Sunbreakers can create Sunspots, which dish out static damage in a place and keep the Titan and their allies alive.

Void – Sentinel

Channel your inner Commander Zavala via the defensive capabilities of the Sentinel. Create giant Banner Shields to protect and buff allies’ damage, or summon the Ward of Dawn—a giant invulnerable bubble from which to coordinate your fireteam and demolish your opponents. Throw in some healing and Volatile grenades, and you’ve got one of the most well-rounded subclasses in the game.

Stasis – Behemoth

The Behemoth generates stasis crystals with its various abilities. The increased mobility of this class combined with its ability to shatter crystals while freezing enemies, and then proceeding to shatter them, makes for some interesting chain reactions. The explosive damage from shattering stasis crystals is no joke, either.

Strand – Berserker

Specializing in short-range combat, the Berserker uses its Frenzied Blades to swipe at enemies and Suspend them in mid-air, allowing the fireteam to freely rip into stunned enemies. Unleashing a Bladefury, the Berserker while in its Super becomes a whirlwind of blades, carving a path for the Titan through swathes of enemies.

Warlock subclasses

Arc – Stormcaller

The Stormcaller is the massive PvE damage dealer subclass of the Warlock. They can fire bolts of arc lightning that chain from enemy to enemy, and summon Arc Souls to assist in battle. They can even buff their allies with bonus arc damage while dishing out massive arc damage themselves.

Solar – Dawnblade

This is our recommended subclass to go for if you’re new and still getting used to the game, with easily the best Super in the game in Well of Radiance, granting endless health recovery and a huge damage buff while inside. A great class designed to support whilst also dishing out a decent amount of damage.

Void – Voidwalker

The Voidwalker is as all-rounded as the Warlock gets. Between siphoning health from enemies with Devour, the class’ innate Rifts to provide consistent damage and healing, and the burst potential of the gigantic Nova Bomb, the Voidwalker is truly a master of Light.

Stasis – Shadebinder

The Shadebinder is possibly the toughest subclass of the Warlock class to master. But the high skill ceiling makes for some compelling plays when you get comfortable with the Shadebinder. The subclass has great crowd control abilities with freezing shockwaves and homing cold projectiles that freeze groups of enemies.

Strand – Broodweaver

Control the strands between dimensions with the Broodweaver, who primarily takes control of the battlefield with an army of Threadlings. The Threadlings fan out and hunt down enemies from a distance, with the Warlock super Needlestorm summoning a massive number of Threadlings to turn the tides of a battle.

Regardless of which class or subclass you end up playing, there is something for everyone in Destiny 2. With so much variety within each class and subclass thanks to Aspects and Fragments, it is up to you to find out which ones best suit your playstyle.