Summary
Long have guardians waited—Stasis activated.Destiny 2’ssecond episode, Revenant, is centered around Fikrul, Crow, and a new faction of Scorns that pose a serious threat to the Eliksni. Plot aside, the theme of the next few months seems to be Stasis supremacy, though it remains to be seen whether the changes Bungie has implemented will be enough to bring the subclass out of its death throes.
Already, the artifact perk pool looks promising. There are a ton of perks that are great for Stasis gameplay, whether players plan on building a pure Stasis loadout, or just want to dip into it as part oftheir Prismatic build. Here’s a rundown of the best artifact perks for Revenant. Keep in mind that two more rows of perks will be introduced later on in the season, so this isn’t a definitive ranking of the perks just yet.
8Fell The Revenant
A Damage Boost Against Scorn
Any artifact perk that provides a generalized weapon buff against a certain enemy type is always appreciated and is typically a must-have for seasonal activities. That’s because more often than not, the enemy type featured will be plentiful in most seasonal activities. In this case, it’s Scorn.
Having this artifact perk will be particularly helpful when hitting Onslaught (especially the harder version), as players will need all the damage they can get to cleave through hordes of enemies. Wearing pieces of the Shadestalker Armor set will further improve the damage boost, so make sure to have a few good pieces at hand, or at least a class item.
7Power From Pain
Gain Easy Access To Devour
Devour is one of the best buffs in the game. Activated once, each consecutive kill grants the player health back immediately. This is very powerful in all modes of PVE, and to have it handed out in the artifact regardless of subclass and class is fantastic.
All players need to do is have some sort of a weakening source, and then score rapid final blows to activate the effect. It becomes even better when the matching Volatile Tonic is consumed, which will then spawn up Void Breaches on top.
6Trace Evidence
An Ionic Trace Boost To Arc-Flavored Builds
Ionic Traces are thego-to Arc subclass pick-up, and now, if players have a way to Jolt or Blind enemies, they can easily create Ionic Traces with precision hits and final blows. As a reminder, Ionic Traces grant energy to all abilities, save for Super, so they are handy on just about any type of build or subclass.
The Tonic boost for this one is even juicier, as it converts these Ionic Traces into armor charge. And there are never enough armor charge sources in the game.
5Hail The Storm
A Must For Any Stasis And Prismatic Builds This Episode
Stasis is big in this episode, and those who want to take advantage of all the buffs that have arrived to Shatter damage, in particular, will want to add this artifact perk into their arsenal. On its own, the perk spawns shards that will hit and apply the slow effect on any enemies nearby.
However, when boosted with a Volatile Tonic that matches it, the damage of the shatter is increased, making it even more efficient against groups of enemies and even tankier opponents.
4Concussive Reload
A PVE Favorite Returns
This artifact perk is one that anyone looking to engage in endgame PVE will need to have in their back pocket. It’s a returning perk most will be familiar with from a few seasons ago, so the principle is well-known: one hit from a grenade preps a boss to take more damage.
This worked particularly well with weapons likeWitherhoard, but with so many other grenade launchers on the market now, from special to heavy options, sky’s the limit. The added Volatile Tonic boost is perfect for damage rotations, as all stowed weapons get a free reload in the process.
3Brain Freeze
A Crowd Control Slow For Stasis Builds
In the final column, Brain Freeze is the first perk that catches the eye with a unique crowd control feature. It sounds like it will work similarly to aDuskfield Grenade, which could potentially grant players two grenade effects for the price of one (for example: freeze withColdsnap Grenade, and then frozen enemies apply the Duskfield slow on nearby enemies).
Not just that, it gives a decent boost to the seasonal weapons for Revenant. All of them will deal increased damage to enemies who are frozen. It will definitely pair up nicelywith Stasis-centric builds.
2Conductive Cosmic Crystal
A Boost To Arc And Void Abilities (And Dark Ether Reaper OT)
Pairing up Stasis with Arc and Void in this single perk is a smart move from Bungie, encouraging players to tinker aroundwith any Prismatic builds. With enough creativity, this extra damage could probably also be applied to boss DPS situations.
This is perhaps the first artifact perk where having the matching Volatile Tonic seems almost necessary since it will likely be useful against bosses. The even bigger damage boost is going to come in handy in the Vesper’s Host dungeon, for example.
1Served Cold
Void And Arc Pick-Up Boosts
Most likely the go-to buildcrafting artifact perk until at least Act 2, Served Cold is going to up ability cycling for a variety of different builds—but especially Prismatic.
While not every class will be dependent on melee energy, the Stasis Shards granting class ability energy is going to be a big bonus for most players. In their basic forms, both of these pick-ups grant one another’s effects: Stasis Shards already grant melee energy, and Void Breaches already grant class ability energy. Most likely, this will stack with the artifact perk effect.
